Just been to GP - saw "hypochondriasis" on notes...

[TolpuddleFarter]

Been to see GP about some side effects I have had from a medication I was on.

Looked at the computer to see "hypochondriasis (3)" on my notes, which obviously is three times where it has been flagged that I am a hypochondriac.

Does this mean from now on I will struggle to get taken seriously?

Same here. I exercise regularly. Even after a heavy spin class that day plus day to day activity I can still be wide awake at night even though physically tired. It’s my brain/thoughts that keeps me awake

No it doesn’t. You’re just trying to deflect the fact you were called out by trying to throw it back on me. Just own it.

It’s not insensitive it’s factual: it doesn’t require ‘father passed away comfortably surrounded by lioved ones’ it’s not deemed to be harsh but medical records legally are factual and to the point.

Another vote for Magnesium. Chelated Magnesium from Holland and Barrett. It helps with twitching and is called nature's sedative as it helps you sleep and helps with anxiety.

It's true, though? I mean I dont' know the technical best term, but bottom line is, you see health problems where none exists. The doctors need to know this is your primary health problem (the anxiety) to offer you appropriate treatment.

they are seeing you, they are offering you treatment. But they can't give you treatment you need, you need the specialists instead, they can't fast track that.

If they weren't compassionate & trying to help, they would refuse to see you at all, delist you even.

They won’t delete it from your file

If something is proveably wrong then you can have it removed. So if this has not been discussed with you properly or has been written down incorrectly, then you can ask to have it removed as well as having a note put on or it hidden or both in the meantime. It isn't easy though.

You should have been offered a referral for a talking therapy to deal with catastrophising so if you haven't been, that's an error on the part of those GPs. And particularly given that you show awareness this trait shouldn't be held against you or given too much weight. If you have possible medication side effects it's very important that they are given attention and yellow carded whether or not they are 'definitely' side effects or not. Assuming you are a woman, be aware that women suffer from this kind of unconscious bias and dismissal of their concerns from healthcare professionals frequently (more than men but it happens to men too) - don't put up with it.

To a PP, don't believe for a moment that GPs and other medics don't write things like this down. It used to be 'TATT' with reluctance to act, in my case, as though that's reasonable especially in a young person (yep I had an actual medical reason for it which I had to push and push about). I also find actual errors across my notes quite regularly where someone has written the wrong term or something I blatantly didn't say which they have misunderstood or misremembered and probably written down after the fact. They are so rushed, it can't be easy, which is why we need to stay vigilant and speak up.

I also have a friend who had some things actually removed although he had to really fight for it. And other healthcare professionals kept coming across them not knowing (or more sinisterly, not believing, despite the corrections from other healthcare professionals) that they were wrong, in the meantime. It caused a lot of problems.

This is one reason why some people go to private GPs, counsellors etc. for some things.

Can I just mention here that ordering tests for 'reassurance' is extremely counter productive in health anxiety as all it does is reinforce the belief that there might be something wrong. The same goes for expediting tests. It also puts additional pressure on waiting lists for clinically indicated tests for no reason.

For those people taking magnesium, I'm not saying don't, but my very helpful and holistic GP pointed out to me that it should only be taken for a few days at a time and not too often, unless you're going to monitor levels via regular blood tests especially in the early stages, to make sure you don't end up with too-high magnesium which can cause its own problems.

With regard to the OP, I've found NHS England's website and phone helpline useful on occasion for cutting through a shitload of crap.

Not at all, you admit to being a hypochondriac, I am one too - I suffer from health anxiety and take meds for it. Its a real condition that causes those of us who suffer real problems, and requires treatment.

Its a legitimate thing to have on the notes, its important that any doctor seeing you knows about the anxiety, but it doesn't mean they won't investigate any genuine symptoms that present - so you don't need to worry about them missing something - these guys are highly trained!

Are you a clinician @TolpuddleFarter ? There are cases where this can be helpful, although I agree it is not a blanket recommendation

Nevertheless, you seemed to ignore most of my post which pointed out that it's important for HCPs to know if a patient has health anxiety (as long as they are not using it to dismiss symptoms)

@disco2023

Thank so much for the clarification!!

