After talking to a couple of other members of the forum, I've decided it might be a good idea to set up a place where we can share our GOOD experiences of the care we receive.
I have found that unless I acknowledge the excellent care I almost always receive, I dwell on the not so goods. If i dont do this I worry that future experiences might not be positive! It also helps me and I'm sure others to read about the positive experiences other people have.
Hope others also like this idea - So post away
Laura x
45 Replies
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Nice idea Laura!
Would like to say thanks to the OOH dr of few words today who didn't involve me in a wrangling discussion but listened to me and sorted me out. (Also for not doing PF so I didn't have 'that' discussion).
I forgot also to say in my other post - thanks also to the last OOH dr I saw - I was ok by the time I got to him but he still listened and didn't go by the textbook, and was willing to give me pred based on what I said (he did do PF but didn't take it as gospel). If only I'd taken him up on it and not waited for my cons who never thinks I need it!
Also - as ever, thanks to my amazing GP for putting up with me and thinking out of the box.
And the AUK nurses who are always amazing.
This is beginning to sound like a very odd Oscar speech - except I've not thanked anyone for believing in me yet. Or my dog (even though I haven't got one). And I haven't cried
The consultant I see and his secretary and the 2 GPs I will see at my surgery are awesome, the practice receptionist phones me to tell me my repeats are ready and if I have a question (no matter how trivial) if I phone my practice my normal and favoured gp always phones back and talks it through.
Last week I phoned 40 mins before the end of practice, explained that i had had a bad attack and was fitted in at the end of the surgery.
I feel incredibly lucky to have such a good medical support network!
Also mostly my emergency appointments and admissions have been mostly extremely positive
Laura x
I forgot to say thanks to the receptionists and secretary at my surgery who are really helpful - they get things sorted and never mind fitting me in for an emergency appt when needed. They even help me out where possible when I ask if it can be with a particular dr if he's available.
Also the pharmacists - I wish they didn't know my face but they are helpful.
I would like to thank the consultant I saw on Monday who was very understanding and helpful. He just seems to know when I am feeling a little bit fed up and has words of encouragement and advise for me.
As always my GP has been extremely supportive and would like to say big thank you to him for putting up with me and the various questions/concerns I may have, most of all for having patience like a saint.
My GP is absolutely fantastic. Not asthma related but Isaw her yesterday for something I really didn't want to do and she was so lovely and encouraging. She's always quite happy to just see me for a chat if I need it which has helped me so much in the last couple of years.
My asthma nurse is a complete legend, don't know how she puts up with me! She'll ring me back within half an hour if i have a worry, and will happily just get me in for a chat about nothing-ness if im feeling overwhelmed by it all and she properly cheers me up. She also takes what i want into account, even if im being pretty stupid she'll let me wait things out if i really want (but will ring me later to check im ok)! proper good!
Also most of the nurses at my local, who will chat to me about non-breathing stuff when im struggling, and esp the ones who are good with cannulas and give me the hydrocortisone slowly!! They make the whole experience much more do-able! and the ones who help me get discharged in time for morning lectures and stuff are impressive - they have had me at 9am lectures before when ive been really keen, which is pretty impressive!!
What a great idea - somewhere to be positive.
Over the past few weeks, and having moaned a bit, I have realised that there are too fantastic GPs at my surgery. One for the emotional support (I only went in to pick up a prescription at the end of surgery and she wanted to discuss my cons appointment. Then sat down with my for 15 minutes being an emotional wreck. The other is good a pratical level, is not afraid to admit when he doesn't know but gentinuely wants to find out. Will listen to me and take into account that I may not be symptomatic if I have taken a lot of inhaler to get there.
Thank you to my consultant for fitting me in as an urgent appointment (on a day when she wasn't in clinic) and then for putting up with my getting a little worked up.
Finally to my pharmacist. Even though she admits that she can't tell me much I don't already know, she is very supportive especially when I go in and practically collapse on her. (Philomela - I did start to wonder if it was worrying they don't ask my name anymore and can often reel off my medication when doing repeats).
