My GP called me 'hysterical' over this

[youcanonlydraftthefuture]

I've been to my GP three times over the course of about 6 weeks.

What's happening is I'm getting these sores in my head (I stumble upon them when I'm doing my hair etc), but they're making me lose my hair.

It started off as a few small patches and now I have loads all over my head. The biggest area of baldness is about the size of a £2 coin.

The first time GP said eczema (I've never had that in my life, always had very soft skin etc). He gave me a cream. I returned two weeks later as I was losing more and more hair. He tried another cream in a huff and said I need to wait 6/8 weeks for it to work.

I went back today quite upset as I'm losing more and more patches and he told me "You are being hysterical. It's just eczema. And there's nothing you can do to treat hair loss anyway so it is what it is".

I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. This is a GP who was brilliant at getting my DH sorted for an emergency hospital appointment that he needed.

I was not 'hysterical', just feeling upset and explained as much.

I'm really started to feel a bit depressed about it. I'm losing hair and if feels like it isn't being taken seriously

AIBU to say I'm not hysterical?

Because @cuparfull, if we don’t challenge shite like this, we might as well just tattoo a big sign on our foreheads saying “doormat”. Hysteria doesn’t exist. A GP of all people should know that. It’s just a lazy term for an annoying woman who he wishes would go away and stop bothering him with “trivialities”, thereby leaving him to get on with MAN WORK! Knob.

Maybe speak to a pharmacist instead of booking 3 GP appoints in the course of 6 weeks!

Looks like lupus sores, not ringworm.

Also:
Hysteria doesn’t exist. A GP of all people should know that. It’s just a lazy term for an annoying woman who he wishes would go away and stop bothering him with “trivialities”, thereby leaving him to get on with MAN WORK! Knob.

THIS ^^

Complain in the most strenuous way possible about this unprofessional misogynist.

Nobody can say whether you were hysterical as we weren't there. It does look sore though and I can understand why you're upset.
I don't understand why people are saying that the doctor wouldn't have called a man hysterical. You have absolutely no way of knowing that.

Cuparful you think a grown woman should have to take along her husband when she visits the GP, just to be treated with the most basic level of respect, and that this is necessary to have her health concerns taken seriously?! And want to foist blame onto OP’s DH for not offering?!

Presumably OP’s DH though she would be offered a level of care that met the bare minimum standards, not unreasonably.

Any fool, let alone somebody who is supposedly trained in dealing with people in distress, would realise that a woman who is losing hair is likely to be distressed by it.

Yes, we all have bad days, but unfortunately if you are a dr you need the mental resilience to ensure you don’t revert back to the 1950s, and also still manage to diagnose correctly, and refer on if you can’t. If he ‘let himself down’ because he was stressed, why didn’t he phone her afterwards and apologise/revise his diagnosis or plan of action?

And if patients just take any old shitty treatment from drs, and never complain, because they are overworked (which they are, but then who isn’t these days?), how will they ever get the opportunity to reflect on their practise and improve?

RTFT, Angie, it’s explained by a few posters..

They look like lupus lesions. You need to see a dermatologist, GPs are not great at diagnosing lupus because it's pretty rare so they don't';t really see many cases of it.

Pomfluff I had the same experience. I was being treated for a number of apparently unrelated conditions that, it turned out, were all caused by lupus. I was lucky I had a GP who decided something wasn't right and sent me to see a consultant, who happened to be one of the country's few lupus experts otherwise i think I'd still be struggling along with all my weird ailments.

Psoriasis Might be.

They don’t refer for ezcema unless it’s becoming regularly infected or peeling. They’d get hundreds of thousands of referrals when OP could just take the advice and let it work. The language he used isn’t great but for many it’s a lifelong low level condition which they manage at home with creams and shampoos, and won’t go away immediately. A dermatologist would say the same.

I think eczema is fairly easy to see and is somewhat more straight forward - Mine looks or feels nothing like that or psoriasis.

I don't have itchy skin. I don't have any dryness or flakiness where the areas are.

They just randomly appear as fairly deep holes in my head that don't scab over, despite not touching them etc. And then my hair just falls out. The first one I had is gone now but the bald patch remains. It's as smooth as a baby's bum.

I don't think it's related to hair changes as I don't have greasy hair at all, it's normal like
Before. Don't think it would be menopause as I am only in my early twenties. Unlikely to be PCOS as no other symptoms, no bad skin, extra hairs or unusual menstrual cycle patterns.

It's interesting that someone mentions Lupus because I've been tested for that before (about 5 years ago). All the small problems I've had over the years have always pointed to it - Joint pain and inflammation, fatigue, butterfly rash across the face, persistent UTI's, blood in urine, etc etc

I had this it was folliculitis and was put on strong antibiotics , get a second opinion asap

Why are so many of these posts so aggressive? GP's are human too and by all accounts overworked due to lack of adequate staff

So are other people. So am I, but I can never treat people so dismissively because it would be the end of my job. I cannot imagine ever being able to call a customer 'hysterical' or 'stressed' without being dragged up for it.