I do a bit of bank nursing and recently triaged someone who admitted she had crippling health anxiety. I confess my initial reaction was to metaphorically roll my eyes but I had long chat with her and saw how awful it is, how debilitating it is for her and I urged to her to go and get some help as she was clearly a lovely person and I felt very sorry for that her life was being affected by this condition.
I think it helps that she was able to be honest with me and that I in turn was able to triage her in such a way that I could genuinely put her mind at rest and also have a discussion albeit brief about a way forward for her. So I would like to think that it would help any GP that you have an appointment with. I would just like to add that I read patients notes both hospital and GP notes/past medical history all the time ( I used to have a job where I had to nit pick my way through thousands of patients notes) and have done so for nearly 40 years and have never seen "hypochondriasis" in any patients notes although I do increasingly see the words "health anxiety" on referral letters. When my colleagues and I see patients with the diagnosis health anxiety written in the referral we do go the extra mile to reassure them and explain the results of tests etc.
As HCPs we are often feel frustrated by those with serious health anxiety unfortunately A and E an MIU or a busy GP surgery on a Monday morning is not the right place for people suffering with this problem they need to see someone with time to talk to them reassure in the immediate term and find a way forward for them in the long term.

Well if you admit it’s accurate, what’s the issue?

OP, can I recommend the books of Claire Weekes which I do all the time on here, especially the ones on recovering from nervous disorders. That jerking awake and twitching sound like the types of things she describes as being due to nervous exhaustion (much more scientifically than me).

I would definitely start with getting one of her books and starting to try to live by the principles, which are extreme acceptance of weird symptoms, once they have been checked by a doctor (which yours have). It's very hard to do but it absolutely works in the long run.

In the shorter term, the magnesium seems a good shout, although I found it gave me nightmares.

There is a way through this and if you treat your health anxiety/nervous disorder first then all your non-health anxiety symptoms will be more visible as well, and also because there's so much you can do for anxiety and bodily nervousness that can improve your quality of life.

If you do exercise, follow her book and take magnesium, say for a good month, and you still have the health problem, you will know that it's something that needs further GP investigation.

I do a bit of bank nursing and recently triaged someone who admitted she had crippling health anxiety. I confess my initial reaction was to metaphorically roll my eyes

Would you roll your eyes at a patient with other health conditions?

That was for @tiredwardsister

I think it's a positive thing that they have an accurate record of you having health anxiety (I wouldn't get too hung up on what term they use in the notes).
It means that rather than dive straight in with changing medication or further investigations they can treat the HA (e.g. the suggestion to exercise) and see if that makes a difference.

Health anxiety means the same thing. The medical community can't keep inventing terms that people feel more comfortable with when everyone knows what they mean

I don't know anything medical, but I work in software and can confirm that the system I work on contains the word Hypochondriasis as the low level term for Illness anxiety disorder (preferred term) The GP will probably have just selected it as an option from whatever term they typed in.

Does this mean from now on I will struggle to get taken seriously?

No, but it's good for other professionals to know so they can take more care when explaining things to you. It's also relevant background information for when you are presenting with symptoms that are anxiety related. It will save you from being put through unnecessary tests and procedures.

No generally I try to treat all people with respect but a busy A and E is not the right place for people with health anxiety believing that a superficial scratch on their face that they've had for 48 hours is a malignant melanoma and that they are dying of metastatic disease. I have to also say I would metaphorically roll my eyes to anyone rocking up and A and E at 10 at night with this sort of thing health anxiety or not.
But I do understand that their health care needs are not being met by the NHS.

I uege all to get a copy of your medical notes and see exactly how they write about patients. No excuse that they are busy.

This doesn't seem like it would be a brilliant idea for someone who freely acknowledges that they get unduly anxious about their health.

Every minor or transient symptom mentioned once to a GP and later forgotten, every slightly out-of-range blood test result that returned to normal, every possible differential diagnosis a GP at some time considered seriously enough to write down and rule out, every bit of information from other parts of the NHS sent back to the GP for their records… someone who's anxious about their health could end up scouring their records with WebMD on their phone, adding together 1, 2, and 3, and getting 518.

And, as you say, much of it produced by busy medical professionals writing primarily for other busy medical professionals, and hence using both professional medical jargon and abrupt, concise language, which can be confusing, alarming, upsetting or offensive for the patient reading it.

In the past they have done e.g. Certain terms for cerebral palsy and certain kinds of intellectual disability have fortunately been dropped. I see your point though. I'm guessing what matters is that stigma against mental illnesses becomes reduced and that the O P is supported in the way they need most..

It's another word for health anxiety. You said you do have health anxiety so valid thing to be on your notes

Because 6 are more accurate and respectful of the patient.