Bendy Stuff

[davidgillon]

The doctor who was told her illness was ‘all in her head’ – and is transforming the treatment of her rare genetic condition

I said Ehlers-Danlos the instant I saw the headline, and was right (and hEDS specifically, so a complete overlap with my symptoms - though I seem to have escaped any GI issues). It's a good article, covering the disbelief that patients often experience, and in this case even when they're a doctor themselves. It even hits on incidence probably being greater than the official 1 in 5000, and the access problems with many EDS/connective tissue disorder clinics being private, even in the UK.

This is all too timely as I seem to be in a hypermobility flare at the moment, in the past 48 hours it's gone neck ache, headache (probably from the neck ache), hip ache, pelvis ache (I could really have done without the sensation of one of my SI joints subluxing), arm ache and we're now back to neck again. fingers crossed for a couple of days duration, and not a couple of months.

In more positive medical news my sister tested clear of covid on Sunday and Monday, so was released back into the wild. It's triggered her asthma, but other than that and being tired she seems okay.

In more rage-inducing medical news, I just found out my step-niece has been walking around with an undiagnosed spinal fracture since before Christmas because her GP accused her of being drug seeking when she presented with acute back-pain, never mind she'd fallen down stairs and into a wall so hard that A&E had diagnosed her with concussion. It took a physio sending her for an x-ray to work out she'd fractured a vertebra in two places, at which point the hospital was"Oh shit, have some morphine, we're making an appointment for you to see the surgeon in the morning." I'm hoping she delivers a rocket to that GP when she's well enough.

Comments

[hilarita]

Glad your sister is mostly over acute covid -here's hoping there's no lasting effects!
And also fuck that GP.

[lilysea]

Yeah, given that some spinal fractures are unstable and can lead to spinal injury,

that's not only ignoring a patients severe pain (bad enough given that severe pain = suffering and also that untreated severe pain rewires the brain and leads to chronic pain that persists even once the injury has healed)

it could also, in some circumstances, have lead to a permanent loss of mobility.

That Dr should be put on probation, or maybe even have his licence suspended for 2 years.

[vass]

In more rage-inducing medical news, I just found out my step-niece has been walking around with an undiagnosed spinal fracture since before Christmas because her GP accused her of being drug seeking when she presented with acute back-pain, never mind she'd fallen down stairs and into a wall so hard that A&E had diagnosed her with concussion.

That GP... I hope they get the book thrown at them. No, I want them to get the book thrown at them, I have no hope it'll actually happen. :(