Can we have a thread on ridiculous things GP's have said?

[Butmummysnotanearlybird]

My contribution was "Oh well baby needs to know what sick tastes like" when they actually had CMPA and reflux. I'm sure there's worse out there 🙃

[vipersnest1]

@Fluffluff, that's terrible.

[Fluffluff]

Going to see my Gp a few days after receiving bad news at my 20 week scan that meant we were offered a termination and awaited forther tests.. I was asking for a sick line for work.
His answer.. " only once rthe baby is dead"

[Unusually]

One GP diagnosed dd with mumps. She had swollen glands low down in her neck. I asked wouldn’t the swelling be nearer her face/chin if it were mumps, and she said no. I asked how she could have caught mumps as she hadn’t been anywhere except school and nobody else had it. She said “Mumps is not a contagious illness. It’s something you have in the back of your nose, and then one random day it gets triggered and becomes the disease.”
I wrote a formal complaint to the surgery suggesting this GP go back to the books and do some learning. I think she was confusing mumps with meningitis. She was adamant it was mumps, notified PHE and ordered us a test kit. It was negative, obviously.

[Hooverphobe]

Told to shake my head vigorously. It was an MS relapse. Rock n roll ain’t gonna fix it.

[red4321]

Forgot to add, when I said my greatest worry was leaving my kids without a mother, he told me they'd be absolutely fine lol.

[red4321]

When I said I was suffering from health anxiety, he pointed out that I'd be right one day and would die. He probably had a fair point. He added "GPs can suffer from health anxiety too" just to confuse things further.

I felt slightly badly as he stopped being a GP a few years' later which I felt ever so slightly responsible for.

[Blinky21]

Stop taking the prescribed iron tablets (when still borderline aneamic) and eat chicken livers instead (I'm vegetarian) needless to say I'm now aneamic again

[Quisquam]

The optician told me to get a full checkup, to see if I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, because she was concerned about changes in blood vessels on one retina:

Gp - “You haven’t got diabetes!”

Me - “How do we know that? I haven’t had a blood test for 4 years! Who knows if it could have come on, in the meantime?”

[Asher33]

I was once told that my migraines are in my head and because no medication works would I like counseling?

I was put on something else (that by the sounds of things they're reluctant to prescribe) and it worked.

It was argued that because I have a "normal" MRI scan there's nothing wrong. Yes normal for me. I have 2 rare neurological conditions, both of which can cause migraine.

[Sickandtiredofbeingsick]

It was an OOH’s GP last year, I went because I’d been diagnosed with cellulitis behind my ear and after finishing 10 days worth of flucloxacillin, the swelling had come right back up again in the early hours of a Sunday morning. When I saw him, he looked behind my ear and said ‘I don’t understand why that hasn’t been knocked on the head with the flucloxacillin?! Hmm, are you diabetic?’, to which I replied no as I’m not. He insisted I was (despite no symptoms and him accessing my previous h1abc blood test results; I have them semi regularly because I have PCOS and my DDad is diabetic) and ordered a blood test with my GP surgery to check. He then gave me another course of flucloxacillin and sent me on my way. Had the blood test and my usual GP said ‘I don’t know what he’s on about, your blood sugar is super low!’. Anyway, turned out it wasn’t even cellulitis, it was mastoiditis and several doctors misdiagnosed that, too! 😫 I’ve also had a GP tell me to ‘just take ibuprofen’ when I complained of a constant headache that had lasted for 4 months, that I’d already been trying to get rid of with ibuprofen 🙄 I asked if it could be connected to my low iron and he said ‘No, there is nothing wrong with your iron levels’. Turned out they were only 3 points above the minimum range and when I took iron tablets I bought over the counter, the headache went after 2 weeks! 🤦🏻‍♀️

[PinkButtercups]

Oh I forgot that someone I know needs a private medical each year for their work. The same bellend doctor phoned them and said 'I don't need to see you, I'll just tick it off for you'...
Oh and someone who has diabetes he said to them 'I don't need to take your bloods. You had them a year ago. Not much would've changed in a year' wtf. You couldn't make it up. The thing is people have complained about him to the relevant people but he's still there.

[PinkButtercups]

One of the doctors at our practice states that people below 25 don't get OC as they're 'too young' he's an absolute fucking bellend and needs his medical license removed.

Same doctor also says that people who suffer with fibromyalgia actually don't and it's a made up illness and in their head... how he still works there I do not know.

[katseyes7]

When l was 14/15 and having horrendously heavy periods (I was anaemic, taking prescription iron tablets, and used to faint at the drop of a hat, once causing me to pass out and fall down a full flight of stairs at school) a male doctor told me 'not to worry about it, it'll right itself when you have a baby...'

[Scish]

Those saying to give GPs a break - no. GPs are single handedly the most incompetent and overpaid professionals in the UK. Specialists in nothing but seemingly jack of no trade either.

I have X ailment - "One second whilst I Google your symptoms and come up with a plan that involves paracetamol". GPs are not surgeons - they do not exist in a high pressure environment and yet still get many decisions wrong on a daily basis. They supposedly have no time for each patient but find time to work privately alongside their NHS work for the financial incentives - this should be illegal. knowledge of evolving medicine is poor - this is their fault as they are expected to spend time improving their knowledge to provide more upto date care for patients but spent the time earning £50 p/h providing private appointments.

