hospital

I have been struggling for last 3 years with infections and asthma playing me up. had numerous courses of steroids and antibiotics. this month though i have been a bit worse then usual and have actually wheezed and had my inhalers changed. how long do you have to suffer before you are sent to hospital to see a specialist who's deals just with asthma. i no iam not half as bad as some of you people on hear and i do feel a bit bad for wanting to go to hospital but iam getting am little fed up now and when i have mentioned it to docs they say iam not bad enough to be sent. but i have been on tabs for the last 3 years on and off and all these steroids can not been doing me any good. please don't think iam been rude i just need a little help.

Jill xxxx

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Hi Jill, sorry to hear your asthma is playing up worse than usual. Your GP if he or she feels you need to be referred will refer you to the respiratory consultants at your local hospital who will assess you and see if any treatment needs to be changed or added. Specialists in Asthma solely are usually at tertiary referral centres and normally deal with those who have Difficult (usually severe/brittle asthmatics) Asthma, and I think normally a local hospital respiratory consultant will refer you to the Difficult Asthma Clinic that is what has happened with me(although I am still under local hospital care), I'm not entirely sure about whether a GP can do this. I'm sure someone who knows more about it will come along though.

Simi x

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Hey Jill,

I'm sorry your'e been having a rough ride, I believe that you can ask to be refered by your GP, or if they won't you could try going to another GP within the surgery and asking? You are right that having lots of courses of steroids isn't ideal and really your GP should be looking at using another add on therapy or upping your inhaled steroids in order to help prevent needing steroids. Could I ask what strength symbicort your on? Perhaps it would be an idea to go back and tell your GP that you feel uncontrolled and what can he/she do for you, if they don't have any suggestions then ask to be refered, explaining the impact having uncontrolled asthma is having on you.

Best of luck, and I hope things get better for you very soon

ally

ps, you have no need to feel bad about wanting to go to the hospital to get your asthma sorted!

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I'm not sure also if it depends where in the country you are - when I lived in Devon, my GP referred me to a local respiratory consultant (who, incidentally, was amazing) at my district hospital, however, when I had an attack and was hospitalised when I moved to London, an asthma nurse came to visit me on the ward and referred me to a specialist asthma consultant at Guys Hospital, though I don't think this is one of the tertiary centres that Simi mentioned.

Maybe it depends therefore on the situation during which you are referred...but whatever happens I hope you feel better soon!

Emz

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i was on symbicort 2oo smart plan, but when i went to docs last week he stopped my symbicort for a month a put me on seretide 500, . my mum was an asthmatic and when she got into her 40s she started a downhill trend, and god bless her she was dead at 64, i keep telling the docs this and i don't want to follow the same path as my mum. but all i get is you are not your mum. sometimes i feel like iam. sorry for being a miserable sod xxxx

Jill

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to Jillywilly

sorry to here you are not been seen at hospital.If you ask your GP you realy need to see an asthma specialist maybe he will send you if your treatment you are on is not helping .May be keep a peakflow chart and show your GP.Ive been in hospital twice this year with breathing problems and on inhaylers and tested positive for clots in lungs and injections and scans.The scans were clear and sending me for full tests.hope you get the reasurance with your asthma.xxx

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hospital

Hi my name is lou i know what its like going into hospital with asthma i was addmitted 18 mths ago with a serious attack and since then i have been lucky as i have got an excellent asthma nurse who is alway on the end of the phone when i need her. i hope your asthma soon gets better i really know what its like when your limited by your asthma and constantly taking ihealers tablets seriods etc inculding a home neb which i use up to 4 times a day before going to hospital.

Good Luck hope you soon get the help you need keep talking to you G.P and pesster to see a secialist and if you havn't yet had alergey teating then have it.