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GP's have either a 7½min session or as long as it takes

I'd prefer to have as long as it takes, and hence I'm prepared to wait over 20 mins
15
94%
keep rigidly to the 7½ min rule - ie you can only have 7½ mins, but won't have to wait
1
6%
 
Total votes: 16

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Post by jtaylor »

It may be you can't edit it after the poll has started - but it let's admin do it. Not sure, but at least it's fixed now!

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Post by Jude »

Euterpe13 wrote:No, JR, which is why is it so hard both to diagnose and also to be taken seriously... the americans are working on several tests, but most of them depend on a lumbar puncture to analyse spinal fluid .
For a better understanding of M.S.
http://www.mssociety.org.uk/what_is_ms/index.html

M.E. and M.S. (Multiple Sclerosis) are both in some ways similar diseases - I have for the past 5 years told I have "Clinical M.S." - this is that I have all the "clinical features (falling over, muscle spasms, depression, pain, inability to walk in a straight line and have been accused of being a lush (if only) inability to get the words out - calling ironing boards Fire Engines etc....) .. Now I have been told I have M.E. The similarities lie in the neurological areas and how damage to the brains neurolgical network and to neves around the body are similar and cause identical problems. A laymans explaination of MS is as follows.. (this is off the top of my head - so forgive the speeling mistakes)

Every nerve in the body has a sheath called the myelin sheath - it works in the same way that a wire to an electrical socket works -it protects the wires (nerves) inside, and prevents the path of electrical stimuli from going anywhere else. In M.S. (old age, and M.E.) the surrounding sheat degenrates and disappears, and is replaced by something called plaque - this plaque is not like the stuff you get in your mouth - but it does coat the nerve and stops the electrical signals from getting to the brain (or from the brain) in the proper manner. This has many effects.
- Pain
- inability to walk
- inability to talk properly
- loss of use of arms , hands mouth etc. (often the most used area of the body seems to be the most affected in my previous research and nursing in that a sewing mistress for the BBC lost the use of her hands first and most intensley, yet a young female seagant major lost the use of her voice and mouth, and words could not be formed)
- loss of balance
- tiredness - not helped by sleep
- muscle spasms - out of control
- "twitching"
- intolerance to heat
- intolerance to alcohol
- eye sight deterioation

all of these as you can see are strangely similar to M.E. tests done for M.S. such as MRI scan and spinal taps can be inconclusive, and yet the patient still has M.S. Often the plaque shows in the brain (which is why they love doing brain scans - also it is cheaper than doing a full body MRI) and currently it takes approximately 18 weeks from GP referral to see a neurologist and a further 18 weeks for an MRI scan.. By then if you have R/R - Relapsing/ Remission and are no longer in the relapsing stage, your results could be very different! Remission is where you almost totally recover and are back to where you were before the relapse - some people even DO fully recover for the first few years of this, but it is like a staircase, and after each relapse you are on the stair below where you were.

Currently there are NO specific tests for M.E. that are deffinative. The only thing after a batch of test that a doctor can say is that your Anti-bodies are raised, that your CRP level is higher than normal (CRP - medical term used to define the levels of white blood cells fighting infection)

However, in my case they cannot work with these as I have Hashimoto's Theyroiditis, which is where my OWN antibodies decide to fight me, and destroy things - so far teh Thyroid (I take Thyroxin every day just to stay alive!) - many middle aged women get Hypo-thyroidism - I happened to get it early! So I always have a very high antibody count!

Sorry this got dumped quickly, but I tried to open a file and could see the computer starting to die - perhaps I should start up a thread on that too!!
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Mrs C.
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Post by Mrs C. »

The poll`s all very well Jude, but what happens when the doctor runs out of time? How many people would have to come to the next surgery? And would they have to queue all over again??

Surely that`s why there`s a time restiction on appointments??!!
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Post by Jude »

Mrs C. wrote:The poll`s all very well Jude, but what happens when the doctor runs out of time? How many people would have to come to the next surgery? And would they have to queue all over again??