Oh and of course to the AUK nurses. It is always reassuring to know they are there to discuss issues and give helpful advice. I often wished I could get on to phone some of the harder doctors for me!
I have a lovely cons at my local, a caring 'good listener' cons at the RBH, a fantastic GP who always looks worried when he sees me but tries to help anyway, the practice receptionists who are always putting themselves out by arranging last minute prescriptions and faxing them to my chemist and lastly my SALT who has gone beyond the call of duty arranging physio for me and other referrals to help me.
I would like to say a big thank you to the OOH Doctor who took the time to phone me at home on Sunday afternoon with advise after she saw that my name was written on their list as needing help/advice, fortunately for me the doctor who phoned me used to be my GP so knows my medical history well. The prednisolone increase is helping a lot.
Its so good to know that there are so many awesome medical people out there. I feel very lucky to have a team who offer so much support - especially the 2 gps I choose to see, eventhough they say I know much more than them, they are very good at reassuring and doing tneir best.
Also rang an auk nurse today who was amazing - was in complete meltdown. Though she couldn't advise further than contacting my cons she was very reassurinf.
Thank you
Laura x
Laura - hope you're ok? Did you manage to get hold of cons and get something sorted?
I would like to thank THE most amazing resp nurse I saw while in hosp. So nice and practical, understood I wanted to see chosen cons in London instead of local and explained this to the medical cons who was asking, gave me some really helpful advice and understood what I was saying, had a bit of a chat. Seriously wish I could just see her!
Also have to say everyone I saw in hospital was lovely - no-one made me feel like it was in my head and they were all helpful and told me what they were thinking, nurses lovely and helpful, and everyone considerate eg with seeing I got worse lying back, tried to put head of bed up as far as poss and not make me lie back any more than they had to during initial assessment.
I'm sure this isn't anything that unusual but I had been really worried about having to go to A&E etc as I was convinced they'd just tell me to go away - paranoid I know but that was how I felt. So it was really reassuring that they were all so nice; I'm hoping not to have that happen again but am more confident now that it won't be so bad if it does and I probably won't get people telling me it's in my head!
Also - thank you to the amazing OOH GP I saw on Sat AND on Sun - spoke to him on phone on Sun by chance, he recognised my name and said as he'd seen me yest even though he was meant to be doing phones he'd see me again. Then he phoned me on Mon to ask how I was and what they thought was going on. If only all OOH drs were like that!
I think I got really lucky this time - so crossed fingers for either no next time or as good again.
Jeez Philomela, admitted?! Hope you're ok now!! Did you have to have the whole IV etc experience? HATE that!! Have you been given instructions about going back if necessary etc?
I've written about whats going off with me in my other post ... admission looking more and more likely we'll have to see. My GP was amazing again today - eventhough she said a lot of things I didn't want to hear ...
I am soo glad that you had such positive experiences over the last few days and that this will stop you worrying about getting help etc!! Have you got an infection or anything?
Feel better soon!!
Laura x
Hi,
Yeah it was a bit of a shock - see post on COSTA thread! I didn't expect OOH to send me to EAU and I defo didn't expect them to keep me overnight, then for another night! Cons nearly gave me a choice and I was thinking 'help, I don't know' but then he asked how long I'd been getting worse, and decided that I did need to stay in. Also got a choice at end - they said ok to let me go, but if I was still feeling really SOB and needing nebs I should say and they would be happy to let me stay another night. I wanted to escape and thought I'd be ok - am managing but am still fairly SOB esp when just moving around and using lots of reliever, though not as much as yest and managing without the nebs (they were very forthcoming with those!) I managed to avoid the dreaded ABG though. No IV or anything.
