I have been a member for a wee while but never noticed the uk cysters till this morning! (I know it's late I'm a total insomniac!) I was wondering if anyone had had the same experience as me with doctors ect in this country. I was sent to the consultants a few years ago to have the initial scans ect, and was told if I was even tobe considered for met that I would have to lose 2 stone first (easier said than done eh girls!). well I really tried but to no avail, so they then tested me for insulin resistance, which my consultant said she was 99% sure I had because I had all the symptoms (her words not mine) and then I would get the meds, but low and behold I don't have it, so then I was told that I would have to lose alot of weight to have any chance of treatment. I don't know who was more frustrated and upset me or my hubby!
At the end of last year I was at my GP going over everything and asked if there was any medication to help me lose weight and she told me that I didn't qualify because I was not heavy enough! I couldn't believe it (at that time I was over 20st!) and I ended up feeling worse than when I was diagnosed. I don't think my GP's really know what I am going through (apart from wanting to give me anti-depressants) and was wondering if anyone else has had the same sorts of problems, as it would be nice to talk.
Sorry for rambling on but it's nice to get it all out, like other cysters out there I don't have many people I can talk to as they either treat me like nothings wrong or skirt around me because they think I'm to fragile to find out that someone else I know is pregnant.
I'ts not all doom and gloom though. since the start of the year I have been on a self-inflicted strick diet and am now under 16st (yipee!) still got a good bit to go but I'll get there (and have even had 2 periods this year!).
Sorry again for going on but thanks if you have taken the time to read this (my god it's as long as a book nearly!)
hi
great to hear about you. I personally had to change gp to get any help with my pcos. I found it a terrible struggle to get met here in the uk. Ive been on it about 4 years now.
ahhh the NHS... my complaints could write a thesus...
I was diagnosed fairly fast once we actually got me admitted to a specialist... and that took YEARS. The only reason? I went private.
It seems perposterous that they wouldn't give you treatment because of your weight.. I mean jeese.. you'd think they'd at least offer some guidance or assistance to get you to a target weight.
I myself was put onto the GI diet... despite being slim (5ft 2, 51KG)... I lost my pot belly and none of my clothes fitted properly anymore but my weight did stay stable... they also put me on Met though... So I don't know which helped more.
Congrats on losing so much weight! that's fantastic news! I hope soon that your symptoms start to stabilise and the doctors will actually TREAT YOU.
that's the problem i've found over here... the doctors don't seem willing to treat patients at all... not if they can just send you away without having to spend any money on you. It's revolting. I hate the NHS.
in fact.. i'm currently working on a very very long letter of complaint about their maternity care... but that's another matter entirely.
In order to get referred to a specialist took a lot of pressure from my mother and myself. My periods had gotten more and more irregular and I was in so much pain I couldn't actually MOVE... drugs barely helped at all (even the IBS ones I was given wore off after a few hours. leaving me crippled). I knew something was terribly terribly wrong, and I had countless trips to the doctors. They blew me off each time, giving me different pain killers instead of finding out what was causing the problem. They put me on the pill eventually, which made me feel ill. I went off it and bled for a month... non stop. Went back freaking out, got sent for anaemia tests... went back, no anaemia... got tested for STDs... all clear... (no **** idiots)... they were obviously stumped. Put me on hormone pills (Progesterone) and the bleeding turned to flooding... I felt so weak and I was convinced I'd hemhoraged or something and was actually dying. Went to A&E... got given a referal letter to give to my gp telling them to send me to a specialist. Something was wrong and it needed sorting out.
Know what my gp did with this letter? he threw it in the bin... in front of me. Saying "oh no, it'll clear up"
Eventually I stopped bleeding... thank god. And went on a holiday to NZ. While there we went to see my old family doctor (for a different reason) and we mentioned the incident. He explained that going off the pill can cause your body to freak out and can cause a very long phase of bleeding. As long as you aren't anaemic you'll be fine, it just needs to be monitered to ensure it stops. when we mentioned they'd put me on hormones he was shocked... that was the LAST thing they should have done. My bocy was trying to deal with the hormone imbalance going off the pill had caused, pumping more homones into it just made the problem worse!
