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[Daisydot]

Hi ladies I went today for the dreaded gp appointment after having seen the private consultant at Nuffield and she had a copy of his report on her system.
She was adamant that she didn't want ladies over 60 on hrt and said that because the consultant had passed me over to her care and hadn't arranged any follow up care then she did not have to follow through with his recommendations.theni had the usual boxing match about why did I feel I had to go private and I told her because a) a previous gp had taken me off hrt because he didn't agree with it and this had exasperated my sysmtoms over the last few years and b) I went to a lady gp and begged her to refer me to a gynie but she refused and said I needed to see a urologist because of the urinary problems so out if desperation I went and had a private consultation because of their lack of help.
I fairness to her she wasn't too impressed by that news but she was still of the mind that the private consultant was wrong not to offer continuity of care  and I pointed out that this was probabaly due to my finanacial constraints and he did say he would be more than happy to see me again if I wished.
She gave me a prescription for the vagifem but said no to the estriol I was double dosing even though I said consultant said I could still use on the outer area.I managed to get her to refer me to a gynie on the nhs so she said it'll be choose and book so I'll have to do my research on that one.
I found it a very stressful day again,well night as well actually as I never slept a wink knowing I'd have all this crap again.
Maybe if Dr Currie and other sympathetic people in the know about the nice guidelines could get us to send them details of our uncooperative surgeries and arrange to go into these and do training days for gps and nurses to update them on the nice guidelines that would be a good place to start.
We are ridiculed as mere menopausal females when we try and they just chuck in a few big words like protocol etc to try and bully us,you have to remember that we are old school at our ages and we're brought up not to question our gps to respect them as they knew best so it's very hard to standup to them and try to put our points across in a short timescale.
Overall I git the gynie appointment I wanted all along but I'm so stressed out right now and I feel like I'm right back  square one unless I can get a like minded gynie who doesn't think we should be chucked On the knackers yard at 60+.sorry ladies but had to get my rant out I'm fed up.xx

[dahliagirl]

I am impressed and inspired by your determination  (I know you would prefer your hrt)

Is the private one not on your choose and book (I have only seen private consultants I would have seen on the NHS before).  Maybe ask the secretary for a recommendation in your area?

[Dotty]

This is from the NICE guidelines:

8 Starting and stopping HRT
HRT can be commenced for vasomotor symptoms or low mood or anxiety that is menopause related. Since we cannot predict how long symptoms will last, there should be no arbitrary limits for duration of use of HRT and previously held views that HRT should be stopped after 2 to 5 years or at the age of 60 are not backed up.

[dahliagirl]

I know - I am 54 and the practice nurse wants to take me off next year as I will have been on it for 5 years.  I am only just getting the hang of it after a lot of faffing around to get an acceptable one, and I would have preferred a transdermal for my health. 

They need the guidelines in front of their faces.

My GPs are useless, but we do now seem to have a really sensible up to date (male) locum at the moment.

[Daisydot]

Thank you ladies I'm feeling a bit battered just now I seem to go one forward and two back every time I think I've got this nailed.
On the positive side I got my treasured gynie appointment lol I've been trying so long to get that I want my bits looked at in fine detail I've had no examination down there in 20 years despite the bleeding sores I had experienced previously which with a lot of hard work and research I managed to sort out without their help but I'd feel happier knowing that I was actually “normal” down below.
Let's just hope that things go my way and I get a decent consultant and a good choice under the look and book regime eh?xx

[Joaniepat]

Daisydot, I was restarted on oestrogen replacement (Oestrogel) at age 68 in an NHS menopause clinic (Chelsea & Westminster Hospital) in September last year. It had previously been stopped by my then GP in 2004 due to so-called government guidelines (ie, the scares resulting from the ghastly millennial studies, which scared the medics more than it did me at the time). I have also got testosterone now from the same clinic. So there is hope when it comes to getting decent NHS treatment for menopause if you can only find it. Many GPs are stuck in a time warp when it comes to HRT. Luckily, although mine isn't really up to date on his own, he has so far complied with the hospital's recommendations. Good luck in your search for a decent gynae.

