just wanted to relay my recent experiences to you for your opinions, not looking for medical advice really just trying to see if my poor experience is normal or am i overeacting or what.
my asthma background is chronic, in and out emergency admissions every couple of months until i was about 20. Then got things under control and have only been admitted 3 times in last 20 years, am now 42. I take ventolin, seretide, singulair, occasional prednisolone and have my own neb for emergencies.
6 weeks ago, i was knocked off my bicycle by a car, was ambulanced to hospital with shoulder and back pain, was given morphine and a series of x rays (inc weight bearing) on my shoulder. Doc announced that i was fine and should go home. Asked about my back, and they reluctantly agreed to x ray that now, radiographer was surprised to say the least at the order things were being done. x ray revealed fracture to li lumbar vertabrae, given more morphine and again told to go home, my wife said that was ridiculous and refused to take me as i couldnt walk. was eventually admitted for 5 days, but felt constantly bullied and made to feel i was wasting a bed. A junior doc actually lifted my legs off the bed to prove i could walk! this bought on an asthma attack through stress.
fast forward to last tuesday, when i had my shoulder sorted(a +e said there was nothing wrong, but i have a complete 100% tear to my rotator cuff and have ruptured my bicep and torn other tendons in upper arm)
surgery was predicted to be 1-2 hours but actually lasted more than 6 hours, was in recovery for 4 hours on morphine again. came back to ward at about 10.30 pm, and discharged at 9am next day! nearly passed out when i stood so they took me to the carpark in a chair! I knew i needed a longer recovery but due to previous experience didnt have the energy to argue.
Was in extreme pain and distress at home, my surgeon actually phoned at 1pm to say that i should still be in hospital and come back to a+e straight away, had to endure being examined by a+e docs, kept telling them to go and phone my surgeon, but they just dont seem to listen. Was readmitted to another ward to get pain under control, and was discharged a day later with tramadol and oralmorph to take home, have had no check up on asthma at all yet, so phoned my gp who is unhappy at me taking oralmorph at home and wants me to go back to a+e! not gonna happen im afraid - just cant face them again.
Am actually beginning to get on top of things this morning so dont think i need any further hospital treatment at present, am just feeling dissillusioned with inpatient treatment apart from consultant surgeon who has apparently done an amazing job! (time will prove him right hopefully) He had another consultant in to help towards the end and his mentor from a specialist shoulder centre on the phone whilst operating, if all goes well he says he might want to write me up in the BMJ or something! fame at last!
wow ive rambled! am i over reacting? or do you think im justified in feeling a bit bullied.
I have to say that for all three of the sinus operations I had the discharge the next day that should have happened but family members refused to take me, because I was either passing out when sitting on the side of the bed, vomiting everything and nothing or running a temp. Each one of those admissions I was passed fit to go home and each one I ended up staying 2 or 3 extra days till I was well enough to stand, stopped being sick or the anti-biotics (IV) had kicked in. All 3 times my family were made to feel bad that they refused to take me, I was too out of it to care or put up a fight.
However during my mamoth 14 week stay it was me pushing for discharge and the RBH always ask ""when are you aiming for home?"" then assuming I have had enough jungle juice and I am well I can go, again the last admission I was pushing to get home because Maddie was coming home from Jordan and really it needed an extra day or 2 for everything for my port to get sorted. Which left me having to do it all once I got home, but that I was my fault I said I could do it all, it just turned out to be a little more complicated than I thought.
My OH was discharged after having liver and kidney failure (he spent 3 weeks on dialysis), he was still unable to stand or walk, at the time there was a GP run cottage hospital near us. I called my GP in tears because I could not cope or leave OH alone and I had 4 children to get to school etc, he arranged immediate admission to the ""cottage hospital"" and OH stayed there for 6 weeks.
MiL was rushed in, in one hell of state breathing wise, SiL thought she was doing to die and ambulance crew were very worried, she picked up a bit and she was sent home, then went back in picked up a bit sent back home, with no follow up no care no help nothing, finally FiL could not cope but this time she was admitted to the cottage hospital where she told she had lung cancer and died within 48 hours. The family should never have had to cope with her at home with no help or support, her last 2 weeks were not nice for her or for the family. Thank goodness for the cottage hospital who were wonderful allowed us open visiting and she passed away surrounded by her family and a quiet side room with no fuss, no panics just peace.
I know the pressure on beds is huge but if you can't walk, or your family can't cope then you can't go home, then they need to understand this will just make you worse. I often suspect that send people home knowing they should be in and hope that they don't come bouncing back as families struggle to keep loved ones at home because ""she must be well enough or they would not discharge her"".
Bex
Where is the next nearest a and e for you, maybe go there and see if you get a different response?
Or try a different time of day, or at weekend, to get different doctors perhaps, not really sure what to say. sorry
I'm 22 and live on my own. I was discharged yesterday having spent three days in hospital following anaphylaxis. I suffer from regular idiopathic anaphylaxis and sometimes have the complication of joint pain / swelling afterwards. This time it has been very severe and I have needed tramadol and paracetamol in regular doses since Tuesday night. I was also given some Oramorph at one point. Despite being unable to walk to the toilet or shower unaided for the entire stay the doctors and nurses were ready to discharge me first thing in the morning yesterday. I ended up being discharged with a walking stick and exercises to do but there was little consideration from the physio to the fact that I live alone and have to use the stairs to get to the only toilet in the house, I also cannot climb into the bath / shower. I feel so helpless as my parents live 200 miles away and are away this weekend anyway. My next door neighbour has been a godsend and has been back and to helping me but it's been such a struggle. I'm fed up of being unable to move around properly and being in so much pain.
I think the key is you have to ask for help, when I was discharged after my long stay it was obvious I would need a lot of support at home, sadly my community OT referal was so badly worded that when after 6 weeks my mother kicked up a right old stink and the OT came she was shocked and oh boy did she swing into action, immediate referal to wheelchair physio and OT, neuro referal, specialist physio referal. The key could be asking for an OT referal it is amazing the doors they can open.
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