I lived abroad and came to the Uk in 1999 (though was born in the UK to one English parent). In the healthcare system in the country I came from, you didn't go to the GP unless you were v unwell and you had to pay for it.
I arrived, got pregnant and had a baby who unfortunately was v unwell and ended up in hospital a lot (all fine now!) but as a result, under the consultant's guidance, we had to go to the GP a fair bit to monitor her condition. I then had a 2nd child who had similar problems.
In the meantime, I developed migraines and bad eczema. Every time I went to the GP for me, I would get rolled eyes. Was told to use aqueous cream for my eczema. I said do you not think I would have tried this before I came?! To be told there was a hierarchy of creams and I had to start at the bottom. 2 weeks later it was so bad, I had to have antibiotics and steroids. They told me my migraines were almost certainly me overusing painkillers and refused to prescribe anything else. I was told I was imagining my daughter's hearing problem and I shouldn't 'worry' so much about their health. I paid for a private ENT to find out she was deaf in one ear and they wrote a complaint to the GP surgery.
I never once got taken seriously there. I didn't actually think about it as I just stopped going (kids are adults now) till we moved house and now I've got a new GP. I went almost apologetically to ask for help with my (newly returned) migraines to be given sumatriptan which has worked immediately. All those bloody years I suffered needlessly. New GP mentioned they hadn't got my notes yet and I'm now worried they will get them and start dismissing my concerns!! Is this a possibility? Fwiw one of the dc has ended up having fairly severe SN which involves MH problems so it is probably marked on my notes (though I am neither a hypochondriac or a health worrier!).