How to get treatment?

lessonlearned

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

My husband's tablets are esomeprazole, sounds similar. Early days yet, but they appear to be working.

The procedure he has been referred for is to make sure he does not have a hiatus hernia.

It is early days.......but please be aware that all the omeprazole type drugs are a short term fix.........please do not take them for too long.

I ended up on them for 10years and had a devil of a job to wean myself off them. Did it slowly over a 9 month.

Have all the investigations to rule out anything nasty and then, assuming it’s “only” reflux and nothing more sinister then look at dietary and lifestyle changes.

I struggled with stomach ulcers and acid reflux for over 50 years but since overhauling my diet my stomach has healed and my gut health has vastly improved. I still get the odd bout of IBS, especially when I travel out of the UK, but that is usually self inflicted and I can soon put it right by eating carefully.

It might be worth getting your husband to see a nutritionist.

And.....don’t feel you have to apologise for seeking private medical treatment. Sometimes you have to. There’s nothing to feel guilty about and you shouldn’t have to explain yourself on here. How you choose to spend your money is your affair.

The NHS is a wonderful institution and cannot be faulted for acute conditions. However, I think it does fall down sometimes when trying to sort out chronic long term illnesses.

I have private medical insurance and I use it. I also sometimes pay privately for things that aren’t covered by medical insurance or where I want to exercise personal choice. I am not rich by the way, I just priotorise my spending.

£150 to see a consultant........absolute bargain. Some people pay that for a hair cut or blow it on night out. :rotfl:

Manxman_in_exile

fred246 wrote: »

I only made the comment about teachers to make you realise that NHS doctors are the same ones as private ones just as teachers in private schools are the same as teachers in state schools. You can have the added assurance that most doctors in the private sector are just there for the cash so you are more likely to be offered a procedure or operation. Why would you opt to pay a fortune for a procedure when the same procedure is free on the NHS? salmon sandwiches afterwards?

I don't think that most people who pay their own money privately are paying for operations or procedures. They're paying a relatively small amount of money to have the initial referral with a specialist done more quickly. Yes - this is a form of queue jumping, but, as the OP has already pointed out, the NHS allows you to do this.


I used to work in the NHS, but the last time I needed a referral to a consultant I paid privately to get it over with quickly. Rather than having to wait about 16 weeks worrying whether I had a really serious heart condition it was done within ten days and I was told there was nothing wrong with me. If I'd been told I needed heart surgery, I'd have had it done on the NHS.


Result - I didn't have to sit around for 16 weeks getting stressed out and worried about even getting out of breath, and I wasn't taking up an NHS referral slot that I didn't need. The consultant I saw has at least one session allocated to private work so it wasn't impinging on his NHS contract.


The only way to stop queue jumping would be to prevent NHS doctors doing any private work at all - and I can't see that happening any time soon!

Manxman_in_exile

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I have come to the conclusion that it is our expectations that are the defining matter here. We assumed that our Doctor would have recommended a referral, inot that my husband would have to ask for one.

I think if you've got a really good GP then that is how it should work. Unfortunately, a lot of GPs seem to be under so much pressure that you, as a patient, need to be really proactive in getting progress.


To be honest, though, I'm nearly 60 and have never come across a bad (or even poor GP). My current practice is really excellent and all the GPs are good. We never have any difficulty getting an appointment and the GPs never seem to be under any pressure to get patients out in the often mentioned ten minutes. Of course this means appointments run late but we accept this as it means patients are getting the time they need.


Glad your husband's problem is now getting treatment in a way you are happy with.


(I've told a lie! Seven years ago I saw a newly qualified GP who misdiagnosed an eye condition. Four days later I had an urgent referral - from another GP -to our local eye casualty clinic. The specialist there was absolutely furious that the original GP hadn't spotted the problem!)

seven-day-weekend

lessonlearned wrote: »

It is early days.......but please be aware that all the omeprazole type drugs are a short term fix.........please do not take them for too long.

I ended up on them for 10years and had a devil of a job to wean myself off them. Did it slowly over a 9 month.

Have all the investigations to rule out anything nasty and then, assuming it’s “only” reflux and nothing more sinister then look at dietary and lifestyle changes.

I struggled with stomach ulcers and acid reflux for over 50 years but since overhauling my diet my stomach has healed and my gut health has vastly improved. I still get the odd bout of IBS, especially when I travel out of the UK, but that is usually self inflicted and I can soon put it right by eating carefully.

It might be worth getting your husband to see a nutritionist.

And.....don’t feel you have to apologise for seeking private medical treatment. Sometimes you have to. There’s nothing to feel guilty about and you shouldn’t have to explain yourself on here. How you choose to spend your money is your affair.

The NHS is a wonderful institution and cannot be faulted for acute conditions. However, I think it does fall down sometimes when trying to sort out chronic long term illnesses.

