Quix you were right about my eyes, they just didn't tell me!

[wishforchange]

I posted a while back going nuts with eye pain, and Quix persuaded me to have it checked out at the hospital.  Then there was some riddiculous tooing and froing as they diagnosed dry eyes and I complained the symptoms did not fit and they wouldn't look further and discharged me and I went back and saw a junior doctor and then his consultant discharged me again saying I was being seen at another hospital and I complained and got another appointment....

Well the nonsense carried on today.  My appointment was supposed to be with the consultant but he went home, leaving another doctor to look, not junior but also not a consultant.  I refused their exam, didn't like them and also was supposed to see the consultant, so am again goin back next week.  Their last chance, they mess me around again I'm dropping it all.  The doctor today was a bit rubbish, telling me first I didn't have double vision.  He couldn't be bothered to check my notes, so I told him to look.  Then he said something strange.  He said I needed to be examined again to see if the inflammation in my optic nerve had gone down.

I asked him to repeat it, and he did, and then got embarrased, and said that it was all fine, they just needed to check.

NO-ONE at my last appointment mentioned any inflammation in the optic nerve.  They said my eyes were completely normal apart from dryness.  Then I was discharged, saying I would be seen by my neurologist.  What on earth was that about?  Even in the letter sent to the neurologist this inflammation was not mentioned, although it had been recorded in my clinic notes.  Does this mean it is normal to have inflammation of the optic nerve?  Was it just that there was nothing they could do so they didn't bother mentioning it?  And if there was inflammation WHY  wasn't it investigated further?  I was tempted to let this doctor examine me but that may have put off the consultant seeing me next week.  Was told to come back to A&E if I got severe pain or blurriness.  What again???  That is what I was presenting with!  My left eye can barely see now, and at the last appointment the pain was severe.  And I went to A&E.  But once the dry eyes were found all further investigations were stopped, despite my protests of "this doesn't fit my symptoms".

What is going on?  Why does everything have to become a crisis before it is dealt with?  Clearly there is something suddenly 'attacking' my eyes in recent months, and because it is not a serious as someone else's problems maybe it is being dismissed.  They only deal with the problem when it is already so bad it is too late it seems.  

Rena if you're reading this my heart goes out to you.  I don't have MS as far as I know, but to have visual problems, find out by accident there is more going on than they told you, and still be dismissed, is scary.  I only have one pair of eyes.  why can't they just work with this while the problem is still small?

wish

[wishforchange]

Realised my post made no sense.  The essence of it is that at my last meeting with the eye hospital, nearly a month ago, after I had gone to emergency with severe eye pain and been given drops for dry eyes, the nerve was examined in the painful eye.  It was recorded in the clinic noted that the nerve was inflamed, leading to flattening of the optic disc, were the words I think they used, but no action was taken and it was not reported back to me or my doctor.

When I went yesterday the doctor commented on the inflammation recorded, when I told him to read the notes, and said it was important to see if it had gone down, and if I was in a lot of pain needed to be seen urgently.  I refused to let him examine me.  Firstly because I was of the impression that having this exam would stop the consultant from seeing me (any excuse), and it was only the consultant who could make decisions, by their policy, so better to wait and see them directly.  Secondly I had slready some weeks back presented with the symptoms he now described as "urgent", had not been told of this clinical finding, and discharged.  The reason? - I was being seen at another hospital by a neurologist, in about two months. They just wanted to shaft the problem elsewhere and save the cost of treating me.  They didn't bother asking when I was seeing the neurologist, just covered their backs by referring on to him.

This was very poor clinical practice, firstly not to inform my doctor or myself of this finding, and secondly not to have acted on it.  It was a junior doctor who noted the nerve inflammation and perhaps didn't report it to the consultant, as they were so busy talking about dry eyes.  So even the referral to the neurologist was lacking essential information.

The hospital is a shambles.  The vision in my left eye is so blurred there is no difference when I put in contact lenses or wear glasses.  The pain comes and goes.  I kept telling them that the dry eye was just a finding, not the whole answer, as I had no dry eye symptoms, just was noted when they looked at my tears.  There was optic pain, and the optic nerve was as I now know found to be inflammed, and they have overlooked that.  Then they had the audacity to tell me such a problem was an emergency and needed to be assessed immediately!

I'll wait another week, for the consutlant.  If he disappears again I'm going to another hospital.  They may be a specialist eye hospital, but have shown only incompetence and shambolic policies so far.  The junior doctors can do nothing but look, and if they do not report back the data gets lost.  I'm not taking that risk again.  Emegency as it may be, not point treating it as such if nothing is done.

If when I next go I get told I should have bought this problem to them earlier... I may well explode.

Anyway,  thanks for getting back to me

wish

[sllowe]

Hey Wish,

You hang in there girl, and hold them to it.  If this problem persists, go back! I'm not sure how to take the inflammation comments.  Did they mispeak? When did they see inflammation. Surely you should have been told something, I agree.

How's your eye today? Did they give you some drops?

-Shell