I’m not entirely sure that is right for a headline – and, to be fair, the comment piece is about the matter of pushing for the treatment we should receive. Barbara Ellen’s position being that we shouldn’t have to. I have some sympathy with that view – in that having gone for a consultation I would expect an honest appraisal with all the options laid before me.
But, they really know best? Yes? Well, not necessarily. When I went in with raised blood pressure just before Christmas, I was promptly medicated. The medicine was horrendous. Indeed, the pharmacist called me last week to see how I was getting on with it. He didn’t seem over surprised when I told him that I had stopped taking them very shortly after starting (two days, in fact) because of the side effects.
When I returned for a follow-up consultation, my blood pressure was pretty much back to normal as the stress that had caused it to rise had abated. We discussed getting it down further and again, medication was offered and I declined, preferring to manage it with a more natural approach. I’ll get the push bike out of the garage once this contract has ended and I’ve got some time at home. My diet is balanced and I don’t eat to excess, so all that’s really needed is a little more exercise and cycling is good for the cardiovascular system.
Given that on previous occasions I have had a misbehaving knee-joint misdiagnosed and subsequently put right by a chiropractor and the tendency for the NHS GP to reach for the prescription pad rather than actually look in detail at the holistic picture, not to mention an over-active bladder that turned out to be BPH, I really am inclined to the opinion that they don’t know best.
Consider another job: plumbing. Qualifications to do the job? None. You can do training to be a plumber or learn from books or someone else. Do a good job, people will tell their friends. If you don’t do a good job, you get fired.
Now, how many people can set up as a GP? Not many – the way you get to be a GP is by passing tests over many years and anyone in almost any field will tell you that tests and real world are often 2 different things.
I’ve outsmarted GPs with medical books and Google, because I wasn’t prepared to accept their (and the ENT specialists) “you’ll probably just have to live with it” diagnosis and figured out the cause. They showed no interest in my explanation, which considering they’re in the game of diagnosing medical problems, you’d think they would be. But like I say, it’s not like I can go elsewhere.
I spent four years undergoing tests and check-ups – along with the platitudes that I would have to live with my over active bladder – including bladder training. My life was a misery.
When tamsulosin was deregulated and available over the counter, I looked at the symptoms it was supposed to deal with – yup, mine, exactly. So I tried it. Problem solved. So, it wasn’t over active bladder at all, it was BPH. Something a prostate check would have identified but wasn’t actually carried out by my GP. I’ve been managing it myself ever since.