Would I be unreasonable to contact the DRs again?

[Mangopassionfruitpineapple]

Please give me your honest opinions, I feel like I need some outside perspective about whether or not I’m being unreasonable!

I’ve had an ongoing skin infection for the last 6 months or so and have been treated by my GP practice with various creams and antibiotics. At first I was told it was eczema so I followed the advice however it kept spreading! I know the doctors are very busy so I didn’t want to pester them but after a few months I got in contact and asked for advice because by this stage it had spread to various other parts of my skin. I was given a face to face appointment and swabs were taken and it turned out to be a staph infection rather than eczema (I’ve never had any skin complains before this). I was given antibiotics to clear it up a few months ago but nothing seems to be helping. Since then, I’ve phoned several times and I keep getting different prescriptions (either the same antibiotic with a higher dose, or a different antibiotic altogether) however it’s still not clearing it up I’m at the point where I can’t brush my hair without lifting off scabs and leaving weeping wounds on my scalp, it’s awful. I don’t want to phone the doctors again in case I’m being annoying or in case they are sick of hearing from me. Every time I’ve called they’ve been very helpful and I’ve never waited too long for an appointment, but I’ve not been able to speak to a doctor about it, it’s always been someone else who is able to prescribe (a nurse I think?) I never usually mind whether I see a nurse or a doctor because both are much more knowledgable than me!

So I guess I have 3 questions, has anyone had anything like this before? It’s like an ongoing impetigo-type infection that just won’t seem to shift. The antibiotics have helped some areas but the worst affected parts haven’t changed at all.
Would I be unreasonable to phone back again and ask to speak to someone else, or possibly a doctor this time? The nurse who has dealt with my prescriptions the last few times has always been nice but the last couple of times I’ve phoned back i got the impression she was a bit fed up of me (understandable given I’ve phoned the practice about 5/ 6 times with this). I think they think I’m not taking the antibiotics properly but I make sure to.

I’ve just finished my most recent course of antibiotics and getting better for a few days, my skin is back to the same way it was before. I don’t want to phone up and be that annoying patient but I’m getting concerned about this now and it’s extremely embarrassing. I know I probably sound ridiculous because obviously if you’re unwell then you should contact the doctor but I’m so worried about them talking about how annoying I am, or thinking I’m a pest. The last couple of times I’ve called, I just feel like I’m not really being taken seriously. I know it’s just a skin infection which is extremely minor on the scale of important medical issues, but it’s really affecting me now

Sorry for such a long post, I wouldn’t usually post stuff like this but I’m at my wits end with this! If anyone has any experience with anything similar I’d be really grateful as well.

Please call your dr and get sorted. Do you really think it'd be better to leave it and for it to get to a worst stage and then you need even more medical help/time?

If it helps, think of it as getting sorted now so not to take up more of their time later.

Hope you get it sorted

You poor thing, that sounds totally miserable. Please do speak to a Dr, I hope things improve for you soon

Yes contact GP again. This needs sorting

I would call and insist on seeing a doctor. Explain that you have been seen by the nurse practitioner several times to no avail and you believe you may need referral to a dermatologist.

They shouldn't just keep changing antibiotics without testing to see what bug is involved and what it's sensitive to - that is really bad practice and encourages resistant bacteria. Skin infections can take a couple of weeks to clear. But if it hasn't gone away after months, there are 2 possibilities: either the bacteria are resistant to the drugs, which they need to check by doing more swabs, or more likely, there is some underlying reason that your immune system is struggling to shake this off. Such as a hormone imbalance, nutritional deficiency, auto immune disease etc. I would insist on a face to face appointment with a GP at this stage and maybe ask for a referral as it sounds like they don't really know what they are doing.

Thanks so much everyone for the help, I’ll definitely get in contact with the DRs again. It’s just with everything going on and how busy doctors are, I felt really guilty constantly calling and harassing them for a minor thing like this (compared to much more serious medical issues) but I am so fed up of this now. I was also worried that they would all be talking about me and how annoying I am! A few years ago my parents would have been the ones dealing with this, but I’m an adult now so I need to grow a backbone and insist on being taken seriously.

Does anyone know if doctors and nurse actually judge patients like me as being really annoying? Or do they not really think that about patients?

A referral to dermatology was mentioned as a possibility so the nurse went and spoke to someone else at the practice to ask their advice and they recommended a stronger dose of the antibiotics I was on at that point instead of a referral.

It’s so weird, for the first few days after the antibiotics my skin will clear up again, then it comes back again in patches and goes back to the infected way.

