Worried about dh's health...........................any ideas?

[northender]

He was in perfectly good health (apart from quite severe hayfever) until 5 yrs ago when he started getting bouts of tonsillitis and 2 hosp admissions to drain and treat abscesses (on his tonsils). Finally had them out last year. About 4 yrs ago he had suspected Lymes disease which was treated with antibiotics. Over the last year he's had several bouts of diarrhea (lasting 48 hrs and with swollen achey joints). Now he's got 2 more insect bites which are infected and he's feeling lousy, achey, shivery etc.

Sorry I know this goes on a bit but he's really fed up and I'm really worried and the GPs don't seem to be able to give any clues as to why he's getting so many problems.

Could these things all be connected or is it just bad luck? Thinking out loud as well really!

A consultant rheumatologist would be able to diagnose if these were long-lasting effects from Lymes disease I'm sure as they'd be well up on all the differential diagnoses for rheumatic illness. They'd be able to run tests for anything else that was a possibilty too.

Don't know which part of the country you're in but here in the north west the place to go is wrightington near wigan. If your GP can't/won't refer you could get the tests prvately andonce there's a diagnosis the NHS has to take up treatment - loads of my pts have done this.

Hope you get it sorted.

Thanks lc, we're in Preston so Wrightington is very close. Have to see how we get on at the GP's first. What sort of tests would we be looking to have done if we went privately? Presumably we would need a consultation with a rheumatologist privately to begin with? I'd resent paying as I've worked in the NHS for such a long time but if it moved things on then it'd be worth it.

Hi there - I'm an OT and work manly in rehab/lifestyle management so not particularly well up on blood tests etc but they would most likely do an ESR count which tests to see if there's active inflammatory disease. They'd also be taking a symptom history and trying to piece together the bits of the jigsaw for you. If you work in the NHS you'll know that there's likely to be a waiting list and if you're happy to wait then do. It doesn't sound like anything's progressing particularly aggressively but it would be best to get him checked out for underlying factors that might be affecting his health. A rheumatologist may not be the person to see either but they would probably have a good idea where to refer him on to if they decide that it needs further investigation as they do get a fair number of inappropriate referrals.

Your GP might be talked into making a referral but if not it might be worth asking if you could see a different one. It sounds like there's enough in his recent history to warrant further investigation so don't take no for an answer. Also if you are in preston insist on wrightington rather than sharoe green/preston royal (personal opinion based on patient feedback)

Good luck - hope I've been of help