Frustrated by hospital experience

[TJRN1959]

I'm new here so please be kind! I'm pretty sure that the experience of the last few days won't surprise many, but just how hopeless can a Hospital be in looking after an asthma patient?

The early hours of Sunday morning saw a very breathless me whizzing off under blue lights and sirens to the local DGH. "Asthma" said the paramedic. "Asthma" said the A&E team. "Hmm, maybe not" said the boy Dr on the Admissions Ward. Eh? NOT asthma? So what then....?

I was diagnosed with asthma 50-odd years ago as a small boy. No-one has ever suggested in my many, many brushes with the NHS that I don't have asthma. I take inhalers, go for reviews, ingest steroids and despatch amoxycillin with the consummate ease of a seasoned professional. Of course I have asthma.

The real point of this is that my most recent experience is that our local Hospital is appallingly bad at doing healthcare. In the course of a 3-day stay, following that blues-and-twos arrival, I must have seen half-a -dozen doctors, and received at least as many contradictory pronouncements. And do you know, I don't think that a single one of them actually sat down and spoke with me?

Filled to the brim with prednisolone, hydrocortisone, amoxycillin and goodness knows what else, after four breathless attempts I managed an OK spirometry result. Well of course it was an OK result - I'd inhaled enough Ventolin in the course of 24 hours to sustain all the world's competitive cyclists!

Even the discharge letter included a list of drugs I wasn't given, and a diagnosis at odds with what I was told. It said that I'd been reviewed by a Doctor I never actually met, and given drugs for a nebuliser that I don't have.

The whole experience was totally chaotic. Tomorrow I'm going to try to see a GP. Wish me luck with that one.

Do you suppose that someone, somewhere, will perhaps realise that the best way to treat a patient is to sit them down, ask them how they feel and what has happened and then use a special magic power called "best clinical judgement" to come up with a diagnosis and a plan?

Does anyone else remember when nurses who did "Obs" actually looked at each patient, and not attempt to multi-task by seeing how many BPs, pulses and SpO2 readings can be taken in one go, by the simple expedient of connecting multiple patients to multiple automata and then seeing which goes "beep" first?

Yesterday a young nurse actually asked me if I'd felt the cuff inflate, because "your reading and the one from that other guy were very similar." How dare two consecutive patients have the temerity to exhibit similar BP measurements!

Have asthma? I don't know if I dare!

[Carakraft]

TJRN1959 Welcome to your Living with Asthma community!

Whether you are looking for advice or for support, you have come to the right place. I am very sorry that you have such an issue with the hospital!

Talk about everything with your GP when you see him/her and reach out anytime!

Take Care

[lisadfurr in reply to Carakraft]

You should see a pulmonologist, not a GP. I allowed my GP to treat my asthma for several years without success, and my asthma spiraled out of control. A good Pulmonologist will examine you thoroughly and completely, and order a "process of elimination" tests to get to the root of your problem. They will also tell you that asthma patients may not always respond to the typical prescribed protocol. Getting to the root of your asthma, finding a combination of medications that work for you, a good diet plan and healthy weight, and knowing your limits for activity, will make a HUGE difference. I suffer from adult asthma, which is allergy, exercise, and cold-induced. Two of my four hospitalizations, I tested positive for Adult RSV once, developed pneumonia, and it took a long time for me to gain strength. The other time I tested positive for metapneumovirus, developed pneumonia in both lungs, oxygen for 2 months post discharge. I have never smoked, and do not live in a household with smoke.

I wish you the best of luck

[lisadfurr]

You should see a pulmonologist, not a GP. I allowed my GP to treat my asthma for several years without success, and my asthma spiraled out of control. A good Pulmonologist will examine you thoroughly and completely, and order a "process of elimination" tests to get to the root of your problem. They will also tell you that asthma patients may not always respond to the typical prescribed protocol. Getting to the root of your asthma, finding a combination of medications that work for you, a good diet plan and healthy weight, and knowing your limits for activity, will make a HUGE difference. I suffer from adult asthma, which is allergy, exercise, and cold-induced. Two of my four hospitalizations, I tested positive for Adult RSV once, developed pneumonia, and it took a long time for me to gain strength. The other time I tested positive for metapneumovirus, developed pneumonia in both lungs, oxygen for 2 months post discharge. I have never smoked, and do not live in a household with smoke.

Oh, and did I mention the "devils elixir" aka steroid overkill, and its immno-compromising effects?! Nebulizer medications that make you shake and your heart race? Inhalers that cause thrush? Lifestyle changes, and proper rest will make a huge difference!! This is a lot of information, but I feel your frustration and thought it might be encouraging to share. My asthma,when compared two years ago, is controlled much better! Best of luck to you!!!