Patients on the other hand may say stupid things occasionally but even those who don't are ignored by their GPs and treated like idiots when they probably have more knowledge of the illness causing their ailments than a GP does. They also aren't the ones being paid to do this job.

[Chubarubrub]

GPs always call me Mrs X, when I’m a Miss. It annoys me as it’s presumptuous and if they can’t get that simple thing right then I do wonder…

[RosesAndHellebores]

@lop32 I'd rather they used my first name too, everyone else does. However everyone else introduces themselves with theirs and I will not address another human as my superior and neither should a doctor assume they are.

[lop32]

It's funny as I hate doctors calling me Mrs X. I'd far rather they used my first name. But my grandma hated it, she saw it as disrespectful.

In fairness, some of the consultants I've seen recently have told me to call them by their first name.

[RosesAndHellebores]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We also have a home in France. Primary care is so much better there. Those one deals with are also so much more polite. Money changes hands.

The principle problem in the UK is that we are supposed to be grateful and doff our caps to the GP who provides free care. It isn't free, it's free at the point of delivery. We pay very high levels of tax AND for private healthcare to supplement the NHS. My GP surgery is unbelievably unhelpful and the admin errors and time it takes to contact them is ridiculous although most of the Dr's are quite good.

Overall it is the self importance and subordination of the patient that sticks in my craw. Only in the UK's NHS does a Dr address the patient by their first name whilst introducing themselves as Dr. It is just so rude.

At my last GP appointment the Dr came out said hello Roses and introduced himself as Dr Bloggs. I politely asked why he assumed he may use my first name whilst expecting me to address him with a title. Evidently he had forgotten my surname as he walked down the corridor. I said "well I assume you haven't forgotten your first name is David if you wish to use mine". He didn't like it one little bit but neither do I like being addressed as the GP's subordinate. It's either Roses/David or Mrs Hellebores/Dr Bloggs. Are basic good manners not taught at medical school or is it just arrogance?

My solicitor and accountant don't treat me as a subordinate stakeholder - they treat me as an equal. If they didn't they know my business and money would go elsewhere.

I am utterly sick of hearing excuses for the NHS. It is not good enough. Yes Dr's work hard. So do accountants, lawyers, academics, bin men, pilots, retail staff, etc. None of them have the same job security and all of them would be hauled over the coals if they were rude to a customer let alone if they were negligent.

[TigerRag]

Parents used to take me to the doctors because I'd complain of headaches, randomly vomit at night (no fever / obvious illness) and because I'd fall over all the time.

Every GP said it was my eye condition.

15 years later, I was at the neurologists because I was complaining of chronic neck / back pain. I had an MRI scan done. Neurologist asks my mum if she knew that as a child I had epilepsy. That would explain the vomiting at night. I did get tested at 11 and was told I didn't have it. (only because I'd fallen out of bed and injured my head)

[RoseLunarPink]

It’s not GP-bashing, and teacher threads are not teacher-bashing either. Why would someone start a thread just to be mean about a profession?

the problem is that people really do have bad experiences and it helps to share them. It might help someone realise when they’ve been fobbed off and could actually get help with a second opinion. It can also help to hear other people’s stories when you feel like you’re going mad because no one will listen.

Most of the GPs at my surgery are fantastic and one, now retired, got me through some terrible trauma and subsequent MH hell, I will be forever grateful to her. But there is one bad one. I took my baby to him with a serious ear infection and he wouldn’t even examine her, saying “all babies get ear infections, it will sort itself out you don’t need antibiotics, stop worrying.” Complete with patronising eye roll. Took her to a&e that night as it was so swollen and she was in so much pain. Emergency admission and surgery. They had to blue-light a specialist surgeon from another part of the country.

He saw a worried mum with a baby and so immediately wrote the situation off as silly woman fussing over nothing. That’s a phenomenon that many women experience from GPs and it;s important to share and understand it.

Same with teachers. There are some nasty bullying teachers out there and complaints are often met with an insinuation that you’re overprotective or your child is lying because the teacher is “lovely and would never do that” - even when you have multiple reports from different families. Hearing that other people get what you mean is invaluable, it helps you understand that you’re being gaslighted and are not going mad.

That obviously doesn’t means it’s all gps/teachers/whatever. Good ones should welcome discussion of these problems and take the issues on board as they’re in a position to improve things.

[concernedreracistelement]

Btw my son has just been misdiagnosed and nearly died as a result. When I tell the story with hindsight it all seems obvious. But it wasn’t at the time.

[concernedreracistelement]

“GP's are well-paid and yet they cannot be recruited.’’

this is the thing isn’t it?

@prestissimo’s reflections are useful, especially about the managing uncertainty.
forme, I don’t think the way the doctors union/representative body talks to them or to us is helpful or right. They don’t seem to be able to advocate for themselves in a way that commands respect or which has any authenticity. Take the strike a few years ago. The government basically “rebranded” Saturdays as weekdays resulting in effective loss of pay for the lower paid juniors. But I only found that out here. The drs campaigners themselves talked nonsense about “all in this together” which is a sure fire way to alienate anyone without a final salary pension scheme.

we dont seem to know as a society how to handle the dr/patient relationship any more.

