WIBU to complain about GP?

[Rabbitsandtennis]

Sorry in advance for long post!

I’m 26 and otherwise healthy. Since April I’ve had persistent abdominal pain. It niggles me most of the time and walking makes it worse - to the point where sometimes it’s like being stabbed in the stomach and I have to stop and get a taxi home/ get dh to collect me. I also frequently get constipation.

I went to gps when it started and they’ve sent me for pelvic and abdominal ultrasounds, taken numerous blood tests and urine samples but are still none the wiser. I’ve discussed all my symptoms in detail, many a time and emphasised that my quality of life is impacted.

I went to see my gp today to discuss latest abdominal ultrasound (all clear) and he asked if I thought it was “an emotional thing”, said I should do a Pilates class (if I was up to doing a Pilates class I wouldn’t be there - as I’ve tried to explain) and should come back to see him in January if it hasn’t cleared up. He didn’t want to refer me to a specialist and prescribed me a low dose of Amitriptyline - to relieve pain but nothing else.

I’m not a hypochondriac btw! I’m an intelligent young professional, and otherwise very happy with my life. I am not booking countless appointments for fun and I’m frustrated with not being able to go about my daily life as I used to. The half hour walk I’ve made to work for years is often too much for me now and I struggle to get out the house at evenings or weekends; if I try to walk too far, the pain is too much. I feel that my gp is patronising me and not taking me seriously by just suggesting I leave it for another few months.

Anyway my sister is a nurse and outraged on my behalf. She says I should put a complaint in to the GP practice.

So WIBU to do this? Has anyone here done it? A complaint isn’t going to magically cure me of course, and I’ve already booked a private GP appointment, but my sister says it’s important. Any other advice / words of comfort welcomed.

Book an appointment with another GP for a second opinion. Where about is the pain?

What is the basis of your complaint and what do you want to achieve. The GP has referred you for a variety of diagnostics, is there something else you think he or she can do ?

Ask for a second opinion x

My mom had this and it turned out to be gall stones and she had a lot of them. Somehow it got missed in ultrasound. Pls can you go private and get it checked out? I wish you a speedy recovery. I think you need to complain about this GP but more imp I hope you get it resolved.

To be honest, I'm not sure you can make a complaint based on the fact that you don't agree with the suggested approach, unless that approach is clearly inappropriate (which this doesn't seem to be). Can you see another GP? Do you have a specialist in mind that you want to be referred to? It can help going along armed with this.

Often right side lower/mid abdomen, but can be all over stomach area. I’ve booked a private gp appointment as seen a couple of doctors at nhs practice over last few months.

They’ve clearly taken you seriously - they’ve sent you for loads of scans.

As they’ve found nothing to explain the pain, that’s why they’re exploring other possibilities.

If you disagree and want a second opinion and to push for a referral, then that’s absolutely fine but it’s certainly not grounds for a complaint.

I would ask to be referred to a gastroenterologist. You could probably do with a MRI and some cameras.

MN sticks up for doctors no matter what for some reason but I have actually had similar the last few months as well as horrific gynae problems - I often get the head tilt/you are very stressed type treatment that a man just wouldn't get. You need to make a nuisance of yourself and push for further investigations.

YWBU to complain based on not liking the diagnosis. They took you seriously and sent you for tests. See a different GP if you want a 2nd opinion but don't complain.

I’m not a hypochondriac btw! I’m an intelligent young professional, and otherwise very happy with my life.

insinuating that anxieties such as hypochondria are linked to not being intelligent, nice job being offensive with that comment

Yes, you would be unreasonable to complain.

If, in your very first appointment regarding the pain, the GP had dismissed it as an emotional thing and refused to send you for any investigations, then you would absolutely have the right to complain.

But that isn’t what’s happened here. They’ve sent you for pretty extensive investigations by your account, and as all have come back negative they must be rather baffled and are broaching other possibilities.

Some people do experience stress or emotion-linked pain, so the doctor wasn’t being at all unreasonable to raise that with you. You can’t complain about them doing their job properly and comprehensively - all you’ll achieve is getting yourself known as a ‘difficult patient’ (and that won’t help you when it comes to getting them to take you seriously in the future).

Regarding a referral, if you want one then get an appointment with another GP and push for one.

Sorry I didn’t mean to offend at all! I didn’t think that through. I guess I meant that I’m not prone to worrying about my health and don’t have any other major stresses or difficulties that might impact my wellbeing.

