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Eden1919
Senior Contributor

What to say to my GP...?

So my appointment with my GP which i have been waiting 2 weeks for has arrived and i have no idea what to say or how to say what i need and get my message accross. I want to insist she do something about the psychologist situation because this it is beyond unreasonable and i am more than fed up but idk how to say it both politely and also without her just saying there isnt much she can do and i just have to wait for the 1000th time. i am also going through a weird period in regards to me eating issues and idk if that is going to be a problem. but i really just need ideas for how to say that she needs to actually put in some bleeping effort for once without sound very rude or getting angry. I cant really write her a note because i couldnt hand it to her even if i did and I have a lot of trouble speaking in appointments. 

5 REPLIES 5

Re: What to say to my GP...?

@Eden1919  Hey Eden1919 it is tough that you have no confidence in your gp to help you in these situations. I am lucky I have a couple of good gps at the practice that I use that I know would be on top of a variety of situations should they raise their ugly heads again. Is there another gp at the practice that can help you. Maybe shopping around for a more sensitive gp is the way to go ... it is a toughy because you are right you dont want to lose your cool but you want to tell her unequivically that you need her help (after all it is her job ....). Sorry I cannot be of more help. Let us know what eventuates. Wishing you luck. peaxx

Re: What to say to my GP...?

Hi @Eden1919 , I'd go along with everything @greenpea has advised. 

 

I'd only add that I think you really need to try and speak up for yourself and  make your point crystal clear.  You need help with a psychologist and you are struggling to cope with things.  Advise her that she has a duty of care to you as a patient and you feel she should be doing more to help you with this.

 

Usually if you mention duty of care to people this is enough to give people a nudge in the right direction.  You could also add that she should know your history and you aren't 'faking it', but, are in great need of professional assistance.  

 

In regard to having problems speaking in appointments, maybe you could write out roughly what you want to say and practice going through it a few times before you speak to the doctor.  I think you have basically done it with your post.

 

Wishing you all the best with it Eden

Re: What to say to my GP...?

@Gazza75 @greenpea  thanks i cant find another gp as this is the 3rd one in the last 4 months and the one i liked that i had first is on maternity leave and i am just fed up with seeing crappy doctors cause all the other good ones are hard to get into and it is just messy. anyway as for the appointment it was terrible i was so upset that the second i left her office i started crying and then completely broke down in the car and nearly had to pull over several times because i felt like i was going to start crying again but then as soon as i got home even more tears. i reckon i could have filled a water bottle with how much crying i was doing. she did manage to get the psychologist office to call and i still have a few weeks but i do have an appointment. but the GP was just so insensitive about the food issue like she kept asking all these offensive questions and triggering questions and was just plain rude about didnt even understand why i was upset with her. anyway i really dont want to ever go back so i am going to call and ask about which gp's are actually good there because i have had too many of them make me so upset that i was not sure if i was feeling completely safe after. honestly GP's just dont know enough about mental health and while i know they dont mean badly they still have no idea how much they can hurt people. anyway so that is that i guess. 

Re: What to say to my GP...?

Hi @Eden1919 , thanks for the update on how things went.  I hope it didn't upset you telling us about it.  I'm sorry things went so poorly for you and the doctors aren't more considerate with how they communicate with you. 

 

You did so good getting through it and coping as well as you did.  I have been thinking about you and hoping you were going to have a better experience and something positive would come out of it.  At least they got through to the psychologist and maybe sped that up for you somewhat. 

 

I have an appointment with my GP next week, but, I have little faith in him doing much for Me.  He doesn't address my main concerns and pretty much shuffles me out as quickly as he can.  One time he even forgot to do my prescription properly and I had to tell him what I needed.  I need to try another and like you it will then be my third in a short period of time.

 

Take care

Gazza

Re: What to say to my GP...?

@Gazza75  thank you. and sorry you are also having issues with your gp it really is hard to find a good one who is also able to handle mental health. 

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