"Fibroid ‘treatment’"

I was eventually referred to a gynaecology consultant in September 2017 following several appointments with GPs. After being made to feel quite stupid for highlighting my worries about my symptoms and three changes of GP surgeries I finally met a GP who was kind and referred me for a scan and to a consultant.  In this time I attended A&E twice with horrendous symptoms - both times I felt staff at the QMC were unhelpful and rude to me. I waiting for 5.5 hours on one occasion and left without seeing anyone as it was becoming too distressing to wait any longer. 

A month later in February 2018 The first scan revealed I had a 6cm intramural fibroid. Then at my consultants appointment I saw a doctor in gynaecology at the City campus after waiting for 3.5 hours. This was unhelpful, they told me that it is fine and it is not necessary for me to have any treatment and won’t affect fertility. I wasn’t happy so booked another appointment and specifically requested to see a consultant.

I rang twice prior to the appointment to check I would be seeing a consultant and was told I was.  3 months later at my appointment I was told the consultant was on holiday and I waited another 3 hours to see yet again another junior doctor. I told them my symptoms were still horrendous and asked for treatment. Again unbelievably unhelpful and essentially told me my problem wasn’t bad and I couldn’t have treatment. I felt very shamed in that appointment and was visibly distressed given my suffering. I was told they could not prescribe any treatment and, quite rudely, that I would have to see a consultant. I walked out that appointment and made another asking to see a qualified consultant.

Again, three months later, with significantly worse symptoms I arrived having waited three months to find a wait of three hours again. I waited and waited. Then after almost 4 hours I was told the consultant had gone home. I left at this stage and in my desperate paid for some treatment at a cost of £600 privately.

I then asked to be referred to another provider - this time the Circle treatment centre and saw someone in September 2018 and was placed on treatment, and saw them again in Feb and May 2019. Generally my consultant has been great - I was scanned again at the request of my consultant however and found a 10’cm submucosal fibroid in my uterus. This was devastating - and was very clear my waits and poor care and no treatment at the city may have contributed not only to a misdiagnosis which meant all advice regarding my fertility was wrong but also meant it allowed my condition to significantly worsen. Given this unnecessary growth in the fibroid the risks of surgery have increased and now I am having to under go three month of treatment before I can have surgery.

However this is not the end of my experience of poor NHS care. As I am at the circle treatment centre I have been made aware of the transition between NUH and the circle. As my surgery has been planned for end of August 2019, this change directly affects me. I am absolutely appalled at the lack of contact I have had with Circle or NUH regarding this change. There has been no communication about how this change will affect my surgery - I have been told by different circle staff different things, with one staff member telling me I’ll be lucky if I get surgery next year. As you can imagine from my story - this is an another example of poor care and communication in a long line in the last two years.

I am 27 years old and I generally feel I have been significantly let down by the NHS, and feel that no one has really cared about me or my treatment, which is still continuing. I am obviously young with no children yet and this problem is significantly limiting my ability to conceive however no one seems to care about this, and I still have no idea when my suffering from this health problem and the associated symptoms will be over with still no certainty about my surgery date.