To go to A&E

[FretYeNotAllIsShiny]

Posting here for traffic.

I had a mirena put in mid-march, bled continuously until it was expelled end of May, bled an extra week. Finally stopped, then this thursday started again. Heavy, a lot of grape sized clots. Doctor has prescribed me provera and I've had 3 doses. Still bleeding, though it has slowed a little, only one or two big clots today.

But I'm very tired, and I'm cold (not like me) and I feel a little light-headed. Should I think about going up or just carry on until my anemia results come back from the GP. I've got some iron tablets and I've taken one today. I feel I'm being dramatic.

Ring 111 for advice. I wouldn't go to A&E.

Not A&E. Call 111 and they'll direct you to the best out of hours care.

I think you should definitely seek medical attention, though I don't know if A&E is necessarily the best place. Maybe call 111 and they might book you in to see the OOH GP instead.

Is anyone with you?

Iron tablets take a while to act so keep taking them, but don't expect them to have any noticeable effect yet.

In most areas if you call 111 you can access the out of hours GP service for your area. The operator should make you an appointment to see a GP this evening his is usually at your local urgent care centre. I would say this option is preferable as you can be waiting longer than I'm A and E for treatment
I would seek medical advice poor you hope you get the support you need.

I'br been prescribed provera to.use monthly for 10 days and the gyne said the first month I'll prob bleed through but the second month ot should work.

nhs direct were not very helpful the other night. GP I saw yesterday prescribed iron, and they took blood. I spoke to another GP on thursday and he said if I was light-headed I should go to A&E but I was bleeding heavier then so that may be in case I was haemorrhaging. My dh is with me, but he's not good at medical stuff, that's my job in the house. I'm usually of the shrug it off mentaility.

You were told to go to a&e if you felt light headed... I would go!

Check your pulse.
Normal rate (using watch or clock with a second hand) is around 70 beats per minute. anything over 100 combined with bleeding, feeling faint/light headed would concern me.
If you were a man bleeding that amount from anywhere, you would be taken seriously.

Please go to a&e, and I don't say that lightly.

I hope you are OK OP if you were told to go to A&E with lightheadedness then obviously you should

A doctor told you to go to A&E if you feel lightheaded, then you should be going to A&E now.

Call 111. I've been feeling light headed and dizzy plus went pale with white lips due to anaemia from a very heavy period this week and have been taking tranxemic acid the past couple of days which is helping. The Dr I spoke to was unconcerned about my symptoms. Not sure if that says more about my Dr or yours tbh

You need to speak to someone tonight.

Go to A & E I don't like fact that you are feeling cold please go and get checked.

Call 111, don't ask a bunch of unqualified strangers on the internet!

Please don't try to diagnose yourself using your pulse rate. There are all sorts of reasons why that is not reliable by itself.

You have been advised to go to A&E in this situation. Follow that advice.

Please go to a&e and let us know how you go on xxx

Go to A&E, ooh GP not appropriate in your case.

I called nhs direct, who said someone could give me a call in the next few hours. I mentioned my GP had said A&E the other night but I wasn't sure if he meant for haemorrhaging/ They said I could go up if I felt more comfortable doing that. So I did. Figuring if I needed treatment, I would get it sooner.

A&E was pretty quiet for a Saturday, after bloods and obs, they've told me I'm ok. anaemic but not seriously REst, fluids and keeping an eye on things is their prescription. And to take tranxemic acid on top of the provera.

Thanks ladies for the boot up the backside. I spoke to my dd and she gave me a stern talking to also.

Good news, OP. And it's great that you are careful not to use A&E inappropriately - but this time it was totally appropriate

I apologised to the doctor, I said if I could've tested my own blood for acute anaemia, I totally would have. He replied if his wife had been in the same position, he'd have taken her to A&E too. The bleeding is a lot better today, and after a good night's sleep (thursday night I didn't sleep at all, I was in the bathroom every hour), I do feel less wiped out. I'm a complete minimiser, have to be dragged to the doctors for things.

What frightened me a little was that a few years ago, my daughter needed a blood transfusion because her iron was half what it should have been, but she only looked a little pale. She was up and about and felt 'just a bit tired'. They tested her blood twice because they couldn't believe she was so asymptomatic with such low iron.

I get angry when people come on here and ask if they should go to A&E. The clue is in the name - if you have had an accident (eg fell and damaged arm/leg etc) or you are near death's door then yes - anything else is Gp or out of hours. It is really simple.

seniorcitizen how about reading the OPs update before posting such an unhelpful response.,

It is really simple.

No it isn't. HTH

Except it's not that simple, because a lot of the general public don't know enough about medicine to be able to judge what is a medical emergency. I have seen on here a poster being critised for calling an ambulance when her son was knocked unconscious and didn't come round for several minutes. Then there was the poster who had sepsis and 111 sent an ambulance to her and they whisked her straight into hospital and discovered she was seriously ill and could have died if she had gone to bed and waited until the morning to seek help - which is exactly what she was being advised to do by posters on here.

The OP was told by the doctor at A&E that what she did was entirely appropriate, and I think he knows more about the situation than anyone posting on this thread.

Hope you feel better soon OP

Seniorcitizen, the problem is the grey area between 'ah, it'll be fine' and 'yup, get yourself up there pronto'. I could have seen the out of hours GP, but he could have told me no more than I already knew; that either I felt like shit because I needed treatment, or I felt shit but would be okay without it. There would be no way of telling without a blood test. I don't think an OOH GP has access to immediate blood tests with results.

I did ring nhsdirect first, I could have seen the OOH, who would have probably sent me to A&E anyway, so by bypassing OOH, that appointment went to someone else. Yes, I attended A&E, I took up five minutes of the receptionists time, I had blood pressure taken, blood and urine samples taken , then five minutes with a lovely doctor. But if I had needed treatment, left it and collapsed, that would probably have been an ambulance call by dh. Thus a tonne more resources and money.

The problem with that grey area is that I don't have medical knowledge beyond common sense, I don't have medical equipment beyond a thermometer and first aid supplies and I certainly don't have access to a lab to determine the difference between a low but ok iron level and a seriously, dangerously low level.

I get that A&E is being misused on a massive scale, and I was surprised not to find it full of the usual saturday night drunks (which I think is a huge problem in society, and possibly a bigger issue than 'that grey area'). I would have happily seen OOH if I thought they could have helped. What I needed last night here was reassurance that I wasn't being a drama queen about it. I think most posters who ask this question probably feel the same, they don't want to misuse A&E but unsure whether they need immediate treatment. Or they realise they might need A&E but really don't want to be one of those people.