How to prevent pain and ignore illnesses in the NHS

Today at 1100hrs the 7th of Jan I had an appointment for an ultrasound scan on my abdomen & pelvis.

I had to struggle to get to the appointment, the reason for this was that I have been ill for a number of weeks hence my scan. This illness increased in the last four days giving me extreme pain in my abdomen I cannot eat, it isn't that I do not want to eat the food, it will not go down and is very painful. Even water is painful to drink. I have not defecated for four days just mini little squirts. My urine is also in very small amounts. These problems are uncontrollable. They are also potentially very embarrassing

I am very dehydrated obviously

So why am I giving all these embarrassing details? Because I know that the same problems, or similar types of problems have happened to others.

So what I have decided to do is to give a running account of what happens from now on. Not only will it be published here but in a newspaper and an NHS improvement site. It will not go to any NHS run sites by my hand, as this will allow them to say we are aware of these problems and are making changes.

After my ultrasound scan, I was told that there were signs of of a blockage, so it was understandable that I had pain.

I was sent for an x-ray scan on the spot to try to pinpoint where the blockage is. I asked the operative if he had found the problem. The reply was that he could not give any information about x-rays, but I would be informed in two or three weeks. I was also told that they had tried to contact my doctor. He was unavailable on this day but the duty doctor would, (maybe) contact me today the7th of Jan or Wednesday the ^8th of Jan.

8th of Jan Wednesday, at approx 1130 hrs I received a call from the duty doctor saying that they had written a prescription for painkillers and that my doctor had written to the surgical dept to make an appointment for me.

So that is okay then, I will not feel any pain as I dehydrate, I can last longer without food.

I have now got the answer to an old problem, when you are using a hammer and you hit your hand, and it hurts it is because you didn't take Paracetamol.

So that is where I am now, not able to drink or eat.

This whole thing is not anything new it has been ongoing for a couple of years now.

I also suffer from atrial fibrillation, sleep apnoea, a newly found aortic aneurysm and I am 77yrs old.

I do not mind if people are too fearful to reply to this I just want to get this out there.

Next report tomorrow.

Regards,

Rex.

I think its past time you presented yourself at A&E.....

May do no good, and I could be completely wrong, being as I have no "medical" training. However, common sense would tend to dictate that not a lot able to get in, and less able to get out is a situation of exceedingly finite viable duration.

The NHS is now virtually a DIY service, unless you do your own research and keep on making a nusiance of yourself to the few "service providers" remaining nothing happens. Taking people and their conditions seriously is something of a rarity in the NHS these days around here, most especially at GP level.

Good Luck.

as ghost says if this is stopping you drinking then with your history go to a&e. soon as you can. it could be  serious if you don't. .however dont panic to much they would have kept you in if they were very worried.

as ghost says if this is stopping you drinking then with your history go to a&e. soon as you can. it could be  serious if you don't. .however dont panic to much they would have kept you in if they were very worried.

Or would they.  Scanning people just send reports rather than admitting people to hospital.  At the very least if you still cannot drink in the morning then phone your doctor and explain how long since you could drink.  Or get down to A & E and explain it all to them.  Dehydration can be serious and maybe they ought to fix up a drip or something.

Here I am again I mentioned that I was given painkillers namely Dihydrocodeine.

I do now check all medicines on the net or at times by the laboratory who make them.

 

Before taking dihydrocodeine

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine may only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start taking dihydrocodeine, it is important that your doctor or pharmacist knows:

• If you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
• If you have any breathing problems, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• If you have liver or kidney problems. (Maybe hence my ultrasound)
• If you have prostate or thyroid problems.(Maybe, I  was peeing blood 2 weeks ago,hence my ultrasound)
• If you have epilepsy or low blood pressure.
• If you have a problem with your bile duct or pancreas.
• If you have been constipated for more than a week or have an inflammatory bowel problem.( Yes I have. )
• If you have ever been dependent on drugs or alcohol.
• If you have recently had a severe head injury.
• If you have myasthenia gravis (a condition causing muscle weakness).
• If you have ever had an allergic reaction to this or to any other medicine.
• If you are taking any other medicines, including those available to buy without a prescription, herbal and complementary medicines.

 

Mixing my medicines nearly made me bleed to death

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1210309/Mixing-medicines-nearly-bleed-death.html#ixzz2prwpyHh8

In Peter's case, a GP failed to realise the painkiller Dihydrocodeine, prescribed for a leg injury, should never be taken with Warfarin, which Peter has taken since a heart valve operation in 1998.

(I have to take warfarin daily to prevent either having a stroke or bleeding to death. So it goes on.)

I have managed to take in  305 mil of water and a 50 pence piece of bread to force down my warfarin tablets today. Thanks to all who have offered advice I really do apperciate it, but I am monitoring myself well and being very careful not to endanger myself. I am also being careful in case ambulances try to run me over.

Paul I do believe that the ultrasound lady was trying to contact my doctor or the duty doctor to see what the next step should have been.

