I just came back from the doctors after having 2 days of being really short or breath and coughing, and almost going to a&e last night, I mentioned to the doctor that I don't normally wheeze before he listened to my chest. And after having a listen he said surprise surprise that my chest was clear! and then said NOTHING after that!
He did ask me before listening if I had asthma to which i replied yes, he then asked if me if this was a one off or happened regularly to which I replied regularly, I then asked him if he had my notes, and he did, so really he didn't need to ask me these questions!
Luckily i am actually feeling a but better today, but if tonight is bad I will be going to a&e.
I also mentioned a strange rash I have on my face and asked him what it could be and he said 'i don't know!'
I give up!
lejaya
15 Replies
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Hi,
I also have this problem with several doctors (mostly ones who don't know me). I went in to get a phone consult today (hayfever playing up and asthma bad last night) and this doctor said he could see me now. I thought this was great until I realised he was a no wheeze=fine doctor!
Last month I actually cried at an appointment because after two weeks of not sleeping, eating etc due to asthma, no one would acknowledge it or give me pred. Since then I have fought for a plan which says I don't wheeze and respond well (as I find after ten puffs of an inhaler I am ok but know in an hour I won't be). I got the plan a fortnight ago and the attitude from the OOH doctor last week was so different.
Sorry I'm rambling-on very little sleep from last night!
This is exactly the same as me! I'm so happy that it isn't just me alone on this, I feel like they think i'm over exaggerating but I really don't wheeze until i'm really bad, and apparently a lot of other people are the exact same!
Oh fabulous, just what you need NOT!! I hope you don't need a&e tonight, but don't hesitate to go if you need to. Is there another gp you can see in the practice? Or OHH/ walk in centre (not that I've had any use from them personally except one I took my son to once for a non asthma problem). Alternatively, book another gp appt tomorrow or the day after and tell them you're not getting better and know you'll be better after pred
Anyway I sympathise, I quite often get this ;-(
thanks for the replies,
the doctor I saw today was a locum, who spent most of the appointment (all of 5 mins!) staring at me, there are 2 really good doctors at my surgery but they never have availiable appointments so I always have to see the crappy ones! my old surgery used to give me pred and told me to wait a few days before starting it to see if things get better, but my new one doesn't seem to do this.
I'm also thinking that if tonight is really bad and I do have to go to a&e, I will probably get the sane response! eg no wheeze, no treatment, so not quite sure what to do really, but I obviously will get help if needed, just fed up of being fobed off!
lejaya
• in reply to
I'm also thinking that if tonight is really bad and I do have to go to a&e, I will probably get the sane response! eg no wheeze, no treatment, so not quite sure what to do really, but I obviously will get help if needed, just fed up of being fobed off!
lejaya
Its really rubbish that we should be made to feel like this, in the end we put off getting medical attention because we're worried we'll be told 'chest clear, no asthma off you go', it really does make me cross!! All I can say is stand your ground ( the best you can when you're struggling to breathe) and make it clear that you're having a hard time breathing, your reliever is not working and whilst you might not be wheezing, they need to investigate and explain to you what is causing the problem if they're so adamant its not asthma ....hark at me, shame I don't listen to my own advice!
Good luck lejaya, hope you don't need a&e tonight, but get back to the gp if you're no better xxx
How are you doing Lejaya? Hope you haven't had to go to A&E and can get hold of some pred soon.
It really is frustrating isn't it when they brush you off because you don't fit their textbook ideas? If it helps, in the last month or so I have been pleasantly surprised by the reception I've had from OOH and A&E - I used not to find OOH very helpful but actually they have been great at listening to how I am and what is normal for me, and not going on about wheezing (I now seem to have this habit of going quiet...). Of course they might have gone a bit too far the other way at times... But just wanted to say it is possible to get somewhere even if you're not typical, and I had had all the usual 'nothing we can do/you're not wheezing' etc before.
