I feel mortified about this going to my GP. Would you feel the same or am I upset over nothing?

[Unisu]

A couple of weeks ago I was very unwell on holiday. I called a private GP through my insurance and they diagnosed the problem and then refused to prescribe antibiotics as I had mentioned having a fever. They then said I needed to be checked in person and go to a walk in. I explained that the nearest walk in was nearly two hours away and I had a baby with me. The temperature was a symptom of the illness thay had themselves just diagnosed (and it was what I had suspected prior to the call as well). They appeared to then latch on to the temperature being potentially high and refused to prescribe the antibiotics and said these would be prescribed at a walk in but better to double check my temperature there.

I was feeling so rubbish by this point and couldn’t drive ten minutes let alone two hours. I said I didn’t think this was reasonable and given the nature of the illness it is actually standard practice to prescribe the medication when 1 out of 3 symptoms show… I had all three. They agreed with that but said they still wanted a walk-in.

Anyway in essence we disagreed and I said I wasn’t happy with this and that if I became more unwell quickly then I would be referring to this conversation in future. I recognise this was a bit of a shitty thing to say but I was despairing and also confused by their insistence they had diagnosed the issue but still wanted me to go to a walk in when very far from one.

Yesterday it came to my attention that the letter had gone to my GP explaining the private appointment I had had… and in it there was the suspected diagnosis, but this doctor had also said I was interrupting, insisting on treatment and they had to conclude the call because of this! This was simply not true. I did express I wanted the treatment but I was not interrupting and the impression given is that I was unpleasant. Aside from the comment above I was perfectly nice and listened entirely and was totally respectful.

I feel really upset by this. I always make a huge effort to be polite and decent to people in all contexts and I feel awful that this correspondence is now with my GP for all to see. Would you feel the same? Would you do anything about it?

@Barnbrack i have accepted it and did accept it but I didn’t agree and still don’t. (The diagnosis was obvious)

What happened while you were away on holiday, OP? Did you go to the face-to-face surgery and get antibiotics or not?

Where is your medical degree from?

You are one of those people that are 'always right' and completely unwilling to see different points of view or concede you were wrong. Even now, after multiple people telling you the reason why you were referred on you are refusing to see that the GP was right to act as they did. It was for your benefit. I can only imagine what the phone call was like.

I think you've touched a very good point here. That advocating for yourself is seen as 'non compliance ' . I think a lot of it is because of the rise of tick box protocols, it leaves little room for patient choice and individuality- so when someone stops to challenge said tick box protocols or disagrees with parts or wants more info, it's viewed as "difficult".

It's tricky. With practitioners limited time and an insistence that protocols must be adhered to and consultation times must be short, you can see where the frustration comes from when a patient doesn't want to "play the game". Rise of the tick box protocol. Leaves little wiggle room for free thinking and compromise between patient and practitioner.

Not helpful... but I love the phrase 'blow in yogurt' 😆

Hope you're feeling better OP.

Right, so say your amateur diagnosis was a kidney infection. You do realise that you can still have that kidney infection and get sepsis? That in fact having the infection makes you susceptible to sepsis? That the GP was entirely correct to refer you to be seen in person because of this risk. You don't actually think that you know more than the doctor do you. You surely don't expect, as someone with no medical qualifications, to phone up a GP and say I've self diagnosed this and want medication and expect them to take your word for it?

I'm still waiting to find out what the OP did while on holiday and ill. People are saying she was very ill — so did she go to the in-person clinic two hours away and get antibiotics or not? If not, what happened — did she find another solution to the problem? (I'm going abroad in a couple of weeks and I''d like to know if there's a different solution in case I find myself in the same situation)

I have had letters from private appointments that o can see on my records that the GP never even reads. The admin staff read it and flag it to the GP if there is anything they need to do. I doubt they have even seen it please try not to worry.

The diagnosis may have been pretty obvious. Doesn’t mean that the treatment plan is.

