a&e bad experience

[cucumberpeach]

Just having a little moan as feeling a bit sorry for myself. I know people go through worse things.

I woke up with agonising abdominal pain which worsened all day, vomiting and everything and not keeping anything down. DM called the GP for me and they sent for an ambulance which took several hours to come (not complaining, it's not their fault, obvs there will have been more serious cases to attend to).

Eventually they came and I've now been in the hospital for hours in agony. They didn't give me pain relief, had to beg for it several times. It helped but then wore off and they ignored my polite requests for more. They actually shouted at me when I tried to lie on the floor as it brought relief. They told off a kind lady who went to ask if I could be seen as I was in a lot of pain for misleading them as they thought she was asking for her own mother and asking on behalf of someone else is apparently 'against the rules'.

After asking at the desk four times over the course of an hour they gave me a codeine pill but I'm dreading it wearing off.

Just a bad experience and still haven't seen the dr. Upside is seeing how kind the patients are to eachother, we're all sticking up for eachother! One women was stroking my hair as I lay on the floor in pain.

I realise nurses and medics have a really hard job btw. Just quite miserable at this point.

I'm forever stuck with slug PTSD when I go in the A and E there. Ha ha

Good for your Mum - she rocks. No harm in letting the local MP know what's going on. To add to their collection.
I know it's tough for the staff in there but being snide to patients in pain is piss poor and not on.

Parking must have been a blooming nightmare for her. I'm glad that's she's about. Well done that Mum x

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. Hope you get seen by a doctor soon. I have been unfortunate enough to visit the A&E three times in the last three months and had horrendous experiences.

First time I went with upper abdominal pain and vomiting with the ambulance (who came within 1.5 hours of contacting 111). The crew were fantastic. But at the A&E I waited 5 hours to be seen by a doctor who dismissed my pain. He asked if I wanted any drip, I mean do you need to ask me, I was continuously vomiting and was unable to give urine sample because I was so dehydrated! He said he would give me anti sickness and when my nausea subsided I could take paracetamol for the pain and all will be well!! I refused to go home until my pain subsided. To cut a long story short, subsequent investigations at SDEC found I had cancer, it wasn't "nothing serious".

Second time I went with severe side effects resulting from my cancer surgery. I waited 10 hours to see a doctor and 14 hours for a bed to lie down. I still had 28 staples in my abdomen from the surgery. By the end of 13 hours I was crying and not a single nurse came and asked why. My husband repeatedly asked them to give me a bed but they said no. My husband pulled another chair so that at least I could put my feet up. But It was still hurting my abdomen and I really needed to lie down. It also took them 3 hours to give me drip after the doctor prescribed and only after we asked multiple times.

Third time we went through GP referral due to the horrendous experiences we had before. The doctors when they saw me after 6 hours said they were not aware we were coming because the previous doctor on duty did not mention anything about any referral being accepted during the handover.

I sincerely hope your experience is a lot better than mine. I do not wish A&E even on my enemies. It's not just the waiting, you really have to advocate for yourself at every step.

I'd highly recommend you do the liver & gall bladder cleanses, which expel gallstones without the need for surgery. I was in pain with what turned out to be gallstones, and I wasn't prepared to take the risks of surgery (it increases risks of bowel cancer due to bile then leaking into the bowels, and it doesn't actually stop the stones as they form in the liver).

I bought the book on Amazon & followed the directions, and after 3 cleanses, I was rid all of the gallstones. I did a further 3 cleanses just to be sure.

Even after the first cleanse my health massively improved.

This was the book:
The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse: An All-Natural, at-Home Flush to Purify and Rejuvenate Your Body (Audio Download): Andreas Moritz, Sean Pratt, Echo Point Books & Media, LLC: Amazon.co.uk: Audible Books & Originals

I've been in A&E once in my life. 7 months pregnant, in a lot of pain and terrified. Horrible experience. I'd rather sit and die at home then ever go back into an NHS hospital.

That's horrendous @FlourSugarButter I'm appalled at how unfeeling some staff are. That's just cruel. It's so true that you have to fight for yourself even when you are so unwell.

I went to A&E via ambulance last week with abdominal pain (turned out to be pancreatitis thanks to my gallstones which I’m already on the list for!) and had a 20 hour wait to be seen. It’s hellish at the minute. I suffer with degenerative disc disease as well, and sitting on a plastic chair for that long just about paralysed me. Daren’t get up much as there were more people than seats and couldn’t guarantee a chair if I moved. It was a dreadful experience all round. I feel for you!

Could be a UTI?

