Don't know whether to be happy or angry :/

[JForbes26]

Hi all,

Well, my mum's respiratory nurse called her this afternoon with the results of her sputum test and told her that she has a very severe chest infection which is very advanced, meaning she's had it for a long time.

My mum was admitted to hospital back in May with severe breathlessness and tightness in her chest when walking and was diagnosed with emphysema and fibrosis (although on another letter it says emphysema and bronchiectasis). She has been back and forth to our GP over the past couple of years with chestiness and was prescribed antibiotics which always cleared it and she was back to normal, but this year, he kept giving her more water tablets even though her chest was getting worse and worse. Both her and I kept telling him she felt exactly the same as when she had a chest infection, therefore needed antibiotics! He never listened, hence she got worse and then hospitalised!

She is currently on ambulatory oxygen at home, but the nurse has told her that the antibiotics should clear her chest, therefore the oxygen won't be required anymore.

I don't doubt for one minute that she has emphysema and bronchiectasis, but I think it's more a case of she's had it very mildly for years, but doesn't get symptoms. if you saw her in October time last year, she was walking around like me - no breathlessness and looked as bright as a button! She then got a cough which the GP gave her water tablets for as he said it was fluid on the lungs, but i'm convinced if he'd treated her with the antibiotics then, she wouldn't be going through all she is now.

She still looks as bright as a button, so i'm hoping the emergency antibiotics the GP prescribed her today will do the trick and she'll be 99% back to normal.

I am happy that it's turned out to be a severe chest infection, but angry at the same time that it was missed by both the GP and the consultants at the hospital. I think sometimes they dig too deep when it is actually something more simple to treat.

Sorry for rambling on - I'm just very protective over my mum and I feel she's been put through so much over the past few months for no reason.

Has anyone else experienced similar?

Love to all xxxx

[sassy59]

It's lovely that you care for your mum as you do but how frustrating that you were not listened too sooner. I really hope that your dear mum feels a lot better very soon. Xxxx

[hufferpuffer]

Oh dear your poor Mum, I hope she feels much better very soon,huff xxx

[Toci]

Once the infection is cleared they will need to retest your mum's oxygen saturation readings to decide whether or not she still needs the oxygen. I hope she feels better soon and share your anger that sometimes we are misdiagnosed.

[Titchy52]

JForbes26 hope your mum is feeling better soon x

[knitter]

Hi, I hope your mums infection is soon under control

I had double pneumonia years ago...before CT scans were available....but I was treated for clot on the lung with injections into my stomach, and then asthma treated with nebulisers and inhalers and steroids .

but the pneumonia raged on and damaged my lungs. It was months later before I found out after I had been hospitalised again.

[JForbes26 in reply to knitter]

I'm pretty sure my mum has suffered with pnuemonia some time in the past which she has never fully recovered from, hence the occasional bouts of breathlessness etc which has resulted in the damage to her lungs. She has been prescribed Erythromycin to treat the infection, so I'm hoping it does clear the infection this time - even though the main damage has already been done and is irreversible. It really is frustrating that illnesses / ailments could be prevented had they been treated correctly in the first place, but hey, people make mistakes I guess, but that saying isn't much of a reassurance when health is involved.

Wishing you all well ……

Love Julie (and her mum) x

[Billiejean_2]

Fibrosis and Bronchiectasis can be hard to tell apart if the lungs are badly scarred from infection. Hope they manage to sort your mum out and that she'll be bright as a button again soon. I wish I had a daughter like you to support me. But we won't tell that to my sons who I love dearly and who do their best in their own bumbling -male way

[JForbes26 in reply to Billiejean_2]

Aww, I do love my mum dearly and would do anything for her. I have two sons as well and although they're still young, I can already see that although they adore me, they may struggle with certain aspects of myself or their dad growing old ….

Good luck to you Billiejean for the future x

[Billiejean_2 in reply to JForbes26]

Thanks J ! To be honest my sons are very loving and very supportive to me when I'm ill. But when I'm in hospital and see fellow patients with caring daughters, I get a little pang of envy. The kind of daughter like you are, I imagine. Turning up every morning with clean night wear, helping their mums with everything from doing their hair to talking to their doctors. My sons are very good to come in but they certainly don't bring clean pyjamas. The rummage in my locker for chocolate and ask me when I'm coming home. But I wouldn't have them any other way

[Sparkywoo]

Oh bless her, I walked around with a permanent chesty cough for 10years. Turned out to be a deep rooted hib infection. Was only seeing a new consultant that got it sorted and feel like I have a new lease of life. Not meaning to belittle them but GPs are jack of all trades. They should refer to specialists more often. I hope your mum feels better soon. Push for a referral, stamp and shout if needed. Regrettably it feels to me that he who shouts loudest get seen to X

[Dedalus]

That is SO frustrating. Hope she's better soon - think you should make a complaint about your GP - that is negligence and unacceptable; he's ignored what you have said on several occasions!