[Andouillette]

@knowinglesseveryday

Blame the government for that, not the GPs.

No I bloody won't. And it wouldn't do me much good anyway as I am in Scotland. Some GPs behave appallingly and patients have a right to say so. I am fed up to the back teeth with GPs getting away with minimal work and a complete lack of caring (caveat; I am sure there are good GPs out there). The practice I am with has two GPs who work 4 days a week, the others do 2 days and the senior partner does one. This information is freely available on their website. These people held a birthday party at the surgery during the strictest part of lockdown leaving the whole place under quarantine for a fortnight. The only saving grace is the two APNs who have been seeing patients throughout the pandemic. It is still almost impossible to see a doctor, not because they are busy but because they just aren't there.
On a personal level they failed to diagnose a hernia for me which then strangulated and damn near killed me.
The catbum faced denial that any GP could ever be anything other than wonderful, the idea that nobody has a right to complain about anything is utterly vomit provoking. Just don't. Got a great GP who works hard and listens to you? Good, praise them to the skies, they deserve it. I am truly glad there are some. But don't assume that we are all that lucky.

[Staffy1]

Absolutely agree with the post above.

[Lassielou]

@TooManyPJs

I have a similar story, was back and forth to the GP with my poor DS (he was about 8 years old) who was having severe stomach pain for months so much so that he spent hours in the toilet everyday.

GP did some initial investigations then proceeded to tell me it was something he’d just have to put up with (I mean wtf!?!). (The same GP also told me I’d just have to put up with what he thought was recurrent, and resistant to treatment, thrush, thankfully I ignored that, saw a different GP who referred me and a multitude of appts, tests and consultants later, turns out it was eczema! I mean seriously can you imagine living with permanent thrush anyhow that is not the fucking answer (plus it turns out that he had not even tried me on all the possible anti fungal treatments anyway!). Anyhow I digress. So I went home from that appointment with my DS (this was before I had twigged that most doctors couldn’t be trusted and you have to be able to advocate strongly for yourself to receive adequate treatment) and thought I wasn’t getting anywhere with the GP so I’d just try cutting things out of his diet. First thing I tried was milk. Within 2-3 days his symptoms had resolved.

However what made me really angry was when I went back to that GP and mentioned that I’d basically sorted my sons medical issue myself and that his months and months of debilitating symptoms had resolved in a couple of days by cutting out milk. His response? “Oh that means he’s lactose intolerant”. No shit Sherlock. Not something you could maybe have suggested at one of the many and multiple appointments we had had previously? Or done your fucking job and referred him if you really didn’t know (although tbf lactose intolerance should be on the radar if a GP I would have thought). No apology of course for missing something so obvious that could have led, if I wasn’t on the ball myself, to him having a lifetime of pain and digestive issues with god only knows what knock on effects.

I have realised since many of these experiences and developing chronic illness myself that to receive adequate healthcare you need to do your own research, learn extensively about your own condition, pick and choose your medical professionals, and be able to advocate for yourself. Without being able to do this, you have no fucking hope unless you are very very lucky with who you happen to get for your doctor.

The whole profession needs a complete overhaul imo. I personally think it starts with the way they select who does medical degrees in the first place. Someone who is a bright academically, and ambitious, with a range of extracurricular activities under their belt, does not necessarily make a good doctor who knows how to deal with people, who has the humility to be a good doctor. There needs to be monitoring of doctors and what they do and how they interact with patients. There needs to be monitoring that they are keeping up to date and current (if that’s happening now it’s not bloody working). It needs to be enforced that doctors should be working WITH patients, providing options and informed consent, not dictating treatment to them. And ideally they need more time with a patient than 10 minutes which is frankly ridiculous (and probably leads to some of this poor treatment as they are under pressure to get people in and out the door). And we need more doctors - I am sure I read that the BMA places a cap on the number of doctors that can be trained?!? That can’t be right surely when we don’t have enough doctors already???? And while we are reforming the system (that of course will never happen because £££££) it is ridiculous that doctors have to work the excessive hours they do especially while training. It’s incredibly bad for their health for one, and I don’t want someone making medical decisions about me and potentially operating on me when they haven’t slept for days. It’s unbelievable that this is the norm.

Sorry for the rant but this is all very close to my heart. It has made my journey with chronic illness so much harder, and it’s already bloody difficult. I’ve lost years of my life because of this, been in tears more times than I can count because when you are I’ll you feel very vulnerable and being fobbed off or talked down to or denied treatment etc etc is extremely upsetting. When you feel like this the last thing you feel able to do is advocate for yourself. Even worse are the people I come across through my work, who don’t have the capability, for multiple reasons, to research and advocate and pick and chose their medical professionals, who just get iller and iller and sit in front of me unable to function, a shadow of their former selves. It breaks my bloody heart tbh.

This. 100% this. I have similar experiences.