Thanks again for all the help, I think I just needed to know I wasn’t being ridiculous by contacting them again

@SnackSizeRaisin

They shouldn't just keep changing antibiotics without testing to see what bug is involved and what it's sensitive to - that is really bad practice and encourages resistant bacteria. Skin infections can take a couple of weeks to clear. But if it hasn't gone away after months, there are 2 possibilities: either the bacteria are resistant to the drugs, which they need to check by doing more swabs, or more likely, there is some underlying reason that your immune system is struggling to shake this off. Such as a hormone imbalance, nutritional deficiency, auto immune disease etc. I would insist on a face to face appointment with a GP at this stage and maybe ask for a referral as it sounds like they don't really know what they are doing.

Thank you for the advice! yeah they took swabs a couple of months ago and they said the staph strain they found in my sample is resistant to penicillin but it hasn’t been swabbed since so I’m going to ask for it to be redone to check it’s still the same infection. I’ve had a few different types of steroid creams, and I’ve had 2 different oral antibiotics at a couple of different doses each but this infection seems to want to stay

I’m usually healthy although I’ve been to my GP a few times, and then the hospital outpatients clinic aswell, because I was unwell after eating anything. They took bloods but didn’t find anything and said it was IBS and now it comes in waves, sometimes I can eat anything I want and othertimes I’ll be unwell for weeks after eating something random like an apple. I also had to visit A&E a few years ago after having some kind of a reaction where my face tripled in size and I had blotches etc but they said it was a random one time thing rather than an allergy.

I think that’s why I was so worried about contacting the doctors too many times because I had been a few times before with that stuff. Sorry I didn’t mean to drip feed all that, I should have put it in my original message

If you request appointments by email:

Dear Dr

I have been suffering now for nearly 6 months. Here's a current picture. For two months it was treated as eczema to no avail. Subsequently I have had x no courses of antibiotics:
AB1 and dose and no of days
AB2 and dose and no of days
AB3 and dose and no of days
AB4 and dose and no of days

X nurse has been very helpful but as there has been no improvement I shall be grateful if this matter can now be escalated to a GP with an interest in skin conditions, and I would very much welcome a video consultation and further advice if possible. Alternatively I would like a referral to a constant dermatologist please because this is now affecting me greatly and I have been very patient.

I look forward to hearing from you

Our dad had this... endless cortisone creams etc but this 'eczema' kept spreading.
It eventually turned to blisters and so dad had to go to the doctors regularly to get his wounds dressed.
Eventually, the gp acknowledged that there was no more that he could do so he was sent to hospital where he was eventually diagnosed with an immune deficiency. He was eventually given a drug regime that was compatible with his immune system and it cleared.
Took a while.

IBS should not be diagnosed without a colonoscopy to rule out all other possible causes. That's very poor practice if they've guessed at IBS without proper investigation. It can only be diagnosed by excluding everything else first! Autoimmune diseases like ulcerative colitis can cause skin issues.

Your medical problem has not been successfully treated. If you don't tell them, they won't know and won't be able to treat you. They will assume the treatment worked if you don't go back.

You really need to get this idea of being annoying for seeking medical care out of your head. The purpose of their jobs is to get you sorted. You're not asking for a special favour. It's like feeling guilty for wanting to buy petrol from a petrol station.

Does anyone know if doctors and nurse actually judge patients like me as being really annoying? Or do they not really think that about patients?

They won't judge you for being ill. Ill people are the reason they have jobs and get paid - they deal with them all day! You may come up against a jobsworth type who likes to make life awkward but that is them not you. Be polite, friendly and communicate clearly what you want, and that will make it easier for them to help you.

Insist on a referral to a dermatologist. This has been ongoing for too long. My doctor is really mean with antibiotics and I understand why. It’s causing you discomfort so no you’re not being unreasonable at all to want the correct treatment.

Thanks so much for the help everyone!

Yeah I definitely need to get back in touch. I just felt so awkward because I had been to the doctors a few times in the last couple of years about IBS and now this and I felt like they were going to be like oh no not her again! the nurse I spoke to was lovely but I feel like she’s been a bit dismissive and a few times she’s said that people with eczema do need to live with this to an extent and I can’t keep getting more and more antibiotics, but I don’t have eczema, that’s what it was incorrectly diagnosed as before they took the swabs and found out it was an infection

I’m definitely going to ask to have my immune system checked after reading a few comments on here about that. I went to the hospital for feeling unwell (stomach cramps and pain and having to run to the bathroom after eating anything) and they took a sample and did some blood tests but they didn’t find any intolerances or inflammation so they just put it down to IBS. Does anyone know if this means my immune system is ok or would that be a desperate check? They mentioned doing an endoscopy (I think) but they said that was an invasive procedure for what is probably just simple IBS so I was definitely put off it. Not to drip feed (sorry, didn’t appreciate all this could be relevant) but I’ve actually been to the doctors a few times about my periods because they’re basically non existent as well. I’m lucky if it comes every 3 months and even then it lasts barely 4/5 days. They said it will regulate as I get older but I’m in my early 20s now so I definitely feel like it should have regulated by now. I’m wondering if maybe all this is related and possibly a reason my body isn’t shifting the impetigo?

