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Original poster

Should we go to a and e?

539 replies

ChatterMonkey · 12/03/2022 07:49

Dp has been feeling rubbish for a week now, with pain caused by constipation. He hasnt had a bowel movement for a week now. The pain is constant, with waves of agonising pain.

Hes struggling to be able to medicate it, as hes not allowed to have anti inflammatory medication for seperate issues, and is wary about codeine based medicine as that causes constipation. Paracetomol isnt touching the sides of the pain.

The plan was to get a doctor appointment on monday, but the pain was really severe last night, im not sure we should wait till monday. He mentioned yesterday that the blockage is starting to affect his ability to pee properly which i think is worrying?

Hes alsp worrying now that the constipation is a side effect of something more serious, as theres nothing we can think thats triggered it. Hes worried about gallstones, or bowel cancer.

Is it worth going to a and e, are they likely going to he able to do anything, even if its just investigate and rule out some of the more scary possibilities thats worrying dp? Or would we likely be waiting ages and then sent away with a box of laxido?

OP posts:
FloraFoxx · 13/03/2022 10:14

I'd have rang 111 in the first place to save lengthy waits in A&E. An out of hours gp would have been able to examine him and refer him to hospital if he needed treatment.

Original poster
ChatterMonkey · 13/03/2022 10:16

Im not a poo troll, i specifically didnt name change for this in case it looked like that. Im also not encouraging or asking for peoples constipation stories, its nore the advice of what to expect from bloods/hospital examinations etc that i dont know about. But if you want confirmation that im not anything more sinister then im sure reporting to mn (which is the correct way to deal with these kind of suspicions, im sure they direcrly advice against posting them on the threads...) Will be able to reassure you that im a genuine poster.

OP posts:
FloraFoxx · 13/03/2022 10:25

Why didn't you ring 111 op or aren't you in the UK?

Anything has the potential to become serious, many mumsnetters think we're all on the verge of sepsis or bowel perforation but that is what gps and 111 are for, to triage so people with things like constipation aren't taking up time in a busy accident and emergency department.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
AbsoluteTruths · 13/03/2022 10:25

Op your DP has my every sympathy. I suffered from severe constipation years ago when on a certain medication. I did go every few days but not much iyswim? So that old stuff was building up and just hardening. I had no idea of course as I was going every few days. Then Easter Sunday, due to go to dinner at my parents, horrific pain and fluey feeling. Rang NHS and was told to go to the out of hours doctor incase of appendicitis. They sent me for a scan and then the consultant came round immediately and told me I was, and I quote, "quite literally full of shit!" Blush Mortified but rather liked his frankness. Lactilose did nothing, the only thing that worked for me was cheap magnesium supplements from the chemist, magnesium oxide. £1 a pot as I recall, worked like a charm. I really hope things start to improve today, it's a horrible feeling.

Shuffleuplove · 13/03/2022 10:27

Because inability to pass urine, especially in the presence of a static bowel IS an a&e job. So actually he would have been wasting nhs resources by doing that. So how about you out a sock in it, yeah?

Covetthee · 13/03/2022 10:28

My auntie went through this a few years ago, literally nothing they did would relieve the constipation m, they couldnt even do internal exams because she was so blocked up.

They kept her in hospital for nearly 2 months doing test after test.

Turns out she had Crohn’s disease and had to have a part of her small bowl removed.

Please dont let them fob you off with various medications. Insist on proper tests to get a result.

Good luck.

listsandbudgets · 13/03/2022 10:33

Sorry OP meant to say yesterday that I was given strong pain killers by iv ( then oramorph which made me sick but gave some relief) They gave me suppositories and some kind of sachets and it eventually shifted.

I felt some kind of mild humiliation when a doctor came and told me it was severe constipation combined with a jrine infection for which I got antibiotics.. Id assumed I was at deaths door at the very least!! I remember thinking labour was a breeze in comparison. .I'd no idea as being very gross Id been producing some dirrroah ( apparently my body was somehow producing it to leak through the crevices) .. apologies thats disgusting unless you're a pooh troll and that's the story you're looking for of course Grin

queenrollo · 13/03/2022 10:40

@FloraFoxx

Why didn't you ring 111 op or aren't you in the UK?

Anything has the potential to become serious, many mumsnetters think we're all on the verge of sepsis or bowel perforation but that is what gps and 111 are for, to triage so people with things like constipation aren't taking up time in a busy accident and emergency department.

Well as others have pointed out he was starting to have problems passing urine, that makes it an A&E issue.

But maybe the OP also knows how her local hospital works? If I phoned 111 for an OOH appt I am sent to the same department. There is a reception where you are asked a few questions and then either directed to Minor Ailments unit, which also runs the OOH GP service or you are directed into the A&E. They then have a separate reception to take details and you are triaged accordingly.

I would wait 3 hours for a 111 call back, then another 2/3 hours in a waiting room if they send me in. Might as well just go straight there and get the appropriate care sooner rather than later.