They said see GP asap so am seeing him tomorrow to discuss what to do with the pred - from my previous experience 5 days will not be enough now it's got to this point. Not entirely sure what happened tbh - I don't have an infection and am sure have been just as bad (possibly worse back in Feb, but maybe cos I didn't do anything about it/didn't encounter this set of drs? Hard to know). I was getting slowly worse and thinking about pred - asked asthma nurse at surgery on Wed about what had been happening but she didn't really do much. I did run for a train on Fri and the pollen was high - maybe that affected me more than I realise. I do wish I knew WHY so I could prevent it happening again - hopefully it will be a one-off as it's not usual for me, rather than the beginning of something, but without being sure about what was new this time (my attitude or a new trigger?) it's hard to tell. I do know it wasn't a PE though now - my weird asthma symptoms not matching numbers confused them but the resp nurse I saw while I was in said I had to go on how I was feeling and though the numbers did look ok she said she'd want to know how I was feeling and I had to tell the cons if I was struggling regardless of numbers.
How are you doing now? Are things any more stable? I saw your other post - It must be a lot to deal with, and I can understand now I've had just one moderate one why you are so keen to avoid admissions! I really hope that you're feeling a bit less swamped by it all and that they can come up with some solutions which aren't too scary. You do seem to have an awesome team looking after you so I'm sure they'll be thinking of what to do but also considering what YOU want and how your life works - they seem good that way.
Hiya,
I think that its really good that they kept you in and gave liberal nebs etc, clearly it was needed, there were obviously concerned and early intervention is far better than the ""crisis"" - well done on avoiding ABG and IVs - that's what I am dreading. Good to know you're going to see GP - 5 days pred deffo doesn't sound enough - you probably need a taper now tbh. just a shame you didn't get the pred last week. But then a good experience at hosp is worthwhile - (if theres a) next time you might not be to reluctant to get earlier help (I wish I would listen to this). Also good that it wasn't a PE - that must have been scary!! Its good to know that not all medics rely on the ""textbook"" definition - sounds like you had a good team.
Re my post on the other discussion - I don't want to turn this one into a negative one lol. its lovely that people are sharing their good experiences I am having a pretty bad *do* now - cannot get pf above 60% even with 10xsalbutamol etc, can feel everything going downhill, so unfortunately admission is looking pretty likely, walking a couple of steps leaving me SOB and chest hurting with coughing and trying to breathe properly. From what the GP said today the next treatment steps are the immune type routes etc. The people around me are great, I cant fault them in anyway (seeing cons and resp nurse in a couple of weeks, though probably sooner with how things seem to be going), my GP chuckled when I opened my sentence with ""I really don't want to up the prednisolone ...."" and agreed with me lol. Its scary knowing that tapering is leaving less control, that this is planned and that things are probably going to get worse Fed up of my asthma ruling my life at the min lol. Really REAALLY don't want an admission
Though I had a few fab days last week .. yay and will do again soon
Hope you're feeling better soon Philomela
Laura x
Philomela and Laura,
Sorry to hear you are both struggling but glad you both seem to have had excellent teams caring for you. I agree with Laurs that a positive experience in hospital does help you with getting help next time though (just like the opposite is true). Which is why I love this thread! Have read it again to reassure me about my nurses app. tomorrow.
Philomela - I hope you are starting to pick up a bit more.
Laura - what your going through sounds so worrying. I hope you manage to find something which gives you a bit more control soon (even though it make take some admissions). The first time my asthma was really bad (when on maintance pred) being in hospital was where they managed to get a bit more control. I know it is different for you though. Just keep thinking about the amazing team and support you have too.
My phone is about to go through a window - the post I wrote on my other thread hasn't gone up
I've been *sent in* - just awaiting to see what they are going to do. I will update properly later when I am less exhausted etc.
Laura x
The consultant who kept me despite all my obvs being normal because he just wasnt happy about how uncmfortable i clearly felt and how much more tired than usual i was. And then when i objected to staying in when i was so close to my exams he came back at the end of ward rounds to test me for like half an hour despite my protests that surely he had patients to be looking after he's pretty cool!
oh no Laura, did wonder! Hope you;re feeling better soon and it's not too long - yay re fit cons but shame about ABGs! Crossing fingers for you.
