Ahhr doctors....!

[Kashwi]

Aathma has been playing up greatly over the festive period. I was given antibiotics before christmas for a chest infection and then was seen in ooh on new years day who gave me pred 40mg and more antibiotics. Had started to feel a bit and them wham tight chest and short of breath at 4am this morning managed to get emergency appt at doctors. Dr saw me for 5mins i had a pf of 150 normally 400ish!! Gave me more steroids and a third lot of antibiotics, told me to take 10 of ventolin every 4 hours and if still the same by tonight to go to A&E.

Anyone else feel like they just get fobed of by thier GP?

[madmazda86]

I'm worried this is going to happen to me when I go to the GP later today I don't want more steroids, I've already had them for 5 days and they haven't helped! I was awake at 4am too, it's weird, third day in a row - what is it about 4am? Is that when the inhaled steroids wear off? I dunno. I'd say just go to A&E anyway, don't suffer for longer than you have to, it's not fair on you.

[Kashwi in reply to madmazda86]

Thinking i might have to! He gave me another 5 day of pred so will have been on it for 10days but have now started vomiting (sorry if tmi) so probably not keeping any of the steroids or antibitoics down anyway!

[madmazda86 in reply to Kashwi]

I just came off the phone to asthmaUK, wanted to prime myself before going to the GP as to what I needed, so maybe this info will help you too! The suggested reason for the 4am wake-up is because that's when the body's natural steroid production is lowest, which makes sense. They suggested to me that I'll need to stay on the pred till I'm better otherwise the inflammation will come back, and that a combi inhaler which is long-acting reliever and steroidal might be the best thing to change onto. Either way they said I definitely needed a change in meds to get the current flare-up under control.

I'm sorry to hear you're being sick now too, it sounds like A&E is the best place for you right now so they can get you stabilised and get some fluids into you. It's possible you might have picked up a secondary infection or something perhaps.

[Kashwi]

Yeah thanks for the info think i will probably need a change in meds too! Yeah it looks like i will be spending my day in A&E! Hope you begin to feel better and you have more luck than me with your GP!

[madmazda86 in reply to Kashwi]

Hope you don't have to wait too long!

[Hidden]

I've a fair idea what my GP would have done in that situation - a PF of 150 when normally its 400!! Last time I was that bad I was down in A&E on nebulisers. Agreeing with Madmazda86 - go to A&E.

[Kashwi]

Madmazda86 how did you get on?

Hopefully better than me! I decided to go back to my Gp and explain that i had started to vomit and got told that i did not seem any worse than this morning and that my sats were 97 so were fine despite having a resp rate of 28 and no improvment in pf and that i was just to double the dose of my clenil inhaler and pretty much get on with it!

I am so tired i assume from breath so fast and my ribs are absolutely killing me probably from all the coughing. I am literally just about in tear and have no idea where to turn now!

[Hidden in reply to Kashwi]

I don't get this. My GP gets twitchy if I go down to 80% of my normal PF score (admittedly at the low end of acceptable for my height and age at the best of times), but that score would still be well above the sub 200 you mention.

Your only option is to go to A&E. I know this sounds desperate, but what else can you do? The one thing that's certain is that getting more and more stressed about your situation is not going to help - it will only make things worse.

[snoubelles in reply to Kashwi]

Hi Kashwi,

How are you now?

I really think you should go to A&E. If your respiratory rate's 28, and your peak flow was 150 with a normal of 400, your struggling to keep down oral antibiotics & steroids & your tiring - it doesn't sound good.

Unfortunately the GP doesnt seem to be the most clued in - better to go straight to A&E - at least they tend to be more clued in.

Don't hang about too long before going & getting checked out.

Good luck & hope you feel better soon!

[Hidden in reply to snoubelles]

I agree completely with what snoubelles has said.

[madmazda86 in reply to Kashwi]

Go to A&E, Kashwi - you've had 2 courses of oral steroids and it wasn't enough, your GP should have told you to max out your Clenil anyway before this! I know exactly what you're going through right now, that being so tired you just want to cry. Please go to A&E and maybe they can help you.

