• You as a person with a life and family, and a living to earn, and interests
• Your illness
• Your age
• Your gender
• Some stereotype he thinks you should conform to
• Something else.

I've already seen a few posts to the effect that the medical profession, and the rest of the world tend to think that OP stands for Old People.

I'd be interested to hear what people think from their own experience.

Regarding the treatment I have had from my GP, I was frist diagnosed some years ago by my ex GP, I was told as though it was no big deal and nothing was explained to me. After being misdiagnosed over another health problem, which I feel has ultimately lead to my present OP condition, I changed my GP, to that of my fiance's. My present GP is a lovely man, but still not very proactive in treating me for OP. My consultant is much more proactive and is trying to get me some treatmetn, of which I can't remember, but it's a 2 year course of self administered injections, according to the NICE guidlines I am 3 years too young to have the treatment.

My last bone scan showed that I have the bones of a 90 year old and My consultant said it's the worst result he has ever seen, I fo course found this upsetting. I have 3 fractures in my spine and have fractured my ribs more times than I care to remember.

I first went to see a consultant almost 30 years ago with stomach problems and weight loss. I was told in no uncertain terms I was anorexic and if I didn't start to eat meat I would die (I am vegetarian). I was terrified, I didn't know much about anorexia but enough to now I wasn't suffering from it. But being young,naive and scared, I went along with the treatment, I had to see a therapist and was afraind of not being thin enough and therefore getting accused of wasting her time, I didn't eat much for a couple of days before each visit. The therapy was doing more harm to me than good, and all the time my stomach problem was being ignored. I was by now stuck with this anorexic label and was never taken serioulsy until a couple of years ago, after several hospital stays for weight loss, I demanded to see an expert in the field of gastoenterolgy and was sent to London to see a professor, within a few weeks I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.

I am sorry, but I have to sign off now, but will try and catch up tomorrow.

Sue

You are very fortunate to have caring and medics taking care of you. My Rheumatologist is also interested about any research I have done and also about supplements, K2 as you also mention. Regarding K", I cannot get that now, apparently the company realised it was tested on animals and now have a different K supplement supposedly as good.
I also take a high dose Vitamin D drop as my bloods showed I was virtually deplete of it. I have to take zinc too, my body wasn't absorbing nutrients from my diet and I came out in bleeding eczema all over my body and face, the only part of my face and neck with normal skin was the very tip of my nose, it was even in my ears and up my nose, my hair began to fall out too.

Sarah

My Gastro consultant isn't convinced at all that I have Crohn's Disease as diagnosed by Dr E. in London, I'm inclined to think the same actually. I was put on high dose steroids and given Infliximab, niether of which helped with the "Crohn's" symptoms, I was still in a great deal of pain despite taking regular doses of Morphine. I have never been one for taking medication, not even an aspirin and all of  a sudden I found myself in a London hospital having to take 32 tablets a day.  However the  one good thing that came of it is that the Professor, (Dr Emmanuel of UCL) believed me about not being anorexic and acknowledged that when eating causes such pain, it's quite normal to be afraid to eat and all his Crohn's patients had similar problems whilst untreated. My Gastro consultant locally, also conceded that I wasn't anorexic and apologised for what I had been through (he wasn't the same consultant that diagnosed me by the way)

I am not on any medication at now and only take my Vitamin D, Calcium, vitamin K and Zinc. I am still very underweight and having lost 3.5 inches in height, find it even more difficult to eat as my stomach has become so swollen, does anybody else have a similar problem.

Whilst in hospital I got a lung infection and was told that I may not live over the weekend, it was a frightening time, I am now terrified of hospitals and my greatest fear is having a fracture and needing to be admitted, to be frank I don't think I could go. The lack of cleanliness and hygiene effected me too, I became paranoid about the general lack of hand washing I witnessed. The bathrooms and toilets where filthy too. On one occasion in the shower, I lifted the shower head to rinse my hair only to discover it was covered in faeces and consequently was all over my hand. I am now left with OCD which has turned my life upside down, just as much as the OP.