Second PFO test booked for the 25th Jan 04

[ancl]

Finally after giving up on the NHS ( no hope sunshine ) managed to get a private referall through "e-med" ( Dr Jule's Eden's private medical service ) to the Wellington in St John's Wood, London.

After a couple of phone calls to the cardiology department, booked in for next Tuesday at 1330.

Will post an update once I've been in and seen.

Looks like 2005 is going to be a good year ( 2004 written off as a tax loss )

Andy.

[Clare Gledhill]

Good luck!

[Simon Lamb]

Good luck mate.
Sure it'll be fine and looking forwards to seeing you this year!

Si

[ancl]

Doh ! That excited I'm getting somewhere with it that I put 04 in the title....

Andy

[MATTBIN]

Second test, did you enjoy the first one so much you wanted to do it again?
Hope it all goes well, not sure if that means they find something or they dont find anything.
I used to deliver newspapers to that Hospital when I were a wee lad.
Some of the Nurses, phwarrr!!

Best wishes
Matt

[calski]

You'd better be alright Clements !!! I'm itching to get back into the water and holding my breath in the bath just isn't doing it for me and I don't want to have to buy your wing off you!

Good luck - 2005 is going to be a good year mate! Here's to happier times

calski

[DIVE BUDDHA]

good luck mate and hope it all goes well lets hope u get the right outcome ps u said it was your second test ???how come u wanted to have 2 or am i missing something somewhere

[calski]

Hi all, the following is from ancl who has been unable to get onto YD because Abbey have blocked it!

calski

************************************************

Can you reply back for me please, saying they've blocked YD and that the
first test was a standard scan that came back as suggestive of a pfo, and
after speaking to other divers generally and reading up, that I really need
to have the contrast scan done ( the bubble one ) to make sure there is
something actually there.

If it comes back as a PFO being there, then its game over, I don't want the
operation, I'll go and do something else apart from job-hunting :-)

If its negative, time to sit down and look at my dive profiles and see if
its me being a numpty in the water....and get my backside over to Egypt for
a week.....

andy

[Hellvet]

i am currently in the process of compiling a complaint to my primary care trust as they refused to refer me to Wilmshurst, as i feel this is an ill-informed response on their part - if you want to do the same i am willing to pm you the letter as it is going to be fully referenced and supported by research papers, which i have some access to as i am a vet.

Bearing in mind it costs £9,000 for the first table 6 session with no extensions, and £120 for referral to Wilmshurst for lung function tests, chest xray and contrast echo, plus interpretation, and i know he has said that he has known pfo's twice be missed by doctors without expertise in this area, and the person get bent again, before getting diagnosis, it is surely worth sending me to the cardiologist who can give me the most appropriate answers!

Good luck with the test - can't wait for my bends check 3 months after my bend coming up 22nd feb, to see if they'll let me breathe some compressed gas - I was on the verge of killing for some on Friday night cos i'd had a bad week at work!

Helen

[calski]

It does seem that the postcode lottery is in place here which is making it more difficult for some people to get proper treatment than others.

I hope that you get the result that you hope and that you get the treatment that you're entitled to.

It makes you wonder whether it's really worth paying all that money in NI stamps! It makes me glad that my new job offers BUPA healthcare!

Regards,

Calski