Not that I'm falling apart or anything but with the impending move wondering ...

How the medical treatments differ from the US.

I have Lyme Disease and am often put on harsh round of antibiotic during flare up's as well as muscle meds for my knees. 

I also have very cystic breasts and have had numerous biopsies and aspirations and wonder will I need a specialist over there and do they have 'breasts specialist' like we do here? 

Are there any others on here that have same or similar issues already over in the UK that have found experience with the treatments there?

I can't answer your questions about care but I just wanted to say that I used to have very cystic breasts and the cysts went away completely when I was on BC pills for about a year and they never came back.

Thanks sweetpeach for the info but I'm 40 and been on BC since 20 and I have had 7 biopsies, the first at 24 and the last this past March, and too many aspirations to keep count.  I have an appointment next week for two new lumps that have popped out to be scanned and then aspirated.  Breast cancer runs on my maternal side and my mom is high risk due to her birth mother so my surgeon here has kept a very close eye on me.  Therefore, just wondering if anyone else over there has the same condition or experiences and what they have found out to be the norm in the UK.

Thanks again for the info though!  Wish the BC had worked for me like you!

Have you thought of requesting your medical records and shipping copies over if you have concerns about identifying your health needs?

I can so sympathize with you on the Lyme Disease front, as I had it for years (well, still have it, but it hasn't been too bad for the past year) and still suffering the side effects.

IMO the UK like the States, where some people understand how bad Lyme Disease can be, and others don't. I was misdiagnosed 4 times because my doctor in the States said even though my LD test came back positive: "you never had a rash so it COULDN'T be Lyme's" .
After that, I paid out of pocket to go to a Lyme's specialist in the States, but there doesn't seem to be one in the UK.

My DH's doctor knows nothing about it, so I am still looking for someone who understands my needs. The NHS helpline people, though were very aware how serious untreated Lyme's can be and were super helpful when I was having problems with my GP.

I haven't had any  flareups since I have been here, so I can't tell you how good the service is, but as MLG said: DEFINITELY bring your medical records and all the medicines you have taken in the past, since you can't guarantee a GP in your area will be an expert.

In general, treatment is guided by what is published in the medical literature and is overseen by someone with training-based expertise and/or experience in the relevant condition, as in the US.  As in the US, there are occasional exceptions to this rule for either good or bad reasons.  However, these are exceptions.

Obtaining a copy of your medical records and bringing it with you is highly recommended.  Obtaining a cover letter from your treating physician identifying the records as from their office, complete with all contact information, is also helpful.

Lyme is fairly new to the UK and is also pretty regional still. I would echo that you need to bring your records with you and even a letter explaining your treatment. If your new GP here is flummoxed, then the advice to contact the NHS Helpline is good.

The breast issues are probably going to be easier to deal with and I suspect that you will be referred to a specialist when your GP sees your history.

I don't have a family history, so I think that would make a difference, but I have had a lot of mammograms and ultrasounds and a guided core biopsy.

When I developed a painful, obvious cyst, all I got was I don't think it is a problem and they wouldn't refer me. 

It hasn't changed for over a year and it only hurts when I have a bra on, so I assume it is just a fluid filled cyst and won't kill me, but it is still scary. 

But like I said, your family history will probably make the difference. 

Thank you all for the advice. 

I do have my medical records already including all my films from my mammos and ultrasounds for the last years. 

I also have all my lyme test results as well.  Danielle, I to was misdiagnoised until I found a Lyme literature doctor in NY.  And, I had the rash!  But, my GP just wouldn't admit it was Lyme.  He thought it was my imagination.  Even though as soon as his assistant gave me Doxy and I improved ... as you know with Doxy you only respond if it's bacterial and not virus, etc.  But, my test results, unlike yours, should negatives.  I was so frustrated.  I knew how I felt.  I knew my body had changed and no one would listen despite having the bull's eye rash, etc.  So, I found a Lyme Lit doctor through the NY Lyme group and found at that standard testing only test 6 bands/strands of Lymes disease and there are 18 total.  (my numbers could be slightly off here as it's been a few years)  So, my Lyme doctor sent my bloodwork to the only lab in the US that tested all 18 strands which I paid $500 for.  When the test results came back, 12 were positive and off the charts while the others were borderline or negs which were the ones that the standard medical field test.  So, by the time I was finally given a treatment of Doxy, I was a year in the disease and suffering.  I do not want to go through that all again.  And, now in Philly, I'm running into the same issue with my GP here despite my records showing Lyme disease.  What a pain.

So, I sympathize with you, Danielle.  I hope you do not suffer from flare up's and if you do, that you find a great doctor.  I hope the same for me as I'm having a flare up now and my knees feel like the size of watermelons even though they look perfectly normal.


