Am I a GP frequent flyer?

[Oneofeachpleasetah]

Hi!

I frequently get psoriasis flare ups and they can get pretty nasty. every winter for the last few years I’ve had awful flare ups around my ear (amongst other places). In 2021 I had flare ups inside my ear canal and middle ear which became infected and required lots of different antibiotics to get rid of the infection before the psoriasis itself could even start to heal. Then last year was the exact same except around my ear instead and I basically had open abscesses for 6 weeks because we couldn’t get it under control with antibiotics but eventually it did and healed up. On the rest of my body I have patches but they’re generally not too awful but certain areas seem to always get infected (eg I had it rectally and that got infected nastily before too). You get the gist

as expected (unfortunately) it’s started again this year and it’s in patches around my ears (I’ll take and post some photos of it after I’ve posted this) and it’s also started to get quite deep at the crack in my ear now which is definitely infected again. I’ll post some photos below

i deal with normal flare ups with my treatment from dermatology but sometimes the patches get abscesses and infected and if it doesn’t heal that’s when I have to go to the GP

I know this is probably ridiculous (definitely!) but I feel so bad going to the GP about it. I’ve had 10+ appointments in the last 18 months because of awful flare ups with my psoriasis and also infections. You always hear about people being timewasters and frequent flyers- will they see me as that? I’m a complete over worrier so just worried I’m doing the wrong thing by going but equally I don’t know what else to do because I can’t manage it from home when the infection is this bad and the pharmacist recoiled when I showed it! I know realistically it’s what the GP is for but I still feel so bad about going because I’ve been so often.

I don’t really know what I’m even asking for, I think I’m just a bit tired and sore and stressing about nothing but I’m just so worried I’m a frequent flyer and there will be a black dot beside my name or something like that!

If you need to go to the GP then you need to go to the GP.

People with ongoing or chronic conditions will need more support than people with minor conditions.

I think the main focus for GPs is to stop over prescribing antibiotics and I know of a handful of people personally who go to the GP for every cough cold and sneeze and demand some antibiotics when they aren't likely to help as most infections are viral, and the over prescribing of antibiotics is making them much less effective treatments. It's those patients I would call frequent flyers, although they're just as entitled to health care as any one else and the GP should query health anxiety with them as it's just as important to look after mental health as it is physical health.

All these labels you're saying that as self depreciative are so backwards any way because we wouldn't have this issue in a properly funded and managed NHS and that's a government issue, not a you issue.

10+ times in 18 months is nothing. Your GP would rather see you than let you suffer.

There’s isn’t really such thing as a ‘black dot’ against your name. There is something called a high volume user in my area and if you were one you would be made aware of it and given extra support.

I’m a nurse myself and had a patient call the GP right in front of me when I was administering medications and the receptionist recognised her by the sound of her voice (and told her to speak to me about her question not her haha). The patient did the same thing throughout the shift and kept asking for appointments whilst being in hospital and me telling her multiple times I can answer her questions. She had her own additional needs but that’s an example of the ‘frequent flyer’ patients that you hear about. An appointment once a month is nothing.

No, you have a condition that requires more frequent appointments to treat. You're using the GP appropriately and not wasting anyone's time

If you need the GP there's nothing wrong with that. That's why they're there

Your Situation is one of the intended purposes of primary care.. To stop Illnesses and chronic conditions from progressing and avoid hospital admissions. They are also there to manage long term health conditions and improve quality of life.

Please don't worry OP, a GP would gladly see you, it's nice when you can actually help somebody feel better.

Hope you're on the mend soon.

Just realised I completely forgot to send the photo! It’s probably not showing up clearly but it’s all red and infected in parts hence the yellowness.

Thanks for the reassurances. I had just worried myself for no reason at all that I would call and they would be like omg not her again, lol. I was imagining my name to have a big sticker saying ‘do not give any more appointments!’ lol x

Not At All!

Your GP practice is there to help you, and you need to be seen
Please don't worry, and PLEASE DONT avoid going to GP when you need to

A woman at my church took her 10 year old son 4 days in a row with a throat infection. And was told 4 days in a row by 3 different GPs and a nurse practitioner, it's viral, it will clear up on its own
Then went to the hospital on Sat morning (multiple Facebook posts about the wait, it's a joke, poor kid in agony)

And this is common for her with her children

You're far from being a time waster, frequent flier, heart sink patient

Has your doctor ever prescribed Cosentyx? I have two friends with really bad psoriasis and they both have had good luck with that treatment. Plus Cyndi Lauper. 🙂

GP here - you're not a frequent flyer! Sounds completely appropriate attendance to me. Hope it clears up soon!