Bacterial throat infection treatment plan can range from rest up and take some paracetamol through to immediate hospital admission for IV antibiotics and 1:1 monitoring. UTIs have a similar range, although generally not just the rest up end of the spectrum.

Kindly OP - says you. You aren’t a medical doctor. Why go to a doctor, self diagnose, go against what they are saying and get upset about it. Just don’t go then if you know better.

There are protocols and specific instances where just giving you antibiotics would have been the wrong thing initially even if that was the correct treatment ultimately. You thought you knew better.

This is a complete non issue that isn’t worth worrying about. Let it go.

Pls go to the GP and get reviewed, if you have an infection there's a risk it could progress to sepsis. If the above were recommended a few days ago and your feeling worse now, then your only harming yourself by not going to the GP. People who end up in hospital with sepsis, suffer far more indignityand embarassment than a letter about their behaviourto their GP. So, this weekend go to a walk in ASAP, get reviewed and get your Abx to avoid further progression. Sorry to sound harsh but my brother died because he didn't take himself to the gp and was later found unconscious at home.

"Dear MN

I was rude, told the GP how to do their job and then made threats towards them.

Now they're written and said I was rude and insistent. Which I wasn't. I was entirely right. Even if you point out I was wrong, I'll insist I was right

AIBU (not that I'll listen)?"

Hmm

I remember having a wisdom tooth out and after several days i could still barely open my mouth and it was so painful i was convinced I had an infection and needed antibiotics and was a bit annoyed I had to go in again rather then just being prescribed antibiotics but thankfully the dentist was 100% correct to check as I didn't have an infection he had sewn my gum to the inside of my cheek and the stitches where not dissolving. When he took the stitches out instant relief and a good giggle from us both. 🤣🤣

Mumsnet is obsessed with sepsis. It’s very odd.

So I am assuming you had symptoms of a UTI, mentioned a temperature which flags the need to be seen in person to rule out a kidney infection?

He had to mention it because protocol seems to be you need to be seen in person with a UTI and temperature to rule out kidney infection (this is an assumption I don’t know) and the system wouldn’t let a prescription be filed unless you were seen in person correct?

that said your need for everyone to think well of you must be a hindrance

Your GP will be too busy to read BS

Irrespective if you were rude or not that’s was a very dickish move of them. Extremely emotive, absolutely no need .

just ignore

I probably see my GP once a year if that. He does, however, monitor my blood tests with nurses at the surgery for an overactive thyroid and Graves Disease so I would care that on receiving this letter he might consider I would be rude to them or admin staff.

Most people wouldn’t bother I agree with you - so it is unlikely he is going to be buried under a mountain of similar style letters. It would however make me feel better and as one of my symptoms can be anxiety - it’s a win for him that I manage this easily myself.

I’m a GP and this post summarises perfectly what I was thinking.

I think you mean “morifted”.

Hardly surprising in this case when it’s part of the potential diagnosis.

Honestly OP, I’d let this one go. The GP will never read the letter unless you flag it up to them by complaining. You ignored medical advice and then threatened them that you would be referring to the conversation if you got very ill. It’s hardly surprising that they are covering their back given what could have happened if you were wrong.

I would write a letter back to the private GP, referring to his letter, and giving date/time of the appointment etc, and send a copy to your GP. State your case politely and clearly, as you have above, say that you apologise if you came over as rude, but point out that going to a walk-in centre at that point was not a reasonable option, due to distance and childcare issues. I feel this addresses things, wouldnt expect a reply, but you have stated your case calmly and given both GPs your viewpoint.

😂

Well, surely you can see that your worry about what other people might think is far less important than the situation of a GP refusing to prescribe remotely in case you had sepsis?

Any private GP I've had a consultation with online have always referred me on. They can't examine me or run tests so they write a letter referring me to the department they think would need to investigate my symptoms. They need to cover themselves.