Doctor -trouble

robpw2

I have just visited a dr to get a new sicknote for my back not my usuaul dr but they didnt have any appointments till next wed so took what i could.

Anyway i mentioned to him that i have been having really sugar cravings bad memory lapses, lack of sleep, dropping alseep for 10 mins then waking up thinking i have been aslep for ages . confusion etc

he seemed extremely rude when he said taht every man gets sugar cravings and i should just control them , but its getting worse
then he kept saying i get that i get that at things i was trying to explain

me 26 year old male him middle aged dr - i wouldnt be expected to be suffering as bad as i am at my age


then he asked if i had a partner and did she ever say i snored to wich i replied yes but its a male partner i then got asked if i had been tested for hiv hepittatus and other conditions people associate with being gay . To which i tried to answer as best as i could.

he then took my blood pressure which was high and so he then made comments about my weight etc .. I mentioned about back and how its extremely difficult to excercise.


He then just went on about how he was not going to put on my doctors notes that i was gay as people might make assumptions and my doctors notes werent secure and anyone could find out but i should tell dr when i visit that im gay

he has suggested that im getting hypersomnia and has sent me for blood tests syaing its could be sleep apnea and then mentioning my weight again etc

I have only just had some blood tests done for my consultant and i feel he isnt really looking at the bigger picture

im pretty upset at the way he treated me and im upset at his innapropriate attiude to things.

should i complain or am i just fretting about nothing ...?
I also mentioned that i was having hearing issues he just sidestepped these issues

cmonthehoops

Thats a shocking doc you got there mate if it was me i would change to another one.

dmg24

I wouldn't take offence at the comments about you being gay. I have a (mainly!) heterosexual history that, at the relevant time, put me in the same high risk group as gay men, and this was noted on my records. When considering your health, it is better for medical professionals to have all the relevant information about you, as they are more likely to miss something if they do not.

I'm not sure about your comments about your medical records not being secure?

From the symptoms you have described I would agree that the next thing to do would be a full blood screen, irrespective of whether your consultant has also asked for bloods (they may have requested different information).

What 'bigger picture' do you think that he is missing?

I think your concern is that you did not like the GP's tone. Unfortunately not everybody is a 'people' person, and it sounds like this is the case here. My Practice Nurse told me I was 'fat' last time I saw her (I am overweight). At the time I was offended, but when I thought about it, she wasn't actually saying anything that wasn't true, she just had a poor choice of words.

soolin

I see this a little differently. Instead of just giving you a sick note and telling you to take an aspirin the GP took an interest in your wider health..many people would see that as a positive thing. An overweight young male with high blood pressure and a sleep problem should be ringing alarm bells and I would strongly suggest that you take any tests suggested and try and find any form (any at all) exercise that you can do, even from a prone position if necessary. My mother is disabled and has been given a set of very gentle exercises that she can do in a comfortable chair without hurting any of her 'hurt' bits.

GPs can often seem quite abrupt but unless they were downright rude , in which case I would not hesitate to suggest you make a formal complaint, I would just assume they are seeing too many patients in too short a time. My own GP would stop me if I tried to mention anything that I wasn't booked specifically for, due to time pressures and would certainly not volunteer info or advice about the wider picture.

robpw2

i just think he was being very narrow minded ..
in his comments and how i was just suffering from what all men get , which i could understand if i was older but i shouldnt be forgetting things i have already done or appointments i have booked

Horace

rob - if I were you I'd write a letter of complaint to the Practice Manager. Personally, I don't really see what business it is of the GP if you are gay or not especially if you practice safe sex like sensible people do I would make it known to the Practice Manager that you will not see that GP again and they must make every effort to accommodate you otherwise you will go elsewhere and escalate your complaint to the PCT and the General Medical Council.

If you have serious sugar cravings and your GP practice has failed to diagnose then get yourself to the local hospital. I would do this especially if I not only have a huge craving for sugar but also if I am starting to urinate a lot - there could be an underlying factor called Diabetes causing it. I am not saying you are a diabetic but I would go and get it checked out.

somebody_else

Rob, have you been checked for diabetes? That can cause sugar cravings, falling asleep like that (are you sure you're falling asleep and not losing conciousness? They are actually different) and memory problems.

I actually think the doc was right to mention the possibility of sleep apnoea - did he suggest going any further with that thought? Sorry, but your weight would be relelvant to both diabetes and sleep apnoea.

I would suggest going back to your usual doctor and discussing these things further. There is, after all, only so much any doctor can do in a 10 minute appointment.

funguy

Wow here is someone who is being advised to complain because the GP did what most people would like and took a wider look at your health issues!

At 26 - being overweight and having high blood pressure can potentially be very dangerous and have lots of implications for the future!!! This GP, although abrupt and a little tactless in his approach, has potentially advised you about things which could be big problems for you in the future. The blood tests would indicate if you were diabetic etc and may not be covered by the tests your consultant did.

Also, being gay, can potentially have implications and so sounds relevant in a patient consulting their GP.

I would suggest this was actually a better consultation than the GP simply handing over a sick note and should be taken as a proactive approach to whole patient care.

Feel free to complain to the Practice Manager about his tactlessness but this whole patient approach is what the PCT/GMC have been trying to get GPs to do for years!!

robpw2

yes i assume its falling asleep .. the thing is i am usually awake in 10mins and i will be dazed and confused etc.

I have not been tested for diabetes recently

im not disagreeing with his diagnosis -or suggestions just the way he handled it .
Im not saying im not overwieght - i know i have an issue but his disapproving comments about it were not required . I know im suffering from some depression so thinks seems to be a bit upsetting when perhaps they shouldnt but he just seemed very standoffish and i have never had that before

I dont care what they think about my sexual orientation but to automatically jump to my sexual health because i was forced to mention it is again not nescary to my complaint ...

funguy

I agree your sexual orientation is not relevant to your current complaint but it may be relevant at some point in the future when you are not aware so its important that your doctor knows about it.

Horace

Ah but Funguy - it is the doctor's attitude that stinks and how he made the OP feel.

It is certainly not relevant for the GP to know on every single visit that the OP is gay because that leaves him open to discrimination.

I once complained to the GMC about a GP - he refused to prescribe some contraceptives to me saying that I was committing a mortal sin for not wanting children, I had to listen to a tirade about lack of morals - he made assumptions about me that I didnt like. The GMC agreed that he had been rude but they also said that signage regarding this GP should be more prominent in the surgery so that patients could avoid him if they wanted contraceptives. There was me thinking that I was doing the right thing by not having kids and yet he and others seem to think that because I am a woman that I should have kids and to not want them is abnormal:mad: I had the tirade from another GP - this one told me that his wife didnt want kids and yet she had had 5 to which point I remarked on how irresponsible it was. Needless to say I no longer visit that surgery and moved to another one, I have since had to move to yet another one because I moved house.