OP 10 times in the last 18 months?
Let me put this record to shame. I’ve probably seen the GP along 12-15 times since August.

if you need a doctor, you need a doctor.

P.S. I have several chronic conditions, a few are autoimmune, so I’m not there for the sniffles.

Understandable you’d be having loads of stress OP and I hope you feel better soon.

I am a frequent flyer at the GP and hospital. It’s not ideal but if you can focus your visits on the former that’s the best plan. It’s really not your fault and I’m actually formally requested to go to my GP at certain time intervals and go to hospital if things deteriorate.

Feel better soon.

A frequent flyer is usually the ‘worried well’ who attend the GP with ranges of vague symptoms that worry them, repeatedly, and for minor issues like mild viral coughs and colds. There is also a group of people who are probably lonely, and attend a lot for reassurance and company or have social issues and there is now social prescribing services to help them. I have also had to deal with patients who book a GP appt, then a nurse appt, then demand the nurse gets the GP so they get double whammy GP consults and know the system. We do try to tackle those if it’s persistent and unnecessary but I am talking people who try to book appointments multiple times a week and it’s a small handful and wouldn’t include you

People who have infections or long term chronic conditions need to be seen.

You're not wasting their time at all, you have a real reason as to why you are going!

The biggest time wasters are the people who book appointments then no show.

Exactly

Don't get me started on no shows!!

I've probably had that amount of appointments in the last 12 months, last was the week before last and I'm about to make another today.

I have a chronic condition and my infusion treatment gives me endless infections. I'm immunosuppressied, so it's dangerous.

The last couple of times I've seen the Nurse Practitioner (she's brilliant) and said to her, "I've lived in here this year". She simply said "that's because your treatment is brutal and you need treatment, it's what we are here for".

I know what you mean though.

I would say you're a 'frequent flyer' because you average an appointment every couple of months, but I used to work in ICU and the term was used neutrally. It's just a shorthand for 'we've got to know this patient'.

You are using your GP services completely appropriately. The only thing I would wonder, is if you're leaving it a bit too long before you seek help from your GP? Your ear looks so very sore and if you didn't have psoriasis, I think you would have been at the GP within hours. I know I would have been!

I would say you make an appointment fairly frequently.
However, it also sounds like they are required appointments, and absolutely not wasting anyone's time.

Well you could ignore it and end up in hospital with sepsis....but I don't think that would save the NHS any money!

If you have a condition where early intervention is the best strategy then going to the GP is something that has to be done.

If you were going for a different issue every month (and they were things that could be managed at home) you might have reason to worry.

If you feel bad perhaps raise it yourself. I realise I keep ending up here, should I be referred to dermatology (again?) to try and manage it better?

Absolutely not unreasonable psoriasis infections can be extreme go every time!

Does anyone know how often an adult visits the GP on average? I worry about going too often, although I go very infrequently. I didn't go for over 5 years then I was there twice within a couple of months for completely different things and I was made to feel I was just there for attention.

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/four-in-ten-consultations-at-gp-clinics-were-with-frequent-attenders/#:~:text=In%202018%2F19%20there%20was,using%20a%20variety%20of%20means.

Here you go, @Landaf

Thank you @Lougle

Please don't feel bad, you have a completely valid and necessary reason to see the GP. Remember our skin is our biggest organ so it's important to take care of it.

I would say you're a 'frequent flyer' because you average an appointment every couple of months, but I used to work in ICU and the term was used neutrally. It's just a shorthand for 'we've got to know this patient'.

This. I work in a hospital and we use the term but never negatively. Usually if we hear that one of our regular patients is in A&E awaiting a bed we'll contact Bed Management to let them know that they're a frequent flyer of ours, meaning we'd like them to come to our ward because we know them and their background well and it's a familiar setting for them.

Definitely not a frequent flyer and it’s so frustrating to hear somebody with a genuine need for primary care support feeling as if they are a burden.
I dream of the day when those who misuse and abuse primary and emergency care have some sort of restrictions placed on them. But it will never happen.

Hope you feel better soon.