Uncategorized

Frustrated with the system

So in advance I must apologise, due to me feeling so frustrated with the system this article is going to be more of me venting than my usual helpful posts. I hope you can forgive me this once, and maybe how I am feeling is also how you feel?

Frustrated with the system
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
[IMG]Picture shows a woman on a laptop sitting in her bed, she has a small dog beside her and she looks upset[IMG]

Today is yet another day where my fatigue makes it hard for me to get out of bed, another day with a headache and another day in my PJs. I am tired of feeling so in pain, so exhausted and having no help from anyone but my lovely husband who is my carer.

When I first got sick I was a newly diagnosed nurse in my early 20s and my illnesses took everything from me, I had to move back in with my parents and I lost my job. I fell into a deep depression and all I wanted was to get some answers and some help. I got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and started injecting some medication every other day, I had a physiotherapist and an MS specialist nurse, I was also regularly seen by an MS clinic.

It was horrible to have the illness but I felt supported and that helped a lot, flares were treated with steroids and I got better faster and I had regular scans to check on me. Then one day I was called into clinic and told I did not have MS, I definitely had neurological issues I was probably born with they wouldn’t look into and that was it.

Next I was referred to a rheumatologist who told me I had Fibromyalgia and then was discharged with no monitoring and no support. Same happened when a different rheumatologist told me I had Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and since then I have felt a constant fight to be believed and supported by doctors in the NHS.

My illnesses, thankfully, don’t send me into hospital regularly to stay, so nobody makes sure I am alright, new symptoms are dealt with by me. I find myself buying new things needed to help me cope with the every day, and support comes from fellow bloggers and instagrammers with the same illnesses.

Once again I find myself having to fight for my disability benefits, I make no money here or on my YouTube channel I do it all to try and help others. My illnesses do not get better, and they won’t without support and input from specialists, I am just left trying to cope with symptoms and hoping I am doing enough. Yet every couple of years DWP asks me to justify getting my disability benefits, a very scary and stressful process that ironically usually causes a flare!

The forms always ask who my specialist is, how often I have been in hospital, how often I see a medical professional for my illnesses…and yet none of those things are offered to me. I am alone trying to cope with them and fighting to have a life that means something to me.

The thing is I am not alone, people with ‘invisible illnesses’ are all treated this way and we are judged by people out in the street too. Are we faking? The thought that anyone would want to have this life is laughable! Why would anyone prefer rarely leaving the house and being disbelieved and ignored over working and having friends they can go out with?

I used to think we said we had invisible illnesses because they cannot easily be seen, but now I think it’s because we are invisible to the world. Ignored by doctors who claim to want to help us, distrusted by benefits and the public and suffering alone every day.

I am frustrated by the system that claims to want to save money, but that makes us more disabled by not looking after us, and spends money trying to prove we are faking when we are only trying to have money to look after our illnesses.

Thank you xx

Share this post:
Pin Share

2 Comments

  • Despite Pain

    Don’t apologise for venting on your blog. Your blog is helpful to people, but venting about how you’re feeling shows you’re real and you understand when people are living with.

    I sympathise with you regarding the benefits system. It’s soul-destroying filling in those forms. When I have to fill them in I am normally dragged into a horrible deep hole. You’re not alone. I also hate when they ask to give the names of consultants or send evidence from them. I see my GP and have seldom seen anyone else for years. One GP tried to refer me to orthopaedics, another to rheumatology. But they review my case and see there’s nothing they can do, therefore I’m given no referral. So I have nothing in writing to give to the Benefits people. I’m sure they look at what I write and say, well if it’s that bad, why aren’t you under a consultant?

    Now I’m venting too.

    Take care of yourself, Beverley. Honestly, you’re not alone.

    • BeverleyButterfly

      Thank you for venting as well, its so true most consultants just discharge you if they cannot cure you now there is no research, no help just sent away. The whole system is broken and needs changing so we can live our best lives xx

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to content