[Anonymous]

If not anon please deletes!

Basically I've had various problems over the years and my awful doctor NEVER refers me! I.e. i was going to him for months about hair loss. Refused to believe me. Eventually he ordered bloods which showed really low iron. Went on three iron tabs a day for 5 months. Iron came back up, hair loss continued. I was told to wait a while for my body to 'stabilise' again. Three months later, went to the doctor, took a brush and brished my hair in front of him. The brush was FULL of hair. Atleast 100+ strands. That was the second time id brushed my hair! He referred me to a dermatologist.

Dermatologist diagnosed two types of alopecia. One where its generak and all over hair loss, and other where its worse in certain patches and I had completely smooth bald spots. He prescribed a steroid cream and told me to come back after a couple of months. Went back, bald spots cleared but still really bad general hair loss. He found that my iron was a little low again, told me o take iron tabs again and then, after three months go to my doc and have bloods taken. If iron normal, and hair loss still continues, I would be referred again. Did this. Iron normal and hair loss continuing, albeit a little less. HE WONT RE-REFER ME!!!!!!

Then my bleeding acne. I have sever acne. I mean SEVERE. Blackheads, whiteheads, cysts.......
My diet is good. I take supplements. I wear sunscreen. I remove sweat instantly after excersize. I drink 1.5L of water a day. I take herbal remedies. And i have a brilliant skin care routine. The cost of my skin products is around £120 a month, so i never have any money left over!

At 13, after two years of acne I went to the docs. Told it was normal. At 14 went back. I now had quite bad scarring, both pigmentation and icepick. Yes, when i was younger and stupid I used to pick. At 15 I was finally referred (to the same derm above, who 'dealt' with my hair). Given erythromycin and duac and another topical cream. Didnt work. Tried to go back. Had to be re referred. Doc refused. Much protesing. At 17, went back to the same derm. Still gave erythromycin, despite it not working at ALL and epiduo. Went to the my doctor and begged to be referred elsewhere. Would not do it. Finally, with another derm, taking tetracycline wjich id helping a litle and on the waiting lost for roaccutane. My point is that it tooks so long for him to do anything and now I have really bad scarring.

I also suffer from hirsutism and he refuses to do ANYTHING about it. He wont even test for PCOS, despite that my two of my aunts have it, i have acne, thinning hair, oily skin. Everything but irregular periods. The hirsutism is bad. I mean BAD. Not just a little fluff. He also knows that I am a carer for my mum, have problems with social anxiety and very low self esteem after years of bullying at school and home from my mum. His reply? Get over it.

The worst thing? He tells my grandad EVERYTHING. About 30 odd years ago my grandad helped him set up and everything and they are very close freinds. He tells him when i go to see him and so on. I cant change GP's as my mum wont let me and she would get suspicious.

Help!

[madders94]

He sounds awful, and I'm pretty sure he's breaking confidentiality laws by talking to your grandad about it; I'd report him.

Are you able to change GP without telling your mum? Just do it all without letting her know and when she does find out, tell her she can't do anything about it because you're not getting treatment that you need.

[KJane]

He shouldn't be telling your Grandfather about the visits. Are you over 18? I'd suggest you change GP's anyway. Your mum will get over it and if you're not satisfied with your doctor then it's not fair to put your health at risk when someone else may be able to give you better advice or treatment.

[LarrikinLibertine]

Yeah, give them all the finger and just change doctors. They can't stop you.

[funsongfactory]

You definitely need to change doctors! And regardless of your age you're entitled to doctor-patient confidentiality by law so report him for telling your private medical business to your grandad; it's illegal for him to do that.

[englishmad]

Do you have to change GPs as in the actual place? Couldn't you just ask to change the doctor at the GP - perhaps say you want to see a female doctor, and then see if she tells you different.

With your acne I would suggest doing nothing to your face for a week and see the effect because sometimes using many different skincare products is damaging and may have made your acne worse.

