Another Boring Health Update (April 2015)

It's been about a month since my last health update, so I thought it was about time I stopped by to tell you what's been happening.

If you read last month's post, you might remember that I'd just been diagnosed with an inflammatory condition, but was waiting to see my doctor to find out which one I'd been diagnosed with.

So, the big news?

I couldn't tell ya!

I still don't know.

It's been six weeks since I received the letter which brought word of a diagnosis, and I still don't know the full picture.

I naively thought the process of finding out would be pretty simple; phone up the hospital, make an appointment, see the specialist for a chat, come up with a new plan of action, come home, the end. Sadly not. It's been frustratingly complicated.

For starters, it took me the best part of a week to get hold of my specialist's NHS secretary to make an appointment, only to be told I need to get referred back again by my GP. (My specialist is a private spinal surgeon, but he chose to take me on as an NHS patient in early Autumn.) I've just spent four or five months going to physio with his osteopath colleague- who he referred me to- in the same hospital, but because I've not seen him personally in three months, I have to be re-referred. It's frustrating because my specialist sent me for treatment, got my blood tests results, made the diagnosis, and sent me the letter to tell me. Surely that should count as being under his care?? Apparently not to his secretary.

I wasn't thrilled about having to go back to see my useless GP after all that had happened. I think I even expressed how determined I was to never see him again in my last update. He'd made too many mistakes. I couldn't deal with the stress of going to see him, so I put off phoning up for an appointment for a week or two, to give myself a break. I finally manned up, and went to make an appointment about a month ago... only to learn he'd had a stroke that weekend. Poor guy. As useless as he's been, he is a nice man, and he didn't deserve a stroke. I don't know how bad it was, but I guess even mild ones can be life-altering. It's sad because he's only fifty-something.

I made an appointment to see a different GP who I have seen in the past, but I had to wait a few more weeks because all of the doctors were busy taking on his appointments as well as their own.

I could have gone to see my specialist privately the same week I received the letter, but I thought it was stupid and careless to pay £175 to see him (the fee for a 10 minute consultation), when I could wait a little longer and see him for free. £175 is a lot of money to waste and there are so many better things it could be spent on. It's the reason why my specialist offered his services for free; he said he'd rather we spent the money on treatment instead of wasting it on his consultations.

On Wednesday, my doctor's appointment finally came around, and shock horror, she was even on time! I asked her for the referral, but she said she couldn't refer me back to the specialist because the specialist's last letter didn't say I needed to see him! She could refer me to the rheumatologist he wants me to see next, but she can't refer me to him. I had to explain the situation a few times, but she wasn't having any of it. I wanted to bang my head against a brick wall. Seeing a private doctor on the NHS can be a pain in the arse at times; it's hard for some people to get their head around it. She said she'd phone his secretary to find out if I need to see him and get back to me by the end of the week, but that never happened. I never got a phone call. This is why I leave every NHS appointment wanting to tear my hair out. Nothing ever gets done.

Six weeks have passed since the letter landed on the door mat, and I still don't have any real answers or even an appointment with my doctor.

My parents now just want me to make a private appointment to see him, to get it over and done with. They think too much time has passed already. The last appointment I had at the hospital was in February. I've been trying to refuse, because I don't want to waste their money, but they're refusing my refusal, so I think I don't really have a choice. I'll probably end up going for a private appointment soon. They're off on holiday on Monday, so it's buying me a little time.

I personally don't mind waiting, because I don't think the diagnosis is going to really change anything for me. Even having a full diagnosis, I'm pretty sure I'm still going to have the pain and other symptoms every day, along with all of my other daily challenges. I know it'll be easier mentally and emotionally knowing the whole picture, but I doubt my life will change physically from day to day; at least not to begin with.

Nothing has been confirmed officially, but the GP I saw this week does seem to think I have rheumatoid arthritis. It didn't say so in black and white on screen, but she was confident by what she read. (Which is interesting since my usual GP told me my results were negative!) It's actually been my number one guess since I got the letter telling me I have an inflammatory condition. I can relate to what I've read about it, and it makes a lot of sense- particularly since I've already had some arthritis found in my lower spine. I guess I'll know for sure before too long, and if I have got it, hopefully I'll be able to find out if it's causing any of the pain, and if anything can be done to make me more comfortable. But, one step at a time...

I don't want to self-diagnose or jump the gun before I know for sure; it won't do me any favours.

I'll be sure to keep you all posted as it all unfolds! I'm sure I'll have my answers in the next couple of weeks, and when I do I'll write another update.

I just wanted to end this post by saying a big 'thank you' to everybody who read and left such lovely messages of support on my last personal post. Your messages really meant a lot to me, and I'm still so touched that you took the time to write them. I really do have the best readers and blog friends! 

Thanks for reading, and thanks for continuing to tolerate my boring rambles! I promise tomorrow's post will be far more exciting.