Monday 20 April 2009

Talking to Medics 3 -It's All In Your Head Innit

It was with some trepidation that I attended a meeting with a new pain consultant now at St Thomas'. Arrived half hour early which was a blessing as I was confronted with an 8 page form to fill out with medical history how do you feel today how did you get it all that kind of stuff.
Luckily I had my trusty notebook as well as a printed medical history form- prepared by me- as well as a medical history report I had asked for from my GP.
It is so dperessing filling out these forms there is a picture of a body and you have to show where it hurts where it hurts the most, what makes it worse, what makes it better that kind of thing.
Wsn't it good I was early receptioinst said it should have benn sent to me and Iwasn't allowed to go in until I had filled it in. Consultants are Gods you know.

Well I did feel a bit low having written all this depressing stuff cos normally I keep my pain somewhere over my right shoulder so all this writng about it flooded it back into me poor body so was feeling bit tearful and then was called ito yer man.

To say that we didn't take to each other was an understatement he started asking me about acupan- which I don't take anymore- he was looking it up in a medical dictionary. When I tried to tell him about it he did the classic talk to the hand thing that I would bash my kids for if they did it to me and said"I can't listen and read". Why ask a question then??
He then started asking me what I knew about fibro and what trauma had I had in the past that might have caused it because it must have benn something because it is pyschosomatic you know. (Insert Scream Here)
Well feelin fragile I started to cry and he said I will stop asking questions but the psychologists on the course won't. He also claimed he had never heard of Prof Davies why was he doing fivbromyalgia when he was a sports specialist- what people with fibro would be doing sports??
I wonder does Prof Davies know he is referring his patients to a fellow specialist who doesn't think much of him and also thinks that fibro will go away if you get rid of all your demons from the past.
Thankfully he informed me he is not part of the team running the course as frankly I would not go on it in a million years if I thought he was.
Now what to do about this should I complain about him, talk to fibro support group at hospital or maybe my arthritis group of ladies or maybe everyone. Have been left pretty shaken by this and had to have a good cry when I came out which was bit odd for the poor lady taking pictures from the top of a London Sightseeing Bus.
At least it has left me in the right frame of mind to tackle the disability form. Have another meeting about the course next Friday which incidentally is four weeks and not the two weeks i was told it was by the fibro consultant.

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