Surely that`s why there`s a time restiction on appointments??!!
The poll is actually how surgeries are run! My old Doctors had the strict 7½min which meant you had to go with a list hand it over and sit in silence until he had read it, then he'd say something and then start on the prescription printouts!

The new surgery has this time allowance - yes it has meant I have waited an hour past my appointment time, but then the doctor took about 40 mins with me - he just stays until the last APPOINTMENT is seen - another doctor does the emergencies (which are in and outs) so it works very well.

After all - which would you prefer - to be talked to as a person or basically have a computer doing all the "business?"
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Post by Mrs C. »

Obviously the personal touch is preferable - but at that rate I wonder if some of the doctors actually get home at night??!! Unless, of course the surgery knows roughly how long each patient will need .


(yes, its` ages since I went to the doctor - and even then was out in 5 minutes!!)

I`d like to add that I`ve never been to a surgery where the doctor`s kicked you out after a statutary length of time!
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Post by Jude »

Mrs C. wrote:Obviously the personal touch is preferable - but at that rate I wonder if some of the doctors actually get home at night??!! Unless, of course the surgery knows roughly how long each patient will need .


(yes, its` ages since I went to the doctor - and even then was out in 5 minutes!!)

I`d like to add that I`ve never been to a surgery where the doctor`s kicked you out after a statutary length of time!
I will have to ask my Doc how long his "appointment " system is as he asked me to make the next one a DOUBLE as he is injecting my foot.... next medical matte now coming up!
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HEEL SPUR

Post by Jude »

This is painful!!!!

Some doctors believe in this, others don't, some wait for x-rays others don't, some continuously refer to the feeling and pain as Planter Faciatis (which is inflamation of the plantar tendon - which stretches through the arch of your foot)

Now Plantar Faciaitis and a heel spur are actually different things!

A Heel Spur is literally a growth of bone on the tip of your heel which faces the ground. About 5-8 years ago, you would be whipped into the local hospital put under a light G.A. (general aneasthetic) and the exrta bone shaved off by a surgeon. Since then an enterprising young medic wrote an article in the Lancet (the "Which" magazine For Doctors!!) detailing why this is not really a practical thing to do ( I think it was the expense..) Even my GP isn't really sure!

So, bearing in mind that this growth then presses into your heel and through all those nerves and accross the tendon you will realise that it is extremely painful to walk. After 6 months of this, my GP is (reluctantly) going to inject my heal (apparently the needle is huge - so anyone available to hold my hand???) in the hopes that it will deaden the area so I can walk better and this will gradually errase teh additional bone, the body also will - or should reduce the growth.

As to how it got there? I don't know, additional boney growth are normally to do with breaks in the bone, where there is additional growth to ensure the break is solid then the excess bone is removed by the body.. or in cases of Arthritus where boney growth grow without reason and don't go away - hence the knobbly effect on arthritic peoples hands (knuckles etc)

All I know is it is worse than Boney M's "Brown Girl in the Rain"
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Post by cj »

I suffered from severe depression for eight years (late teens to mid 20s) and as a result was buffeted back and forth between GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors etc. I have no complaints about my treatment, except that nothing really seemed to help and the medication was difficult at times to manage. Things only got better when I went to see an acupuncturist who had been recommended by a friend who had been in a similiar situation. Since then (1997), I have only had dealings with my doctor to confirm my pregnancy and when I had to go to hospital with a kidney infection whilst pregnant and when I had Cora. (I did, however, have my acupuncturist with me for the labour, at home to start with and then at the hospital.) My first point of call (for myself and the girls) is always an acupuncturist. A treatment session lasts between 40 mins to one hour, with the consultation taking about 20 or so minutes, initially looking at your tongue and your pulses (plural, relating to major organs), then discussing what you perceive your symptoms/problems to be. Treatment can take the form of needling, along with herbs and dietary/lifestyle advice. It's a very holistic approach to your body and well-being and although seeing a result from treatments may take longer than the effect of popping a pill, I feel much happier dealing with this system of healthcare, even though I have to pay for it.
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Post by Laura M »