JP xx

[Daisydot]

Hi JP thank you for that I'm hoping that's on the choose and book list as that's the one I'd like to go to or Oxford.I can't believe because the previous consultant didn't put a time scale on things just said he was happy to see me again if necessary she jumped on that,he had his nhs number on the letter so I'm sure she could have contacted him to refer on the nhs or at least have some kind of interaction with him,I felt like I'd been chastised for daring to go private.
Never mind I'll battle on and if need be I will go private again but this time make sure they know about her silly rules,I've no idea how long waiting lists are and I like feeling a reasonable sense of normality again on my present hrt regime so she's not screwing that up for me.ty jp xx

[Daisydot]

I see from the specialists lists we have on here that the hospital waiting list at cw doesn't seem to have been updated since 2012 for nhs patients so I'm going to give them a ring and ask how long the waiting list actually is for new referrals.xx

[racjen]

io just think this whole standard of care wfor older women with gynae problems thing is outrageous. My GP won't refer me to an NHS menopause specialist because she says there aren't any in our area - no mention of out of area referral. the private specialist I'm now forking out for told me that since being diagnosed with Lichen Sclerosis 6 years ago I should be getting yearly check ups because of teh increased risk of vulval cancer. Has this ever been mentioned on the NHS - of course not....It seems we're still invisible 

[Daisydot]

We seem to have to fight tooth and nail for every small bit of progress we make and that's shocking in your case racjen it's no wonder we feel defeated at every turn.I have My off days like everyone else but on my good days I pursue every channel that I find open to me,do you not have a gum clinic near you for a bit of support as I hear they're usually very good,mines was crap but all we can do is keep trying but I do have to say women medics are the worst in my case they are bloody draconian in their attitudes so all we can hope is it comes back and bites them on the arse because we are certainly not going to change them.
I called the hospital earlier and it's april for nhs new patients.

[Dandelion]

This is from the NICE guidelines:

8 Starting and stopping HRT
HRT can be commenced for vasomotor symptoms or low mood or anxiety that is menopause related. Since we cannot predict how long symptoms will last, there should be no arbitrary limits for duration of use of HRT and previously held views that HRT should be stopped after 2 to 5 years or at the age of 60 are not backed up.

This, there is also the law of informed consent which was tightened up in 2017. In 2015 there was a montgomery lanarkshire case in maternity due to medical neglligence, it used to be that doctors would consultt with other doctors but now the patient is in charge of what they are prescribed and can refuse treatment or even refuse refusal of treatment. If you google consent law hopefullly you should find something, here is a link to start you off. http://www.medicalprotection.org/uk/resources/factsheets/england/england-factsheets/uk-eng-safe-prescribing

[Dandelion]

PS you can always pay Dr Currie to provide you with an email to say its ok for over 60's to have hrt.
As doctors have fragile egos I found it better to say "I have in my bag, an email from an NHS Gyn consultant...." some doctors may not look but one of mine did. I will have been on hrt for five years this year, I hope none of my doctors try to take me off it, due to their outdated attitudes. I will be emailing dr currie if they do.

[Daisydot]

Thank you dandelion I had a really nice email from Dr currie outlining her recommendations for my treatment and also a letter from the consultant menopause expert and gp couldn't have been more disinterested.The fact that I paid for a private consultation seemed to tick her off and I had to start from scratch basically about why I thought I had menopausal symptoms and to try and justify why I should be on hrt at my age despite having had these consultations with two eminent people.
She then gave in and referred me to a nhs gynie costing the nhs needless money when all she had to do was email the consultant and arrange a continuation and monitoring of my treatment plan if she was so concerned but she wouldn't listen.niw it looks like I'll have to continue to pay for Oestrogel privately until I can get that gynie appointment and get them to convince her to continue with the advised treatment.the maddening thing is I'm feeling better.I could just say stuff you all and go completely private but why should I and that wouldn't help anyone else in the same situation as me.
I am pretty fed up with it all right now as I have other things I'm trying hard to cope with and this stress is not helping,I'm def not a gp fan right now.

[Daisydot]

Today I've woken up feeling fighting fit lol and really ticked off about this.Ive emailed the meno consultant and explained what happened at gp follow up appointment and said how annoyed I am that even after paying privately to see him and him sending his report with recommendations she won't follow it and insisted on sending me for another gynie appointment elsewhere, it makes no sense to be costing the nhs money like this and meantime I've got none of the medication he put me on and it'll be at least April before I get to see the nhs gynie.my only option is to buy it via private prescription it's not right.itll be interesting to see what the consultants response is.xx

[Dotty]

Well done Daisydot xx