Anyway, thanks so much again for all the advice, I’m going to take all of it onboard and insist on being retested/referred to someone else.

Just going to be honest, your GP surgery really aren’t holding a grudge from a couple years ago. No need to be anxious, they don’t remember you. The same people may not even work there now.

When you call for an appointment, say the reason is personal. They won’t immediately place you with the nurse/prescriber then.

It’s not a mild problem & there’s nothing wrong with calling your GP back if the prescription doesn’t work, that’s what you’re supposed to do. Hopefully you feel more confident when you get in touch as you’re doing the right thing

Also not to be nasty but your posts are too long, you’d get better advice if you condense

Absolutely go back, I work in a GP surgery and we would never judge you. But please don’t do the ‘I want to see an actual doctor’ thing because nurse practitioners are fab, and can prescribe & refer exactly the same as a GP.

@MadisonMontgomery

Absolutely go back, I work in a GP surgery and we would never judge you. But please don’t do the ‘I want to see an actual doctor’ thing because nurse practitioners are fab, and can prescribe & refer exactly the same as a GP.

Hi! Oh no I hope I didn’t come across like that, I would never say that- I don’t mind who I see I’d just rather not the same nurse as last time because she was a bit dismissive. I honestly don’t care if it’s a doctor or a nurse, just anyone at this point!

@flakymate

Also not to be nasty but your posts are too long, you’d get better advice if you condense

Thanks for the heads up! Need to work on my condensing skills

They have treatment pathways so have to try antibiotics and stuff so that if they refer you they know they have tried all the possible treatments. It is annoying. Its similar for acne. But don't feel awkward about going back. Skin conditions can be easily dismissed but they can have a bit affect on a person's life.

Your posts are fine, you're quite rightly ranting at ongoing issues that are not being investigated properly.

Hi,

Just thought I’d post an update in case anyone was still interested

I called and got some new antibiotics- they wanted to give me a course of the same ones but I said I’d rather not because they clearly aren’t working so we changed the type and my skin/ ears healed up pretty much overnight! I also managed to get an appointment and had some blood tests taken. I’m not actually sure what they tested for, but it all came back clear apart from one of my levels (potassium) which came back lower than it should be so I was given potassium tablets to take for a few days. Still not sure what caused the infection/other issues but as the rest of my bloods came back satisfactory they said it’s fine. I was given a routine referral to dermatology for eczema but I’ve never had eczema before this infection so I’m not even sure I have it.

I don’t know why the infection took so long to clear up and why I didn’t fight it off myself but everything else was satisfactory so they said there’s no reason to think anything is wrong.

Unfortunately though I noticed today my ear has started going the exact same way as before! Red, crusty, and open wet wounds I’m not sure if it’s infected with staph aureus again or maybe it’s just sore skin but it’s gone the same way as when it was infected before so I’ve got a bad feeling about it. Honestly why is this bacteria so hard to get rid of!!?? I’ll have to contact the doctors again but I’m so disappointed, I thought the last course of antibiotics had finally got rid of it.

Ah well, sorry for the long message and thanks again everyone for the help. Just thought I’d update on what’s been happening with it x

I know it feels awkward but I think you need to ask for another appointment. Explain that the abx worked initially but the infection has returned and you would like a referral. When my DD3 had an antibiotic infection they took a swab post abx (to check the infection had gone) so maybe you could suggest this too.

Don’t worry about calling lots, you have to advocate for yourself and this is affecting your quality of life. If I am struggling with being assertive I write down bullet points first and imagine (to myself) I am talking about someone else who needs help on the call.

Have any anti-fungals been prescribed? Just wondering if there is a fungal infection at play as well as the staph infection.

You poor thing, it all sounds horrid. I hope you get help soon.

I’d be asking for a dermatology referral at this stage. GPS are great but you need someone for whom skin is their speciality.

Six months!!! YADNBU to contact doctors! You could become very, very ill!!! Your risk of sepsis is very high!!!

Ask to be referred to a dermatologist. Get another prescription too. Don't worry about annoying the gp surgery, you have a condition that isn't clearing up and need to keep them informed,