I haven't managed to see my GP since my last post, routine appointments at my doctor's surgery are generally afternoons to see Dr Stevenson and I can only manage a Friday afternoon due to work and family. However I have visited the dentist on Friday 23rd May and explained my symptoms and paid to have my teeth x-rayed with no abnormality found on left side so I know my teeth are not causing my symptoms.
I also had my ENT appointment on Tues 27th May. I was expecting to see the same doctor Miss Shanks whom I seen last year as this was the named doctor on my appointment letter but she was no where to be seen. I was happy to see another new doctor, maybe they would listen and try and find out the cause. The doctor was called Dr Mir. My first impressions of him were very good, he introduced himself and asked why I was there so I explained I had been suffering from rhythmic tinnitus which is a whirring noise and headache (originally a wooshing noise) along with headache ear/neck pain and pressure since October 2012 and that more symptoms had developed including blur in my eye and veering to the left. I handed him the list of symptoms I had typed up and printed out, he read the first 3 or 4 and sat it down. He looked at me and said "lets start at the beginning I will look at you as a brand new patient, tell me how this all started" I thought to myself, finally someone is going to take time and listen fully so I steadily explained that night in October 2012 with the wooshing sound then the headache the next morning, followed by neck pain and pressure, he seemed interested. He decided to examine me and checked both ears, he found no problem, he had a glance up my nose and found no problem, he looked at the back of my throat and said he could see lymphatic tissue. He asked if I had any throat infections which I haven't had recently but I explained I had one in December 2013 in which I had to have an antibiotic. Dr Mir decided to use a camera to look up my nose and at the back of my throat, this wasn't pleasant but at least it was another step. The camera went up my right nostril very easily and I could feel the camera at the back of my throat in no time, next it was the left nostril and (Arghhhhhhhh) this was painful it seemed to get stuck and I let out a yelp eventually he pulled it back out and had another go manoeuvring it slowly and eventually I could feel it had reached the back of my throat. Afterwards he said he noticed that there were three minor things that he had found that were not causing my symptoms but he said "I am only telling you just in case someone else further down the line tells you the same things, "1. you have adenoid tissue and 2. tonsil tissue on the left side, I am unsure if they have grown back or whether they were properly removed in the first instance and 3. you have a severe deviated septum leaning toward the left" This might explain the mucous drainage I have on the left side occasionally.
I was slightly puzzled that the two previous ENT doctors had not mentioned anything about the leftover tissue as they had examined my throat, it seems some doctors will mention what they find and others won't. Dr Mir continued to ask if I had my hearing checked recently so I explained it was tested last year but I felt my hearing was now becoming affected yet he decided not to test my hearing again as he felt it would be fine.
The next thing Dr Mir suggests is that he will refer me back to the pain clinic, I was nearly in tears at this point and for the first time felt extremely angry. I asked some questions about my symptoms stating the only reason I ask is that I have a huge amount of symptoms and I'm really suffering and can't exercise, the headache really wears me down as does the whirring noise. What happened next left me in shock. He explained as a doctor he is the professional and he is learning all the time and continues to learn but it is up to the professionals and they decide if I have a good quality of life or not??? He continued "as a doctor when I go to see a doctor for a medical issue I am not allowed to question the doctor and I am not allowed to see what a doctor writes about me" did you know that? are your surprised by that, you as a patient you would think that as a doctor I am allowed to know everything that is on my notes, well I'm not". I sat stunned with glazed eyes and felt as if I was back at primary school. I looked around and noticed the nurse was out the room. Did I really hear an ENT doctor have a rant because I asked a question. When the nurse returned I plucked up some courage, looked him in the eye and said "there is something wrong with me, I am not suffering all these symptoms for nothing" and he said, "I agree there is probably something wrong but we just can't pin it down and the best plan is to refer you back to the pain clinic where they will sort some pain killer out and that will make you feel a whole lot better, you look a very positive person and will cope just fine, you might start to feel better and be able to exercise when you have painkillers" I felt he was patronising me. The appointment finished, it was a complete waste of time. I still had the severe headache, ear pressure, neck pressure, blurring in my eye and my friends whoosh and whirr, I felt as if I was back at the start in October 2012.
Whirring Wanderer
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