Being the paranoid person that I am though lol I am fully expecting any day to run into another of the unhelpful types...but crossed fingers if I have to go again my luck will hold.
Hope you haven't had to visit a&e lejeya xxx
hi
I didn't have to go to a&e last night luckily, but feeling a bit worse today so might try the walk in center or ooh, i don't think i will be going back to my gp for while unless it is to see the asthma nurse.
I hope the rest of you are doing ok, and thank you very much for the concern.
lejaya
I'm glad you didn't have to visit a&e, but probably a good idea to see walk in centre docs if you're feeling worse, hopefully you'll have betgwr luck with them and you can get the pred you need.
I'm thinking I might book a gp appointment for later in the week, symptomatic not too bad but know they're going downhill, if I book ahead I can see the 'better' doctor rather than been a lot luck on the day appointment. I'll probably still be fobbed off but it'll maximize my chances!
Ps sorry for typos, Ventolin shakes and phone won't let me edit mistakes!
Really sorry to hear you are having a tough time with your GP and your asthma.
Please do go and see someone if you are getting worse and don't worry about being fobbed off-if you can't breath, wheeze or no wheeze, you need medical help.
I have got into the habit, whenever I am not with one of my RBH doctors, of saying right at the beginning of any asthma-related appointment that I am a non-wheezing asthmatic, even if that is changing in more recent times. Stating it categorically at the outset seems to get taken as me being a specialist in my subject and that I, therefore, know a lot about that, maybe even more than some doctors will admit to knowing. Just in case, I do also even remind them at RBH regularly.
The trouble with knowing what I am talking about, though, sometimes scares me, as I always hope that the doctor I am talking to at any point will know more. I like being in control, but a bit of discussion when I am asking for specific drugs, or changes to specific drugs, would give me a certain amount of re-assurance of that. I cannot always tell if I have got a doctors trust in me or my plan, or if it is simply that I really do know more.
I wonder if anyone else ever feels a bit over-empowered with a good, current, tested Asthma Action Plan and first-hand experience of the condition.
I have found the same Alan, I now start an appt with 'I have non-classic asthma, I don't wheeze and the peak flow doesn't reflect my symptoms.' And I think as I am coming across as more confident, they accept what i am saying and know what to expect with me.
Hi
I'm new to this forum but I am also having problems with my GP. I have seen 2 different doctors and a specialist all in the same surgery and none of them take me seriously! I've been begging my GP to give me a nebuliser for at home as I don't want to have to sit in A&E for 4 hours everytime I have an attack, but they always say I'm fine and I don't need one at home!!! I honestly don't know what to do now and I'm sick of GPs being so patronising and useless. :/ xxx
• in reply to
Hi
I'm new to this forum but I am also having problems with my GP. I have seen 2 different doctors and a specialist all in the same surgery and none of them take me seriously! I've been begging my GP to give me a nebuliser for at home as I don't want to have to sit in A&E for 4 hours everytime I have an attack, but they always say I'm fine and I don't need one at home!!! I honestly don't know what to do now and I'm sick of GPs being so patronising and useless. :/ xxx
Hello and welcome first of all Bluee. Do have a good look around both the forum and the information along the purple bar at the top from the main Asthma UK site. You can also call the asthma nurse helpline.
Are you under a hospital consultant? What medications are you on regularly as there are plenty of options? Perhap consider changing GP practices or see a different doctor. However, nebulisers at home are generally only given by hospital consultants for people with severe/brittle asthma who are in hospital regularly. See here Nebulisers for Asthma UK information with links to more details. It can be dangerous if you rely on a nebuliser to self-treat asthma attacks at home. You need to be properly assessed including having your pulse, breathing rate and oxygen levels checked. You may need additional treatment.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
But just wanted to say it is possible to get somewhere even if you're not typical, and I had had all the usual 'nothing we can do/you're not wheezing' etc before. 
Please could a GP answer a question? (Non-asthma)
Confused dot com
big problems with consultant!