Would just like to say again that my GP is awesome - saw him today post-admission, he hadn't had the letter yet so didn't really know what was going on. I think my ex-cons has been giving him weird ideas but he did listen to what I said. Also (too complicated to go into details) I have without meaning to made his life a lot harder recently which I feel REALLY bad about and I have bought a thank you card to send him just so he really knows how much I appreciate what he does. Basically he said he didn't care about all the trouble he had to deal with over it as long as I got to see a respiratory cons who could sort me out! So, so nice of him!
I would really like to thank the awesome people who have looked after me since yesterday!! Literally from the porters to the consultants, they have been awesome. And the wonderful male nurse who really looked after me in resus. He came back at the end of his shift (by which time I was not under him as was in itu) and sat talking to me for half an hour - he said I scared him last night as he'd never seen anyone to down so quickly, but was very reassuring also
Also not had any issues with (no wheeze) though cons actually heard a slight one today - but I also have an infection.
All the people around me have been amazing and really reassuring during what has been quite a scary experience, so thank you sooo much
Laura x
Wanted to write a thank you to the A&E doc who saw me on tuesday night/ wednesday morning. Didnt just do nebs and say well you're doing better now, but listened to my history over last month and fact i been in the day before. Because he sent me for a chest x-ray, as Pred usually calms me down after a few days, an infection that had been hiding under the radar got found (no temperature, no flem cough just worsening asthma). So yay for being listened too and given an MOT at 5 am in the morning. Makes me feel a little less anxious about going to hospital when I probably need it when I get treated seriously.
The OOH doctor who phoned me on Sunday afternoon, phoned me again today to see how I am, after asking several questions they told me to increase my Prednisolone again.
Thank you so much for taking the time to phone me.
Wow!!
The OOH dr I saw twice last weekend and who sent me into MAU and then rang me on Monday evening to see how I was getting on, has just rung me again to check how I'm doing, what the hospital said and how things are going, and noticed I was SOB on the phone (I'd just come up the stairs).
Now that's what I call going beyond the call of duty! If I thought I'd get to see him every time I would have no reservations about going to OOH when I needed to!
I actually love this thread because its great that people are sharing their positive experiences - needing medical treatment is scary enough without anticipating not being taken seriously. Especially when you don't tick the normal boxes.
JenG, glad they took you seriously! At least it might mean you are on the way to recovery now
asthmagirl and philomela - wow!! That is awesome! Ringing you to check all is ok, goes way above and beyond the call of duty!
The people who are and have been looking after me for the last few days have been doing such an amazing job, when I eventually get out I don't think I'll ever leave getting help so late again through fear of not being taken seriously cos everyone has been more interested in how I feel rather than anything else - pf and wheezing not been an issue I've had to explain, which is always something which worries me that it doesn't do what it should. Blood gasses have been a real odd one though - not usually as badly behaved and never had ABGs done before this time!!
Thanks to all the team
Yep I was well impressed - sounds like you have a great OOH dr too Asthmagirl. And good A&E dr too Jen.
Laura - any closer to escaping? I know what you mean - your attack sounds rather worse than mine but I was so worried before about having to explain myself (esp when I wasn't feeling that great) and in fact they were so nice, none of the 'it's in your head' and being considerate about the little things like taking into account that it was uncomfortable to lie back.
I am also glad to read this as I still have lingering paranoia that I 'just got lucky' this time - so if it happens again it's good to hear about other good experiences.
Hope you escape and feel better soon. And take it easy when you do get out - I felt good for nothing the day after I escaped and almost wished I'd taken them up on staying in (my plan of going to London was obviously crazy) but I did start feeling better after that.
My GP is wonderful. Its a big practise and I generally find it rather 'corporate' if that makes sense? They have a way of doing things and things are done that way. When I first saw this particular doctor she was the first one to ask me how I was coping emotionally with the serious turn for the worse in my asthma, acknowledging that its a lot to get your head around ( I went from 4 asthma drugs to 13 in one go, now on 17 drugs in all!)
