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my mother in law has long term care conditions and has always had the best of care in hospitals and in her own home by carers or family

I am a carer for someone with a chronic condition that requires a full time commitment. It is tiring, hard work which I do because it's necessary. There isn't an alternative unless you can afford to employ someone to carry out these tasks. This is done as 'service to others' (as opposed to 'service to self') i.e. you choose to do it. I guess I'd hope someone would help me if I need it/when I needed it.

I've suffered from Asthma since being a small child. I was one of the ones never to grow out of it. Over time it has affected my life in other ways, my weight and my mental health. It's exercise and cold weather induced, and over the years I have felt like medical professionals do not fully appreciate the knock on effects of this condition, these days asthma is so widely accepted it is almost looked at like a non-condition which is very frustrating.

When my mother-in-law needed care in her own home to help with long-term conditions, she had the most wonderful carers who came in four times a day. They all did their very best for her, but what angered us was that although she paid for the minimum of 30 minutes per visit, they would have two or sometimes even three people to see in that half an hour. Consequently they could only be with her for at most 10 minutes, and didn't have time to do much. Also, the carers kept changing. This wasn't a problem for her, as she loved the company of different people, particularly the younger ones, but I'm sure this would have been upsetting for many of the people being cared for.

I have MS and am happy with the care I have received

I have lived with debilitating sicatica for 2 years, being unable to walk for 3 months. I have been referred to numerous physiotherapists by my gp. I have received conflicting exercise advice and no referral for a scan. In the end I gave up and have found basic back exercises in the Mackenzie method. In essence the NHS refuses any scan and without identifying the underlying cause advises exercise which can exacerbate the underlying problem. Afterr doing my own research and sticking to very basic back exercises, I am gaining some pain relief after identifying the issue myself. I was an Occupational Therapist in the NHS for many years and the physio therapists which I saw seem to have no real interest , and simply a desire to give routine dvice and discharge.

I have 2 long term conditions which I do need help with, this help is left up to my family not any health care professionals, I think these days you are left to your own devices. my husband also has a terminal illness and because its not got to that stage just yet again we are just left up to our own devices. perhaps if you don't ask you don't get.

I have haemochromatosis the nurses I deal with have been excellent but the ignorance shown by my GP, and the consultant that I have been referred to, regarding the condition is quite astounding.

In 1998 I had a melanoma removed from my left ankle and a skin graft. Every 4 to 5 years the melanomas returned and I had the same procedures again. Then in 2015 the surgeon could not save my foot so I had my left leg amputated below the knee. I learnt to walk with a prosthesis and was able to lead a fairly active life. Unfortunately last October a scan showed tumours in my thigh and behind my knee. Not wanting to have my leg amputated I am now having Gene Therapy hoping the tumours will shrink and make an operation less difficult and save my leg. I have to thank the NHS for all the treatment I have had over the years and appreciate living in the UK with access to this fairly new treatment.

I have one chronic health condition diagnosed that I receive treatment for and one that I am managing without treatment. I do worry about the future

I've had two chronic ails from birth. I've treated myself with all sorts of Medicines, one that worked for me and it still does is Chinese acupuncture. It can reduce my attacks to almost 60% less a year, but acupuncture is very expensive in UK.

I have COPD, Graves disease and osteoarthrithis. I do have regular checks for these to make sure they are under control but the symptoms can make you feel very alone.

My Mother suffered with Crohns Disease most of her life and ended up having to have a Colostomy. She had great care off the NHS regarding this, but after a fall she was in hospital for several months where she contracted M.R.S. & eventually died of Sepsis. Thankfully Sepsis is being recognised more now, and steps to deal with it quickly.

I have a few long term health conditions and one mental health condition. I have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, gallstones, fatty liver and have had a severe anxiety disorder for the last 20 years. My experience with GPs has been in the main very good. Understanding, wanting to help etc. I have found hospitals to be far less caring and i'm afraid in my experience the nurses I have come in contact with have not been the caring, empathetic angels they are portrayed to be. I'm sure there are many like that but i've had a couple of horror stories involving them. The most recent was around 4 years ago when i was 54. I was taken to hospital in an ambulance because i was in severe pain which from its position the paramedics believed might be kidney stones. It was so severe i was in the foetal position when they arrived. Anyway i was taken to hospital, given morphine and put on a MAU ward. The next morning doctors came around and said they weren't going to do a scan because i'd had one over a year before and no stones found. Even i know that stones can grow in a year. But by then the pain had gone so off i went. That afternoon it came back and i was beside myself. It's a pain you cannot cope with. Worse than labour pains. My gp sent me to hospital in an ambulance and was certain it was stones. I was taken to MAU again which is an assessment ward. I was given no pain killer and sat in distress for nearly 2 hours waiting to see someone. I was sobbing in pain and the nurse came up to me and said 'we have really unwell patients here. You need to be quiet'. She said other things that were rude and uncaring and I was frightened and didn't know what to do. I was given oral morphine eventually by a doctor but yet again not scanned. It has not come back in the four years since but it does concern me because I have gallstones as well. I don't know what i'd do if the pain came back because i don't think i would call an ambulance.