You could also save up and book a private appointment and see what they say?

[blueray]

(Original post by Anonymous)
If not anon please deletes!

Basically I've had various problems over the years and my awful doctor NEVER refers me! I.e. i was going to him for months about hair loss. Refused to believe me. Eventually he ordered bloods which showed really low iron. Went on three iron tabs a day for 5 months. Iron came back up, hair loss continued. I was told to wait a while for my body to 'stabilise' again. Three months later, went to the doctor, took a brush and brished my hair in front of him. The brush was FULL of hair. Atleast 100+ strands. That was the second time id brushed my hair! He referred me to a dermatologist.

Dermatologist diagnosed two types of alopecia. One where its generak and all over hair loss, and other where its worse in certain patches and I had completely smooth bald spots. He prescribed a steroid cream and told me to come back after a couple of months. Went back, bald spots cleared but still really bad general hair loss. He found that my iron was a little low again, told me o take iron tabs again and then, after three months go to my doc and have bloods taken. If iron normal, and hair loss still continues, I would be referred again. Did this. Iron normal and hair loss continuing, albeit a little less. HE WONT RE-REFER ME!!!!!!

Then my bleeding acne. I have sever acne. I mean SEVERE. Blackheads, whiteheads, cysts.......
My diet is good. I take supplements. I wear sunscreen. I remove sweat instantly after excersize. I drink 1.5L of water a day. I take herbal remedies. And i have a brilliant skin care routine. The cost of my skin products is around £120 a month, so i never have any money left over!

At 13, after two years of acne I went to the docs. Told it was normal. At 14 went back. I now had quite bad scarring, both pigmentation and icepick. Yes, when i was younger and stupid I used to pick. At 15 I was finally referred (to the same derm above, who 'dealt' with my hair). Given erythromycin and duac and another topical cream. Didnt work. Tried to go back. Had to be re referred. Doc refused. Much protesing. At 17, went back to the same derm. Still gave erythromycin, despite it not working at ALL and epiduo. Went to the my doctor and begged to be referred elsewhere. Would not do it. Finally, with another derm, taking tetracycline wjich id helping a litle and on the waiting lost for roaccutane. My point is that it tooks so long for him to do anything and now I have really bad scarring.

I also suffer from hirsutism and he refuses to do ANYTHING about it. He wont even test for PCOS, despite that my two of my aunts have it, i have acne, thinning hair, oily skin. Everything but irregular periods. The hirsutism is bad. I mean BAD. Not just a little fluff. He also knows that I am a carer for my mum, have problems with social anxiety and very low self esteem after years of bullying at school and home from my mum. His reply? Get over it.

The worst thing? He tells my grandad EVERYTHING. About 30 odd years ago my grandad helped him set up and everything and they are very close freinds. He tells him when i go to see him and so on. I cant change GP's as my mum wont let me and she would get suspicious.

Help!

If you have hair loss then do this (type in the videos in youtube) eg "baba ramdev KAPALBHATI"

http://www.livestrong.com/article/50...a-hair-growth/

If you have low iron take iron supplement pouches, the tablets can only make your body absorb so much and the make your stomach feel like ****.

pm me for more info, I have first hand experience on this.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by englishmad)
Do you have to change GPs as in the actual place? Couldn't you just ask to change the doctor at the GP - perhaps say you want to see a female doctor, and then see if she tells you different.

With your acne I would suggest doing nothing to your face for a week and see the effect because sometimes using many different skincare products is damaging and may have made your acne worse.

You could also save up and book a private appointment and see what they say?

During a trip aborad, I lost of most of my stuff as a bag was lost. I used nothing but a mild cleanser and moisturiser with sunscreen. Came back home and was covered in spots. My face was just ugh. I missed school and didnt leave the house for almost 12 days, until it had settled a little. Thanks anyway!

(Original post by madders94)
He sounds awful, and I'm pretty sure he's breaking confidentiality laws by talking to your grandad about it; I'd report him.