I saw her on Friday and she was as amazing as ever. It was the first time she had seen me really bad and didn't beat about the bush, prescribed me enough drugs to actually see me through the exacerbation (I hope!!) - 200 nebules, over 200 antihisthamine tablets, etc. She respected my determination to stay out of hospital, especially once I confirmed that yes, I do understand just how ill I am at the moment, and also recommended which hospital I go to if and when I do feel its necessary.
Thank you for treating me as a whole person, not just a pair of lungs!
I really have to say thank you to the fantastic Rapid Response Paramedics who came to help me they took the time to explain to me that not all asthmatics wheeze, they obviously have had great training/experiences regarding asthmatics. When they were taking me to hospital my lungs started growling, next thing it was blue lights all the way.
Really don't know where to start!!!
The ambo men last night, blue lighting me to my local despite my protests!!
The help given in A&E
The junior doctor who spent ages with me this morning. Was confused that I don't wheeze, asked a load of questions about it and then listened really carefully to my chest until he heard one lol. Then spoke about how he could hear a lot more effort being required exhaling than inhaling and a lot of air restriction despite no wheeze. He said this was a new thing for him!!
All the nursing staff for looking after me
My own cons (on ward rounds ironically) seeing me last so he could spend time with me. Wanting to know what has been happening and reviewing all of the meds I am on. Also listened to why I wanted to reduce the pred to the lowest level I can cope on (35mg) and he let me but this is now my maintenance.
And finally the awesome asthma nurse who is amazing!!! Created a plan with me and gave me her direct number to call when struggling
Feel mega lucky that I have such an amazing team around me. Nothing is too much for them
Thank you so much!
Laura x
Laura -that sounds like a good junior dr who will go far! Glad he learned something from you. They all sound amazing though.
I just wanted to share what my GP said today as it shows that our appreciation is appreciated! I sent him a card to say thank you as he's done so much for me in general but particularly recently. I'd also had to send him an email about pred and stuff and when he replied he said thanks so much for the card as it had really increased the general morale in the office as well as his!
I definitely like the fact that something quite simple and easy to do makes them feel good when they've done so much for us - I wish I'd done it ages ago.
Thank you to the AUK nurse I just spoke to, why can't I take you in to my next GP appointment with me?
That thanks is as much for the asthma nurse as for you letting us know about it: it is about time you had someone who really heard you without making you feel like you have to fight for it!
Awesome resus nurses who helped me when I was really ill and stuck up for me when the Dr wasn't great.
My own respiratory nurse who saw me within 24 hours of discharge and just really put my mind at rest and helped me to come to terms with everything.
My *normal* GP who has insisted he see me next week to make sure I am *coping* with recent evens.
My consultant who made a point of coming to see me during one of my recent admissions and who has brought my appointment forward by 3 months!!!
Thanks
Laura
Hiya,
I just want to say a HUGE thank you to the GP who spent at least 40 mins with me after morning surgery today talking through what things have been like recently!! Admittedly, she couldn't do anything with regards to asthma and treatment etc, but was able to give some awesome advice regarding the issues I am currently having with coping with A&E etc!!
She is wanting to keep close tabs on me though and will be seeing her every couple of weeks.
Thank you soo much for making life that little bit easier
Laura x
Figured this thread could use a bump. Plus I had a really good appointment today with a GP I've never seen before.
My lungs have been gradually getting worse and worse all month. Aside from brief moments my peak flow hasn't gone much above 60% of personal best (PB) for most of the last two weeks. Most of the day its been below 50%. But since I was moving enough air, albeit with a lot of work, I was reluctant to do anything about it. But the last few days I've been using 10 or more puffs a day plus nebs and that only includes the times I decided to treat breathing difficulties rather than just rest or be uncomfortable. Despite all that ventolin I keep falling below 45% or even 40% of PB after an hour or two. After 3 days of this, I decided it was time to see someone even if they did tell me nothing was wrong.