This year I have been battling depression and the last uni doctor I saw was great she spent a long time with me talking about my problems and I think may have done more good than my councellor. Since going to CH I am used to the doctor overrunning so I feel that it doesn't matter if you must wait half an hour or so to be seen as long as you come out of their office feeling listened to and fulfilled.
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Post by englishangel »

We tried acupuncture for James's ME, it didn't work although it did deal with the migraines he was getting.
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Post by Great Plum »

One of my close friends had ME as a teenager (just as his family was coming to terms with his father being diagnosed with MS). They tried all sorts of things to help him out but 'conventional medicine' did not seem to be working that well. I think a lot of alternative medicines were good though to help him - he did have a thig round his neck which regulated his heart beat which seemd to help. He was only able to take 4 GCSEs but recovered to do his a levels (4A's!) and then a degree in Astrophysics!
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Post by cj »

englishangel wrote:We tried acupuncture for James's ME, it didn't work although it did deal with the migraines he was getting.
That's a shame. Sometimes you have to stick with it for a long time. My depression began resolving itself after 18 months/2 years of treatment, which considering it had been going on for 8 years isn't a bad ratio. And acupuncture treats your body like an onion, in that it deals with the topmost problem first, getting to the 'deeper', underlying roots later on. The philosophy behind Chinese medicine is fascinating and I feel that I gained so much knowledge about myself and the way I work through the process. I haven't been for any treatment since we moved but used to go every 2 months for a tweak to keep myself balanced.
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Post by englishangel »

I have used chiropractic for a back problem.

Had 3 months intensive treatment then maintenance.

While bank nursing a consultant spinal surgeon happened to see my 'before' X-rays and asked what op I had had as I was clearly fully active and pain-free, he couldn't believe I had just been manipulated.
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Post by Jude »

I used a chiropractor for over 2 years, we got on really well until I died on her table......

she had (as she had to every week) manipulate my pelvis as it twists vertically and horizontally (stupid really as it is your centre of balance.. ahh that's why I keep falling over!!!) but this once (Nov 7th 1998) it set into motion the most G-d awful thing I have ever suffered - every muscle in my back and those attached went into spasms - I had longitudinal and horizontals all cramping together, which meant I had no control over my body - talk about scream! she called an ambulance, who lovely guys gave me Gas n Air (NitrousOxide){laughing gas} only I'm allergic to it, and although I had had it when giving birth no one had told me that I kept stopping breathing then! So after I didn't breath for 2 mins they got all stressy apparently, everything stopped - for me it was the most wonderful feeling - for those few minutes everything was calm, there was no pain, (no light at the end of a tunnel, or my granny calling either) I just felt all wrapped up in cotton wool and oh it was wonderful......

Then they brought me round. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

After 10 days at home, with my body arching, and totally out of control, with friends nursing me 24hrs a day (kids at boarding school) and a doctor in every 4 hours to inject just about anything they could from Morphine sulphate, to pure morphine, I was drinking via a straw BRANDY & coke (I HATE BRANDY) and everyone was rolling and I was smoking strong cannibis joints..... I finally got admitted to Hospital where they put me out for a couple of days and after 4 weeks I left in time for Christmas with a Zimmer frame....

Since then I am far too terrified to have a chiropracter near me. I did visit her - poor thing - I have given her such a shock!

I now wear a medic alert bracelet..... although that wonderful feeling of a few minutes without pain would be sooooooooo goooooood.....

Tried acupuncture - either the person doing it wasn't very good, or it and I don't match..
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Post by J.R. »

englishangel wrote:I have used chiropractic for a back problem.

Had 3 months intensive treatment then maintenance.

While bank nursing a consultant spinal surgeon happened to see my 'before' X-rays and asked what op I had had as I was clearly fully active and pain-free, he couldn't believe I had just been manipulated.
Errmm ????
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