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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder of the hospital shoukd have kept me in for observation

66 replies

listsandbudgets · 11/08/2017 13:21

I gad to go to A and E as a piece of grit had blown in my eye and wouldnt come out even after 30 minutes of me trying to wash it out. We are staying with a friend amd she stayed to watch children and I got a taxi which was an hour journey.

I couldnt open my right eye at alm and was having trouble keeping my left eye open for more than a few seconds. The pain was awful to the extent I was involuntarily jerking.

I arrived at 11pm and asked for pain killer which the triage nurse refused becaise I had had a coupke of paracetomol at 9pm. A doctor finally gave me liquid morphine at 1am which still did not control pain. Both the doctor and triage nuse tried to manually force my eye open which made pain worse.

At 3am a different doctor finally used some kind of eye numbing drops and removed grit but when drops wore off my eyes closed again and pain started up again.

They sent me home at 3.30 with codeine and eye drops I couldnt open my eyes, I was still in severe pain and I had started vomiting. In fact the taxi driver had to stop 3 times in a one hour journey and help me find my way to side of road.

I was finally able to open my eye at about 8pm on the sunday after a miserable day of pain and vomiting.

AIBU to wonder if they should have kept me in for observation given I couldnt see, the pain wasnt controlled by liquid morphine and I was vomiting. I genuinely don't know.. they had done the emergency removal of grit so perhaps thats all that was required

OP posts:
WishfulThanking · 11/08/2017 14:40

People are being really rude and and belittling here, OP 🙄

It sounds like an awful experience. YANBU for wondering if you should have been kept in.

Taylia · 11/08/2017 14:42

If your trust is anything like mine then there are no beds currently for the luxury of observation. There aren't enough beds for serious cases.

Not trying to be mean it really does sound like you're in pain but I doubt the hospital could have done more.

Haudyerwheesht · 11/08/2017 14:44

Hope you feel better soon. Dd scratched her cornea as a toddler and her whole face was swollen Sad

Apocalyptichorsewoman · 11/08/2017 14:49

I feel for you! About two years ago I had bilateral infected corneal abrasions - and the pain when I tried to open my eyes... Shock

They were quite concerned (I was seen in eye opd as an emergency after A&E) and I had steroid and antibiotic drops. At one point they were hourly throughout the night and I had to go back every other day. ( which was fun getting the bus with my eyes shut!) Am fine now but have some corneal scarring on L eye - not that I can tell. But no - you shouldn't have been kept in. The oromorph would have made you puke probably too.

AlmostAJillSandwich · 11/08/2017 14:49

Unless youve experienced a sudden loss of sight its hard to imagine how disorienting and frightening it is and how vulnerable you feel. Also problems with damage to one eye has a major knock on effect of the good eye. My left eye is physically fine but my right has extreme photophobia, fogged vision like im in really misty weather and cant see through it, and is physically sore. I cant keep it open but also it burns intensely trying to keep it closed. This means my left eye has to do all my seeing and is strained and tbe involuntary blinking makes my right eye move which causes searing pain which results in screwing both tight shut every 30 seconds or so. Its really debhilitating, i never could have imagined how much, so all those calling it 'dramatic' you have NO idea how lucky you are not to have experienced it. Youd be a hell of a lot more sympathetic if you had!

Apocalyptichorsewoman · 11/08/2017 14:55

Jill Flowers

newmummycwharf1 · 11/08/2017 14:55

As an ophthalmologist - I can confirm you should not have been kept in. I wouldn't even have given oramorph- topical anaesthetic (drops) does the trick and home with antibiotics ointment and a good sleep. It is painful as hell but the cornea heals excellently and you will have no evidence of it within 2 days

Original poster
listsandbudgets · 11/08/2017 15:33

Steely I didnt ask for oramorph I was given it by the on duty consultant. Stick a bit if grit in your eye for 5 hours, add in a few people trying to force it open and then come back and tell me how you felt. If you are a medical professional I can only hope you show more sympathy toy our patients than you do online. Do you assume all patients who claim to be suffering severe pain are "seeking " and beung dramatic

OP posts:
PurpleCrazyHorse · 11/08/2017 15:36

I think you'll find that even if they wanted to keep you in, they won't have any bed capacity. Poor folk are left in A&E on trollies for worse. Sad state of our NHS unfortunately. Hoping you feel better soon though.