He didn't know what might be the problem either... he told us to fight to see a specialist.
I changed GPs and my mother and I both bullied her into sending a referal out. FINALLY I got sent to a specialist. Who at first thought I might have Emdometriosis... my symptoms sounded like that more than PCOS (the pain and all). He arranged tests.
We ended up going private for the consultant and at first using the NHS referals for all the tests. But when the hospital that was meant to do my hormone profile took 6 weeks to get the results back and only did half the tests... we decided it was worth the money to just pay to have them redone privately and wait 3 days for the results... wait.. 6 weeks or 3 days??? wtf is that all about?! My specialist was fuming over the NHS screw up with my blood... he couldn't do anything with only half the results. They simply hadn't bothered to do the more complicated tests. All he had was a simple hormone overview (estrogen, testosterone... etc) and not the in depth detailed one he'd requested. I was however never tested for IR... I just got put straight onto medication and told to come back in 6 months to tell him how my symptoms were.
hell.. I returned 6 months later with the news "I'm pregnant".. at which point he had a little celebration... haha. my gyno's so amusing.
As you can see.. the NHS have for me been just as hopeless... I don't trust them anymore... it's very hard to trust doctors who you know have no idea what they're doing. I rely on my own vuage knowledge of medical things and the word of my gynocologist... because he's the only person i've met over here who's actually taken the time to explain what the drugs are supposed to do and has made me feel cared for.
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Current treatment:
N/A
- Married May 30th 2009 -
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Cian David St. John - Born 13:33, 27th November 2006 at 36 weeks
Weighing 5lb 4oz
Someone didn't want a Christmas birthday
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I forgot to add that I agree with how the uk deal with PCOS, as I have read other womens stories from the us ect, and they seem to have better experiences with doctors ect, where as here you have fight tooth and nail just to get an appointament at a clinic, never mind treatment! I think I'ts just luck and the area that you live in to which kind of "service" you get.
i agree. pcos treatment/ meds/understanding here in the uk is so far behind the usa. I personally had to wait years to get met off my endo. *sigh*
speak soon
eva
I have not gotten anywhere with my GPs and the PCOS - or my M.E. to be honest, but that's a whole different kettle of fish. I live in a village and our surgery only has 3 doctors. I have tried them all! They are all useless. Unless you are dying of cancer they don't want to know - even then they probably would debate about whether you are worth their time. I was on Dianette for years and became quite suicidal, so I came off it, but they didn't offer any other help. When I asked my doctors about Met, he said he didn't think it was worth giving me it as it would make me get terrible wind!! Plus I had lost a lot of weight and he just said I should be able to manage the PCOS by diet and exercise. My hairloss is totally ignored even though I have asked about it - they say I don't have hairloss... even though my hairstylists have documented it and the fact it's getting worse.
If I had the money I would just go privately.
Vicky-Louise
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Me, Vicky-Louise: 28 ~ BF: 27
Furbabies: Millie, Yorkie, 3 years old
Auntie to 3 furbabies: Cleo (Rescued dog), Asher (Papillon) & Pippin (Rescued kitten, now a big lazy cat!)
I am a pescatarian and on a low-calorie, healthy diet trying to incorporate as many low-GI and low-carb ideas as possible. I am also excercising - mainly by doing workout DVDs and walking our 3 dogs.
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I totally agree. My best friends mother IS dying of lung cancer and the hospital MISSED OUT a cycle of her chemo so what hope does that give to us more fortunate who, according to them need less help from the NHS. I, like you was offered only the pill and anti-depressants and was told to go on a diet before I would be considered for met so I have gave up with them, 2 fingers to them so to speak! You should totally keep on at them about your hair loss because it can get to you mentally just as much as physically as you probably know too well. Keep up with your weight loss you are doing really well.
Hi all 