I have private medical insurance and I use it. I also sometimes pay privately for things that aren’t covered by medical insurance or where I want to exercise personal choice. I am not rich by the way, I just priotorise my spending.

£150 to see a consultant........absolute bargain. Some people pay that for a hair cut or blow it on night out. :rotfl:

Thankyou LL for your wise and considered kind counsel.

My husband has been given dietary advice by the consultant. He has also suffered from IBS for many years, although that has not played up so much recently. He went without his usual biscuit bedtime snack last night, and has bought a load of fizzy water to drink (recommended by consultant).

I am not apologising in any way for going private. Like you, I think it is up to my husband if he wishes to spend his money in this way.

If he has the procedure for testing for hiatus hernia done privately, it is only £190. Bargain! He is waiting for the NHS appointment to come through but it almost certainly will be months away, whereas he can have it done privately in a few weeks. No contest as far as I am concerned, even without the nicer hospital and more personal treatment.

Thanks again.

badmemory

I have a hiatus hernia. Well I assume I still do from over 20 years ago. It seems to be a very personal thing. I was told spicy food bad, bland good. I can eat curry or chilli so strong it takes the skin off your lips no problem - but give me lettuce, pain city. The only time I now need any medication is when for some reason I have been unable to eat.

As for what started it (my belief only of course) a massive (3 st in 2.5 months) weight gain (caused by underactive thyroid) followed by a really massive attempt at weight loss. Living on under 400 cals of mostly salad a day month after month actually for 18 of them (coming from a slim family i was getting desperate).

The one thing I do know is that if I eat a salad based meal I can point to the exact spot it is going to hurt

Manxman_in_exile

fred246 wrote: »

I only made the comment about teachers to make you realise that NHS doctors are the same ones as private ones just as teachers in private schools are the same as teachers in state schools.

I think you are mistaken. The doctors you pay to see privately are probably the same doctors you would see on the NHS. However, I don't think that teachers in private schools are actually the same teachers you would find in state funded schools. Of course, teachers from state schools could be moonlighting in private schools, but only if those private schools were teaching throughout the night. I certainly would not want to be paying ££££££££ for a private education if they were teaching my kids throughout the night!


I'm struggling to understand whatever point you are trying to make. You are not doing very well.


I also fail to understand why you attacked the OP so personally.

fred246

We have a simple case of someone needing a very common medication for a very common condition. It's available over the counter so could be obtained without seeing a doctor. It was the lack of information about the visits that intrigued me. If he was continually told to go away that is poor but we have never been told that just that several visits happened. I am very perceptive and normally correct but I can't prove what exactly happened.

seven-day-weekend

fred246 wrote: »

We have a simple case of someone needing a very common medication for a very common condition. It's available over the counter so could be obtained without seeing a doctor. It was the lack of information about the visits that intrigued me. If he was continually told to go away that is poor but we have never been told that just that several visits happened. I am very perceptive and normally correct but I can't prove what exactly happened.

You don't need to 'prove what exactly happened' I have told you in detail, even giving dates. I have no idea why you think I am lying about it, to which I take great exception.

Now I would like you to accept my word and stop treating me like I am on trial in a court room.

Loanranger

Just ignore the troll. He very obviously has no idea about what he is talking about. He probably has ishooes, as they say, and needs to be right all the time. Please don't rise to the bait.

Over the counter medicines such as Gaviscon will not really help acid reflux. I have acid reflux caused by a long standing hiatus hernia and I have been prescribed Lansoprazole for fifteen years or more and have taken it successfully.
The further test will perhaps be a small teeny tiny camera which is swallowed, an endoscopy, so the consultant can see what's what. I had that done privately and asked the consultant for a sedative to make it easier and this he did. I didn't know anything about the procedure, very easy.
My prescription is on repeat at the GP.

seven-day-weekend

Loanranger wrote: »

Just ignore the troll. He very obviously has no idea about what he is talking about. He probably has ishooes, as they say, and needs to be right all the time. Please don't rise to the bait.

Over the counter medicines such as Gaviscon will not really help acid reflux. I have acid reflux caused by a long standing hiatus hernia and I have been prescribed Lansoprazole for fifteen years or more and have taken it successfully.
The further test will perhaps be a small teeny tiny camera which is swallowed, an endoscopy, so the consultant can see what's what. I had that done privately and asked the consultant for a sedative to make it easier and this he did. I didn't know anything about the procedure, very easy.
My prescription is on repeat at the GP.

Yes thanks I will ignore Fred in future

My husband knows the procedure is a camera. The consultant explained the procedure . MY husband will most definitely ask for a sedative.

He has been prescribed esomeprazole which he has to take before meals, and gaviscon which he has to take after meals, as well as following the dietary advice.

Thanks for your kind words