My usual doctor wasn't in today and I didn't expect good things. I have an atypical response to airway resistance and inflammation. Often a doctor has to just trust me, or else look pretty deep into the underlying lung physiology and the more esoteric numbers on a pulmonary function test (PFT) to see why there are rational reasons for my symptoms and why the usual rules of thumb don't work well in my case. I've had a few bad experiences this spring with doctors, so I'm a bit doctor shy right now.
I was pleasantly surprised, because she took me seriously. She didn't doubt me simply because I was coughing but not wheezing. She wasn't very happy about the ventolin use, but seemed to trust I was using it as intended and not frivolously and so thought it actually implied a problem. Admittedly, she did for once have some help from my lungs. She wrote on her report that I had poor air movement. I guess when peak flow falls to 33% PB (160L/s) even my lungs cooperate a bit.
After listening to me, she offered to send me to A&E, and when I declined wrote out a referral anyway (the referral keeps me from having to fight with national insurance over who pays). Then she put me back on short course of steroids (50mg for three days then 20mg until I see my regular doctor on Sunday AM). She even asked if I needed certification so that I didn't have to work for the next two days. (wow - a doctor that actually thinks about how asthma affects earning a living).
I'm not very happy about going back on steroids: I had just gotten down to 0mg pred for the last 5 days after nearly 9 months. BUT it did feel good to be taken seriously and to have someone believe my symptoms should be treated rather than tolerated. Also, my gut says she was right. And first signs are good, though only the next few days will show if this was the right thing. After my first dose, my breathing has stayed relatively easy and my PF has been above 75% PB for the longest time in nearly a month - 5hours (yeah!!!!). After a month of being mostly below 75% and three days of going down again and again to 30-40% PB within 1-3 hours, I'm in breathing heaven!
So all in all I'm grateful.
I would like to thank the private consultant I had to go to who quickly identified I have asthma after 6 months of it being unidentified, I am so grateful to him. He always has time to answer my questions and I would like to thank A&E staff (first time round) who treated me so well and it also helpes that Triage is asthmatic so he also understood it so well and I would like to thank the asthma nurses on this site - the best ones I have come across and so knowledgeable, helpful and full of advice thank you I am often moaning as I have had a horrible journey this yr with my health, still not sorted but so reassuring to meet and speak with medical professionals who you can have your confidence in.....so lucky thank you
I had a lovely ooh dr lat night who wanted to send me in again, but acknowledged that i am not the normal asthmatic and have very different standards which I adhere to before going in. After ages of convincing him I'd get help if necessary he let me go home.
Was just good to have it acknowledged such frequent admissions take its toll on you psychologically!!
I would love to thank my amazing cons who came in to see me and made me a new plan while she was on annual leave!
Also for pointing out to another consultant that I am actually a brittle asthmatic who doesn't wheeze and I am on a 5 day course of IV aminophyllin for a reason.
And for putting my mind at ease and telling me that I am not ridiculous for raising my concerns about going home like I did on Monday/Tuesday!
Huge thanks to my lovely hospital resp nurse (one of 2 wonderful nurses there) who sat with me for over an hour after my disappointing/frustrating appointment yesterday, letting me talk and cry and reassuring me that Im not mad and yes I am dealing with a life threatening illness, but they have no intention of leaving me as I am, however hard and long the road may be. Shes an absolute angel.
I have the most awesome advanced nurse at my surgery - I now see her over all of the drs as she gets me she is also asthmatic and used to be under my old cons and also didn't like him!!
I spoke to 111 this evening to ask advice for something which was almost non asthma, but being me and pretty severe and struggling to talk properly at the time, they wouldn't advise over the phone and said that they wanted me to go to A&E who would also be able to advise. With some breathless convincing they let me go to the ooh next to A&E ""you know that's where you're going to ultimately end up!""