Are you able to change GP without telling your mum? Just do it all without letting her know and when she does find out, tell her she can't do anything about it because you're not getting treatment that you need.

How do I report him and is it possible to did it anonymously?

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your problems with your GP, I have similar issues with my doctor. I've felt ill for months: nausea, headaches, faintness, fatigue etc. When I first went to see him he did a blood test which came back saying that I had low vitamin D levels, so he prescribed me vitamin D supplements. My symptoms continued, so I went back about 2 months later. He redid the blood test which didn't show anything abnormal, so now he seems to have just given up. He literally asked me what I wanted him to do! I honestly didn't know what to say, he's the one with the medical training, how am I supposed to know what the next step should be? Anyway it turns out that he's leaving my GPs surgery in a month, so I go to see whoever replaces him and hope that he/she is more professional. Having spoken to other people about their experiences with their GPs in various forums, this unfortunately seems to be quite a common occurrence. Apparently a lot of doctors are really reluctant to refer patients because it uses up their budget. I think it's appalling that they just leave people to suffer alone rather than doing their job.

If you are over 18 your doc discussing your case with your uncle is most definitely a breach of the confidentiality rules, and you should report him. Other than that all you can do is change GPs and hope that you get somebody more understanding and less incompetent.

Good luck.

[OU Student]

(Original post by Anonymous)

How do I report him and is it possible to did it anonymously?

I think it's PALS you need to contact. I'm sure your GP practise also has a complaints procedure.

[Freak Out]

Sorry I can't help except with the skin. Using so many products on your skin is bad. A gentle, non-comedogenic cleanser is all you need. Save your money.

You say your diet is good, but what does your diet consist of? What's considered healthy and non-problematic for the skin varies between people, food intolerances etc... Dairy is a common allergen that can exacerbate acne, as can other things you wouldn't expect such as citrus fruits, nuts etc. It depends on you, not what others tell you. Try an elimination diet and take supplements (I take the following daily: a probiotic supplement, selenium+vitamin A,C,E combo, niacin, milk thistle, evening primrose oil, omega 369, vitamin D and zinc) Don't waste your money on multivitamins if your diet is good, certain B vitamins and iodine have been shown to worsen acne as well.

That doctor is an idiot. Report him to the GMC: http://www.gmc-uk.org

[nexttime]

(Original post by Anonymous)
During a trip aborad, I lost of most of my stuff as a bag was lost. I used nothing but a mild cleanser and moisturiser with sunscreen. Came back home and was covered in spots. My face was just ugh. I missed school and didnt leave the house for almost 12 days, until it had settled a little. Thanks anyway!

That's not nothing. Try literally nothing (except cleaning with soap, rinse off, obv). Things like suncream especially i can't imagine helped in that week. At the very least, you'd saved a week's worth of the astounding amount of money you claim to spend on skin products.

And it is breach of confidentiality for the GP to discuss your health with anyone, no matter what age you are, without a good reason. The medical authorities are on your side if you complain.

[Cherriesxo]

Thing is, he has referred you. According to your post he's referred you to a dermatologist at least 5 times. If you're that bothered about it, go privately where you'll be seen asap. You could use some of the £120 that you waste on skincare products. (That's an insane amount of money. What are you buying?!)
I agree though the doc shouldn't be saying private information about you to your grandad. You should make a complaint against him.

[SuperCat007]

I know you say you won't change GP's. But just ask for someone else and tell your mum your normal one wasn't available or something like that. You CANNOT put up with treatment like this, you have to see another GP. Or complain to your practise manager about him and have a meeting with him, your mum and the manager about his behaviour. There may be a genuine reason for it, or he may just not be very nice.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Cherriesxo)
Thing is, he has referred you. According to your post he's referred you to a dermatologist at least 5 times. If you're that bothered about it, go privately where you'll be seen asap. You could use some of the £120 that you waste on skincare products. (That's an insane amount of money. What are you buying?!)
I agree though the doc shouldn't be saying private information about you to your grandad. You should make a complaint against him.

