My asthma is worsening and doctors next available appoints are in January!

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Can't continue like this, even my current medication is not enough/ not working properly. Can't breathe at night but I don't want to go to A&E. All I need to see is my GP or any doctor ( not a specialist nurse or a paramedic) and I don't know what to do because there are no GPs until January!! Feeling rubbish and a bit desperate for advice too! Thank you!

When my asthma is as bad as yours, I always say to the receptionist that if I can't get an appointment, I will need to go to A&E. I always get one. Asthma is a killer, don't take it lightly.

Thank you so much! I'm sitting trying to breath slowly and calmly. Honestly thank you, my family sleeps and don't want to wake them up. Mumsnet is a great company! Bless you xx

Go to a and e. Asthma is not to be messed with.

Go a&e, you may need a nebuliser to help with your breathing, if it's getting worse you may be having an attack. Please go a&e just get checked, you won't be wasting their time. hope you feel better soon x at the very least call NHS direct

Honestly if it's that bad you should go to A&E now or at least out of hours. If you wait till the morning you need to insist on an emergency appointment. There will be a duty doctor on who can see you.

I had to insist with my surgery receptionist when I was having a string of asthma attacks whilst heavily pregnant. She didn't get it until I pointed out I'd end up in A&E otherwise.

Don't much about with asthma

*muck

Asthma can kill. Going to A&E mucks up your plans for a day. One day mucked up vs lots of days. Go to A&E.

What's wrong with seeing the practice nurse? They can get a prescription for you, generally run the asthma clinics and will probably be more available.

Call the 111 number to get seen at the out of hours service, they may tell you to go to a and e instead.

I have asthma and I've never had a problem getting a same day gp appointment if I tell the receptionist that I'm concerned. They always seem to be able to squeeze you in.

Does the gp not have any emergency appts?

Go to a&e.

There are many people who abuse the system but this isn't the case.

Better going now than having it decline even further to a point you may need more complex care.

Phone them first thing and tell them you need an emergency appointment.

I'm pretty sure all GPs provide an emergency appt service , ring as soon as they open and tell them it's urgent and you need to be seen today .

Emergency appointment?

Agree with first poster. I too have Asthma and would say if I can't see a GP, I run the risk of having an attack and would have to go to A&E; they always find one.

Other than that we have a "walk in/out of hours" centre here which can see you if your GP/Dentist can't. May be worth finding the details for your local one if available and you need it over the holiday period.

Agree with others, don't take Asthma lightly. Good luck.

mrscarrot Practice Nurses aren't always Available. Our Practice Nurse is an Advance Practice Nurse and Asthma Nurse. She is bloody brilliant. I have been really poorly this year with my Asthma and have been in and out of hospital. I rang last Tuesday for an emergency appointment, especially with her or a Doctor if necessary. They are one of the doctors who works weekends and by 10am Tue morning they were already booked up for the week. I've had to muddle on too. (I'm on the pink card system after the first incident this year left me with scarring when a paramedic said and I quote "there's nothing wrong with you you're just having a panic attack". He was wrong.). Not bashing paramedics at all most I've had this year have been fabulous. But some professions can be too dismissive of asthma sometimes.

OP, PLEASE go A&E, I promise they won't judge you, if your reliever inhalers aren't working, you need further treatment, please dont risk it, I ignored a simple cold that was triggering my asthma this year, it rapidly turned into a chest infection and I ended up on the High Dependancy Ward via Resus. Trust me, they would much rather you waste their time (which I assure you you are NOT) than have to deal with an emergency situation like mine

A major trigger for concern amongst my community nurses is asthma waking you at night is a symptom your asthma is worsening. A & E will give you a neb hopefully once they've triaged you and check for infection. The thing with viruses and colds with asthmatics is they can very quickly turn into chest infections. There's a nasty virus going around at the minute, I got rushed in November and was sent home hours later, I was back down the urgent care centre and a n e later that weekend and my community nurse ended up kicking up one hell of a fuss to get me admitted as I was struggling so bad. I'm still not right weeks later and I can't even get an appointment. Let us know how you get on

Your GP should have emergency appointments so phone first thing and insist on one of them.

That said I agree with other. Don't mess with asthma and go to a and e if needed. In fact ds consultant told me to stop taking ds to the GP (because they were very errm relaxed about treating him!) and to go straight to a and e when I couldn't control things at home.

Please get seen op!! Asthma needs to be managed. Either A and E or an emergency appt. Don't feel embarrassed about "making a fuss" this needs to be taken seriously.

Do you have any walk-in medical centres near you?

Sirzy my communit nurses told me to stop bothering with the GP and A & E. On the basis that as they know me, they know what is normal for me and what isn't and can get me access to the respiratory wards quicker. I was given nebulisers' and then sent home each time last month, they were only lasting a couple of hours and then I was getting ever so poorly again. The A & E doc had rang the ward who insisted they didn't have the room to take me, urgent care centre thankfully gave me the steroids I needed but sadly the virus had already settled in by then. Comm nurse visited - she took no prisoners and told them she was admitting me, that she was ringing an ambulance and that they'd have to find room for me.

I'm asthmatic and I can understand completely how you feel.

Is tonight particularly bad, or is it just that your asthma is permanently uncontrolled?

It sounds like you need to see a specialist if regular GP- prescribed treatment isn't helping. Have you had lung function tests? What medication are you on?

When I was a child and had severe asthma, my mum struggled to know when to call a doctor or take me to hospital - yet every single time we went to A&E they told her that she should not ever hesitate and if in doubt better an unnecessary A&E visit than an asthma death.

Sorry, cross post. You need to be in hospital by the sound of it, and you need a referral to someone who know what they are doing.

Thankfully our A and E know ds well and how he presents (is a smallish peads one) so they are always great. Ds is struggling at the moment not badly but enough something needs tweaking so I will phone his consultant this morning who will sort things. The GPs answer is normally "2 puffs of ventolin and some simple linctus" - on a good day ds needs 10-15 puffs of ventolin so not sure that would do much

I would insist on seeing someone. Asthma nurses can help. I really used to struggle, and couldn't tolerate my preventers, but since I got on to a different one (Seretide) my life is transformed.

I was told you can double up on your preventers if things are getting a little worse.

Good luck.