Episode over Easter that scared the life out of me

Dear me - what a hopeless service many of you have had

Yes, it's dreadful here.
Even if you are admitted into the MAU no-one can see you for hours, nor are there any beds.
Sitting on a hard chair for 25 hours is not ideal.
Especially if they send you home again after that time, saying they have no clue what to do.

Recent actual experiences.

Should the public not be getting together now and complaining/demonstrating about the appalling state of GP services since the pandemic. Everyone I talk to says it’s almost impossible to actually see a GP. Phone appointments are ‘triaged’ by receptionists and I recently blew my top at a receptionist over the phone at being told I would have to ring at 8am the following morning for an appointment when I’d been doing just that for a week - answering machine until 8am and then permanently engaged for two hours. Where does this end ?

Sounds familiar. Did they give you an ecg at the hospital? It could be low heart rate which can cause fainting. You would need a pacemaker. ?

bobbydog24 MzOops has a similar problem, she already has very low blood pressure. Her GP said it was possibly AF and he would organise the monitor and a scan, it took 6 weeks to get the monitor, she still hasn’t had the results ( her GP said that the Consultant would now be dealing with it) and still no sign of a scan.

We can only assume that it isn’t serious, but she has been told if it happens again to call an Ambulance, she would then probably have tests in A &E to find out what the problem is.

Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again, MrOops family has a history of AF and our Granddaughter also has a heart problem, but the NHS on this occasion isn’t doing much, despite weekly phone calls to them.
It’s very scary but she carries in regardless!

My surgery seems to have reduced their facilities since covid. They used to take blood samples and you could go on their internet site to make appointments and renew prescriptions. Both these facilities are not now available. They definitely do not have an ECG appliance.
My sister, who lives 10 miles from me has all this in her surgery plus she can access her file online so can see any tests she’s had the moment they are received. The ironic thing is my surgery has taken on 2 new GPs making 5 now.

bobbydog
If you get to see your doctor anytime soon, can you ask him why he doesn’t do an ECG. Nurses do it at our surgery.

Dear me - what a hopeless service many of you have had. It can hardly be called a service. It makes me very cross .... it is a danger for some things to be left. I hope you will get to the bottom of these fainting attacks.

I have an alarm pendant and find it reassuring as I live on my own. I had several losses of consciousness caused by spasms in my biliary system tweaking my vagus nerve. It was quite disturbing.

The possible 'fainting do' on Easter Day- did that happen after a big meal or a glass of wine? Was the room hot with a lot of people in it?

I absolutely understand your fear of something similar happening again bobbydog24, it’s probably fuelled by the fact that if you don’t know what caused the episode you can’t prevent it happening again. That’s the situation I’m in now.

During my recent medical episode the ambulance was going to be so delayed that my son drove me to hospital instead. The problem with that is there is a lack of immediate triage if you don’t arrive by ambulance. I was fortunate that my husband was able to stay with me and alert staff that I needed a quick response.

I now wear a MedicAlert bracelet so that if a similar incident occurs I can be reassured that the necessary information is (literally) to hand for members of the public to help me.

DH had virtually the same thing happen on December 4th, he collapsed twice, an ambulance came after almost 7 hours, he was admitted and had various tests. He was told that they wanted to try and emulate the attack and that he would have an appointment 'soon'.
In the meantime he is still having dizzy spells on standing, looking up and putting his arms above his head. He also loses sensation in his arm and vision from his right eye.
No-one is interested, I feel we're walking on eggshells.

That sounds awful bobbydog24 and I really think they should have seen you in A&E and monitored you.
Is it possible that you might need a pacemaker?

I think you need to insist on having a thorough examinationand not wait until something may happen again.

I'm amazed that you were offered a bed on a Covid ward!

Does your local hospital have a Medical Assessment Unit? That might be better than A&E

As I’ve already said, my daughter lives yards away from me and I see her every day and she also texts me regularly. She works from home so is always available. I just feel abandoned and left to stew and my imagination has gone into overdrive. I’ve lost confidence in the NHS. Everyone I speak to feels the same.

Bobbydog24 I have no new ideas to help but I'm sorry you're so worried and I can understand why - I agree with MadeInYorkshire an alarm pendant would be a good idea. It won't help if you keel over suddenly but if you feel yourself feeling unwell it will allow you to send an alarm so at least someone will know there is a problem. Do you have a friendly neighbour/family nearby who can help you in an emergency?

I think (from my own experience recently) the problems with doctors and hospitals are the same in most places. It's not surprising at the moment that you would be the only patient in the surgery - lots of doctors simply aren't doing face-to-face unless they feel they really need to.

Do make sure you are drinking enough water - dehydration alone can make you feel lightheaded. Hope you get some answers soon.

Oh heavens that doesn't sound good at all - I would suggest initially that you always have someone with you at the moment just in case, and that they know how to put you in a position that will protect your airway etc after calling 999. My daughter had something similar and kept going 'flop bot' as we called it, but we never found out what is was - never been proved to be epilepsy but also it hasn't been proved it wasn't! Fortunately only happened once in the last few years as a response to severe pain ....

You could also get an alarm pendant so if you feel yourself 'going' you can press and they would call your daughter to come and assist. Good luck x

I would suggest going straight to a and e if you feel unwell. After 3 ambulances called in a week, spending the last day in A and e and finally a frailty ward, my DH was diagnosed with several additional medical issues. His quality of life has improved with treatment.

I live on my own after losing my husband 2 years ago but my daughter lives opposite me so is near should I need help.

That sounds very nasty.

I don’t really have much advice to offer apart from whether it would be possible to stay with one of your family until you know more about what’s happening?