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Traveling to UK for treatment

Posted , 4 users are following.

UStoUK
UStoUK

I'm seaking treatment for a particularly nasty urinary infection called Mycoplasma Genitalium and live in the US. I'm not looking for socialized healthcare benefits of overseas countries, but rather I've exhausted all current treatments for this disease in my country to which the organism has adapted. In the UK, you use pristinamycin with great success but that medication isn't available here. The closest thing we have is an IV cousin of it and while all the literature says it kills mycoplasma, it isn't prescribed for this infection.

I also have MS. Because my body can't shake this infection I have near constant, incapacitating flare ups. That's in combination to a plethora of issues below the waist that have essentially put a halt to my life.

I know you guys are not doctors, but I figured the more I explain the less I'll gaps i'll have to try to fill in later.

I know I would have to come to England to be treated and I'm ok with that. I'm not financially well off but I'm willing to make the trip provided I can coordinate most of my treatment and ideally tests beforehand.

ANY help you can provide would be life changing. I've been suffering for over a year and only now starting to figure out what's happening.

I guess I need to know is this considered a basic STD in the UK? Would I need to see a specialist or can a hospital write me a script? Is there a way to price medication costs prior to my arrival?

Thank you guys for your time...seriously.

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Jaybelle
    Jaybelle UStoUK

    Posted

    Hi. You need to locate a list of private practitioners, which you can do via an internet search, and email/call some providers to discuss what you want. (I would suggest you search for 'GUM', or genito-urinary medicine providers.) The greatest concentration of private health practitioners is found in London.

    They will be able provide you with information and costs, but you are unlikely to be able to get details of cost and treatment without speaking directly to a private doctor/clinic/hospital. From there, you can shop around.

    Best of luck, 

    :-) 

    • UStoUK
      UStoUK Jaybelle

      Posted

      Hey Jaybelle,

      Thanks for the response. Turns out I didn't do enough due diligence yet and the medication i'm seeking is actually offered in France, and not the UK. Obviously, the city info you provided would change but should thd same sesrch terms work?

      Thanks again for the feedback!!

    • Jaybelle
      Jaybelle UStoUK

      Posted

      Yikes.

      If you don't speak French, I would strongly advise that you get the assistance of someone who does - preferably someone from France who is familiar with their system. There is a place here in London called the French Medical Clinic that specialises in treating patients in both French and English. Whether they would be able to give you some guidance on negotiating with their colleagues in France or offer you a referral I don't know, but it might be worth getting in touch to enquire. I assume you would be searching for a 'specialiste genito' or 'medecin specialiste genito-urinaire', but I'm not a fluent French speaker so don't take my word for it! Hopefully, once you have located a specialist, your own doctor will share notes and make any recommendations, such as trying pristinamycin as it is unavailable in the US and UK. 

      I really feel for you - this is an awful infection to have when it becomes multiply-resistant to antibiotics. I assume you have already taken courses of doxycycline, azithromycin and moxifloxacin and found them ineffective? Pristinamycin has a very high rate of allergic reactions, so it is never prescribed without a skin patch test first. 

      Wishing you the best of luck with this mission! 

      :-)

    • UStoUK
      UStoUK Jaybelle

      Posted

      You are correct that I've tried all of those medications. In fact, I was still on IV Azithromycin when I started Avelox (moxifloxacin) and between the two of them I was starting to feel better below the waist that I have had in the past year. Then out of nowhere it just stopped working. Its like this bug literally adapts during the treatments.

      My ID doc has given me plenty of meds off lable but refuses to do Synercid for the time being, if ever. Synercid is basically our only version of Pristinamycin and administered via IV. I have a PICC line still and considering all of the meds hes given me hes now saying no when this makes more sense than almost anything we have done.

      I'm going to try the terms you gave me, but so far I havent been able to find any kind of French doctor directory or any doctor pages in English (i get it...the whole world doesn't speak English).

      At this point it won't hurt to reach out to that London office you gave me so I'll give that a shot too.

    • Jaybelle
      Jaybelle UStoUK

      Posted

      How awful. I've heard it is an absolute bugger for suddenly developing resistance during treatment. 

      You might also get some advice on seeking specialist doctors from forums for American expats living in France - I bet there are some with Americans knowledgeable about negotiating the French medical system. 

      Google tells me that STDs/STIs are known as MSTs (Maladies sexuellement transmissibles) and ISTs (infection sexuellement transmissible). From my internet scratchings with my shonky French, I think gynecologists often treat STDs in women and Urologists in men in France, although there appear to be specialist centres too. At the very least, that London centre could advise you on what sort of doctor to look for. 

      :-)

  • BillJ2
    BillJ2 UStoUK

    Posted

    I'm in the same situation as you. I've exhausted all treatments for MG and am looking to travel to Europe to receive pristinamycin.

    How have you been? Were you able to get treated?

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