HealthCare

I have more opportunity than most to worry about healthcare; not because I am particularly accident prone or sickly, but because I suffer from a chronic immune disease.  This is not a "wah wah, poor me" blog post, I have no room for sympathy in my relationship with my unruly immune system.  If I'm having a shitty day and all I want to do is curl up and feel sorry for myself, chances are that what I actually need is a large glass of wine and some cheerful company, or failing that an early night and a snuggle with the cat; what I really don't need is to sit down and think/discuss how shitty my day is.   I am not really one to revel in my misfortune and dwell on all the misery it may cause.  To borrow someone else's favourite turn of phrase: I prefer to "man up" and get on with it.

Anyway, what got me started worrying on the healthcare issue today, was a visit to a new physiotherapist.  The occupational health department at my work decided to trial a visiting physiotherapist over the next few weeks, and as I have some mobility issues I thought I'd sign myself up.  Several months ago (like, May) I started getting some really nasty back pain.  Floored me for a week or two, I could barely move.  My rheumatologist, and rheumatology physiotherapist agreed that it was down to inflammation in the small joints at the base of the spine, and irritation to the nerves caused by a disc prolapse (not the first time).  I saw a second rheumatology physiotherapist after several months of waiting, who agreed with the above and arranged to carry out a spinal epidural to ease the pain and swelling and get me back on my feet, so to speak.  I had waited 3 months to get to this stage and the epidural was booked for next week.
So I went to see this new physio through work and he announed (after 2 mins of looking at me and a quick prod) that its not the disc, its not the joints, its just muscular; he proceeded to acupuncture me in several places and declare that I "probably won't be needing that epidural after all".
WT actual F?  I will have waited the best part of four months for something I don't need, when your two little needle pricks could have fixed this months ago? Obviously I didn't say that, I politely agreed that I hoped the acupuncture would make a difference and would be pleased if the pain eased. 

Sadly, the pain hasn't eased much and I will still be having the epidural as planned.  But it worries me that healthcare professionals can come to such hugely varying diagnoses of the same set of symptoms.  Would it be cynical of me to suggest that the first person agreed with the second's diagnosis because it meant the problem would not be their's to solve?  Or that the third person based their's on the notes of the second, rather than on a thorough investigation of their own? And did the new physio, who clearly is a acupuncture enthusiast, tweak his diagnosis in favour of something that could be helped with acupuncture, as opposed to the disc prolapse, which couldn't.

I am often accused of being too cynical for my own good, but I can't help but wonder who is right and who is wrong in this story - because they can't all be right! And just imagine if this was the American insurance system, and my treatment was based on what my non-medically qualified insurance broker would agree to allow me to have?  Thank goodness that the grand old NHS is in safe hands, or who know's where I'd be going to next....

K x