He does refer me, after YEARS of pestering. He isnt doing anything about the hirsutism or the possible PCOS. Not even bloods. PCOS runs in the family and I have nearly all the symptoms. Nor did he do anything when i went to him and I was so down that I was considering offing myself. It was a few weeks after my gran died, while I was being bullied at home and school, failing my GCSE's, acne getting worse, about to be thrown out of our house and my social anxiety was getting so bad that during class all i could think about was people talking/laughing about me and everytime i walked into a classroom my palms would sweat, i wouldnt me able to look at anything but my feet. I would spend the hour just praying that the teacher didnt get me to answer a question. His answer was that i should get over it because lifes just like that. Not even a word of comfort.

The money goes on facials and skin stuff. Each fortnight I have a facial that costs around £30. The remaining £60 is spent dermalogica/ liz earle/ amie products.

Anyway, thank you for the post and to everyone else that replied. Im not going to report him but I will change to a different GP.

[digitalis]

(Original post by Anonymous)
The cost of my skin products is around £120 a month, so i never have any money left over!

Stop spending so much on 'skin products'.

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by Anonymous)
If not anon please deletes!

Basically I've had various problems over the years and my awful doctor NEVER refers me! I.e. i was going to him for months about hair loss. Refused to believe me. Eventually he ordered bloods which showed really low iron. Went on three iron tabs a day for 5 months. Iron came back up, hair loss continued. I was told to wait a while for my body to 'stabilise' again. Three months later, went to the doctor, took a brush and brished my hair in front of him. The brush was FULL of hair. Atleast 100+ strands. That was the second time id brushed my hair! He referred me to a dermatologist.

Dermatologist diagnosed two types of alopecia. One where its generak and all over hair loss, and other where its worse in certain patches and I had completely smooth bald spots. He prescribed a steroid cream and told me to come back after a couple of months. Went back, bald spots cleared but still really bad general hair loss. He found that my iron was a little low again, told me o take iron tabs again and then, after three months go to my doc and have bloods taken. If iron normal, and hair loss still continues, I would be referred again. Did this. Iron normal and hair loss continuing, albeit a little less. HE WONT RE-REFER ME!!!!!!

Then my bleeding acne. I have sever acne. I mean SEVERE. Blackheads, whiteheads, cysts.......
My diet is good. I take supplements. I wear sunscreen. I remove sweat instantly after excersize. I drink 1.5L of water a day. I take herbal remedies. And i have a brilliant skin care routine. The cost of my skin products is around £120 a month, so i never have any money left over!

At 13, after two years of acne I went to the docs. Told it was normal. At 14 went back. I now had quite bad scarring, both pigmentation and icepick. Yes, when i was younger and stupid I used to pick. At 15 I was finally referred (to the same derm above, who 'dealt' with my hair). Given erythromycin and duac and another topical cream. Didnt work. Tried to go back. Had to be re referred. Doc refused. Much protesing. At 17, went back to the same derm. Still gave erythromycin, despite it not working at ALL and epiduo. Went to the my doctor and begged to be referred elsewhere. Would not do it. Finally, with another derm, taking tetracycline wjich id helping a litle and on the waiting lost for roaccutane. My point is that it tooks so long for him to do anything and now I have really bad scarring.

I also suffer from hirsutism and he refuses to do ANYTHING about it. He wont even test for PCOS, despite that my two of my aunts have it, i have acne, thinning hair, oily skin. Everything but irregular periods. The hirsutism is bad. I mean BAD. Not just a little fluff. He also knows that I am a carer for my mum, have problems with social anxiety and very low self esteem after years of bullying at school and home from my mum. His reply? Get over it.

