Julie, to the doctor, you are one of many. To you, you are the important one, and your problems are real and they are yours. I am thinking you are in England or around there? Here in the states, it has become normal, at least in my world, that the doctors are not very aware or that they just don't care to take the time to know patients, and they don't explain anything much anymore. This is problematic to me, and I have had to become my own advocate, and research everything they give or tell me and ask a lot of questions. The best visit I had with the doctor has been the one time lately when the computer system was broken and he had to sit and talk to me. That is sad, but the reality of medical care these days. It is all about production. Think about this, as I did, and asked my previous doctor before I agreed to use him as my regular doctor: how long has this person lived in your body? Only you know when something doesn't feel right. Not everyone reacts the same way to drugs. We do not all fall into that "normal" category. But the doctor won't be aware of it unless you tell him or her. Read everything you can about the medicines you are prescribed. Then read about how the meds you take interact with each other, and possibly with other medical conditions you may be experiencing. I have had migraines, and I would not take anything a second time if it caused me to have my head explode like that. But that is just me and how I react to migraines. if you don't get satisfaction or relief from your physician, and they won't listen to what you are telling them, change physicians. I have no knowledge about the doctors and availability in other countries, but I live in South Texas, where good doctors are few and far between, but I am allowed to go to a different area for care if I choose, and I do. I drive two and a half hours to see the Orthopedic doctors because of a bad experience with the ones here. And I was basically told I was too old for HRT when I asked for it from the GYN I saw last month, so went to a different doctor. And I read everything I can to see what they are doing to me, because I have become very distrusful after having had several incidents with doctors giving me meds that I am allergic to after my telling them I was very allergic. I don't know if it is incompetence or that they just don't care, but either way, the result is the same, and it is my life at stake when that happens.
So, what I am trying to say is read everything you can, research all the meds they give you, and take care of yourself. To me, feeling terrible is 100% happening, and is much more valid in my world than their probabilities of something possibly happening to me just because a percentage of people had it happen in some tests. That is a chance. My feeling terribly is a reality.
So that is just how I deal with it. I don't get satisfaction all the time, and am very sad about our medical care and how it has evolved into a sham for the most part, controlled by the drug companies and money. But, the only thing I can do for myself is question everything and tell the doctor. If the doctor doesn't listen, I go to a different one. Remember, they work for you. You are the boss of your body and your body's care. I hope you get to feeling better. I know how it is to feel like crap. I have felt that way for years and finally am doing something about the hormone replacement, after my daughter finally told me how she has seen the changes over the years. I am 64, so that is a long time. Keep us posted and take care.