Doctor didn’t bother?.... is this normal?

[Louna]

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this so please move if needed.

Today i went to the doctor because i have a pretty nasty gash on my leg at the top of my thigh. I’ve been washing it / putting sudocrem on it but it started to look infected so i thought id better be safe than sorry.

I went in, the doctor said “whats the problem”. So i said “i have a gash at the top of my thigh, i think it could be infected”.

Then his response was “okay, ill give you antibiotics”.

Now - he did not examine me. Not once. Not for anything. He never even asked to look at my leg. He never saw the gash. Yet he was so quick to prescribe antibiotics? ORAL antibiotics too!! 4 times a day for a week!

Like i could understand the antibiotics if he had looked but it worries me that this is how people are dealt with? I feel kind of fobbed off and my mind is running with it.

He looked at my notes and mentioned my blood tests back in february. So he would havr seen that I just came off antibiotics very recently as i had bronchitis. I have Long QT Syndrome so i was at a higher risk of Pneumonia and my bronchitis was AWFUL. So i went on antibiotics and cleared it up in a week.

Anyway - it was my understanding that doctors try to avoid antibiotics as much as possible. So i’m confused why he didn’t even take the time to look at my leg?

This is probably going to sound so dumb to people but i just feel anxious that he fobbed me off basically :/

[BikerMatt]

Astonishing. Can't really say much else really.

[Gee]

Doctors like that are the WHOLE reason I have health anxiety - careless and incompetent in my opinion .... the processes they use a lot of the time baffles me, I’ve really hurt my foot and I’m struggling to walk, I go in and the physio tells me I must ice it 3 times a day and take ibuprofen 3 times a day for 4 weeks ... if it’s not better he will x Ray it to see if anything is broken.... could that be anymore backwards! If I were in the US, they would x Ray first and then give advice ... our system is a mess!

[BikerMatt]

Doctors like that are the WHOLE reason I have health anxiety - careless and incompetent in my opinion .... the processes they use a lot of the time baffles me, I’ve really hurt my foot and I’m struggling to walk, I go in and the physio tells me I must ice it 3 times a day and take ibuprofen 3 times a day for 4 weeks ... if it’s not better he will x Ray it to see if anything is broken.... could that be anymore backwards! If I were in the US, they would x Ray first and then give advice ... our system is a mess!

Agree! The UK has adopted the attitude of treating the symptoms and not the cause (the cheapest option) and you get treatment if it becomes acute.

Why on earth would a GP not even look at a wound, what a tit!

[Louna]

I’m just in utter shock and i don’t quite know what to do about it? Like do i call someone about this doctor? I have no clue what to do!

I’m not even anxious about my leg, i never was. I just thought it was best to have it looked at but ended up having a panic attack because the doctor didnt bother with me! :|

Gee, thats awful! You’re right, the system is disgusting!

---------- Post added at 14:46 ---------- Previous post was at 14:45 ----------

Why on earth would a GP not even look at a wound, what a tit!

I’m so glad that other people think this was wrong of him. For a moment i thought i was over reacting or being silly!

I just cant believe it!

[Fishmanpa]

I agree that's awful but why wouldn't you have advocated for yourself and asked for him to actually examine you? If it were me, I would have been all over him about that! Like "Aren't you even going to look at it?" But then as you probably can tell, I'm not shy about being forthright and to the point

Positive thoughts

[Louna]

I agree that's awful but why wouldn't you have advocated for yourself and asked for him to actually examine you? If it were me, I would have been all over him about that! Like "Aren't you even going to look at it?" But then as you probably can tell, I'm not shy about being forthright and to the point

Positive thoughts

I can TOTALLY understand your thoughts on that, but i’m not the type of person who can just be upfront. It takes a lot for me to deal with people i don’t know. I find speaking up for myself so, so difficult :(

[BikerMatt]

I can TOTALLY understand your thoughts on that, but i’m not the type of person who can just be upfront. It takes a lot for me to deal with people i don’t know. I find speaking up for myself so, so difficult :(

Don't worry about that, you wen't to a GP with a gash on your leg, you've done home treatment and wen't as you are concerned it may be infected. You SHOULD NOT have to ask for it to be visually looked at.

[Louna]

Don't worry about that, you wen't to a GP with a gash on your leg, you've done home treatment and wen't as you are concerned it may be infected. You SHOULD NOT have to ask for it to be visually looked at.

Thank you BikerMatt. I appreciate this.

[Fishmanpa]

I can TOTALLY understand your thoughts on that, but i’m not the type of person who can just be upfront. It takes a lot for me to deal with people i don’t know. I find speaking up for myself so, so difficult :(

Perhaps you have a friend or family member that can go with you when you visit the doctor to be your advocate? Regardless, I would call back or have an advocate call and ask about why you weren't physically examined before being prescribed meds. For all we know, an stronger antibacterial cream would suffice. Ohhh... and I would look for another doctor if that's the way he does his job.

Positive thoughts