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?

@ChardonnaysDistantCousin
I have RTFT. I just disagree. Our is that not allowed?

Of course it’s allowed to disagree.

The way you phrased your post was different, you said you didn’t understand, not that you disagreed.

Fair enough. I've just re read it and I see what you mean. Apologies

Nice bedside manner 😒 not . Is he Doc Martin ?

OP - lupus is actually hard to diagnose sometimes. Sounds like you’re ticking quite a few boxes, and might be having an active flare up. I would ask for another blood test urgently and request a referral to a rheumatologist. With a lot of lupus patients, unless they’re in a really active phase they test negative.

With a lot of lupus patients, unless they’re in a really active phase they test negative.

I never knew this. Interesting because I've been tested twice, negative each time even though feel like shit with unexplained symptoms.

Looks like psoriasis to me. Do you have it on your skin anywhere else? I'd definitely get a second opinion as it can be a bugger to shift and different things work for different people.

I don’t think you’ll shift it with sudocrem or anything like that. You definitely need stronger stuff. With mine I take photos before each wash so that I am able to see progress because when the hair is falling out it’s difficult to see any silver lining.

Also, it’s caused by scalp oils but you may not have greasy hair as such. When I was a teen, I washed it every day. I had none of this scalp nonsense. Now I’m an adult with kids and it’s every other day, the hair itself looks fine but my scalp obviously needs the daily wash. My hair is growing back slowly, it goes in cycles and winter is always worse. I have no visable dandruff either.

I’d give the cream another day as it does work quickly, but how long have you been on the shampoos? They do take some time to work and lose effectiveness so I alternate. I’d give that another 2 weeks and then look at other diagnosis. I know it’s shit, I know the way he spoke to you is shit, but until you can say - I’ve done everything you’ve advised and it doesn’t work, will they look at something else. If you dont give it time to work, they’ll just say give it more time and send you off again. My mum has lupus (and those sores aren’t limited to her head), but maybe make a seperate appointment about those symptoms too, to combat it from both angles.

@SaskiaRembrandt Oh that's fortunate to hear! I agree that even though it's "rare", it's common enough that GPs should consider it as a potential diagnosis. Lupus also affects 90% women vs 10% men, and female symptoms are so easily dismissed as hysteria or stress.

To the PP, yes lupus can easily come up as negative depending on disease activity or the kind of blood test ordered. The most accurate one is ANA (anti nuclear antibody) panel which looks at the concentration and pattern of antibodies that most people do not have.

Some doctors assume that lupus always causes inflammation so they look at more common markers like ESR and CRP, usually included in a standard blood panel. I always tested negative for these, even during period of active disease.

Pomfluff I think the problem is GPs so rarely see a case that it doesn't occur to them it could be lupus. My own GP had been practising for over 20 years but never had a patient with the condition. I always have to explain it when I encounter a new doctor. And one of the practice nurses had a terrible problem understanding why I was taking anti-malarials but had never had malaria - she insisted I must be wrong about that. I wish.

Oddly, opticians seem to be very clued up, no idea why.

It looks exactly like my friends scalp, she has lupus, as others have said, you need to be tested.
The GP sounds like an arse, I have a chronic illness and have met some wankers over the years, the one who dismissed my asthma attack as anxiety, or another who decided it was agoraphobia for example.
I'd had a diagnosis of brittle asthma for years at both times, they didnt even check my notes.

I kept getting told my itchy red raw scalp was just dandruff.
Turns out I’m allergic to Methylisothiazolinone (MI) which is used as a preservative in shampoo, make up, conditioner, dishwashing liquid, glue, paint etc and had really bad contact dermatitis on my scalp.

Some doctors assume that lupus always causes inflammation so they look at more common markers like ESR and CRP, usually included in a standard blood panel

This is literally what keeps happening to me. I present with symptoms but each doctor does CRP and ESR which constantly comes back negative so I seem like a hysterical hypochondriac. Very interesting.

My DH had a small biopsy to diagnose discoid lupus. Luckily his is only cutaneous.

youcanonlydraftthefuture
Did you get a second opinion ?
I hope you are now on medication that is working for you.