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North Devon/Devon based GPs

Posted , 5 users are following.

sarah-loui069
sarah-loui069

It seems the best advice i have been given from all you lovely lot on here is to find myself a GP who has more knowledge and understanding of this condition. So my next question is does anyone happen to know of any GP's/Dr's surgeries in the North Devon or more general Devon area please??

Sorry for all the questions, you lot are a fountain of knowledge though haha!!

1 like, 19 replies

19 Replies

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  • claire45280
    claire45280 sarah-loui069

    Posted

    Hi Sarah, 

    Which part of North Devon are you in? I'm in Bideford, my GP is very supportive, understanding and knowledegable with M.E. He is at BMC. If you're close enough to go there I will send a link for you. Claire

    • tim23781
      tim23781 claire45280

      Posted

      Hi Claire,

      I was hoping you might be able to tell me which gp at bmc is good, my current gp has now retired and have been allocated a young gp with all the wrong info, no getting through to them at all, is a nightmare, so I am now on a look out for another. I did go to BMC about 10 years ago and at that time saw Dr Bardner and he was terrible so it must not be him you see.. maybe you can email me your gp's details?

      hope you can help,

      Tim1111111111

  • sarah-loui069
    sarah-loui069

    Posted

    I'm currently in barnstaple. I am due to move back to combe martin in the next month but in all honesty I would travel as far as i needed to if i could find a decent GP in the area. Bideford isn't too out of the way anyway, my parents travel to and from there alot for work.
  • artistmike
    artistmike sarah-loui069

    Posted

    Sarah, I'm in North Devon too and use the Northam practice which are fairly ME/CFS friendly.  MY GP referred me to the ME Clinic in the North Devon Hospital, run by Dr Watt and I see him too and have been for many years, you may want to try to get a referal to him if you haven't already.

    I also belong to MEND, ME North Devon, are you a member of that too?

    • sarah-loui069
      sarah-loui069 artistmike

      Posted

      I was going to post a question about referals actually. The thing is, i've not been "officailly" diagnosed as such yet. My GP keeps throwing the terms CFS/ME and Fibro around and has done several lots of different tests etc. All come back relatively normal but still i suffer. Anyway, although he is treating it as a mixture of CFS/ME and Fibro i don't think any official diagnosis is on my record. So my worry is that without the diagnosis i wont get reffered anywhere, and also without an on the record diagnosis it makes life hard with my employers when it comes to having to take sick days etc.

      No, not a member of MEND. Can i find them online?

    • artistmike
      artistmike sarah-loui069

      Posted

      Sarah,

      I would ask your current GP for a referal to Dr Watt at the ME Clinic in Barnstaple hospital anyway, as you're entitled to a second opinion and I suspect that if your GP isn't having any luck diagnosing your problem he may be glad of a consultant's opinon.

      I'm sending a PM about contact details for MEND, nice bunch of people and a good support . ... :-)

    • claire45280
      claire45280 artistmike

      Posted

      Hi Mike,  could you send me a link to MEND too please? I wasn't aware of any local support groups and have had this for 13 years.  I was diagnosed when the ME clinic was based in Exeter.  Thank you.
    • GeorgiaS
      GeorgiaS artistmike

      Posted

      Hi artistmike, long time no see! I'm with MEND too. My doctor is great and he's in Tiverton. He's very understanding but he doesn't know much about ME. Which hospital are you talking about? I was diagnosed with ME in Wonsworth, Exeter but they didn't offer much in the way of help except an occupational therapist who came to my home to teach me about pacing, gentle yoga etc.
    • artistmike
      artistmike GeorgiaS

      Posted

      Hi again Georgia... :-)

      I'm talking about North Devon District Hospital, I've been under the ME clinic there for a few years now.

      Like most ME clinics, they tend to be learning from their patients, rather than treating to any great success, but having said that Dr Watt and his predecessor have been of great help to me in many ways, picking up problems related to the ME, and other health problems, that my GP hadn't, and treating them. They have been at  the center of sorting me out when the doctors had done their usual 'giving up' act. ... :-)

      Dr Watt, the guy in charge actually seems to care too and understands the problems and that makes such a difference. I can really recommend him.. It's nice to know there's someone you can turn to when other health professionals aren't helping.

       

    • GeorgiaS
      GeorgiaS artistmike

      Posted

      He sounds good, and we do need to help them to learn. I get phone appointments with my doctor; do you think Dr Watt might do those? It'd be difficult for me to get there unless I rode my motorbike because there are no buses to or from my village.
    • artistmike
      artistmike GeorgiaS

      Posted

      I'm not sure Georgia as I've always attended the hospital. I know he has quite a few ME patients so maybe he dos, best to make enquiries as you've not got anything to lose.. :-)
    • sarah-loui069
      sarah-loui069 artistmike

      Posted

      Does MEND have a website or a link to something online? I called the number you sent me quite a bit yesterday but i couldnt get through to anyone.
    • artistmike
      artistmike sarah-loui069

      Posted

      Sarah, as you can see from the second link from the moderator, it's the right number for Rosemary. It may be that she's away for a while or just having a bad day. It may well be worth you writing to the address given in the link if you can't get through by phone as that's the one we all use...

      I hope that helps...

    • sarah-loui069
      sarah-loui069 artistmike

      Posted

      Thank you smile I called again and eventually got through. They took my details and are sending me out some info. She did say she couldnt garuantee if the lady (Jan i think she said?) would definitely be able to take me on and help me. I'm just so desperate for some help/answers that i will try anything and go anywhere. I'm so close to losing my job, i really do need some professional medical backing when it comes to convincing my employers that i'm not making this up.
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