Original poster
ChatterMonkey · 13/03/2022 10:43

@florafoxx given how promtply dp was seen when we arrived, I dont think theres any worry now that we were wasting their time. The waiting around yesterday was waiting for bloods to come back, with dp admitted to the ambulatory care ward as soon as he arrived and was under observation. Waiting for bloods would have happened wherever we went, as the out of hours gp is also based in the hospital. If the a&e triage had thought that was appropriate they would have sent him there.

I understand that 111 is useful to signpost these services, but if you know that its most likely an a&e situation, then surely to phone 111 and get told what you already know after lots of questions, is more wasteful of NHS resources? A&E isnt appointment only by 111 for a reason.

OP posts:
FloraFoxx · 13/03/2022 10:43

'Because inability to pass urine, especially in the presence of a static bowel IS an a&e job'

Even if it was at that stage (and the op said he thought it was affecting his ability to pass urine properly, not that he couldn’t) then out of hours GPs would arrange an immediate admission to hospital.

111 is staffed by people who will ask pertinent questions and direct you to appropriate health care thus saving you waiting hours in an A&E and allowing the staff to see patients who have had an accident or are an emergency.

Original poster
ChatterMonkey · 13/03/2022 10:48

But we didnt wait hours waiting to be seen in a&e... He got admitted onto the appropriate ward as soon as he arrived...

OP posts:
Sirzy · 13/03/2022 10:49

111 would have just directed to A and E. they wouldn’t have arranged admission to a ward.

RozHuntleysStump · 13/03/2022 10:50

OP just ignore the idiots with reading comprehension issues.

Original poster
ChatterMonkey · 13/03/2022 10:53

But anyway, i dont want to he sidetracked by someone who believes that a&e is only appropriate if you have a limb hanging off...

Dp is waiting to be seen by the doctor but suspects that his bloods are back and are ok. Nurse has asked him about whether he wants to self certify absense for work next week or if he wants a doctors line, so i guess they are happy that things are moving but it might just take a bit more time to get it all clear. Im happy about this as work has probably been the main stress for dp that has likely led to this situation in the first place. So some time off will do a lot of good in more than one way. But will wait to see what the doctor says.

OP posts:
Ahhhhhbisto · 13/03/2022 10:54

When my DH had similar symptoms he was sent straight to the surgical assesment unit. Bloods, xrays and exams showed a twisted intestine that needed emergency surgery.

OP was absolutely right to go to a&e.

drawingpad · 13/03/2022 10:56

@FloraFoxx

Did you just pop along to tell OP off?

LIZS · 13/03/2022 11:00

@Ahhhhhbisto

When my DH had similar symptoms he was sent straight to the surgical assesment unit. Bloods, xrays and exams showed a twisted intestine that needed emergency surgery.

OP was absolutely right to go to a&e.

Exactly. And sadly (not that it applies to op dh) many cases of bowel cancer are only picked up at a A and E visit with such symptoms by which time it can be advanced.
JetTail · 13/03/2022 11:11

Are things moving or not OP? Is he passing anything? It's unclear from what you're saying and not particularly helpful to you to inform me lol, but I'm just curious as have just read your thread from start to finish this morning so am invested!

Grandville · 13/03/2022 11:16

Glycerin suppositories won't mess with any other treatments so will be fine to use.

Original poster
ChatterMonkey · 13/03/2022 11:20

Blockage is still there and is still causing pain and discomfort, but the urge to go is increasing, as is the ability to pass gas, so im hoping its heading in the right direction (both figuratively and literally I suppose....!)

OP posts:
spiderlight · 13/03/2022 11:24

I hope they can sort him out today, OP. I'm nearly as invested in this as I'd be if it were a live birth thread!

Im2022 · 13/03/2022 11:25

Maybe teach him some breathing techniques for Labour? 🤣…he needs to stop pushing when he feels the crowning of the poo.

TyrannosaurusRegina · 13/03/2022 11:32

Hope he's on the mend soon! Next time I'd try a lot more laxido than he was taking at home, he wasn't taking a therapeutic dose at all, along with glycerin suppositories. Only after that would I try A&E. Just to save you the whole worry!

JetTail · 13/03/2022 11:34

I am on codeine for pain a lot and when I get bunged up, 2 Dulcolax are the real deal. They do tend to overwork though so you end up with skitters, but they do do the job! Take them at night with water and wake up with an urgent need to move to the toilet!

EthelTheAardvark · 13/03/2022 11:36

@FloraFoxx, you did notice, didn't you, that OP's husband hadn't had a bowel movement for a week?

I took my mother to the GP with similar but less extreme symptoms, but that was purely because they were prepared to offer her an immediate appointment. The GP called an ambulance for her to go to A&E, from where they admitted her immediately to the ward. I was shocked to be told that, if they couldn't sort it out on the ward, she would die because they wouldn't operate given her age and heart problems. Fortunately the medication worked.

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