That is scary bookgrl.  I'm sure if it's painful that you most likely have a cyst.  The ones that don't hurt or just come out of nowhere are a bit more scary to me.  Perhaps you should investigate getting a surgeon to aspirate if it's painful.  No reason why you should suffer.

Thanks again for all your input everyone.  It's appreciated!

Lyme disease is nasty, I'm really sorry for those of you who are dealing with it.     My poor sister got Lyme disease and it triggered our nice autoimmune genes in her (we have a huge family history of inflammatory arthritis diseases) and she has full blown RA now and still has the lyme floating about. She has to fight everyday. 

I myself have had lots of autoimmune issues in the last 2 years and my GP actually did the standard lyme test for me, but it all came back negative (and he had to justify greatly to the NHS why it needed to be tested in the first place). But my sister and I always wondered if we tested all bands if something would come up. 

Well, phatbeetle, if you and your sister every want to do it, you can get the bloodwork done and have it sent to the Igenex lab in California.  I had to do it myself and pay the fee for it which was a few hundred dollars but like I said, out of the 18 bands I had 12 come back positive which weren't the standard tested bands. 

Different doctors will react differently to your issues. Like someone recently said in another thread, there are good and bad doctors in both countries, so really, it's all down to luck.  I don't have cystic breasts, but I do have recurring mastitis in one breast and it's been an issue in both countries. In the US, they prescribed me some antibiotics and sent me home (I didn't have insurance, so of course, they didn't bother to run any tests). Here, I was referred to the breast clinic, but by the time I got in three weeks later, the infection had resolved on the antibiotics and so there wasn't anything to see in the ultrasound. They said it was "a benign problem" and the doctor even said it was somehow caused by smoking.  Well, I quit smoking two months ago and have the infection again. This time, my GP gave me some low dosage antibiotics and the infection got far worse and caused an abscess (she didn't read the notes in my file that the breast clinic sent over stating if I had the infection again, I would need strong antibiotics for four weeks) and so I showed her the abscess, and she gave me some other antibiotics and a week later, it was worse again. I went to a different doctor, who rang up the breast clinic and got me an emergency appointment for a week later and told me to stay on antibiotics until I was seen. My appointment with the breast clinic was supposed to be this morning, but they called and said the nurse I was supposed to see (and I thought I was seeing an actual breast expert or surgeon or something according to the GP who scheduled it) broke her arm and so they shifted my appointment to tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, I've had a swollen, purple, painful boob for nearly three weeks and diarrhea from the antibiotics.  I've not been exactly happy with the treatment I've gotten, BUT, without insurance in the US, I might not have gotten any treatment at all, so I'm trying to maintain perspective.

Basically, in my opinion, since I have had good insurance in the past in the US... my thoughts are that, as far as the care itself goes, good insurance in the US seems to trump the NHS (though they sometimes go overkill and give you some unnecessary tests to squeeze more money out of the insurance carriers) but the NHS is certainly better than living in the US without insurance. Bring your medical records with you, but in my experience, they don't really tend to take much stock in them and prefer to run their own tests based on your symptoms. Good luck, and if you aren't happy with your GP, try to see a different one in your clinic until you find one you really like, just like you would in the US.

Thanks Jewlz for your thoughts.

I hope you get better soon!  That sounds very painful as I'm full of cysts and I know they are not comfortable.  I don't think I've laid on my stomach since I was 18.  lol  Just be sure they don't turn you away tomorrow without a major antibiotic to kick the crap out of that infection.  Very important to be diligent with that. 

Hope you do well at the appointment tomorrow!

Thanks sweetpeach for the info but I'm 40 and been on BC since 20 and I have had 7 biopsies, the first at 24 and the last this past March, and too many aspirations to keep count.  I have an appointment next week for two new lumps that have popped out to be scanned and then aspirated.  Breast cancer runs on my maternal side and my mom is high risk due to her birth mother so my surgeon here has kept a very close eye on me.  Therefore, just wondering if anyone else over there has the same condition or experiences and what they have found out to be the norm in the UK.

I have been worrying about the same thing pretty much. Breast cancer in the family and a personal history of cysts. For a while I was seeing a breast surgeon twice a year for a clinical exam (as well as the PCP exam and yearly mammogram). After one round of aspiration and a needle core biopsy, the surgeon has cut it down to one exam a year. So I wonder if the NHS would continue this amount of surveillance?
Good luck with your aspirations.

Thanks BostonDiner.  Good luck to you in your efforts to stay aware as well.  And if you ever find out what the norm is over in the UK, let me know as I will you.

Be well.