The worst thing? He tells my grandad EVERYTHING. About 30 odd years ago my grandad helped him set up and everything and they are very close freinds. He tells him when i go to see him and so on. I cant change GP's as my mum wont let me and she would get suspicious.

Help!

File a complaint if no one believes you into his practices

[OU Student]

There really is no reason to spend so much on skin care. I use the Simple face wash. It works well and isn't that expensive.

[HCubed]

The symptoms of PCOS can be substantially reduced with diet. Try watching Episode 1 of The Food Hospital here:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/t...d-hospital/4od

[Vohamanah]

I think its easy to feel hard done by when a GP won't do what you want them to do, but I don't think your GP can be overly criticised here. You won't believe how many people go into a GP surgery having researched their "symptoms" on the internet, or imagining symptoms to match up with some rare condition they have heard about and convinced themselves they have. Its the PG who is the professional, and they do what they think is the right thing for you from a medical point of view.

(Original post by Anonymous)
was going to him for months about hair loss. Refused to believe me. Eventually he ordered bloods which showed really low iron. Went on three iron tabs a day for 5 months. Iron came back up, hair loss continued. I was told to wait a while for my body to 'stabilise' again. Three months later, went to the doctor, took a brush and brished my hair in front of him. The brush was FULL of hair. Atleast 100+ strands. That was the second time id brushed my hair! He referred me to a dermatologist.

Seems to me to be a reasonable course of action. In a young person there is very rarely a sinister reason for hair loss. Everyone loses some hair when they brush it. There can be many reasons for it, including stress and diet, and its reasonable to leave ii to see if it settles without the need for treatment. When it didn't settle, your GP ordered tests, which showed low iron, so they treated that. Again, that's a reasonable course of action in my opinion. When the hair loss continued, you were referred to a specialist. I don't see where the problem is.

Dermatologist diagnosed two types of alopecia. One where its generak and all over hair loss, and other where its worse in certain patches and I had completely smooth bald spots. He prescribed a steroid cream and told me to come back after a couple of months. Went back, bald spots cleared but still really bad general hair loss. He found that my iron was a little low again, told me o take iron tabs again and then, after three months go to my doc and have bloods taken. If iron normal, and hair loss still continues, I would be referred again. Did this. Iron normal and hair loss continuing, albeit a little less. HE WONT RE-REFER ME!!!!!!

So the dermatologist diagnosed you with alopecia and prescribed you a steroid cream, which is a standard treatment for alopecia. And it worked, at least on the worst parts of hair loss. Again tested you to rule out other causes, showed you had low iron, and treated that. I don't know why your GP won't refer you back to the dermatologist. Perhaps its because he considers the steroid cream has treated the majority of the alopecia and its no longer serious enough to warrant a referral. Perhaps the dermatologist told the GP only to re-refer you if your symptoms got worse. I'm sure there's a back story you're not aware of.

Then my bleeding acne. I have sever acne. I mean SEVERE. Blackheads, whiteheads, cysts.......
My diet is good. I take supplements. I wear sunscreen. I remove sweat instantly after excersize. I drink 1.5L of water a day. I take herbal remedies. And i have a brilliant skin care routine. The cost of my skin products is around £120 a month, so i never have any money left over!

At 13, after two years of acne I went to the docs. Told it was normal. At 14 went back. I now had quite bad scarring, both pigmentation and icepick. Yes, when i was younger and stupid I used to pick. At 15 I was finally referred (to the same derm above, who 'dealt' with my hair). Given erythromycin and duac and another topical cream. Didnt work. Tried to go back. Had to be re referred. Doc refused. Much protesing. At 17, went back to the same derm. Still gave erythromycin, despite it not working at ALL and epiduo. Went to the my doctor and begged to be referred elsewhere. Would not do it. Finally, with another derm, taking tetracycline wjich id helping a litle and on the waiting lost for roaccutane. My point is that it tooks so long for him to do anything and now I have really bad scarring.