About ten years ago, I was ambulanced off to hospital after collapsing outside work with sudden onset crippling right-side abdominal pains. Throwing up everywhere and unable to stand. Never experienced anything like that before or since.

In A&E, they took bloods, couldn't see anything other than elevated white blood cells. Discharged me in the middle of the night to go home alone to an empty house with some high strength painkillers which I didn't take as they made me feel very, very strange. 18 days later phoned up to let me know my urine sample was back and it revealed I had a kidney infection and would I like some antibiotics?

I remember occasionally having kidney/UTI infections as a child and teenager and they were nothing like the symptoms or level of pain I experienced the time of the collapse. I was convinced I had acute appendicitis and ambulance driver (arse) seemed equally convinced I'd been out scoring some weapons-grade narcotics somewhere. With hindsight, the vomiting was just from the shock of such sudden severe pain.

Hopefully, you'll be seen properly soon and it'll be something that feels horrendous but they can give you antibiotics for.

This sounds like bollocks.
By the time most people have severe pain from gallstones they are too many and too big to be passed. The most common urgent surgery is for gall bladder removal, if it was possible to ‘flush’ them out why would this not be a standard medical option it would save millions of pounds.

@ittakes2 The pancreas is on the left side and pancreatitis can be extremely painful.

Thinking of you, OP.

Our NHS is a shambles and although a lot of people think lack of resources is the main problem, actually, staff attitudes and bullying of patients (and each other) is a very major problem throughout.

Have attended A&E myself, accompanying (adult) relatives in the last year, both with abdominal pain, and had 14 and 9 hour waits respectively. Other patients (including a pregnant woman) sleeping on the floor during one visit.

I’ve also spoken to people who would rather die than go back to the local hospital.

So sorry for everyone's awful experiences.

They think it is probably a viral thing, possibly from recent trip to Southern Spain. They are doing a urine test and a CT scan just in case. Scared about being sent home with painkillers - I'm not sure how I'm supposed to keep them down without the benefit of the hospital anti nausea drip.

I was so desperate to lie down I sneaked off to another area and lay down on DM's puffer coat. I was discovered and sent back but they were a nice few minutes!

Oh gosh I hope you’re ok. I’m also in the northwest and the nhs and hospitals are a total joke. I have a bowel condition and the last time it flared in December i was forced to go to a&e. I begged for pain relief and was prescribed paracetamol despite telling them I’d already taken it and it hadn’t helped. My partner also asked for a chair or bed for me as I could not sit on the hard chairs as it squashed my stomach. I gave up after 2 hours as the pain was making me sick and lay on the dirty floor. The security guard and a nurse came over and said I couldn’t do it and my partner told them well they need to do their job right and get me a bed then because I wasn’t moving. Needless to say about an hour after that my consultant came down and demanded a bed for me straight away and morphine.

ive had gallstones and the pain was horrific

I really hope you've been seen now, @cucumberpeach

I had to lie on the floor in A&E after a horse riding accident. I refused to move, I just could not sit. Turned out I had fractured vertebrae.

Last time I had to go was 18m ago. There were several people lying on the floor. The waiting room was packed and those poor souls were literally being stepped over.

Hope you've been seen and finally have a resolution.

Hope you’re doing okay OP. Could it be toxoplasmosis or similar? Either way, could they give you anti emetics to take home to take with the pain killers? Hoping you’re ok and get some rest soon xx

I hope you've been seen, had all the tests & are now back at your mums with some decent meds & painkillers.💕

Why shouldn't you lie on the floor, because it makes them look bad? Lie on the floor if it helps, scream if it helps, they should be ashamed.

Agree with pp that the NHS hospital management environment is hideous. Bullies aren't just left unaddressed, they're rewarded with promotion while good people are driven out. It's a sinister environment controlled by people with a clinical grade absence of empathy.

God this is depressing.
Dh and I were thinking of returning to the uk.
However I've just had life saving surgery here in France.
From arriving at Urgences to surgery took 6 hours.
I would probably have died in the UK.
Also when they triage you in UK do they ask your height and weight?
Here I was offered pain relief immediately at triage after checking my height and weight.

Presumably they never say "sorry you've failed the test no pain relief for you"?

It us really bad. DB was sent home from A&E seriously unwell and in agony. Returned and family refused to leave and it was a septic perforated bowel. Now is permanently disabled due to the lack of prompt attention. I am honestly terrified to get ill here.

Hope you’re ok OP and that you get the help you need x

How’s it going OP? I dread being ill enough to need hospital.

Could be an ovarian cyst. I had the most horrendous pain when mine twisted.

Hope you’re feeling better soon OP. I’ve had better medical treatment in 3rd world countries compared to the good old NHS.