My (very limited) Exp of NHS Gyneas

[susan]

I was going to put this on beagleladys thread after jacks post, but didn't want to distract from her thread, as this is flippant and her problems are serious but I had typed it anyway so here goes.


First NHS gynea - turned out not to actually be one was a medical student who they had given my file to read - she looked about 12, hence my two hour wait after which my hubbie went ballistic at them.



2nd NHS gynea - I am not sure why they have sent you here

Me - I have a lining reading of 7mm on my scan, but it is adjusted down to 4mm, I don't think I need a hysteroscopy.

Her - you should really be seeing Mr Gupta, but he's busy (my thought bubble, FFS is he the only one who knows anything?)

Her- dashes out of room to try and speak to Gupta, comes back can't find him but spoke to someone else (my thought bubble - who the tea lady ?)

Her - We will go ahead anyway, current advice is HRT for three years only (my though bubble - oh no, got another one who knows nothing).



3rd NHS gynea - a two hour pre-operation appointment Me I think this is all caused by the continuous progesterone in my HRT, her so do (my thought bubble - finally found someone who knows what they are doing)

Her - but lots of people have looked at your papers and so we should proceed anyway (my thought bubble - did any of them know what they were looking at ?)


4th NHS gynea - the bloke who did the op (might have been Gupta will never know), bouncing into the little post op ward.. 'didn't bother doing a biopsy mrs bloggs, nothing in there but atrophy try and knock the HRT on the head (his exact words)

Me 'fat chance, it does this, that & t'other for me', big quality of life rant on my part.

Gupta (or another random gynea who is allowed to wield a knife -we were not introduced) - laughing maybe I should try some !!!!!!!

Me - maybe you should !

xxxx

[jacksfullofaces]

Last months experience with NHS gynaecologist
I went for a follow up after my Urodynamics and got the specialist leading the team. He went through the results and said no pessary because of my allergy to latex so effectively back to square one but that isn't his fault. We got onto the topic of vaginal estrogen cream which he said I didn't need because my periods are regular and he hauled out this lubricant. I checked the ingredients and said it would not prevent the onset of atrophy and we had quite a discussion about menopause and hormones.

I asked him how big a reduction of breast cancer risk from not using hormones and he said he didn't have the answer. I then asked him how he would want a shrivelled up sex organ because he had reached fifty. I told him menopause sucked and raised risks for heart disease, osteoporosis, colon cancer and depression.

I then mentioned European Directives and that got him talking - apparently he isn't allowed to recommend hormones for women because of current guide lines from Europe.

He opened up and told me how his wife was having a threatened miscarriage and couldn't get micronised progesterone pessaries ( Cyclogest) because it is only permitted in the UK for IVF pregnancies with threatened miscarriages despite being allowed in the rst of Europe for this purpose.

The upshot was that he obtained it and gave it to his wife with a happy outcome.

This doctor was clearly very frustrated by the NHS protocol which prevented him from offering women hormones unless they pushed for them.

I told him how some women in desperation were ordering them from the internet and suggested NHS saving money by not prescribing.

He agreed it was a disgrace and we were talking for about an hour about this. I told him I thought gynaecologists should have a greater awareness of how unwell low hormones could make a woman feel.

Jacks

[susan]

On balance yours seems a bit better than mine, if either of them can be deemed satisfactory. At least there was a meeting of minds at the end and it is good to hear some of them are as frustrated by this as we are.

Mine seems more like an episode of a carry on film, with people kind of dashing in and out of rooms all the time !

xxxx