… to be so embarrassed I’m considering writing an apology letter to my GP?

[embarsandash]

Before I start, please don’t judge me. I am so embarrassed and have never had anything like this happen to me before.

I am an exceptionally clean person, I shower daily in the morning and bath every evening, I have never had any concerns with my hygiene and nothing like this has ever happened to me before!

I have been having some very painful stomach cramps over the course of the last 3/4 months, along with some bleeding - and so I have been in and out of the doctors surgery several times to be seen for various tests, scans and blood tests etc.. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Yesterday afternoon I had an appointment with my gp to discuss my recent scan and blood test findings, so I attended as normal after a super busy morning / early afternoon at work.

when I got to the doctors room, she discussed my results and advised me that she will now need to conduct an internal scan. I was mortified as I was given no prior warning. Usually for something like this, I’d have a shower before going, change into clean clothes and underwear etc… but I had no idea this was going to happen.

I was asked to get changed behind the curtain and lie down for the examination. When I was changing, I noticed that there were no wipes / towels to freshen up like there usually is, so I was then panicking even more.

when I laid down to have my examination, I noticed that my GP had a strange look on her face, almost like concern? She was not speaking to me so I eventually asked her if everything okay. She then told me that I have an ‘unpleasant’ odour ‘down below’ and that I should consider getting that looked into.

Well, I am absolutely mortified. I’ve never ever had any kind of hygiene problems before, never had any issues ‘down below’ and I don’t know how to take the comment.

what do I do! I’ve not stopped thinking about it since. I am so embarrassed in case she will always remember me as ‘the patient that smelled bad’…

I’m considering writing a letter of apology.. is that over reactive? I don’t know what to do!

I know! Did you not read what I said?

OP literally said she felt embarrassed by the experience. Doctors should be doing their level best to ensure patients never feel embarrassed about an appointment.

No, you should be considering writing a letter of complaint to your GP.

I’m a doctor and I can categorically tell you that this one behaved unprofessionally in this instance. It is simply inexplicable that a Dr is not used to different odours and reacted that way, far less that she pointed out an unpleasant smell in the way she did and in the process of behaving appallingly she made you feel deeply uncomfortable and highly embarrassed. I’m really sorry you experienced that, it’s absolutely not right.

You should have been asked if it was ok to have the scan, she should have explained why she wanted to do it and given an idea of what to expect.

If she noticed a concerning smell, she did have to raise it for your well-being. But this can, and should have been, done in a caring and non-judgmental manner, with her explaining what she had found and why she thought it needed looked into further. And as your GP she should have suggested how that would be done. She might have had to ask you to make another appointment, perhaps even with another Dr if there was some reason she was not able to/best placed to help you. but it is totally inappropriate to suggest that you “should get that looked at” in that manner.

All I can say OP is that I am very sorry your GP behaved so unprofessionally. I think you would be within your rights to complain to the practice about this. And you should see another Dr to have the issue looked into, if only for your piece of mind.

I did read what you said. Did you?

Pointing out a potential medical issue isn't shaming someone.

There being nowhere to freshen up isn't relevant when the odour was not related to poor hygiene.

"She might have had to ask you to make another appointment..."

@jacks11 If you read all the OP's posts you will see that this is exactly what the doctor did.