Asthma Action Plan

Morning, I feel really annoyed. I don't have an asthma action plan and have had the document from asthma UK for a while. My asthma has once again been bad this winter and I didn't know when it was best to go to the hospital etc and what to do for the best when things haven't been good. I went to see the asthma nurse on Tuesday, as I didn't want to bother the doctor with this. She was utterly useless and wasn't interested in helping me fill in the document. It was obvious from the first moment I asked her to help me fill it in. All she wanted to tell me to do was tell me that I could take my ventolin up to 10 times within 15minutes or something before going to the hospital. I just want to get the document filled in and have a better idea of how to control my asthma myself.

It says on the document that your asthma nurse or doctor will help you fill it in. Problem is, ours is a busy surgery and the doctor is always quite quick with me, so I thought I'd see the nurse to get it filled in. I feel like there is no one at my surgery who can help me fill it in now.

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Hi hun, I am sorry you had this response. I too sent off the action plan & still haven't got it filled in. I am too scared to ask my asthma nurse as I know how unhelpful she can be. It's an awful thing to say but it's true! I wonder if we see the same one! I read on here of peoples wonderful experiences with thier Dr's & nurses but I dont find it to be the same for me. Perhaps we belong to the same surgery!? Anyway I am thinking of you. Maybe you could ring the asthma nurses on here for some advice on this. Take care.

S.Mama

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Thanks S.mama, I think we could well be at the same practice!! The asthma nurse kept saying to me that she wasn't interested in my peak flow readings, it was more to do with how I felt within myself which didn't make sense either. The peak flow readings are my best indicator when things are getting worse or better.

Another thing I wonder is on the asthma action plan, it talks about how many 5mg tablets you should take if you are in Zone 3, i.e. your asthma is much more severe. My doc always prescribes me the 25mg tablets. I wonder what the difference is with using the 5mg tablets over the higher dose ones?

All the advice on this website for flu etc says to make sure you have an up-to-date action plan, but how can you get this when the doctor's surgeries are so unhelpful...

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I can so relate to where you are coming from. I ordered the asthma action plan after a week in hosp with my asthma as I didn't recognise the signs of my asthma being out of control. I think the plan would help me to control it better but as I say I still dont have one! I can quite believe your asthma nurse saying that about peak flows as it is the sort of thing mine would say! Our asthma nurse has many different roles in our surgery & I wonder how much she really knows about asthma! The hospital couldn't believe the inhaler she had given me the week before I went in for example. I am sorry you are in this predicament. I dont really know what the answer is except moving surgeries & that is abit extreme!

S.Mama

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Soph, am I surprised, sadly not. So I recommend getting in touch with the Practice Manager, and asking about the practice's position on preventive medicine? Stating that by making sure you are well informed about your condition, you would save the practice valuable time and money, but currently the practise is letting you down.

Finally if ever your practise lets you down in the future, if your life at risk get to A & E. If not file official complaint with the practise, if not satisfied with outcome be prepared to take it further.

[angievere]

I have had a similar experience. I got the asthma action plan leaflet from AUK (for my teenage son) and made an appointment to see the 'asthma nurse' at surgery to fill it in. She said it was the first she had even come across an asthma action plan, and when she read it she said she didnt agree with being prescriptive about treatment. She said we should know what to do after all these years, ie take reliever, call GP etc.

I didnt pursue it because we've known the nurse for about 14 years and usually she's really nice and helpful. She covers everything, so isnt really a specialist asthma nurse as such. I wonder how common this is? it does show how the approach to asthma varies from surgery to surgery.