On my part, I'm so glad I phoned the AsthmaUK helpline before my appointment - my GP was very sympathetic but had no idea what to do with me. I regurgitated everything I was told over the phone and he basically followed their recommendation. He had to go through the BNF to even find the name of the combi inhaler to prescribe me, haha. So I have some Fostair to try but no more oral steroids for now because they didn't seem to have done anything. My SATS were 99 on testing and I did 400 on the peak flow in the surgery.

I really hope you can get some help tonight!!

[lindmat in reply to Kashwi]

I am sending a big hug as I fully understand. I have been feeling tired for a while as I have problem right now. I am sitting here feeling like crying with as it feels like I have no where to turn.

[Kashwi]

On way to A&E will let you know how i get on

[madmazda86 in reply to Kashwi]

Cool, hopefully you can get some sleep tonight! I just took my first puff of Fostair. I'm a bit dubious how much the formeterol is going to do as I'm essentially coming from 800micrograms of buclometasone down to 500 micrograms + 12 micrograms of formeterol. Apparently I can go up to 4 puffs a day alongside my Ventolin according to the instruction leaflet so we'll see how things go!

Note: I did a bit of reading on this and 1 puff of Fostair = 2.5 puffs of Clenil. The more you know!

[Hidden in reply to madmazda86]

Keeping fingers crossed that this works for you!

[Asthma-girl]

I hope things improve for you with A&E's help.

[Kashwi]

Update...

After sitting in A&E for 7hours with nothing happening. I have just been moved to the ward and seen the consultant so looks like iv antibiotics, iv steroids and nebulisers. Not much fun when i am due back to uni on Sunday but heyho

[Hidden in reply to Kashwi]

No, not much fun, but hopefully you'll start to feel better soon.

[madmazda86 in reply to Kashwi]

Sheesh, that's a long night. I hope you can catch up on some sleep, you did the right thing! I woke up once in the night needing Ventolin but that's an improvement on the 4 hour Ventolin party I was having on previous nights so hopefully things are on the up for both of us! Sleep well and soundly

[Hidden in reply to madmazda86]

Glad to read that things seem to be improving. Fingers crossed that they continue to do so

[snoubelles]

So glad you're getting looked after now. Hope you start to improve soon.

Sorry you had to wait in A&E so long!

Once you're better, IF YOU FEEL UP TO IT, it would be really useful if you felt able to write to your GP surgery & let them know what happened so that they can learn from it & it's less likely to happen to someone-else. Medical professionals are humans and make mistakes, but are aware that their mistakes can have significant effects & so most are very keen to learn from them. It might be a good prompt for them to do some refresher training on asthma.

I know feeding back can be daunting though, and the last thing you want to do while your unwell, so just something to keep in mind for the future, if you feel able.

Really hope you managed to get some sleep on the wards & that you start to feel much better soon!

Take care!

[Kashwi]

Care got changed over to a new consultant- he is amazing and is arranging for me to be seen by the asthma nurse specalists tomorrow.

One thing he said struck me was that he will only be happy to discharge me when my pf is 75% of my predicted where as the gp said it was fine at 33% of my predicted. Seems crazy to me!!

[Hidden in reply to Kashwi]

33%!!!!! That's way lower than my GP would find acceptable. When I went in after Christmas my peak flow was at 85% of what was normal for me. I went in because it had been continually dropping and 80% is considered to be a warning marker. I was told by the doctor I saw (not my usual GP, but I'm certain she would have said the same thing) that by going in when I did I had done exactly the right thing.

Hope you're beginning to feel better

[madmazda86 in reply to Kashwi]

Wow, dat GP. DX At least you're being looked after by competent people now!!

[lindmat]

I am feeling that at the moment. have been having chest problems for about a week. am having trouble getting my doctors to take me seriously. so I can really relate.

[Kashwi]

Be persistant as i am still in hospital 8 days later!! Inhaler been changed to fostsir and still on oral steroids and a new medication to treat acid reflux!!

[madmazda86 in reply to Kashwi]

Sorry to hear you're still on the ward Kashwi! How are you finding Fostair? It's been great for me but I feel a bit sick and shaky for half an hour after taking it.

[Kashwi]

Peak flow is slowly improving on it but yeah it makes me very shakey which is horrible!!