Hand hold -waiting for an ambulance

[stillvicarinatutu]

I can't breathe and my chest is making noises like a deflating balloon 🎈

Rang 111 and didn't expect to be told there's an ambulance coming

I can't get hold of my dd or ds or ex hubby. I'm alone and I do y want to go to hospital as I e 2 dogs here.

I'm meant to be at a funeral Monday. (Hopefully not my own )

I fucking hate hospitals .

This thread sums up this place at the minute.

Someone phones 111 with breathing difficulties severe enough for them to send an ambulance and when the crew got there, one of them actually exclaimed at the sound of Vicar's breathing (amd wanted to take her into hospital) ... and there are still some people posting that she wasted their time and shouldn't have had ambulatory care.

It beggars belief.

This.

111 and the paramedics disagreed with you.

And I don't believe for one moment that the person up thread who claimed to be an ICU nurse is anything of the sort. Giving out that kind of dangerous advice without even speaking to the patient would be incredibly unprofessional.

It's so scary when it's your breathing that's affected.
As an asthmatic woman with long covid lungs I empathise and sympathise totally.
Rest up and drink fluids.

When I had Covid and my breathing was affected I found really helpful.

I hope that you are feeling better soon.

Good job it wasn't your call then.

111 thought ambulance, paramedics said ambulance.

Imagine suggesting someone showing signs of respiratory distress doesn't need an ambulance

I see some of MN finest are out in force on this thread. You're a set of vipers.

OP hope you've managed to get some sleep and you're feeling a bit better now. How horrible for you, I'd have been frightend too. I remember having similar symptoms what what you describe in my early 20s. They were clearly part of a virus as I was also absolutely freezing and shaking all over. It didn't occur to me to call an ambulance as I was 21 and invincible and also had people with me. However, at about 2am one of my friends decided that actually I DID need one - I was too miserable to argue... either with them or the paramedics who treated me exactly as they did you

Hearing and feeling your chest go like that and the general pain, misery and light headedness is horrible. I've not forgotten it and it was well over 20 years ago.

Any chance of seeing an ooh gp today?

Hope you feel better soon.

I have only read the OP's updates, and missed the unpleasant and unhelpful comments on here.

@stillvicarinatutu I really wouldn't wait until Moonday to be seen. Can you call 111 again and get an out of hours GP appointment? They will be able to prescribe antibiotics.

And please prioritise yourself over your friend's funeral. Don't go if you aren't well enough to attend. I hope you feel better soon 🌷

I've had asthma my entire life. I've been like that a few times. Tbh, I find it annoying/irritating more than I do frightening but I can easily understand how someone who has not experienced that before would be frightened.

When we had a walk-in center I once walked there for a nebuliser. I knew my asthma well enough to know if I called 999 they would admit me and I'd be stuck in hospital for days. My foggy/oxygen-deprived brain decided if I went to the walk-in they'd give me a nebuliser and let me go home but I had no money for a taxi.

The usually 20 minute walk took me well over an hour but I made it. I was severely told off by the GP and receptionist who rang 999 for me.

I'd definitely have been able to make a cuppa or type an email.

The attitude towards calling an ambulance on this site are disgusting. I've been told off by medics before for NOT calling an ambulance when experiencing respiratory difficulties that to onlookers seemed stable. You can decline rapidly and need nebulisers or worse at any point.

Hope you're doing ok OP

I was just thinking this. Surely if you need antibiotics 111 can do an over the phone GP apt - I've had antibiotics prescribed like that before.

With all due respect, it's very clear you aren't medically trained, nor do you work for the ambulance service, because you don't seem to have a grasp on how it actually works.

You need to see a Doctor

Do you have an out of hours doctors near you? We have Taurus Healthcare here

You probably need antibiotics but if you leave it too long you'll have to be admitted for IV antibiotics

Please forget about the funeral

You can't go

Can a neighbour check on the dogs whilst you get a taxi to out of hours?

That sounds very scary OP.

If the medica say you need ambulance you hospital, you need it. Respiratory distress is not to be taken lightly.

Hope you are being treated well now

You need to stop now. The OP is having breathing difficulties that are bad enough that she's struggling to speak. That doesn't mean she can't type or think about her dogs. The ambulance did show up PDQ. If she were as bad as you deem necessary for her to call an ambulance (not able to think or use her phone) she'd be in danger of dying imminently. Surely we can call an ambulance before it gets so bad that we're on the verge of dying?

TLDR: fuck off

Op this sounds super scary, you could well have pneumonia. I ended up very poorly with bilateral pneumonia three years ago. I remember lying in bed wheezing and feeling deathly ill. The nurse practitioner prescribed amoxicillin which didn’t do the job and I ended up in the ambulatory care unit of our local hospital after coughing up copious amounts of blood!
It was a really scary time but 7 days stronger antibiotics cleared it.
The moral of my waffly story is you were definitely right to seek medical attention and you need to chase this up further with your gp. Take care and I hope you feel better soon.

I really hope you improve and get the antibiotics you need quickly.
I had pneumonia and a pneumothorax with Covid. It was very frightening, and I could still text.
111 do not send ambulances out for no reason. I’ve rung 111 several times. The only time an ambulance was sent was when dd collapsed, and became unconscious whilst I was on the phone to them.

Those of you saying OP should've made her own way to A&E: 111 would have told her to do so if they deemed that the best course of action (I've been advised to go to A&E by myself more than once). However, they thought she needed an ambulance.

Hth

On the basis of this thread and others I think Mumsnet should implement a few new rules in order to safeguard posters:

• No posts which discourage users from seeking professional medical advice/calling an ambulance/going to hospital to be allowed under any circumstances.
• No posts which encourage postponing or the delaying of the medical attention sought, i.e. no saying "go to hospital rather than call an ambulance", or "call 111 rather than go to A&E" to be allowed under any circumstances.
• No diagnosis-making to be allowed, only offering of opinions as to possibilities.
• No claiming of medical qualifications unless verified via documentary evidence by Mumsnet themselves, as it offers weight to posts which may be false or undeserved.

What does everyone think? Anything to add?

We didn't used to have 111. We only had 999 and they would send an ambulance.

Then we got 111 who could triage and offer alternatives to those people suitable. Reducing the need to send ambulances.

Ringing 111 reduces ambulance use and saves them for the people most in need, the people who 111 assess as needing an ambulance. Vicar did exactly the right thing, she also needed an ambulance.

@stillvicarinatutu I absolutely understand hating hospitals and worrying about the dogs, but your health needs to come first. If you were out on a job and found someone breathing like you are I think you would be doing your best to get them in. Offer yourself the same care.

Posters should be adults and think for themselves.

I just don't think it was urgent enough for an ambulance it was a make your own way to hospital situation.

You've absolutely no idea of the urgency of Vicar's condition. Fortunately the clinician who dealt with her was actually a qualified professional rather than a judgemental idiot on the internet.

Vicar, I hope you're feeling a bit better, but agree with others who are urging you to be seen today. Sending you