Gynaecologist letter

[Lauren8642]

Can I hear people’s opinion about this letter. I had a gynaecologist appointment in November 2023 about my irregular periods also went because I have painful sex (obviously this was ignored) I was very upset with the appointment as he talked down to me said irregular periods are normal and because I’m young I shouldn’t have a problem trying for another baby. And the only way to get my periods normal is to go on the pill. And his response to my painful sex was use lube and try forplay. I rang pals straight away and they put me back on the wait list for another appointment with a different person. I have then received this letter of a copy from the gynaecologist to the doctors I think the way he has worded something is not very nice “pleasant 25 year old lady” (what’s that suppose to mean??) and “complaining” and then saying it’s not surprising my swaps and ultrasound came back normal🤷🏼‍♀️
I’m ringing the doctors tomorrow anyways because I think I may have a problem with my ovulation and the pain during sex and irregular periods isn’t getting better but wanted to hear what people thought about this letter

It’s a very normal letter that a consultant often writes to the GP. That’s the language they generally use. Nothing is meant by calling you pleasant or say that you have complained of certain symptoms.

Is quite no mal in terms of calling you pleasant. I had a better form my consultant saying it was a pleasure to see me and I was pleasant etc. its just their own way of writing.

Mmm. Perfectly normal letter. Pleasant is commonly used, complained isnt as in making a complaint, it's having a medical issue ie a complaint.

I once got one describing me as ‘an obese 19 year old’
I was healthy bmi back then, this was a psychiatrist.

Absolutely normal. He's described the appointment pretty much exactly as you did.
It's normal for consultants to use the 'pleasant' description. It's kind of shorthand for sensible and informed and indicates that the appointment was uncomplicated.
'Complained of..' again, absolutely normal. Is English by any chance your second language? Complaining of pain is a standard phrase.

Entirely normal language. The problem is that he’s not taking your issue seriously, not the wording in the letter.

Absolutely, completely, normal. Doesn't mean anything untoward.

I was once described as a 'delightful primagravida'! 😂 which I had to look up

‘Pleasant’ generally means ‘not a pain in the arse’ in my experience (having read many consultant letters at work).

To ‘complain’ is just medical terminology meaning ‘describing a symptom’. Eg. ‘Patient presents complaining of rash/headache/lethargy/etc.’

The implication of ‘as expected the tests came back normal’ is just ‘doesn’t have a history that suggests a likelihood of STIs’.

What is it that you feel the consultant should have done? Your tests appear reassuring and the only thing that they can offer to regulate your periods isn’t an option if you want to TTC.

The letter seems appropriate and reasonable.

I think the issue is the lack of acknowledgement of your issues and the lack of interest in sorting out your symptoms.

The letter is very standard. I think reading between the lines, you could infer that they feel that it wasn't a good referral from the GP because you're actively trying to conceive and therefore much if what they would offer isn't possible right now. That's their problem with not taking what women say and prioritise as important, not your personal issue.

as above, it’s a very normal letter.

Bog standard letter.

Do you know what you were hoping for? He is right to some extent - irregular periods are not necessarily a sign of underlying disease and you have had some reassuring investigations. And hormonal contraception is probably the best way of making your periods more regular but obviously not compatible with trying to get pregnant.

I think before you do anything else it’s worth thinking about what you would like to happen so that you can specifically discuss that with your doctor.

Thats a perfectly reasonable letter

Pleasant means nothing. Some consultants write it for everyone whether they are pleasant or not, it's just a routine thing to say when starting a letter. Personally I write it for no-one even if they are really really pleasant.

Equally complaining means 'told me the issue she is having', it doesn't mean whinging or making an official complaint.

I think it is a very standard looking hospital letter, the only thing that stands out is one of your complaints is painful sex which isn't mentioned, although this could be an oversight as not everything in a consult makes it in to the letter.

Pleasant is basically to indicate you weren't kicking off during the appointment.
Complaining of is a way to describe what a patient is being bothered by.

The latter part is covering their back by explaining what they offered, why it was declined and what the follow up will be.

The letter is a completely normal letter from a consultant. That's the language that's used in medicine.

He described exactly what you have, I'm not sure what the problem is?

It's a normal letter from a consultant- but I wonder if your symptoms could be endometriosis. Did they mention endo?

This is a standard normal letter from a specialist doctor to a GP. This is exactly how they always word things. There is nothing wrong with the letter.

I get a LOT of medical letters. That one is completely normal and quite good in its tone imo. They always say something like "pleasant lady" or similar at the beginning. And as PPs have says "complain" is just medical speak for describing symptoms. It doesn't mean you were having a moan. Another similar word they use in the medical world is "deny" as in "the patient denies fever" meaning the patient reports that they have not experienced a particular symptom or says no to a medical exam question. It can be used in ways that can seem judgemental or as if the patient is not being believed (eg the patient denies smoking) but it just means "the patient said no".

Similarly "not surprising" just means that the results were as they expected based on your symptoms/medical history etc.

I get plenty of medical letters that have inaccuracies in them. That annoys me more tbh. Nearly all of them have something wrong! One said I had cirrhosis! I don't! I have eczema that I think the doctor confused with psoriasis which got changed to cirrhosis via the dictation! I made sure I got that one changed!

It's a standard letter which uses standard terminology.

Ask for an ultrasound of your uterus (if it's not already been done). You could have adenomyosis.

@NotMyFinestMoment ive had a ultrasound transvaginal and normal that came up clear would they have looked at my uterus then?

As a medical secretary who has typed 1000s of letters - there is absolutely nothing unusual about that letter.

I'm sorry you didn't get the answers you wanted - maybe going back to the gp is a good idea but trying to conceive for 6 months is not an unreasonable suggestion.

While I agree with all the PPs saying the way that's written is totally normal, does anyone know why? I've often wondered why doctors feel.the need to describe their patients as "pleasant" it's so completely pointless and irrelevant. And it DOES sound patronising, even when most people.know it's written on every single letter.

@Samsond that’s what I mean, I can tell from a lot of peoples response then it was normal but I’ve never received a letter really from the doctors so like you said it does sound a bit patronising like what’s the need 🙈🤷🏼‍♀️ I didn’t connect well with him so I though he put that because he was a bit of a creep 😂