What should I expect from referal to Hospital

Hi,

I have had a really rubbish year with six lots of steroids and several antibotics already as well as singular citrizen inhalers and neb when needed. Just really fed up and so tired all the time but have so much to do if I laugh at all it starts me off well bad, now to top it off have seemed to loose voice not sure if its all the coughing just full of mucus!!! yet peak flow improved a bit... Is this just asthma or could it be something else?Really frustrated as completly stopping my life ... yet so may people in olympics have it but controled i guess!Work not happy either Got a referal to respiratory specialist now, but dont know what to expect?? any ideas would be gratefully recieved x

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Sorry for that out burst... just off loading x

[yaf_user681_30355]

You don't need to apologise for venting, this is the place.

In my first appt, I wrote down my asthma history and took it along which they found useful and put in my file.

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Thanks JF x

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Hi nesby and feel free to vent, we all have days where its good to vent with people who understand

Something else they may ask you about is anything that you can think of that may have triggered the change in your asthma, i.e being around triggers, traumatic events in your life, illness etc so may be worth having a think before you go.

What I will say is don't go expecting q solution there and then as I did (silly me!) as they will probably want to do some tests such as spirometry or even checking for reflux so you may be referred for these from your 1st cons appointment.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

X

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Thanks Angelica,

Will try put some notes together, do have peakflow for last year so should help. Will let ya know how it goes, thanks for the support, should have joined before

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Hey nesby!!

This place is AMAZING for ranting...i did and still do it often 15 mo ths later

Back to your post, i landed with a respiratory consultant following and admission so i sadly didnt do it the ""traditional"" way of being refered. After a few admissio and finally getting to the (what you finally call) first appointment in a clinic and not a bed, i had lung funtion tests and a few blood tests for things like RAST/IgE which if you dont know are allergy markers. I also got given new medication. Sorry i cant help you out with much i formation as i didnt do the ""nornal"" route.

On follow up appointments, I always have lung functions, and a test call ENO (exhaled nitric oxide) which give an inflammation marker, must consultant like it to be under 25ish...unlike my lungs who decided on my last one that they wanted to be 170 (great one lungs). And and im constantly having blood taken, sending off sputum and having general life chats with my resp team.

I guess it all depends on the area you live in, and what sort of equipment your team would have been able to afford for what tests you do and on what style machine.

Well now that ive rambled LOTS and probably confused you massivly im going to smile and podst my reply!!

Sorry if it makes no sense at all lol

Charlie xx

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they may want a family history of any other problems within the family ie ezcema hayfever ask you lots question maybe they will do allergy testing chest x ray possiable lung function thats what i had done check you are using your inhaler properly do a blood test

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I got referred to my cons after several severe asthma attacks resulting in hospitalisations over the period of roughly a month, although in the months proceeding that, I had been in A&E quite a lot needing nebs + steroids.

in my first appointment I had to get my height, weight, oxygen levels checked first. after that I got pulled into another room, got my peak flow + inhaler technique checked by an in-clinic nurse. after that I got sent to do spirometry done, went to sit back in the waiting room then got called by the specialist asthma nurse.

once I got shouted by the asthma nurse (she's horrible, I dislike her, just see my cons now :D) he took all my history from the start of things, from the point of getting diagnosed, through my admissions, until there + then. she basically said I wasn't asthmatic + everything was down to reflux because I had a normal spirometry + I don't wheeze (I've only very very rarely wheezed in the 15yrs I've been diagnosed asthmatic), she booked me in for some more tests, without medication beforehand (I'd been on steroids for about 2 months straight at this point) I had the mannitol challenge done + more spirometries(SP?) done on 2 different days. after that, she wrote me a prescription up for omeprazole + said I'd get a letter out in the post for these other tests I had done + a follow up appointment in clinic.

all in all, it was a fairly crap appointment, I came out feeling like a fake, after my first appointment, I've not seen the specialist asthma nurse, I see in-clinic nurses who do my height, weight, peak flow + check my inhaler technique + I'm straight on with my asthma cons, who's now seen me mid-attack + says I am asthmatic.. with everything out of my system, I do have severe obstruction + have been diagnosed severely asthmatic, although manageable.

I think other clinics may do things differently, but that's how things went with me when I was first referred.

sorry for the length of the reply. hope it helps somewhat.