I am afraid this is somewhat true. I have a plethora of symptoms but no one seems to be able to tie them together. Each specialist says 'that's not life threatening' but as I continue to research its seems that all of them may, together, indicate a common cause. But frankly this represents HOURS of patient research and sifting through the slough of disinformation that comprises people on the net using genuine medical concern to sell snake oil.
And remember, doctors are part of a vast bureaucracy. No one gets sacked for abiding by guidelines laid down by NICE.
My problem was caused by a common food constituent. There's shedloads of info about it on the interweb, most of it rubbish and some of that from the medical profession. In the end it had to be a DIY approach - which worked but it took a long time.
Spot on - it's why doctors stay in their NICE comfort zone.
Yes, but it's official crap that doctors can use in the same way that babies use comforters.
I have come to the conclusion that whilst the NHS is great at major disasters and operations - cant fault my cancer op and oncology, the repair of my hernia, and most of my angioplasties - one excepted - the treatment of other stuff that isn't directly identifiable even with a thoroughly helpful and conscientious GP - is very very poor.
And I begin to understand why. Biochemistry is a very complex system, and the knock on between one system and another is huge. What is good is the number of scans and test available, What isn't good is that GPS are jack of all trades and masters of none, and the NHS forces them to treat one symptom at a time.
Whereas as I am learning, *syndromes* often represent an underlying condition. And hen there are two or even three underlying conditions, its even harder to pin stuff down.
For example why I always got worse angina after a pizza...well I am allergic to cheese slightly. It gives me asthma. I have mild COPD. I like italian coffee after a pizza.
The asthma gets slightly worse, and in conjunction with the COPD drops blood oxygen levels below normal, then coffee constricts arteries and I tip over the edge to needing a bit of nitro to keep going...
I woke up this morning with a bit of a wheeze, Then I remembered I had a chunk of stilton as a midnight snack...
But tell that to your GP and you just get a funny look.
Oh no, they knew exactly what the problems were. they just cocked up fixing only the *worst* one. With the wrong stent. History: Angina...
1/. Angiogram at Papworth - one artery MISSING, three others narrowed one very badly
2/. Angioplasty. For reasons never explained surgeon fixes only worst one with the wrong sort of stent. Appeared to be reading someone else's notes...
3/. Stent fails after 6 months, back in for emergency stent replacement.
45 minutes of hell as surgeon tries to get balloon inside failed stent cutting off all blood supply to heart as he does so.
4/. Partial fix but still not right, so further angiogram at Bury St Edmunds, reveals what first one did, one artery gone two others narrowed and stent holding up OK
5/. Final heart operation two more stents 4 years after first diagnosis. Still not right but about as good as before acute angina first appeared.
So I've been in 5 times and the condition is now as good as it gets with daily meds to help out.
At some stage I distinctly remember seeing on a display a camera image in addition to the x-ray images on a different screen. That might have been the Bury one
How reproducible is the problem? If you rest for a while and then stand up, is it more or less guaranteed to happen? If so, can you get your GP practice nurse to take BP and pulse readings in the resting state and then as soon as possible after you stand up or start exercising? How long does it last before returning to normal? What is the symptom - dizziness/fainting?
After I had a heart attack I was put on rest-of-life beta-blockers. The BB can cause short-term dizziness when standing up if the dose is too high. Initially the dose *was* too high and I experienced it very mildly, so they reduced the dose.
even many consultants are rubbish (because it's not a specialisation requiring a full time person in most areas and they major in something else the rest of the week)
tim
Note to TNP, when I say area above I'm referring to geography, not medicine.
And some usually have doses expressed in micrograms as so little is needed. I take 125 micrograms a day of mine. Quite a lot of people are on even lower doses.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.