What (hopefully) minor things should/would you be seeing your GP for if you could, but aren't due to CV?

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

I have a nagging on and off abdominal pain on the right. Too high to be my appendix. Potentially my gallbladder.
I had an appointment booked after putting up with it for weeks and weeks waiting for it to go away. That got cancelled automatically before the lockdown and as it's not an emergency, I'm clearly not pursuing an appointment. But it's a (tiny) nagging worry for me that it might be something that needs looking into.

[WaktiWapnasi]

A chronic shoulder injury that has been giving me gip for months buts I jarred it the other day and it is really painful.

My big toe joint swells up if I do too much exercise and is really painful.

I need a smear test and could probably do with some blood tests for hormone levels/vit deficiency as I'm always lethargic.

[Lightsabre]

For the splinter etc don't forget pharmacies - the pharmacist can advise and some of them can dispense antibiotics etc too.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Thanks all for your suggestions. After trying several times, we numbed it with anbesol teething liquid, and no joy. I phoned my gp for advice and they said minor injury unit so we trekked over to the next town and had it removed by a lovely nurse called Darren. It was indeed, a whopper. He said we were right to go as it was not likely to have worked it's way out.

Thanks all

[Dinosauratemydaffodils]

I've had pins and needles plus some numbness in my right hand for the past 2 weeks. After my experience attempting to get my GP to prescribe anti-depressants (previously been prescribed, have bunch of mental health diagnoses, recently bereaved etc), I just can't work up the energy.

[Purplewithred]

@Ilovelala you really ought to get that checked out - if they say A&E they mean A&E. It's perfectly safe - the Covid side of things will be somewhere completely different and you and your baby will be thoroughly protected. Noses are really important, you don't want to lose your sense of smell (and taste with it). They sorted my daughter's broken nose very quickly but it did need someone from maxillofacial to check it and they may not have one of those at MIU.

[elephantskiss]

@Bluewater1 @Bluebooby
Chronic fatigue is not a proper diagnosis though, so they should continue to explore reasons for it to find out what's causing it. Sometimes you have to push for this. Could be deficiencies (B12, vitamin D, etc), thyroid, all sorts. B12 is not tested as standard, and even if it is, you could be "within normal range" but the levels are still too low for YOU. Same with thyroid levels. You need to get the actual numbers from them and find out if you're at the bottom of the "normal range" and push to try out treatment if you are. (B12, for example, causes no harm if it turns out you didn't need it, but causes a lot of harm if you don't have enough. Some people cannot absorb it through tablets and need injections. B12 tablets can artificially raise your levels so don't take them for a few months before you have a blood test.)

[NeedAUsernameGenerator]

Knee pain. I suspect cartilage damage from an old sports injury but I guess there's no chance of any kind of scan or physio at the moment.

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

My contraceptive pill has been discontinued and the replacement is now unavailable. I'd like to sit down with my GP and discuss the options. He's prescribed another one after I emailed but I've had so many side effects in the past I'd be happier talking to him

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

Oh and then dermatitis in my legs has flared up again so I'd really like to get that sorted once and for all

[IDSNeighbour]

Not eating. I know it's spiralling out of control but I'm not even convinced I want to fix it right now so there's certainly no point wasting a doctor's time over it.

[EndoplasmicReticulum]

Son's ingrown toenail really needs sorting but we did get him some more antibiotics by phone appointment. And he doesn't need to wear shoes or walk anywhere at the moment so there's that.
Other son was due teeth braces off the day the dentists all shut.

[ChesterDraw]

A constant chesty cough (had it years, not COVID related), on and off painful boob (think it's just hormonal as it always around period) and erosion on my cervix (has treatment before for it, practise nurse said at smear I will need it again but I didn't get round to getting the referral). Serves me right for putting it all off. I really don't want to bother my GP with stuff as we keep getting aggressive shouty texts saying DON'T RING US and so on so they must be overwhelmed

[AnnaMagnani]

The surgery is so busy

Newsflash - it's not.