Original poster
listsandbudgets · 11/08/2017 15:37

newmummy thank you. the anaesthetic drops were brilliant until they wore off.. far better than oramorph. You are right about the sleep too. when i finally got some it definitely helped

OP posts:
PigletWasPoohsFriend · 11/08/2017 15:39

No you shouldn't have been kept in.

I am also surprised you were given oramorph tbh.

before you jump on me I live with chronic and acute pain

Lexieblue · 11/08/2017 15:43

I'm not particularly surprised you were given oramorph, if your step 1 (paracetamol) and step 2 (codeine) didn't work. The person's experience of pain is what they say it is, it doesn't matter of someone has had the exact same issue, their experience and perception of pain will likely be very different and no nurse or doctor would stand by and leave someone in pain if they were able to try to manage it.

Hope you feel better soon OP

GetOutOfMYGarden · 11/08/2017 15:50

They're right not to keep you in. You're not at risk of anything life threatening. You're in pain, which is awful, but that doesn't require a hospital bed.

PollyFlint · 11/08/2017 15:52

What you had didn't necessitate you being kept in for observation; the hospital dealt with it in exactly the way I'd expect. Although you were in pain, pain in itself is not a reason to keep someone in hospital. They were satisfied they'd done what they could for your eye injury and given you some pain relief (which I suspect is what made you throw up tbh).

I do fully appreciate that you were in a lot of pain though. I've never had that kind of injury but a friend had cornea damage and she said it was the worst pain she'd ever experienced (and she has had some other pretty grim health problems in her life, so she's got plenty to compare it to). So you have my sympathy re the pain you were in, and eye injuries are always scary for obvious reasons.

What I think you need to remember though is that while this, to you, was a shocking and horrible experience, the hospital deal with this stuff and worse every day, so what to us as patients feels like a massive drama is to the medical staff just day to day routine. They might seem dismissive but they're really not; it's just they know it's nothing unusual or exceptional and that you will soon be fine.

unweavedrainbow · 11/08/2017 15:55

It's not just life threatening cases that are kept in but also those where there is potential for life altering or debilitating disability that could be prevented if there was immediate medical attention on hand. I presume that the on duty doctor didn't think that the OP was at imminent risk of going blind.

Coconutspongexo · 11/08/2017 15:56

No you didn't need to be kept in.
There's not enough beds for that.

I've had a haemorrhage at the back of my eye and retinal detachment and wasn't kept in despite have various ophthalmic names issues. I did have to return the next day for surgery though in both cases.

Coconutspongexo · 11/08/2017 15:58

I can guarantee both are more painful than grit - I've had grit in my eye.

PollyFlint · 11/08/2017 15:58

I am also surprised you were given oramorph tbh.

before you jump on me I live with chronic and acute pain

I'm genuinely sorry to hear that, but it's not a 'who is in the most pain' competition. The hospital gave the OP what they thought was the best thing for her, having examined and questioned her. Different conditions cause different types and levels of pain and everyone experiences pain differently in any case.

I agree that the OP didn't need to kept in for observation but people are being bang out of order for questioning her need for the pain relief she was given.

unweavedrainbow · 11/08/2017 15:58

People can be admitted for "uncontrolled pain" btw. I've been admitted for uncontrolled pain myself (nasty lifelong disability, for which I take daily morphine). It's just that the OP didn't hit the threshold for that to be necessary.

brightlightceiling · 11/08/2017 16:01

It sounds horrible. Maybe they let you go because they couldn't treat you any further? You'd be better off at home if they wouldn't do anything else anyway

Floralnomad · 11/08/2017 16:02

It was probably the oramorph that made you sick . There are very few beds available in most hospitals overnight and they aren't going to give them out to someone who is able to go and rest at home .

Hammy12345 · 11/08/2017 16:02

I used to be a Nurse in Accident and Emergency and do wonder whether it was safe to discharge you baring in mind you couldn't see and didn't have another adult with you. I don't think you should have been kept in in a ward but at the very least they should have checked you could get home safely. Did they offer to call anyone for you?

BlackJesus · 11/08/2017 16:04

why's everyone acting like oramorph is shocking? 🙄 It's not even strong

user53592952153 · 11/08/2017 16:07

@Hammy12345 I don't think they have the luxury of being able to consider that any more. I was discharged in the middle of bad pain which needed surgery, they asked if anybody could drive me home and if anybody would be with me at home but still discharged me when they knew that it'd just be me.

unweavedrainbow · 11/08/2017 16:10

That's what I said above. Would people be as worried if OP was given the equivalent in codeine? It just works a bit faster.

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