Acne is an absolute pain to treat. Treatments that work for some people don't work for others. It sounds like you've already been tried on a whole bucket of treatments. There's no magic cure for acne, they have clearly been doing what they can for you. You've been referred to dermatologists three times and you're still not happy. There's only so much your GP can do.

You have quite bad scarring, which isn't going to help, but won't be treated on the NHS because it will be considered a purely cosmetic procedure. If you want the scarring treated you will have to go privately.

I also suffer from hirsutism and he refuses to do ANYTHING about it. He wont even test for PCOS, despite that my two of my aunts have it, i have acne, thinning hair, oily skin. Everything but irregular periods. The hirsutism is bad. I mean BAD. Not just a little fluff.

PCOS is not the only caus of hirsutism. More to the point are you sure its not just a normal amount of body hair? If your GP has seen it and is not concerned about a sinister cause, I think you may be overreacting. Body and facial hair can be quite dark on some women, especially if you have dark hair, and so more noticeable, but every woman has body and facial hair (apart from my ex's mother, the bitch). If its particularly dark it can be embarrassing, but there are lots of methods of temporary and permanent hair removal. again, they are not normally available on the NHS as it is a cosmetic procedure, but if you have such a huge disposable income you should have no problems paying privately for hair removal.

You seem to be jumping to the conclusion that you have PCOS because of your family history, but your symptoms can easily be explained (see above). One of the main indicators of PCOS is irregular periods or no periods, and you've said your periods are normal. All you are basing PCOS on is the fact people have it in your family, when as far as I am aware it is rare for PCOS to be hereditary in any event. Your only other symptoms are hair loss, which has already been diagnosed as alopecia, body hair and acne, which is not at all unusual. It sounds like you have already decided you have PCOS and are frustrated that your doctor won't agree with you. But that's not the doctor's job. He's doing his actual job, but just not finding what you want him to find. But maybe it isn't there to find.

He also knows that I am a carer for my mum, have problems with social anxiety and very low self esteem after years of bullying at school and home from my mum. His reply? Get over it.

I'm sorry that you're having a hard time, but what do you really expect the GP to do? Fair enough it sounds like he could improve on his bedside manner, but social anxiety and low self-esteem because of bullying isn't a medical condition. He can't prescribe something to make it go away. Its something you do have to deal with yourself. NHS resources are pushed enough as it is without people consulting their GP abuot things they just cannot help with. They are not a shoulder to cry on, they are there to help with your medical problems. You don't appear to have any mental health issues, or psychological disorders, you don't sound like you need counselling. What else can he do?

The worst thing? He tells my grandad EVERYTHING. About 30 odd years ago my grandad helped him set up and everything and they are very close freinds. He tells him when i go to see him and so on.

Now I may be jumping to your GP's defence a bit here, probably because I think he's getting unfairly accused of a lot of things here when it sounds like you are a very regular attender and are not going to be happy whatever he proposes. Everything he's done sounds fairly reasonable to me.

How do you know what he tells your Grandad? I very much doubt he tells him "everything". He might mention in passing that he's seen you recently, but I don't think there's any cause for concern unless he's giving your Grandad confidential medial information, which should be covered by the doctor/patient privelege. All you've said it that he "tells him when I go to see him". If they are old friends I wouldn't be surprised if you come up in conversation occasionally, but to assume they are gossiping about your medical conditions behind your back is a bit of a leap, for me.

I cant change GP's as my mum wont let me and she would get suspicious.

Its up to you if you want to switch GPs, not your mother. Is there more than one GP at the practice? If so, just ask the receptionist to see someone else next time you go. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Maybe say you'd be more comfortable with a female doctor.

I am sorry if you think I'm being a bit harsh, but reading through your post it sounds like you go to the GP a lot and kick up quite a fuss when they don't do what you want. GPs have a really tough job, and I think to their credit the vast majority of them do a very good job. They aren't miracle workers, but they do what they can.