In my experience and I have some truly shocking stories - I can tell you that the few occasions I've experienced direct racism or prejudicial stereotyping has been at the hands of NHS doctors and it has taken me by suprise every time- we have a huge problem with GPs and consultants feeling they are god ordained ministers on earth who do not need to explain, listen or do anything without you virtually begging. I understand many are not like that, but a fair number in my experience are. It's not a situation you see with other health professionals in different capacities and it's striking how different the behaviour is when you pay out of pocket.

And don't get me started on how women are dismissed so frequently. Women use GPs a lot more often because they are not taken seriously the first, 2nd or third time they present with symptoms.

And god help you if you also happen to have diagnosed Anxiety or depression or some other mental health illness. You become a victim of diagnostic overshadowing, where your genuine physical complaint becomes 'all in your mind' 'stress' 'anxiety'.

Might be a silly idea but my daughter gets these if she has head lice. Can that be ruled out?

So are other people. So am I, but I can never treat people so dismissively because it would be the end of my job. I cannot imagine ever being able to call a customer 'hysterical' or 'stressed' without being dragged up for it.

Well said. The NHS is amazing and I worry about its future under Boris....BUT some people seem to think that because it’s ‘free’ that we have to accept bad attitudes from some medical staff because they’re overworked. Like you say, so are others, but people wouldn’t put up with this treatment from shop workers or an accountant for example. If you’re at work you treat customers, clients or patients with respect. As a human being, you should be kind and helpful, but especially if you’re a doctor where you’re going to meet people who already feel poorly, vulnerable, apprehensive etc. It sounds like he’s in the wrong job if he doesn’t have any understanding of OPs feelings when she’s experiencing hair loss, an issue that would be upsetting for many people. In fact every woman I know, would be concerned if they had OPs symptoms. I wouldn’t say any of them are hysterical, they just have a normal level of concern for their own health and appearance.

OP, I would complain about this arsehole and see someone else. Who cares if he finds out. If he thinks you are rude for doing so (oh the irony) who cares. He wasn’t concerned with your feelings, so don’t concern yourself with his. Put your health and well-being first. I really hope you get it sorted, a good dermatologist will probably have a good idea what it is on sight but will test to get a definitive answer and to get you on the right treatment. You will get this sorted, you just need a sympathetic GP (which a good GP will be) as a starting point. Good luck.

Ezcema often does appear red like your photos. It’s not always itchy or flaky. If it’s inflamed it will be red, it may even weep. Is the cream working? That will give you an indication of whether it is ezcema.

YANBU to think the GP was completely inappropriate and unprofessional for calling you hysterical. However, I can’t help but think people diagnosing you based on a few photos online is really unhelpful. You’ve had several diagnoses from people who claim to be absolutely certain and I’d bet that most of them are in no way medically qualified to be making those statements. It’s totally fine to get a second opinion from another GP. Even if your GP is put out, it’s not your problem. He was unprofessional to you and you don’t have to put up with that. Good luck.

And 6/8 weeks is a daily standard treatment time for dermatological scalp conditions. If this were a condition like lupus, you would not respond, bloods would be taken and he may refer you then after ruling out fairly obvious and innocuous skin conditions. He has to rule out the simple options because jumping to the serious conditions. He is safeguarding the referrals for serious cases, and this may well be treated very easily with a topical steroid and some medicated shampoo if you give it the time it needs.

Evil No, cream hasn't made the slightest bit of difference. And it isn't red and inflamed, just small open wounds that then create a circular area of baldness around them before eventually fading but the baldness stays and new sores appear

Forgot to add that I've also been using a brown shampoo (can't remember the name) as prescribed by my GP also. Have used it as prescribed and hoping it'll help eventually but my goodness, it stings like absolute hell to wash my hair with it

I'd go back and see a different doctor, with a list of all the suggested conditions on here and ask them to rule them out. You might not get very far before trying the cream for 6 weeks though, but I understand you are worrying about how much hair you might lose in that amount of time. Calling you hysterical is not professional of him, I wouldn't see him again and perhaps complain!

Agree with everyone who says your GP is a twat OP, but just offering another idea (and sorry if I’ve missed someone saying it already) - I have a number of scalp issues including psoriasis but also get random sore spots around my hairline and under ears which are nothing like my psoriasis and possibly a bit like your sores only smaller. And I tried various creams which did nothing before trying sudocrem - which actually did work.

Maybe worth a try while waiting to see another GP?

It really does sound like lupus, especially in conjunction with your other symptoms. It would be a good idea to go to see a different GP and ask to be referred to see a consultant. It might not be that, but as the treatment you have been given isn't helping it seems like it's time to look for other explanations anyway.

And FWIW, I wouldn't go back to a GP who spoke to me like that. I'd have no faith in their ability to actually listen to what I was saying and take me seriously.

Sudocrem worked within a week or so for me btw.