Reading your own medical notes - good or bad idea?

[TheYuleLogLady]

I've ordered mine but after 10 years of pondering I'm still not sure.

I have part curiosity (The DDS births, both v quick - can't remember much) Part wanting to get events sorted logically and whys and wherefores of m/c and ep.

So is it likely to be useful or traumatic and can ofworms stuff?

I read mine a few months ago all the way back to 1963 when I was born.

What was interesting was he arrogant tone of the notes and letters from Doctors.

One such note was back in 1981 when I had a serious neck injury when a rugby scrum collapsed on me.

The note read:

"Patient has a headache. Likley to be due to tension. I reassured the lad".

I read mine for DSs birth a couple of months after, because I wanted to understand what had happened and why, and particularly in what order as I was a bit out of it at times (pethidine). I found it helpful, because it settled questions I couldn't answer for myself like was it my fault for not trying harder at various points. It made sense of stuff that was happening all a bit quick and urgent which they didn't maybe explain to me very well at the time, in their focus on getting him out safely. I stopped blaming myself, and didn't blame them - it was good to know and settle the questions.

But maybe make sure you have someone you can talk about it to, in case it does bring it all back very raw and fresh again.

I read some of mine recently, and what I found was a good few entirely made up things.
For eg the asthma specialist had said that he suspects I don't take my inhalers properly. He asked if I do, I said yes, and then demonstrated I do to his nurse, so basically he made it up.

The nurses in hospital said I didn't try with the peak flow meter. Entirely untrue and no one said that to me.
They said I didn't eat. I left one meal in 12 days and that was because the nurse exploded my venflon into it.

I'm tempted to order all mine now to see what other crap is on there.

So, if you do see something which is untrue can you request for it to be altered or for a note to be added?

How do you order them? and how much are they?

gailforce1 Something which is factually incorrect can be removed. Something you disagree with or do not want in your notes cannot be eg if you wanted a diagnosis of something sensitive removed then that would have to stay legally.

fil in a form from PALS which goes off to medical records. cost between £25 and £50 depending on how much they need to copy.

pirateparty
How do you prove it's incorrect?
Mine make me look like I'm really awkward-the not trying, not taking inhalers properly, not eating, and as I'm likely to be admitted to hospital again I'd rather the staff didn't have that impression of me, but I can't prove it's not true.
There's lots more than that-wrong transfer dates, the fact they refused to listen meant I ended up iller than I would have and in the end, I was so terrified I discharged myself, but again that makes me look bad because they haven't written the truth on my notes or admitted their mistakes (removing my ventilator when there was no doctor to reinsert it, not giving me enough anaesthetic so I could feel and hear everything, taking three days to give me humidified oxygen etc).