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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To feel angry about the treatment i received from a locum doctor today.

14 replies

lucyellensmum · 04/04/2008 18:18

My doctor is on maternity leave, i am on citalopram for anxiety and depression. On the whole i am managing quite well and feeling ok (especially now the nice weather is on its way ). But i am getting horrendous PMT, so much so that im scared i'm going to hurt myself. It is such a strong almost physical sensation of terribleness that i can;t explain it. Its the most severe symptoms i have suffered with so far. I made a doctors appointment thinking, i need to get some help. (ive pasted the next bit from my other thread)

Well the doctor was AWFUL (a locum, my doc on maternity leave) i am so . I arrived late (and yes, i hate that too!) but dd did a poo just as we were leaving and as i usually have to wait AGES in the doctors i thought i would change her. Well the first thing she said was, after i apologised for being late "well you are 7 minutes late we don't have much time" NOT a good start then. So i explained that i wanted a repeat prescription for citalopram, but that i have been having really bad PMT to the point where i am suicidal. She just said, well citalopram treats PMT just up your dose (cant do that, on highest dose for me 40mg). So she said, i will just have to try herbal remedies, no recommendation though. THEN she asked me how long i had been on the tablets - i said nearly a year. Her reply was "well you really should start to take responsibility for yourself and not rely on tablets you cant stay on them for ever you know" I was almost too gobsmacked to speak. This is the response i get to telling someone i am suicidal . I just said, well i was given counselling but it wasnt enough - she said i should go private - um, i thought, have you actually read my notes. So i felt ok this morning, now im seething angry - condescending cow obviously had me weighed up as lazy, ignorant scrounger the minute i walked through the door in my scruffy gardening clothes!

I have now spent the whole day feeling bad, i felt OK this morning before i went to see her. I KNOW i cant be on the pills forever, i most certainly dont want to be, but i know myself and i know im not ready to come off of the tablets without further therapy - i have asked on more than one occasion for CBT but been told i cant get it on NHS. Right now i am fighting the urge to cut my hair, i dont know why, but just because i wonder if my greasy locks make people think badly of me? I am so angry with this woman, i did manage to dig over my veggie patch in record time . But what do i need to do to get help? Before when my doctor was around i knew i would have someone who, without being over sympathetic, would understand and offer help - she actually was suggesting further treatment but then she went and had her baby. She told me her locum was really nice - well i guess she is just choosy. The thing is, she wasnt nasty, all these things were said behind a false smile. She just made me feel useless all over again.

OP posts:
MrsMattie · 04/04/2008 18:24

Write a calm, level headed letter of complaint to the practice manager. Can you see another doctor at your practice in the meantime? Or change doctors? If things are that bad approaching your period you need help, not to be fobbed off.

JodieG1 · 04/04/2008 18:26

I think you were treated terribly and are feeling rightfully awful about it.

Are there any other doctors you could go back to see instead? I'm so sorry she treated you with such a lack of respect especially with you feeling suicidal. I'm amazed at her attitude.

I hope that what happened doesn't make you feel worse and that you manage to get some better advice from another doctor.

lucyellensmum · 04/04/2008 18:29

I guess it was my own fault really, i should have left earlier, i do really hate it when people are late, in fact it is my pet hate. But even so........im hardly on top of things just now.

I AM going to complain, the responses here and on my other thread are encouraging me to do so. Its not like i was wailing and sobbing this morning, i just wanted some practical advice and maybe the offer of a refferal (long overdue).

OP posts:
TotalChaos · 04/04/2008 18:34

I agree with Jodie. I think that "advice" was shockingly bad. In particular the arm wavy suggestion you take herbal remedies - as some it's a bad idea to take some remedies such as SJW alongside SSRIs.

ReallyTired · 04/04/2008 18:34

I am sorry that you are having such a bad time. Do you still have a health visitor?

Prehaps citalopram isn't the best drug for you if you are feeling really down after a year. People respond to drugs differently and there are other drugs that can help with the PMT. When I had postnatal depression I responded extremely well to sertaline, but I found councelling a waste of time. However every person is different.

If you are not trying to concieve something like the Mirena coil can help some women with PMT. I had the Mirena coil in for five years and I had no periods for the whole of the five years.

ReallyTired · 04/04/2008 18:35

You can insist on a referal to a psyhiarist if you want. (Its sound scarier than it actually is)

lucyellensmum · 04/04/2008 19:20

really tired, i have been considering this myself, but didnt think they would do it. I thought i would have to do something drastic before they would listen. My HV has indicated that this might be a good idea. I have no problem with a psychiatric assesment, its just that i do not want to be on these tablets forever but i have forgotten what it is like to be "normal" in my head. Will that naturally mean that social services will get involved though?

OP posts:
TotalChaos · 04/04/2008 19:22

LEM - no, absolutely no routine SS involvement if you see a psychiatrist.

looneytune · 04/04/2008 19:42

That's TERRIBLE and you should definitely complain. As for being late, these things happen and she shouldn't be so horrible about it, especially considering how you feel! Gosh, once I was late for the Drs and he had a go and I explained how my baby had done a number 2 when I was putting his snowsuit on and it leaked through the nappy and went all over his clothes and mine so I had to change us both. Told Dr I presumed he'd rather we didn't arrive covered in the stuff

Hope you're feeling better and make sure you complain!!

MrsMacaroon · 04/04/2008 19:44

You absolutely can get CBT on the NHS- you would have to wait though...probably several months. My DH waited about 5 months i think. GPs are mostly rubbish beyond throat infections blahdeblah...I went for 11 years complaining of period and abdominal pain until I diagnosed myself (after reading article in magazine)and went directly to A&E...only then did I get a referral, eventually an operation and an official diagnosis (endometriosis). Rubbish!
I've also been recently about getting counselling for childhood abuse and left with a website address... absolutely bloody pointless. I'll definitely have to go back (to a different GP definitely) and insist on a referral. It's just so hard getting the motivation together to bang your head against a brick wall until you happen upon some proper treatment.

ReallyTired · 04/04/2008 19:47

Why should social services be involved? If your child appears to be well looked after its no different to anyone else being refered because of a serious illness. If you were being refered to a cancer specialist then social services would not be involved.

Asking for help means that you recongise that you have a problem and that you need help. There is no need to do anything drastic or silly like a suicide attempt. You have a legal right to be refered although you might have be fairly assertive with your request. The only problem is that there might be quite a wait.

Incidently, I have not been on any medication for the past four years inspite of suffering very severe postnatal depression. I have been healthy.

Depression is a serious illness, but people do recover with the right help.

ALMummy · 04/04/2008 19:56

Just a thought but when I had depression a few years ago I was prescribed Citalopram and it didnt really do anything for me so my doctor prescribed Venlafaxine Efexor and it honestly turned my life around. I am not on anti depressants anymore, although I still have the odd wobbly day. After taking that medication I realised that I had probably been depressed since I was a child and THIS was actually how it felt to be healthy and happy. Maybe you need a change in medication to help you on to a point where you wont need them any more - as this seems to be your Locum GP's immediate goal .

OrmIrian · 04/04/2008 20:01

LEM that is awful. When you are already low.
Cowbag of a doctor. No advice but plenty of sympathy

Sherida · 04/04/2008 20:53

I'm sorry you were treated badly. I had the same experience and was only offered NHS therapy when I walked into the docs, burst into tears and threatened to kill myself. I was on the waiting list so long, I finally had to go to a private CAT therapist. Not cheap but worth it. I was on Citalopram for a couple of years and I understand what you're going thru somewhat.

On a side note, am better now so it will happen, honest!

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