What non-essential medical appointments have you had cancelled?

[TwistyHair]

I’ve had my daughter prosthetic leg appointment cancelled until further notice. I understand that there are more urgent appointments but I’m still really still really upset that her leg is now hurting and she won’t be able to walk soon.

My cancer surgery results to see how far it has spread.

So sad to hear of all these things getting cancelled.
Mine was my first ever smear as only turning 25 in may so not high risk, not sure why my doctor's surgery still went ahead with them

I have a brain tumor, I had surgery in 2018 and since then my pain has been controlled. End jan/start feb my pain started coming back and usual meds not working so I got referred for a new MRI (usually have one every year July/Aug time) to check for any changes. Just received a letter to tell me my referral has been sent back :( I'd understand if I had an appointment they could cancel/reschedule it but now I'll have to go back to the bottom of the waiting list because they've actually sent back my referral. I'm guessing they looked and saw I have them often and assumed it was routine and I'll be okay without it, but I'm really not :(

I was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. Need a mastectomy which would usually be done within a month but they’ve put me straight into tamoxifen instead. There’s no guarantee it will keep the tumour and high grade DCIS (10cm plus of that!) at bay. I have no idea when I will get surgery at all, nor radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

@MummytoCSJH can you ring them up? Sounds urgent.

I was suffering from very high bp, which is now controlled with medication. However, my heart does some very strange things and I was due to see a cardiologist privately on April 1st (the wait on the NHS was a year, so opted for private). This has been cancelled for now. I have had to take a very resigned view of it all because I don't know what's going to get me first - a heart attack or coronavirus.

@LemonsNVod you must be feeling pretty worried about that.

Kidney function tests.
I have them done every four months as I have chronic kidney disease. No the end of the world, but I do worry that my kidneys might be getting worse and I wouldn't know anything about it. (And it is also a risk factor for CV19 poorer outcomes)

Mine’s relatively minor- my annual asthma/lung check up. But with C-19, it feels a wee bit worrying even though I know I’m ok and being careful when I have to go out for food shopping!

I’m a psychotherapist and we have taken everything online or over the phone. We are still offering everybody treatment but we have been advised not to treat PTSD as the service might shut when we are redeployed, however anyone we can’t treat now will have treatment deferred.
I’m pregnant so I’m trying to think about my own healthcare needs whilst trying to do what is in the best interests of my patients. It’s hard!

@TwistyHair rang the GP on Monday who said they'll send it back but nothing is guaranteed and they might just cancel it again at which point GP can't do anything. Absolute nightmare!

A family member’s cancer removal surgery has been cancelled with no suggestion of an alternative date.

Most of our regular check ups and doctor appointments have been cancelled. None of my son's therapists can come out to see him at the moment. His doctors appointments are also postponed. And all of my postpartum check ups have taken place via Facetime as well. But I will say this however. It is a very good thing that DS is no longer a baby as back then we had three times the number of hospital appointments just for him each week. I seriously cannot fathom exactly how I honestly would have coped though with all of that on top of his existing medical issues which required treatment at the time. When he was a small baby, he had a casting appointment literally each week for his bilateral clubbed feet.
I usually ended up taking him to them in the end. Plus we also had a spina bifida clinic day appointment every six months too. My partner attended them with him however. I wanted to stay behind at home with my baby daughter, his twin sister and bond with her instead. Which I did. He also had a lot of urology and therapy appointments in addition. I am not sure what I would have done if those got cancelled. At each urology appointment, he would have some tests done and we were then informed of the results via email.
How is everyone doing today? It is definitely a eye opener reading this thread for sure. I had no clue about the high number of cancelled appointments.

My mum's scan to confirm Alzheimer's was cancelled.
DP's appointment with Rheumatology, which he waited 5 years for, was cancelled. DS's ADHD assessment also cancelled. They were all scheduled within the one week.

My optician appointment was cancelled. Which normally is fine but I was diagnosed with an eye condition which needs monitoring and also am getting constant headaches due to not having any glasses as I can't pick them up. Not the end of the world in the current circumstances but frustrating none the less

@MummytoCSJH that’s just an awful position to be in.

And for your family member too. @ACupOfTeaSolvesEverything

I was diagnosed with severe arthritis damage in my left knee in Feb & was supposed to have first steroid injection at the end of last month - this was cancelled. I’ve not seen anyone since the letter from consultant advising of arthritis & that he wants to try steroid injection before looking at other options.

It was private through work, but all non essential procedures have been cancelled.

I totally understand, but I’m 47 & struggling to walk some days. It is what it is & i have to call back in 3 months.

My heart goes out to all who are waiting for essential treatment.

My baby is 8 weeks old. No health professional has set eyes on him since he was about 2 weeks old. Not been weighed or anything, had to rely on our bathroom scales to get an idea of his weight gain which is good thankfully. Had his hip screening ultrasound cancelled til further notice, our 6-8 week check was cancelled and rescheduled to this coming week when we’re 9 weeks pp and should be getting his first immunisations this week too but i’m a little worried they’ll cancel them again

@TwistyHair yes, it makes it worse. I just want the cancer gone. It’s already in my lymph nodes!

@MummytoCSJH sorry I didn’t mean my previous post to sound so harsh and make you feel worse! It was supposed to be empathetic but read it back now

I suffer from atypical facial pain whic is basically constant toothache. It’s got worse, I couldn’t get an X-ray to make sure their was no infection so was prescribed antibiotics as my face was very swollen. Limited success so I have upped my regular medication for facial pain and that has helped. Also I had a phone consultation with my gynaecologist, luckily my symptoms aren’t too bad there. I have genetic counselling booked for July but I think that could be done over phone/Skype as I have been going for years. I think I have got off lightly. It’s really worrying the amount of really urgent appointments that have been cancelled on here, have they forgotten people get other illnesses?

Botox and occipital nerve blocks for chronic intractable migraine. Totally understand, my consultant and nurse specialists have been redeployed, however it'll also mean I'll have a migraine everyday for the foreseeable future.

The steroid injections in my back and the proposed denervation surgery. It's bloody awful I work long hours in the NHS and can't even stand up straight.

Some of these are horrible. I appreciate that non-essential appointments need to be cancelled or dealt with on the phone, but some are serious issues!

Dentist appointment- not a massive deal.
Obstetrics appointment with the consultant. I've been deemed a high risk pregnancy and at 20 weeks I've not seen the consultant. I'm terrified that I'm not going to receive the care I need but in the grand scheme of things, some people are dealing with far worse than me.

Smear test