":-("

(Note: my experiences at Partington Family Practice for the past two years have always felt accommodating, caring, professional, and helpful, with only a couple of exceptions.)

I felt my pain was dismissed.

The severe pain prompting me to need to call the practise for an appointment originally, and the lower back, and neck, usual level of pain I experience frequently, such as on day of my appointment.

My neck was dismissed when I mentioned pain there during assessment and was not assessed. My lower back was assessed. However, I sensed little time was afforded and did not feel comfortable enough to provide my important concerns relating pain to what I've witnessed in my spine.

This is the first time I managed to seek help for this issue burdening me for years, so this interaction felt really important for me to finally happen for help with the issue and help understanding why am I experiencing this. I struggle to meet my own needs on a daily basis, so understanding, accepting, and organising myself to get help I need is a long difficult process.

I was told to take paracetamol and went home. It was one of the shortest appointments ever.

I am grateful to be assessed by a medical professional, but feel negative about this casual dismissal.

Also, despite being discussed in the same appointment and the one before this, I have still not received any contact regarding my follow-up blood testing for second time in a row. This is related to my second attempt at trying to understand what is causing my IBS-related symptoms so I can get a better understanding of my body via diagnosis. I tried the same process last year, and again, after a couple of appointments, the different practitioner dropped me. They stopped ensuring follow-ups despite explaining and agreeing to them in our appointments.

Why do I finally start to get help and understanding for myself by contacting the practice, and why see practitioners who say they will see this diagnosis process through, who will ultimately stop trying and leave me alone during this diagnosis process together? ☹️