Bizarre specialist appointment today!
I saw an eminent professor specialist today at the public hospital today. Very senior, at least in his 50s. Rushed apt, wouldn‘t listen to me, and told me I didn‘t have the chronic condition for which I have been treated with daily medication since 42. Had a lot of pain for a couple of years and then got the right magic pill at 42. From another hospital specialist. That‘s a decade ago now. However, since last October the daily magic pill has no longer been working and I suffer from severe chronic almost daily migraines again. I‘m in the 1% where it‘s horrifically painful and they ruin my life and I get them most of the month. Genetic no doubt, as my father had them.
So His Eminence tells me I don‘t have migraines, so migraine medication is useless, and it will all go away with correct sleep hygience, losing weight, using my sleep apnea machine, not drinking so much water as people have died from drinking too much water, exercise, blah blah blah. I said, but if I don‘t have migraines why have I had them since late 30s, and why does migraine medication work for me? Why was I migraine free for 8 years? And he said but they don‘t work do they, as you feel sick and you have headaches.
He only saw me for about less than 15 mins and wouldn‘t let me talk.
The fact is, after 5 months of daily pain I went to see a private neurologist as I hadn‘t heard from the hospital about an apt. He doubled the daily dosage as a trail. It has got rid of 50% of the migraines. He has a lot of other meds to try.
I was thinking of cancelling the public apt I got for November finally, when I was offered the cancellation on Friday.
But then I thought I had better take it as I only have the dsp pension as income, 25% goes on rent, I have large medical and dental expenses this year, and can I afford to keep seeing the private specialist.
Well, after a short rushed apt with a rude condescending powerful professor who gave me that bizarre diagnosis and didn‘t want to see me again I will certainly be staying private.
He got angry when I told him I had gone private once. He snapped, what are you doing here then? I explained I hadn‘t heard from the hospital, didn‘t know how long the wait was, was in unbearable daily pain. But as my only income was a disability pension I had to consider could afford private.
Then he said he was going to send a letter to my GP and the private neurolist, who he ofcourse knew who he was.
When I went away I got really mad. I thought, he is going to write to my GP and the private neurologist that I don‘t have migraines and I shouldn‘t be treated for migraines. End of story. Based on less than 15 minutes of him talking at me and not letting explain the background. I have been treated at the hospital in at least four other departments but never for migraines in neurology. So there was no history in my medical notes.
And I have never had such a bizarre experience before! This person is super senior!
Anyway, shortly after I rang the receptionist, and said, I do not give my permission to have letters sent to my gp and the private specialist. Then she said, well, he‘ll want a reason when I email him. I said I didn‘t agree with his diagnosis. Especially since I already had an extremely longstanding diagnosis, including treatment, and I couldn‘t understand how he could change that diagnose in a very short appointment when he wasn‘t even listening to me. I said I‘m not complaing but I do not give permission for those letters to be sent in the circumstances. She wouldn‘t give up and dragged the whole story out of me. She said, so I‘ll put you felt you weren‘t listened to, blah blah blah.
Great, I bet he‘ll send those letters anyway, sgj
anyway, as someone who is such a Grand Poobah are always convinced they are right. I am going to ring Hospital Complaints to make sure he cant and wont. Not going to mention his name but will ask about my rights re the letters in such a situation.
The reason I‘m so concerned is my gp is not my old lovely gp who left the practice and I don‘t have much of a relationship with the new one, and she is not much interested in me. But she is OK though quite a bit strange herself, not like my old gp.
Anyway, she doesn‘t have the expertise to treat migraines but was happy for me to see a specialist. I‘m worried she might think the Grand Poobah is right as he is a top specialist, though perhaps not in the area of migraines it would seem. And I am MAD! I am too old to put up with this bizarre behaviour of the Grand Poobah!