I would hold off on the complaint. Go to the private appointment, see what their prognosis is and take it from there.

It is a 'thing' that women are too often told their pain is down to stress/hormones/in the mind, but it's hard to argue that's the case when you don't yet know what's wrong.

Thank you for all your replies. I wasn’t sure about complaining (my sister is quite zealous about these things and it wouldn’t have naturally occurred to me to do so) so on balance of advice here, I won’t.

I’ll just focus on getting second opinion quickly. I think it might be something affecting my bowels because of constipation, pain with bowel movements etc but I’ll see what another doctor says.

My husband struggled for over three years with unexplained severe pain in his back and arms. He never found an answer to what was causing it but now manages it with various exercises, breathing techniques and mindfulness. It sounds woo but it works for him!

GPs are not specialists and once they've asked the obvious questions, they're not necessarily going to know how to keep going to find an answer. Having an idea of which avenues you think need exploring (eg kidneys, gynaecological issues etc) and pushing for a referral to relevant specialists is probably your best bet.

I also wouldn't rule out lifestyle changes or psychological issues -- the body and its relationship with the mind is weird, pain is weird, so you just don't know what might help. You could also look online for people suffering similar symptoms and see what worked for them (obviously exercising caution about following anonymous internet advice!)

Good luck, it sounds very hard.

Have they tested you for IBS and chron's disease?

@mauvaisereputation thanks. Luckily dh is great with running errands for me, taking on most of house running etc. Might try mindfulness as I suppose at least it won’t do any harm!

@firsttimemum30 GP said he didn’t think it was likely. I know they’ve done various blood tests so maybe those seemed not to indicate either of those.

Have they tested you for IBS
There isn’t a test for IBS, it’s a diagnosis of exclusion (I.e. you can only really diagnose it after you’ve tested for and ruled out other things)

For what it’s worth, if you’re going to spend money on seeing someone privately, I’d go and see a private gastroenterologist. A private GP is probably not going to be able to do any more than your own GP has already done.

I’m not sure there is anything to complain about- your GP has arranged several blood tests, urine tests and scans so I don’t think there is anything to complain about, it’s not like they’ve dismissed you without doing any investigations.

I often get the head tilt/you are very stressed type treatment that a man just wouldn't get.

Rubbish. My OH got this all the time when he had ongoing issues (pains, tiredness, aches, etc). Never took him seriously. It turned out to be cancer when a locum GP actually listened and took him seriously and ordered a more unusual blood test (paraprotein) which the normal GPs hadn't done despite the symptoms crying out what it could have been!

Same happened with my father who went numerous times almost weekly (after never going more than once every few years for decades), only to be fobbed off, until he collapsed and was blue lighted to hospital for an emergency operation that was just in time.

It's not a male/female thing - it's a crap GP thing.

A private GP is probably not going to be able to do any more than your own GP has already done.

They may well actually listen properly to what you have to say, try to understand your symptoms, etc., and think of something different.

Sorry I didn’t mean to offend at all! I didn’t think that through.

It's very clear that you weren't. Ignore the imbeciles that come on to peoples threads just to pick it apart for the sake of bitching.
They are pointless.

I would ask/go for a private referral to a gastro. A family member has taken this path at the moment as symptoms are impacting his health too much to wait for nhs and he is worried (seen a consultant and will have had tests and results within a week). It’s not cheap but if you can afford I’d without insurance, then do it. At least for the first consult (then they sometimes put you on their nhs list).
I find that GPs are good for ordering initial tests and referring on, but if it’s not immediately obvious what the problem is and they don’t refer on, then it’s an issue (and referrals don’t always get accepted).
I wouldn’t complain, but it seems you’ve come to the end of the road with the GP.

YABU to complain as you’ve had various investigations and I cannot see the grounds for complaint. Understand you might want to get another opinion but that’s different.

@Rabbitsandtennis , can you ask to be tested for presence of ovarian cysts? My sister had problems with discomfort, abdominal pain, constipation. But she also had a mass on the right side. I thought it might be an ovarian cyst, my mother thought it might be a grumbling appendix (3 appendectomies in the family). The mass was cancerous in her case, sadly. But benign ovarian cysts can cause problems. If they've been ruled out already, great. That's just my tuppence worth, and I hope I haven't alarmed you. Hope all goes well and you get a non-alarming answer.

Have you tried cutting out sugar/gluten/dairy/caffeine? You really are what you eat.

Not saying this is a solution, but it could drastically help. Speaking from experience.