Right please help me to decide what to tell my gp and what not to.

[CharleeInChains]

I am going to my new GP on Thursday, i have seen her once before and she seemed really friendly so i have picked her to go and try and get my health sorted once and for all, i am worried though, i have had really bad health since i was born and i think if i go in and tell her the 101 symptoms and problems i have she will label me as a hypocondricat and tell me to go away. My last gp surgery wern't very friendly and i get the impression they thought i was a nutter.

I have a history of self harm so my last doctors put everything down to depression once they had ruled out a couple of things, now don't get me wrong i have suffered in the bloody worst depths of depression and i know this isn't the same.

I was born tiny i was 1 pound 2oz and snce borth i have spent alot of time at the hospital for alot of things none of them seemingly related.

I have the following symptoms on a very regular basis that have so far gone undiagnosed.

Chest pain - niggly stabbing pains

My legs are in agony after the smallesta amount of excersise to the point where i cannot walk.

My joints are very painfull alot.

I have a perminently red nose that on clser inspection is like a rash.

I get very breathless alot.

I am overwieght despite a balanced diet and reasonable excersise.

I get alot of very painfull, weepy boils, always on my breast/ neck/ back and stomach.

Iget alot of nose bleeds.

My hair falls out alot.

I am so hypersensitive to noise to the point that if i hear drilling or something similar for a long period of time i actually vomit and get bad headaces becuase of the iritating noise.

I suffer from bad migraines.

I get bad stomach pains

I am always tired to the point that i can fall asleep standing up.

I have constant high level of blood and protien in my urine but scans have shown no problems

I have had the following treatment and tests.

I have had several laperoscopys and my apendix removed due to stomach pain no joy in curing it.

I have had many ct scans and xrays of my chest, they found blood clots and put it down to me bieng pregnant at the time and put my on anti coagulants while i was pg.
I have also had steroid injections into my wrists and chest and knees which haven't helped the pain.

I have seen a physiotherapist who says i am so hyper mobile she can't really do anything dfor me but my knees are at risk of completley collapsing.

I have been tested for many things including Lupus and thyroid problems.

I have had many operations to fix broken bones but they don't heal correclt leaving me with disfugred limbs. (hands and ankle)

Apart from that i have been on loads of anti depressants and have had cbt, one dr suggested Bipolar and many have thrown about other diagnosis but nothing solid.

Basicly i am flipping sick of bieng so bloody ill all the time, i hate it i am always ill and now people look at me as if to say 'Oh Charlee is ill again, no suprise there' and look like this at me.

I know if i spout out all this the gp i will end up crying as its really overwhelming. I try and explain and it comes out in a jumble. However i know it needs sorting as i am sick of being in pain.

Please help me rationalise this and help me with what to say and how to aprroach my gp on Thursday.

Sorry this is so long.

God just reading that back makes me sound like a fucking nightmare.

Im not a loon honestly its just 21 (very nearly 22) years of illness is just not funny anymore, i know i need to pull my head out the sand and get the ball rolling to get it sorted.

So are you 21?

Yes untill next week i am.

Could you write it down and explain to the dr that you get overwhelmed and all jumbly when trying to talk about it and let her read it all for herself?

Agree with BenFMsmum- write it all down.

Write it down. Or print exactly what you've posted here. Go through each thing, one at a time and discuss each one separately. A good GP will spot the links, but if you try to link it all together it may sound like a jumble. Some may be connected, others may be completely separate issues, let her descide.

I used to be ill all the time. I changed my doctor and did exactly what I've suggested you do. He replaced my list of repeat prescriptions (it ran to 2 pages) with a trip to a specialist to sort out some new tablets. One lot. Instead of about 15. Ta-daa! I feel fine now!

HTH

Why don't you print this out and take it to her? Say how miserable and frustrated you are with it all.

I could do i suppose i jsut feel like such a sad sact going in there saying 'well i have never got this sorted before but' blah blah blah.

If someone said that to me i would think that they may be either exagerating (which im not) or a bit mental (which i don't think i am)
It's not like im going in with just a headace or just a stomach ache.

I don't know if its all related or not i just really don;t want to live like this anymore.

Yes i think its for the best if i write it down 'printer out of ink' this new surgery has really helped dp and i don't want to waltz in thier and get myself labled and an attention seeker or anything lie i was at my last gp's.

Firstly,I would definitely make a double appointment.

Writing it down is a good idea.

I would think that a dr would far more like to have a case like yours and not just another "headache" woe is me story.

I will just explain that I'm not trying to offend anyone who suffers from headaches as not needing help or that dr's like people to be ill, but I hope you get what I mean!!

Yes i know what you mean, i have booked an apt so it will be ok if its a long one they only ask you to be quick if its a walk in clinic i have been waiting for this one for weeks.

I just wish i knew what my gp files said im sure they are emblazened with 'OH NO NOT HER AGAIN!' on them.

I am not a medic, but I do have an underactive thyroid and read a lot about this. A lot of your problems read like someon who is borderline hypothyroid tbh. I bet a combination of low dose thyroxine (25mg at first) and really upping the exercise big time (i.e. one hour a day of something serious like swimming a mile or whatever) would do no harm and maybe even do a bit of good.

The joints are the giveaway IMO. Often overlooked in thyroid diagnoses. Hair and tiredness big clues as well. Just a vibe I have.

I think i have had it all tested before, tbh my mum used to do the talking and i used to sit there not paying alot of attention, thats one of the reasons i would love a copy of my gp and hospital files.

I do know my Lupus test was high but not high enough to actually have Lupus i don't know what was high though becuase im not sure what they test for...........

Even as i sit here now my chest is hurting and my lower abdomen is cramping (not due to period pains as i have only just finished) it's stupid really i had the same thing with ds 2 years ago, alot of symptoms but no diagnosis i pushed like hell to get it sorted and it turned out h has CF so i don't know why i have never done it for myself, obvously i don't have anything nearly as bad ut something isn't right.

I just wanted to say I know what you mean. I feel like im falling apart most days and im sure anyone who has seen my medical history in the last 6 years would think i was mad
honestly you know your body better than anyone else. I agree with the other that printing out might be a good idea. HTH

Doea anyone know if you actually can get a copy of medical records and how?

The wierd thing about thyroid problems is you get loads of apparently random symptoms, and it's only after a week or two on treatment you realise there was a thread linking them all.

If you have enough standard thyroid symptoms a good GP would treat you for it anyway even if your bloods showed you as being more or less in the normal range.

I'm not trying to convince you that you have a thyroid problem, btw, I just had a very clear and strong vibe from your list that it was possible. Half your symptoms could relate to this.

yes you can ask to see medical records. Have to ask in writing and i think a charge.

Thank you BM it is helpfull, don't worry dr's have trown around all sorts of possible things so i won't set my hopes on it but i will keep it in mind.