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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Angry I can't get an appointment with Gp. Pic of mole

49 replies

ontheup23 · 26/09/2023 18:23

Hey I have awful health anxiety after several really important things were missed with me in the last 7 years. I have had sepsis three times and was dismissed all three times. Needed surgery when I was told I had wind.... a belly full of blood.

I had a mole removed 5 years ago from my back and I had histology done on it too, privately.

A new mole which was literally a tiny spec 3 months ago has grown on the same size of my back approx 3 inches below.

In the last three months it's grown from like a pin prick to this.

I have asked for an appointment at GP to be told there are none left. Ring back end of month when they release the next batch of appointments.

E consult repeatedly down and not able to use it outside of doctors hours, being suspended due to too many requests.. you get the jist

Should I walk in tomorrow and ask for an urgent appointment for this? I have lost a tonne of weight and I have a low appetite but I am also depressed and I will own that.

Please any opinions on this, is it urgent?

I can't really afford to go and have this done privately again and also spend a whole day going to London, I would want histology if it was removed and I know that they would err on the side of caution and remove it anyway.

I opted to have the previous one bladed off and then cauterised but I did have histology, they said if it came back abnormal they would cut more out to be extra safe

Cancer runs in my family and I have young children, please can you put my mind at ease or give me the reassurance Ianbu to say this is fucking urgent

Angry I can't get an appointment with Gp. Pic of mole

OP posts:

ManateeFair · 27/09/2023 13:04

ontheup23 · 26/09/2023 18:28

Sorry I read this and I wasn't clear in my post

It was normal completely normal
But it was like a juicy nearly black one that just got blacker over the years and much much more slowly
I had it since I could remember as a child and then I had it removed age 26 for reference

It's good to get a mole checked out, but given that it's still very small and your previous mole wasn't cancerous anyway, I don't think this is an 'urgent' matter for the GP. You were told to ring back at the end of the month. That's only three days away.

Even if your mole does turn out to be cancerous, it will almost certainly be extremely easy to treat and would require nothing but a very minor op to remove it. So yes, get it looked at, but you honestly don't need to get it looked at immediately. Ring them back in a couple of days as they suggested and you'll get it seen in the next couple of weeks, which is absolutely fine.

Original poster

ontheup23 · 27/09/2023 18:04

PosterBoy · 27/09/2023 12:36

It's unclear what is happening when you phone at 8am every day to get the appointment. Do they run out every day before you are able to get through? Can you go in person at 8am?
I sometimes miss an appointment for even 2 days doing the 8am call thing but eventually get one. Top tip is to press ring 5 seconds before 8am.

Every day they have urgent appointments and I didn't try to get one of those because it's not a matter that is making me sick or the symptoms that they say qualify for an urgent appointment

Then the pre book, non urgent ones have already been taken the last two months I've tried

I'm going to call back in a few days I feel so soothed by everyone's replies xxx

OP posts:

PosterBoy · 27/09/2023 18:25

Your GP must be different to mine. Melanoma is fatal if left untreated. They wouldn't consider that to be non-urgent. Not that I am saying that actually looks like melanoma!

It wouldn't matter at mine anyway.Take a look at a different GP surgery to move to after this. We just have two types of appointments - on the day and one pre-bookeable. There isn't any difference between the two appointments at the GP - just one you want on the day or one you are happy to book in advance.

littlebumblebee1 · 27/09/2023 20:25

I'm covered in these and have been for years. I don't think it's anything to worry about at all.

Heronwatcher · 27/09/2023 20:29

If you’re that worried I agree phone at 8 on the dot (keep trying if it’s engaged) and ask for an urgent appointment that day, just say you don’t feel comfortable explaining what it’s for to the receptionist but that it’s definitely urgent. If they offer a telephone appointment take it- they might ask you to send a photo and then they’ll call you in I suspect.

Soontobe60 · 27/09/2023 20:30

ontheup23 · 26/09/2023 18:32

@Aria2015 I don't know if my local pharmacy does that but I know the pharmacist well, I could go and see him tomorrow as he is closed now

Do you remember the name of the app?

I am really panicking as I just looked up the symptoms 🥹🥹 or the signs and I basically have all except the size but it was non existent the year before

I never really go in the sun and I am not sure how it grew I don't know if they grow in the sun or of their own accord

So worried and upset that I can't even submit a photo to my GP online, it's wrong!! They are awful, I have requested to join a surgery out of my area that accepts patients from a distance and they are highly rated, excellent intact. I really hope they say yes, I will find out by the end of next week.

