Is there any way to see a specialist without a referral?

Hi Cae, yet another story of an unprofessional person in the wrong job.  Saying that this does not help your situation.  I know of teenagers being diagnosed and luckily in time for them to start coping with the illness and pacing.  I would strongly recommend you change your G.P.  Please visit ACTION FOR ME site, just google this, and it will help you with this situation and many more.  It is an excellent site.  Hang in there and let us know how you get on but you mustn't give in.

All the best and good luck.

Txx

Hi

I'm so sorry to hear that your GP is not taking you seriously. I say yes, register with another GP and I believe if you wanted to bypass your GP to get a referral then you would have to go private (and pay money). Please people out there correct me if I'm wrong.

I semi went down the private route. Firstly, I saw a private GP who said my symptoms sounded like CFS. He gave me a list of all the tests that I should ask my GP to do. I got those tests done via my GP (NHS) and then my GP referred me to a CFS clinic. BTW the first specialist I saw wasn't very good so I then got myself referred to another clinic. The second clinic is a lot better.

Good luck.   

I have had CFS for almost a year and Im not on forums currently complaining as your GP suggests.  I work full time with two children and maintain a home.  I have had to ask for a lot of changes at work in terms of noise and lighting levels in order to manage the condition better but it is possible to carry on.  I get bad days sometimes for more prolonged periods but generally I cope.  Rest up while you can and accept that if you take the kids out at the weekend to a theme park or do the gardening you pay for it for a few days.  I am currently referred to a company called South Coast Fatigue (in Fareham) by my GP however I have recently come across an Occupational Therapist who will do a full assessment on your work and home life to help with managing the condition.  The cost is approx £600 but they will liaise with your employer and fully support you to a baseline so could be worth it.  I have finally got the help I need at work so I havent pursued it but I would always bear it in mind if I did get problems again.  Google Occupational Therapists.  This particular one was in Hook, Hampshire.

I'm currently waiting for a referral. The only way I was able to progress this was by calling Bupa. However you have to first of all find out the type of consultant you have to see and have a letter from your doctor.

This is something I'm waiting on now. I've been back and forth from my doctor since January and he has signed me off work since then.

This subject is so difficult as you are constantly battling people thinking it is in your mind and that you are lazy, with feeling rubbish constantly

You will not be able to see a consultant on the NHS or privately without a referral letter from a GP. You definitely need to change your GP.  If you report the matter to the Practice Manager about his unsympatethic attitude towards his condition it will go down on his appraisal and most likely discussed. What you also don't know if other patients have complained about his attitude, if no one speaks up, no one knows what goes on in the consulting room.

With regard to seeing a CFS consultant I would research who in your area is actively involved in research activities  or has written papers. I am lucky as my GP recognises the condition and has other patients and sent me to see one of the UK leading experts, albeit some 50 miles away but then its easy for me to travel.

If you are 16 what support are you getting from your parents?

Even if you get a diagnosis the problem is that there is no magical cure. After many years of sufferring I am now doing so much more, my brain fog has lifted and tomorrow I hope to ride 20 miles on my bicycle. How did I get there, by pacing. Its very,very hard to do because you have to get the balance just right between enough activity to get the body moving and not too much to set you back. Most fail because they do far too much and then write off pacing as never working. I did that until I found a pacing system that worked for me.

Best of luck

 

Wow! This GP is arrogant, misinformed, and insulting. Needless to say, you shouldn't see him anymore. And don't listen to his so-called advice about exercising. You're a very smart 16-year-old to realize that you need to see a specialist or different GP.  I assume you live in the UK, so I don't know how the system over there works (I'm in the U.S.) Are you seeing any other doctors who could give you a referral? Or do you or your family have the means to go private and see a specialist that way? Best of luck.

You poor thing, Cae;   yes find/research yourself another GP, firstly, one who is more aware of CFS and more open-minded....try by ringing their surgeries/receptionists first,  I have often found that "by their reply", and willingness, that it is then worth trying that GP..but still need to let you know, that it may still take you many trials before you find the right one....Try one that also believes in testing for Thyroid T3T4 Uptake, as so many of us feel that this is  a Causative factor in our Tiredness.  As to your question re seeing a Specialist without a Referral, here in Australia you can, but you don't get the Medicare Rebate...you need to be pepared to pay the Entire amount, that is you will be out of pocket for the entire amount.   Keep looking, and hopefuly you will be successful, as you are far too young to have to suffer with Chronic Fatigue, when you should be looking towards the rest of your life with Enthusiasm....Bron

Hi

I understand that you are 16.

My GP was so useless at the time I needed her, I made the decision to take the batter into my own hands !

I searched the Internet, found an ME clinic in my county and emailed them.

They gave me advice and I returned to my doctor but with an email, telling her what I expected of her.

The patient has a right to be a part of that process.

I am now on a 6 month support programme.

By the way, my cousin who had ME from 13 to 16 is now back in school doing A levels and he had major support, based in Gwent.

Good luck on your journey.

You will beat it

Best wishes

Jinny23

I would change your GP

Is your GP practice a doctor on their own or are there others in the practise you could see instead? There's often a range of opinions between doctors within a practise on all kinds of things. You definitely need to see a different one from your current one. I would have thought at 16 you were able to organise registering at a different practise in your own right but I'm not sure about this, what the legal age is. Should be easy to look up though. Try and stay positive sweetheart because at your age you have a much better chance of recovery.