Well lucky for me the nurse from my practice was doing a locum shift and saw me. Wasn't happy with breathing, but has seen me much worse. She gave the advice I rang for and then let me go home! Also giving permission to do b2b nebs and saying that she trusts me to know when I have got beyond what I can do at home
I think she understands how inconvenient asthma at my level is, that I don't want to be in hospital every few days and that I know when it's time to get help possibly as she's pretty severe herself. She's the only person I've met not terrified by my ""brittle"" diagnosis!!
Thank you so much for letting me come home xxx
The doctor I saw this morning, came to see me before ward rounds as i went in last night and wasnt able to be seen in the early hours due to lots of new admissions. She chatted with me for ages, and she pointed out that it was ridiculous that i was waiting for my regular meds and gave me permission to just take them, she accepted that it was ridiculous that docs will listen to my chest for ages and yell 'take a dep breath' at me - if they cant hear breath sounds thats not lack of effort - thats asthma! and managed to get me back home and in my own bed before 9am! i think the best thing she did was chat to me, not much, but just about nothing, i think it helps me to feel like they actually acknoowledge im a real human and not 'just' a complex pt!!
Also thanks to the radiologist who gave me a hug when i realised at 2am that my cxray looked horrible and no way were they letting me go home!!
I changed gp a while ago due to being unhappy with my previous practice. Been for an emergency gp apt this afternoon after my asthma being a pain all day! Wanted to say a big thankyou to him for making me not feel like a weirdo with regards to it. He admitted to feeling out of his depth with the brittleness, but at the same time has a lot of experience with it from previous positions.
In response to hearing a lovely loud wheeze going on (he said he would usually admit on hearing this), was happy to try and manage it overnight at home in the hope it can be got on top of. However telling me when enough was enough and when I need to go in. He acknowledged that it's usually fairly early in an attack that I wheeze, before my lungs going quiet/silent.
He has increased the steroids for a couple of days, with instructions to then taper quickly to my current dose. He has added a new reliever (bricanyl) and replaced ipatropium with tiotropium. All of which has been discussed with my cons. It's just nice that he has the confidence to make changes at my level
He has decided that if admission is required, it would be much better for me if I could go straight to triage in mau and then take treatment from there rather than a&e. So I have a new plan for my practice/ooh for this hopefully life will be easier of this happens
Oh ... he also did my flu jab whilst there - another apt not necessary then
I would like to say a huge thank you to my GP for all the support, advice and patience he had towards my various queries and unexpected asthma flare ups that he's dealt with recently. I always feel very guilty that I'm bothering him but he ever lets on that he minds.
Thank you very much doctor.
Edit.. Thank you very much indeed to the Pharmacist who recognised that I was having an acute asthma attack this morning and ushered me into their small office room to let me use my nebuliser they even brought my prescription order to me.
I really want to thank my asthma nurse for just being absolutely amazing!! Because I had a horrendous and very scary admission while the forum was down, she is now phoning me/telling me when to phone every 2 or 3 days just to check that things are ok. This means such a lot on both a practical level and on an emotional level.
Also whilst I was in I suddenly became very ill, my peak flow plummeting very suddenly by more than 70% which would not respond to nebs etc. the nursing staff on that night were amazing and very reassuring, whilst at the same time, saying that even though it was a respiratory ward they hadn't seen someone go off as quickly (in just glad I was already in hospital when that happened!), they called for the dr to come and I saw a lovely junior dr, but she wasn't comfortable, so got the registrar who was lovely but very unhappy, treated and said to call him back if things didn't improve/got worse, which they did. He came back transferred me to HDU and I was (non invasively) ventilated for a long while (a few hours). He was amazing ... wanted me to go to ICU as I was very ill, but I didn't feel I was at *that* level, though I was well aware of where potentially it was heading, and the nursing staff respected that and so didn't go to ICU. However the reg stayed with me for what felt hours (obviously couldn't have been as there are lots of other patients) and came back to check. The respiratory consultant the following morning was also amazing and lost no time in giving IV treatment etc - the only bad thing is he made me stop in for a week!!! As you can imagine I was very frustrated (and teary!) by the end! LOL
During that admission there were so many amazing people working with me and looking after me! If it wasn't for one of the nurses who was so on the ball and saw how difficult things were at the time for me, things could have turned out much differently, so a HUGE thank you to everyone! I AM going to write actually, just so they know their care and support really did mean a lot!
