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Feeling unsettled after GP appointment

Posted , 4 users are following.

ssk1
ssk1

Not really sure how to describe what I'm feeling but I have this unsettled feeling since seeing my GP 2 days ago. 

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in September last year and begun taking sertraline (reluctently) in November. I've also been having CBT Therapy and signed off work since then too. 

I was beginning to feel better and was hoping to reduce my dosage of sertraline which I discussed with my counsellor in January. Since then I have had surgery to try and resolve an on going medical problem which I believe was partally causing my depression along with several other factors. Everything was looking positive until while I was in hospital my husband was diagnosed with lung and secondary bone cancer. 

I saw my GP a few days after being released from hospital as I needed some extra pain relief and my husband came with me. He had also been with me to another appointment in December to discuss my treatment and affect on sex life as we were planning to try for a baby. When I saw him the last time my GP asked me to come back on my own to discuss my depression which I did earlier this week. During this appointment GP asked me about my husband's drinking - I never really know whether you would describe my husband as an alcoholic as he likes to drink but he can stop without any problem if he wants to (he gave up for 6 months last year and had no withdrawal symptoms which I have witnessed in other family members). He also is not violent and just tends to fall asleep in his chair after a bottle of wine. Anyway doctor smelt alcohol on him at one of my last appointments and questioned whether I was safe. 

I told him that my husband is not violent and that I would never stand violence in our relationship having experienced it with my mother. After this we discussed the effect my husband's diagnosis has had on me and my meds deciding not to come off them while we deal with the effects of my husband's cancer on our lives. But ever since my appointment I have an uneasy feeling that I can't explain. I don't know if it is that I feel I need to defend him or even our relationship - I have had to do this for nearly 5 years due to a big age difference between us. All I know is that I now feel more anxious than I did before and I completley broke down this morning but I'm reluctant to go back.

 

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • orange12933
    orange12933 ssk1

    Posted

    Go back. I've been in a couple of violent relationships before and it was complete he**! Your saying you haven't but I would go back to yourGP for a chat about things again anyway. Definately worth getting things off your chest.
  • hypercat
    hypercat ssk1

    Posted

    Hi on reading your post I was wondering if the unsettled feeling comes from anxiety about your husbands drinking?   Is the doctor more spot on than you realised?   Does he have a point?   Your doctor does have a duty of care towards you and is obviously worried about the situation.   S/he sounds very caring. 

    I am so sorry to hear about your husbands illness though and I hope he can get effective treatment and recover.  x

  • lorraine52317
    lorraine52317 ssk1

    Posted

    Hi ssk

    I think this doctor overstepped his remit! For you to justify yourself to him seems so dreadfully wrong. This doctor clearly thinks that anyone who drinks is violent. To be honest I would have a drink with a diagnosis like your husbands. I know you must be under incredible strain right now, and I hope the antidepressant is helping a little. If you have further appointments I would ask for a different doctor. Professionals with concerns (rightly or wrongly) should conduct and present themselves in a non accusatory way. You know your husband and you are very right to defend him.

    god bless ♥♥

  • ssk1
    ssk1

    Posted

    Thanks for replying.

    I know that GPs have a duty of care to make sure their patients aren't being abused or mistreated and I can't say that he asked in an accusatory way as such. It just took me by surprise that he would even ask. He did apologise for asking and when I explained that my husband has been drinking more since his diagnosis he did say it was understandable. 

    I am worried about my husband drinking at the moment becasue I am concerned that he is about to start a course of chemo along with all the other drugs he has been given that mixing with alcohol won't do him any good. I infact believe in the power of nutrition and diet in helping with the treatment and so want him to start on a rigid diet during his treatment, which he has agreed to from Monday. 

    I have been seeing the same GP for 2 years now and found he was the first one who actually listened about the pain I have been suffering for years. I did feel able to talk to him when I first started to realise that I needed help for my anxiety something I couldn't say about the other doctors in the surgery. What does concern me though is that I went last summer to see him with very large unexplained bruises on my leg. I hadn't realised I had them but a friend of mine who is a pharmicist spotted them when I wore a short dress and told me to see the doctor straight away as he knew that I was taking certain medicines. Blood tests suggested that I did have a borderline clotting problem that was possibly caused by naproxen. Since stopping naproxen last August my bruising has improved but I now worry the doctor is connecting this with my husband's drinking. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it has just left me feeling on edge neutral

    • hypercat
      hypercat ssk1

      Posted

      Hi your doctor has access to your medical notes so must know about the clotting problem.  He sounds like a lovely caring GP so I would hang on to him.  x
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