That dreadful feeling when you wake up and realise you’re sick 😷. The question is do I book urgent GP appt today, or wait til I’m at my specialist hosp tomorrow? Do I let the specialist know as meant to start mepo tomorrow?
I have severe asthma and have already upped my pred to 40mg. I don’t think it’s a bacterial infection (usually feels different) so probs won’t get antibiotics, and I’m already on the max amount of drugs the GP can give and I have a home neb if needed.
Current symptoms are;
‘Deep’ cough
coughing up small amounts of yellow gunk (sorry)
SoB/tightness sitting up (little better when lying down)
Difficulty breathing in and out (especially in and on deep breathes)
No temperature (very rarely get on tho so)
10 vent raises PF from 290 to 350 (/630)
Muscle aches (esp neck and upper back)
Don’t actually feel that bad tho - I can still function so 🤷♀️
So do I wait til tomorrow or see my GP today? And should I let my asthma nurse know?
Thanks x
Written by
EmmaF91
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
It's probably a bit late in the day now, but my GP always says to me I should never hang on & wait for my next appointment if I don't feel right; I should call & get help straight away. I hope you're feeling a bit better anyway.
Thanks. Ended up at my GP who sent me straight to hospital. Still here after hydro and multiple nebs. PF improved but is starting to drop again so the question is do they send me home or keep me in? I’m feeling ok atm and they don’t have any beds, however I know how low I can drop overnight so... 🤔🤷♀️😅
I got sent home with doxy as bloods showed infection. The a&e docs wanted to keep me in but as my abg was ok, I wasn’t deemed ‘ill’ enough to wait for the possibility of a bed (probswould have been looking at a 2-4+ hr wait as hospital short of beds everywhere) . Instructed to return if I drop badly again.
Woke up at 50% PF (300) but 2 vent pulls me up to 350 - got sent home at 400 so hoping to avoid a return. Still can’t do deep breathes (obvs cause of infection) but taking the fact that I’m coughing up more gunk as a good sign! GP this afternoon to fill them in (and see if they send me back 😅🙈).
Mepo injection cancelled, and waiting to rebook it 😒
Unfortunately I’m back in hospital. I’ve had more nebs, waiting on hydrocortisone and a mag bag, then gonna be admitted. Hoping that this will get me over the hump so I can leave tomorrow! On the plus my infection markers are lower today so 🤗🤗🤗
Get a appointment with a asthma specialist from your GP. If the symptoms are bad, go to a urgent care facility ASAP! Don't go to a hospital emergency room unless you have no other choice due to costs associated with a hospital.
Thanks. Ended up at GP who sent me straight to a&e - they threatened me with an ambulance but I got a lift from my dad as she decided it would be quicker. They then ummed and ahhed about keeping me in, decided they wanted to, but bed shortage meant I was sent home as abg was ok. Returned next day (after phone call with GP) and got told off for not getting an ambulance... I’m not very good at judging my condition when I have an infection 😅. I usually know exactly what I need, when I need it ie hydrocortisone, mag bag etc, but infections mean I don’t feel ‘asthma-ry’ so don’t know what I need as PF could be below 50% and I don’t feel that symptomatic.
Urgent care don’t like me because of my history - I’m a severe asthmatic and can drop quite quickly and nebs usually (but not always) give a big benefit but only last 2-3hrs then I’m back to the beginning. I also present on high-dose steroids as I will up myself automatically (I’m on maintenance pred). I have an emergency home neb and won’t go in unless GP sends me or I’ve had 2 and it hasn’t worked (per rules from my consultant), so I only head in to a&e when I’m at the point of needing a&e (usually after prompting from either my GP, specialist hosp, you guys here or me finally admitting I need it!)
A&e and specialist hosp have told me not to go to urgent care unless that is the closest centre, as it’s more ‘costly’ to transfer care from one to another, and I’m less likely to get the care I need, resulting in more trips in. My old hospital developed a system where I could avoid a&e, go straight to the acute medical ward, get treatment, go home and repeat for 2-3 days - it worked well but took a couple years to get this plan in place - new hosp & new consultant means I can’t do this now 😔.
I always do my best to hitch lifts/bus it in tho as I feel ‘stable’, and been told off countless times for not getting an ambulance 😅 - however now I’m back living with my parents this may have to change as I’m 30+ mins from hospital, not 5 and I’m being ‘pushed’ to blue light it more and more 😕 (my old GP would get upset at me too but I could just say the bus was quicker 😂).
My new GP doesn’t like me as I send them into panic mode 9/10 when I visit 😅 - they don’t know me properly yet, they’re very nice, just very insistent about hospitalising me 😒!
This is the ‘fun’ of severe asthma tho, your ‘normal’ can mean hospital to some doctors - I can function quite well at 50% function and did so for over a year until I started biological treatments, hence why I don’t always notice how bad I am to a layperson - my old GP adapted to the point of - ‘well we want to send you in, but you know your body and condition - go when you think you need it’. For me it’s a balancing act between breathing well and days in hospital - starting a new biological soon tho some hopefully I can go back to the ‘I’m not asthmatic’ level I can reach 😂
Thanks. Hanging on to the 9th Oct for my mepo, having had to miss the 28th appt. I will not be impressed if I’m too ill again to have it 😒 - I’m hoping I got my chest infection early this year so that it’s over and done with! 🤞🏻😉😂
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
I have a question about something that happened to me at work yesterday...
Painful chest when breathing at night
What I know now
What are your asthma flares like?