I am also going to demand to see my x-rays.

I am trying to invade the privacy of people who are determined to guard my privacy from me.

Regards,

Rex.

Rex, me darling

Just get your backside down to A&E and refuse to budge.  The worst that can happen is you get arrested and guess what, you'll be seen by an FME (Mind you, depends on who is the GP providing that cover).  The old bill won't want to risk you dying in custody (too much paperwork for starters).  And just how will the Sheriff react to why you caused a nuisance?

A&E now ... unless you've suddenly starting all normal bodily functions again.

don't want to scare you but my mum died from an ischemic bowel. she had a twisted bowel due to a chronic ulcer a few years before. she recovered.

she was not feeling well last christmas lost her appetite  and started feeling ill. she "forgot" to see her doctor/ did not want to bother them. she was found collapsed in her flat had most of her bowel removed and died a few hours later. her symtoms were very simlar to yours. please be careful.

i would agree taking a codeine based pain killers would bung you up not something you want.

i know that the district nurse for bressay has advanced nurse training why not give him a call. but really an urgent visit to the surgeons to investigate the cause is needed whether via your GP or the A&E. waiting is not something that you should be doing. do the doctors know that your symptoms have got worse. it hopefully could be something really simple like constipation. 

 

Rex, me darling

 

Just get your backside down to A&E and refuse to budge.  The worst that can happen is you get arrested and guess what, you'll be seen by an FME (Mind you, depends on who is the GP providing that cover).  The old bill won't want to risk you dying in custody (too much paperwork for starters).  And just how will the Sheriff react to why you caused a nuisance?

 

A&E now ... unless you've suddenly starting all normal bodily functions again.

I have managed to drink approx 1 litre of tea today. My problems are known  at the hospital since last tuesday, I know that at least two duty doctors  and my own doctor have read the report  including my own own doctor. So either there is a lack of interest in my case, a lack of correct communication, or the ultrascan found blockage that is causing my kidney to retain fluid and causing the pain is a David Acorian orb. So by the time,(two or three weeks) when the x-ray has been interpreted. And the location pinpointed? A letter has been sent to the surgical unit, so someone has thought that I may need surgery, fire festival this weekend so there will be no movement this weekend, ( talking about movement nothing has passed from me yet).  I still have pain  when I drink but Paracetamol is dampening it somewhat.I am however peeing a little more but I did lose fluid last night

"I woke this morning dripping wet but, no problem it was just sweat", that is the start of a blues song I will sing when this comedy of errors is finally sorted.

Sorry about that I have to use comedy in stressful situations.

As I have said before this is not a new problem, I have complete copies of all my medical records up until December last year.

So where am I now, I am getting to the stage where I will have to visit A&E but, the A&E's are having problems with patients visiting them instead of GP's.

"but wait," ** three GP's knew of the problem over the 7th and 8th of this month which was this week.

Paul,

I agree. Chris our nurse is great and he's a friend, so I do not want to invove him in anything political I never ask him any questions that can be compromising.

If anyone from "The Shetland Times," would like to accompany me when I appear at A&E they would be welcome, after all they wont let me take my poor blind dog. That is a dog that is blind not I.

"but wait," **  my brain is very grasshopper like, and when I wrote that for some reason my mind said it with an Irish accent.

So can I recommend listening to Molly Blooms Soliloquy in fact why not watch the film "Bloom."

Regards,

Rex.

Oh heavens.  A&E, methinks and smartish.  Keep us posted.  Thinking of you x

Friday the 10th Jan 2014 1346 I received a 'phone call from my Doctor and was told that I needed to have an x-ray now that my ultrasound had been done. I told the doc that it had been done on the same day as my above scan. So obviously my x-ray and scan results have not quite managed to cover the vast distance from hospital to health centre yet.

 Anyhow On the 9th of Jan at 0130hrs, (My sleep apnoea gives me a jolt of adrenalin before I snuff it, so I often go on the computer to get my revs down).I ordered a cd and it arrived today at around lunchtime, despite snow, floods and pestilence in Warrington.

Maybe the South Road has been extra busy lately.

The doctor also told me that a a letter had been sent  to the surgery dept, yesterday and it was marked urgent.

Persons following this thread may have noticed a discrepancy in this.

Anyhow if my pain increases I should seek help and I could have some painkillers.

I have decided to stick to Paracetamol.

My pain is under control, I am able to take in more fluids but, eating is not so good just minute amounts.

From tomorrow I'm going to add a healthy protein mix to the fluids.

I am looking forward to a fish supper eventually.

Regards,

Rex.

From someone who, unfortunately, has a great deal of contact with both my GP and hospital consultant along with various other members of staff at the hospital can I just say that I have never found them to be anything other than professional and very understanding. I moved to Shetland nearly 30 years ago but still have family in the central belt of Scotland and they cannot believe the standard of care I receive here compared to what they have.