I do find that for a long time because i have an anxiety disorder which can be crippling that if I went to a gp they automatically said anything I had was to do with my anxiety. I was rarely tested for anything. I do think if you have a mental health condition that you are treated differently. For 20 years I have been unable to leave my home alone. I have panic attacks daily. Over those years i have been given various tablets that have never worked but not once have i been offered any form of psychological help to get to the root of it. They just don't seem to have the time to bother to find the cause.

So i think my overall impression of the health service is that although i am very grateful i live in a country where it is free, I also think hospitals have become uncaring, unwelcoming places to be for a lot of people.

I've had M.E since I have been a child. It only really arose when I started my final exams and then my job when I left school which I took on as temporary as I wanted to become an ambulance worker. Unfortunately my dream job never happened and I ended up living in bed continually for 2 years, and feel like I hardly leave my bed 30 years on.
I have other problems that have arisen in the past 15 years too, but I try to stay positive. You have to be as positive as you can when you are allergic to medication and can't take pain killers.

My Mum has vascular dementia and I am her full time carer. At the moment it works fine, as she still has some independence, but I'm terrified for what the future holds. She says she will not go into a care home, but there might come a time when there is no choice.

For me, living with fibromyalgia causes all sorts of care issues.
I have good days, but more bad days where I can't even leave my house due to being on the first floor, however not everywhere recognises it as a proper disability and as such I won't be rehoused for a lower floor. I have no idea why?
My own doctor knows my pain levels and we have worked together for years to find medication that takes the edge off - I won't take stronger meds and so that is the best I can hope for. If my doctor is not available though, I can be looked at by others doctors as a hypochondriac or someone exaggerating all due to an invisible illness. Having this long term, not curable condition affects many parts of my life, I just hope that one day there will be a cure

I've been so poorly since January, I'm going through some tests at the moment. I'm waiting on my next scan right now but it looks like I have been diagnosed for about 8 years. After doing some research, I've seen all these symptoms that I have but I have been hiding because of embarrassment. I can't fault the NHS for seeing me so quickly after the doctor referred me after seeing me twice & not being able to tell what the problem is

My partner of 11 years has cerebral palsy and I am his carer. he can walk and talk and so his disablility is not visible. Although he can walk this does cause him conciderable pain especially if he does too much in a day.
I do most things in the day for him like cook his food, put his socks and shoes, dry him after a shower, etc...
He takes pain meds when needed, which don’t usually help that much but what can you do.

Alongside this he has asthma which is controlled by his pumps.

I will continue to care for him till death do us part ?
We get married in June ?

I have congenital heart disease and a lung disease I take medication for both and I am unable to work because of them, I used to have hospital appointments every year but haven’t had one for 2 years so I’m not sure if they have forgotten about me

I personally don't live with a long term condition but I support several relatives who do. My brother has colitis, my mother has Alzheimer's and my husband has psoriasis and eczema. Sometimes it's about just being there and listening on difficult days. Sometimes it's about more practical help and advice or attending appointments. My mother is in a care home and we are always reviewing her care, medication and needs. It's an oncoming battle as the care system is tricky to negotiate and nobody gives you a comprehensive guidebook so you muddle through and learn as you go.

I have a long term condition called Scleroderma/Lupus which is leaving me incapable of using my hands fully,i need help with preparing veg,lifting hot pans of water,cutting things etc., hubby helps amazingly, the quality of care i've had from the hospitals is bad, so i've resorted to herbal & diet control, it's helping quite a bit on infections etc., i know later on in life i will need hospital help and i'm dreading it!

I have a LTC and many more, but thanks to the NHS I am still enjoying life at 72. I have no complaints about my care.

My husband passed away last year unexpectedly. He did have complex medical needs. I am also registered disabled. One of my four youngsters still lives at home as he has the illness of bipolar. It's been a very trying few years.

Because I am organised it does help however the pitfalls are that you have to scream for help and keep on and on at them to get what you need.

If your not deemed as in crisis and somehow managing they tend to leave you waiting longer. We also found this out between 2008-2010 when we were caring for mom.

We do have a scheme where we live that gives the primary carer a yearly grant of £300 towards alternative treatment such as massage, reiki, reflexology etc. This is really helpful.

It is really hard with the mental health side of things as when our son hits a crisis it is bonkers the jumping through hoops I have to do to get help. If I try and get services involved when I see it coming on the only person who will help is our GP as much as he can.

Fortunately we have a very good GP practice and a very good relationship DIY our Dr. There is just not enough money made available in mental health. Instead of looking for the long term to save money they deal in sbort term which long term doesn't save money.

It was still a struggle when my husband was alive to get the right help too. They found it difficult to know how to deal with us as we didnt fit in a box.

They do the best they can with limited resources. I am just glad we dont live in a big city where resources are even shorter

When Nye Bevin created the NHS no one could envisage how much medical science would move on. There will never be enough money in the system for health care.

The answer is I dont know. However it needs a radical overhaul however no government has the courage to do it. After the mess we have seen with Brexit I dont think anyone would want them too. There are no easy answers.

My dad has diabetes which he manages with insulin however he does have days where his sugar levels can drop and it's difficult for my mam. We all recognise the signs but it can be so scary sometimes. I feel educating the family on these conditions would be a fantastic way for us all to play our part.