My assigned Gp I haven't even ever met she's never ever available and always working at a&e when I have been there with my kids , meanwhile she is a partner at the practice and her grossly over inflated salary is on their website for all and sundry to see. She is not there full time and when I ask to see her I'm told she works from home.
Disgusting

Her salary will be the full time equivalent. My GPS WFH at times when they’re doing phone consultations. How many times have you asked to see her? How many times have you been to A+E? Next month is actually only 3 working days away.
Luckily the last mole you had removed was benign, so why are you so worried about this one?

spanishviola · 27/09/2023 20:34

A suspicious mole isn’t a non urgent appointment. Ring tomorrow and ask for an emergency appointment and say you are worried it is skin cancer. You need to insist on an appointment or a means of sending in your photo to the gp. Mine send you a link to your phone where you can upload a photo.

MumUndone · 27/09/2023 20:37

MondayBags678 · 26/09/2023 18:54

Hi this looks like a sebhorric keratosis have you heard of them? I have tons they run in my family I’ve had several checked and some removed but all came back ok and removed ones were more because of rubbing and catching on stuff
they change colour and some have fallen off and gone from a one to flat! Some are multi coloured and some have gone darker/ or lighter
perhaps google them to get an idea if that’s what you’re could be
still get checked but not panic just yet

I agree with this.

StillWantingADog · 27/09/2023 20:41

Well “urgent” in our practice is anything that can’t wait for weeks/ indefinitely eg a review of my thyroid medication that I get about once a year. So in my eyes something like this is “urgent”. Just say “I have a growing mole that I want to check isn’t skin cancer”.

ShoesoftheWorld · 27/09/2023 20:41

Ozziedream · 26/09/2023 18:49

(@UpaladderwatchingTV as a side question : on what basis could the gp determine that a bleeding mole that had changed shape and colour was nothing to worry about without testing it? I’m not trying to worry you but your post worries me (having had an extensive family history of skin cancer and annual visits to my hospital Derm dept as I’m so high risk). Apologies again but I do feel I needed to say something having read that. Feel free to ignore as I’m not medical, just a concerned bystander!

I was thinking the same tbh (I have had several moles removed, all ultimately benign but one very dysplastic that needed quite extensive histology to get the all-clear). I'd be getting a second opinion IIWY.

GlitteryFarts · 27/09/2023 20:50

Do you have a boots near you op? They offer a mile scanning service in some branches. It takes a week for the report to come through and costs £35 but may put your mind at rest.

GlitteryFarts · 27/09/2023 20:50

Mole scanning. Not mile sorry.

Efficaciou5 · 27/09/2023 21:13

I'm not qualified to comment on your mole OP, but that thumbnail on the third picture is disgusting.

EltonJohnsSunglasses · 27/09/2023 22:13

Efficaciou5 · 27/09/2023 21:13

I'm not qualified to comment on your mole OP, but that thumbnail on the third picture is disgusting.

Not sure that's an entirely helpful contribution to the OP's thread....

FrogtheDog · 27/09/2023 22:25

I was also going to suggest Boots for the mole scanning service

Supersimkin2 · 27/09/2023 22:27

💐 OP, they’re scary. Cheer up - my GP shrieked ‘it’s cancer’ for mine but a week later another, calm GP pointed out it was a wart.

Either way, they don’t grow fast enough to get dangerous in the time you’ll need to attend a non-urgent appt.

Email them a pic. Good luck. Get another GP.

Aria2015 · 28/09/2023 09:17

@ontheup23 the app is called Skin Vision. It's also good because you can track miles. Take photos and have evidence of growth etc...

Lily124 · 28/09/2023 10:06

Submit an E-consult as soon as they open (usually 8am) and attach the photo. The E-consults at ours often close around 10am when they got full but if you do it first thing you should be fine

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 28/09/2023 10:18

I'd try and find a pharmacy that will check moles - if they say you need to see a GP you may find you get a quicker appointment.

Apart from that, can you actually visit your GP surgery and talk to the receptionist? Might be easier if you're talking to someone face to face.

Heidi1976 · 28/09/2023 10:35

The black dots on that are very in keeping with a seborrhoeic keratosis. I have multiple, and HUNDREDS of moles, many of which are atypical. I wouldn't panic too much - if you are panicking though you can self refer to a derm if you are willing to pay.

Bramshott · 28/09/2023 10:40

Can you not do an e-consult first thing when they open? If you attach that pic and explain your concerns they will likely book you in for an appointment fairly soon (not because your mole looks terrible, but because any change in a mole is worth checking out, as you know). Like PP, at my surgery the e-consults open at 8am and close once they've reached capacity - usually before midday. Midweek they fill up less fast.

Original poster

ontheup23 · 28/09/2023 15:07

Hi all
I finally managed to get an e consult in

I'll keep you all posted

Thank you so much for the reassurance

OP posts:

GladioliandSweetPeas · 28/09/2023 18:25

Efficaciou5 · 27/09/2023 21:13

I'm not qualified to comment on your mole OP, but that thumbnail on the third picture is disgusting.

That looks like it could be her husband's hand.....:

Mrsworried1 · 12/03/2024 16:50

Hi did you find out what this was? Hope you’re ok x

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