Thank you xxxx
I have the most amazing team!! Probably thanks to them that I am still here, no exaggeration!! My consultant is a bit of a waste of space, but cant have everything and my GP and asthma nurse more than make up for him!!!
The admission before last I was very very poorly, and actually ended up being admitted at a specialist centre, so they made some pretty hefty meds changes as well as making sure I was a lot more stable (9 days of IVs) before allowing me home. so had a much more stable period until a chest infection took hold and put me back in the hospital where my team are based last weekend. Wasn't allowed home all over the weekend as my peak flow was being awful, but when Monday came my asthma nurse convinced them that I could manage at home, so was discharged
Since then she has been checking in on me daily - being really supportive, and while she doesn't like the way things are heading is happy to trust my judgement and do things at home shes uncomfortable with, knowing that its safer for her to know what I am doing, and also have a definitive time to go in!! Hoping to avoid. It also seems as though I am going to be seeing her frequently for a while. I don't know when I am next seeing my cons, but not too bothered, he likes the anxiety crap and she discusses meds changes and is confident to deal with me - win win
Tonight I had to go to urgent care as I had been deteriorating all afternoon, they contacted my GP practice to get some info on me and it was my normal (lovely) GP who was on the emergency apts, so saw me at the end of the practice. her first words to me were ""god you look awful, you're really poorly aren't you?"" listened to my chest which ""sounded awful"" and did sats which weren't great. Knew I didn't want to go in and had spoken to my asthma nurse so gave O2 nebs while she made calls in another room and gave antibiotics. Advised not to go to work and just rest up, though she knows I'm still gonna go to work!
I just feel really lucky to have got such a good and consistent team around me, I think they are responsible for both allowing more control at times and also keeping me safe at home, when in the past I'd have had to be in hospital. Puts my mind at rest knowing that there is a plan there and I know what to do and when. Don't want to ever be as ill as I have at times this year again (I don't like seeing life threatening and near fatal written on discharge letters!!),
Thanks team xxx
Im very, very lucky. As well as having who seems to be the loveliest resp cons going and an equally lovely resp nurse (who keeps me supplied with chocolate when Im captured!) Im also being nursed by amazing nurses, fed by friendly and efficient catering staff and having the ward kept clean and tidy by excellent cleaners. The NHS gets a lot of stick, much of it justifiably I think, but CBW at Hammersmith is, I think, one of the best wards to be in if you really must be stuck in hospital!
I'd like to thank the nurses who put up with my constant insistence I was fine when at times I could barely say both words together, must of got annoying. The A&E doc who persuaded me to stay in, I didnt want to but she ended up being right as went from feeling better to needing hydro cortisone, iv magnesium etc. Strangely only stayed cos she said if you were my sister I wouldnt want you to go home, the caring rather than dont be an idiot/ it could get worse route really helped.The resp nurse who reassured me that its not all about sats and if i'm struggling they'll treat that (when was worrying if my sats were ok but i was feeling rubbish would they think it was all in my head). And just the staff in general really, was my first proper admission (was in AMU 3 weeks ago but escaped after half a day, where as this time spent spent half a day in amu and then a day on resp ward) and they made it best experience it could be. *fingers crossed I wont need them in near future* but at least I know the care there can be relied on
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we'll have to see. My GP was amazing again today - eventhough she said a lot of things I didn't want to hear ...
Fed up of my asthma ruling my life at the min lol. Really REAALLY don't want an admission 
Referral and how to find a good cons
Varied Asthma care