I have nothing but admiration and a great deal of gratitude for the medical profession in Shetland who do a good job despite some people doing nothing but moaning about them. Despite what some people think the majority of them are in the medical profession to help people even when those same people do nothing but slag them off!

Perhaps it is time that people took a bit of responsibility for their own health thereby freeing up the doctors to concentrate on those of us who unfortunately genuinely need their care. If more folk had the common sense to realise that you do not need to see your GP for a cold, sore throat etc. etc. then there would be more appointments available for those who really need them and they would have the time to devote to patients in real need.

From someone who, unfortunately, has a great deal of contact with both my GP and hospital consultant along with various other members of staff at the hospital can I just say that I have never found them to be anything other than professional and very understanding. I moved to Shetland nearly 30 years ago but still have family in the central belt of Scotland and they cannot believe the standard of care I receive here compared to what they have.

Maybe they like your face, or find you condition "interesting". Its a shame (but an understandable one) that Shetlink frowns upon "naming names" or I could soon put up a list of characters who I've personally experienced over time to be disinterested, disrespectful and occasionally downright insulting. "Understanding" is a bit of a red herring, I've met many "understanding" and/or "sympathetic" medical staff, unfortunately neither term pre-disposes them to be "helpful", "competent", "professional" or even "knowlegable".

Strangely enough I have experienced exactly the opposite of yourself, granted I have not encountered central belt GP's, however I have met more Shetland GP's and hospital staff than I care to think about, and after having to be transferred to a central belt hospital was astounded by the difference in attitude and professionalism between the two.

Don't get me wrong, there are a decent number of competent and professional staff in the GBH, namely, mostly, and most of the nursing staff. However whatever good they may do is entirely lost on account of the ineffective and disjointed communication lines trickling down from the higher levels of the organisation, combined with the petty squabbles and equally petty empire building that seems rapidly more rife the higher you get up through the system. I'm not saying there isn't similar problems in the central belt, what I am saying is that such issues were at a significantly lower degree in the central belt, and (as far as I could see at least) were not allowed to impinge upon professionalism and level of patient care, which IMHO they did in the GBH.

Perhaps it is time that people took a bit of responsibility for their own health thereby freeing up the doctors to concentrate on those of us who unfortunately genuinely need their care. If more folk had the common sense to realise that you do not need to see your GP for a cold, sore throat etc. etc. then there would be more appointments available for those who really need them and they would have the time to devote to patients in real need.

I operated on a "ignore the medics unless its a matter of life of death" principle for many years, and it worked well for me. Until, I found myself in a position that being in full time employment I was forced by HM Government to (against my will) consult a GP to prove to them and my employer I had been ill for more than 3 days.

Had I still been self-employed as I had been previously, I would not have considered consulting a medical "professional". I might well have been quite ill for as much as two weeks or possibly more, and consequently lost the work and income from that period, but I am entirely convinced that I would have made a reasonably rapid and full recovery thereafter.

As it is, I'm still f**ked completely more than two decades later, for which I blame the shortcomings of that un-necessary and unwelcome forced intrusion.

How are you doing, bresail?

Liquid intake has improved but it causes some pain but I'm killing of my pain receptors with Paracetamol. Or maybe I'm getting used to it. Thanks for asking Frances.

I took some protein mix today. but it hasn't gone very far, anyhow I am a damned sight better than I was.

Stug,

I agree with you wholeheartedly thank goodness that no-one has moaned on this forum, unless of course,

 

Perhaps it is time that people took a bit of responsibility for their own health thereby freeing up the doctors to concentrate on those of us who unfortunately genuinely need their care. If more folk had the common sense to realise that you do not need to see your GP for a cold, sore throat etc. etc. then there would be more appointments available for those who really need them and they would have the time to devote to patients in real need.

Most people who are using this forum have taken care of their own health hence they are taking part here. I know many people who were unable to take care of theirselves and they died from lack of care. Some of these people had mental problems, others were wrongly diagnosed, others because no-one cared. So now they are no more.I suppose that these are the ones that had no commonsense.

Our hospital staff are very well paid now. Part of the agreement for an increase in pay was for an increase in hours or at least an increase in efficiency.

If at any time you you feel that you," need a freeing up of a doctor to concentrate on those of you who unfortunately genuinely need their care." You can have my appointment.

Meanwhile I will carry on divulging how things are progressing in my case.

Regards,

Rex.

Hello again, I still have a stomach pain but it seems to be very localised  so much so that I am going to mark the place with a marker, I beleive that I'm getting used to the pain. I have only taken two paracetamol today. My virtual self force fed protein drink, from yesterday, is not moving. I did have some movement yesterday. Liquid intake is improving.

I nervously risked going shopping today Monday the 13th. Thank goodness nothing untoward occurred.

At around 1130 I received a message from my doctor the lady asked if I was able to take a 'phone call from the doctor on Wednesday, So I am waiting with bated breath and bum, 'til then.

What colour marker should I use?

Regards,

Rex.