Everyone has stopped turning up for rubbish, the people who came every week rain or shine just for a chat can't come because surgeries have cancelled prebooked appointments and there are a lot of appointments out there.

A good 75% of people on this thread need to call their GP.

I work in service in an area which has one of the highest COVID rates. Normally our phone rings off the hook all day. At the moment no-one is ringing us. So we are ringing our patients and finding them unwell - all of them say 'Well we didn't want to bother you, we thought you'd be so busy'. We aren't busy because they aren't ringing!

[Mumshappy]

Thyroid issues

[Bol87]

My daughter has had a steadily increasing turned in foot.. my doc said to it should resolve itself but see how we go .. this was about 6 months ago. It’s now so severe, she’s falling over her foot constantly & is covered in bruises. It doesn’t seem to hurt her but she walks very oddly. I’m worried she’s damaging her ligaments/foot but I doubt there’s anyone who would see her as it’s obviously not life threatening or anything.. so I just hope that it won’t cause any permanent damage for her

My newborn was breech until 39+2 .. then turned (it hurt!). I was told she’d def still need an additional scan to check her hips as breech babies all get. I’ve heard nothing from anyone.. I don’t even know where to start chasing it up 🤷🏼‍♀️

[maria860]

My chest I think it's hayfever not COVID as I've barely left the house in six weeks but it's bad since March and I'm pregnant. I also think it's allergies of some kind as it's tight and wheezy and bothering me a lot I also have got SPD again which I could do with dealing with before it gets so bad I can't walk again but no midwife has rang me back or been in touch since the start of March now .

[maria860]

Oh I also have a weird thing on my leg not a mole not a rash a circle with something in the middle it's like a burn but it's not a burn really weird and want it checked

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

Martyr myself? That's hardly it. It just doesn't present as an emergency. Our gp aren't booking any routine appointments and you have to call for an emergency same day appt. When I couldn't hear after an ear infection I still called back and they saw me. That seemed more important than a nagging ache.


My friend has had a mole checked out in the last couple of weeks. That's certainly something they should still try and see you for.

Our gp is doing Vit injections in the car park, but they are still doing them.

And I'm also overdue a smear now. Wish I'd got that fitted in before all this kicked off.

[Destinysdaughter]

Depression and chest pain. Would rather wait till things feel safer but God knows when that will be! Also had an appt at hospital for high cholesterol (8.2), but that's been put on hold for now, which actually I'm glad about as don't want to go into a hospital right now

[Mombie2016]

OP, that was me last Friday, only on my left side. Result? Paramedics at my home Sunday evening, HR of 140, fever of 40.1, a tad delirious and in agony. Like labour pain agony.

Severe UTI that had travelled up. Don't leave it.

[Hobbes8]

Please call your GP. They’re mostly doing telephone triage, they’re not that busy at the moment, they’re better placed than you to decide whether your medical problem can wait, and they don’t want to store up a huge surge in demand for later in the year. Don’t just assume you won’t be seen.

[Mombie2016]

And before anyone kicks off, I called 111, the GP I spoke to sent the ambulance and stayed on the phone with me till they arrived. First time ever I've needed one.

[OddBoots]

I had a letter to say I was due to book my smear but I think it was just automatically generated, I don't think they are actually doing them at the moment.

[Fortheloveofscience]

I had a text from my GP surgery saying (exact quote):

"Contact us if you have any health issues you would usually try to see a GP about. We are offering phone and video consults, if we need to see you face to face we will arrange this in a safe environment. Do not ignore your general health."

Seems fairly clear-cut - I think the majority of the posters on this thread should call the GP in the morning.

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

@Mombie2016 thanks. Mine has been there for ages now. Weeks and weeks. Is to the right and higher than my belly button, so I'm pretty sure it's just a nagging gallbladder - and my Mum has gallbladder problems.