It's a bit late to tell me I should have been shielding!

[Toddlerteaplease]

Got a letter sent to shielding people with the new advice on it. Except I wasn't shielding as I never got the first letter and didn't think I was particularly high risk. (I have MS) I've worked as a nurse the whole way through. (With a risk assessment though) I think the horse has already bolted!

My DH got his shielding letter two weeks after he died.

@StopGo

So very, very sorry.

Not dissimilar to me. Went to collect my meds. Pharmacist took one look at my list & told me I should be at home shielding 🤷🏻‍♀️I spoke to 4 clinical departments that look after me and all 4 said I didn’t need to!!?

I'm in the same boat. In april I got a letter saying I should do enhanced social distancing which meant staying 2m away from people I live with but I could go shopping and for a walk.

Yesterday i got a letter saying i should have been shielding.

I have crohns. I'm on infliximab but it's not working so I'm also on 20mg prednisolone whilst I try to get an appointment with my consultant for a different treatment.
Roxy- it sounds like I should be shielding from what you said although I have been to immune suppressant are being used to treat covid.

I have a 7 and 3 year old and the 7 year olds just gone back to school and 3 year old starts nursery again in 2 weeks.

@bloodyc yes definitely if you've been on the prednisolone for more than 4 weeks.

www.rheumatology.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Rheumatology_advice_coronavirus_immunosuppressed_patients_220320.pdf?ver=2020-03-22-155745-717

Also have Ms and never had a shielding letter. I'm on some of the MS FB forums and letters seem to be hit and miss. Various people on the same MS meds as me got the letter. Others including me didnt (Plegridy). Letters seem to be sent out at the discretion on your Dr's rather the neurological specialists.

I assume you had either Lemtrada or HSCT in the last six months as those seem to be the main groups with shielding letter.

In your shoes, I would contact your MS Nurse or specialist and ask their advice and tell them you have been working the last few months.

I've previously had pregabalin (then gabapentin because it was cheaper) and amitriptylene - for fibro. I'm a little confused.

I have several comorbid conditions and haven't received a shielding letter, I have poorly controlled asthma to boot, I know people with just asthma or just fibro who are shielded. It seems patchy.

I'm barely outside of the home anyway, I don't think it would make a difference to me, partner is a keyworker and the home is three rooms not including the bathroom so I wouldn't be able to isolate well, anyway.

I do think it's poor form for the wrong people to receive a letter, or not receive one, because whilst it's a choice whether you follow the shielding advice, some people genuinely don't know if they're actually at higher risk, and the ambiguity is awful.

I can also imagine being on the end of messing up like that, this is a very awkward and unprecedented, unexpected mess. It's not surprising mistakes have been made. And it's just sad for those who have passed away from it to receive shielding letters months after.

YABU. We shielded mum, sister and nephew long before any shielding letters came in. Common sense needed.

I've had similar conflicting info. A text out of the blue around week 8 telling me I should be shielding, another text next day with more details. I take humira (immune suppressant) for a skin condition, had no idea I should be shielding so hadn't for the previous 8 weeks. Phoned consultant who said that I had been analysed by them as not needing to shield as I take no other meds, and they had no idea what triggered these texts & had been inundated with queries from patients!
I have since had 2 long letters from NHS implying I am still shielding & giving lengthy advice, despite knowing I don't need to.
Called for a docs appt to get bloods done for aforementioned condition & was told that a nurse would have to come to my home as I am "COVID Red" on their files! I explained I've already been to the surgery once for bloods so surely it's a waste of resources actually sending a nurse out to me. But she insisted they have to follow protocol so I'm getting a home visit!

Bonkers doesn't come into it....

Do people really expect GPs to analyse every patient's medical history? That's very unrealistic.

@RoxyMcRoxFace

There are alot more conditions than that that require shielding.

I havent got any of the ones that you listed but i was told to shield by my consultant

You have to shield with Fibromyalgia?

Why?

There were lists on the gov uk site with explanations , but things also changed as the whole world was discovering those who were more at risk .

My OH did not get a letter but his GP advised him to shield to be on the safe side and we did .

@Pericombobulations I had lemtrada in 2016 and 2017. Still on monthly bloods for it. The only advice I could get was for people who'd had it in the last 3 months.

The shielding conditions are on government websites. I'm not sure why 3 monthly bloods are needed for a drug you are no longer on. Have you asked if you still need the bloods? Secondary care can be poor at telling primary care to stop. Our shielding lists used a lot of old data so we had to correct them. Fibromyalgia doesnt need shielding

@Toddlerteaplease according to the MS Trust only those who had either in the last 6 months. But I would contact your nurse or consultant tomorrow morning for advice as they would be the best people to check with as it does also depend on your blood results.

www.mstrust.org.uk/a-z/coronavirus-covid-19-and-multiple-sclerosis#should-i-have-received-a-letter-from-the-nhs-telling-me-to-shield

My sister and I have crohn's. She has to shield because she is on the "good" meds.

Colleague nephew has MS and caught CV and was very ill and subsequently hospitalised (but not ventilated). It seems like the CV has "rebooted" his system and his MS is better than it has been in quite a few years by all accounts. The human body is a marvellous enigma!

I have also received a letter today advising me about the shielding changes, as I had been identified as someone who should be shielding. This is the first I'd heard of it! I have been practising strict social distancing fortunately...

I had my yearly asthma review today (phone consultation) and was told that because I had steroids at xmas time for my asthma I should have got a shielding letter, I didn't! When I told the nurse i've been working all the way through and didn't get a letter she said, oh well, nevermind!

MS isn't necessarily on the shielding list. I have it. The neurology dept I see put everyone with MS on the shielding list and then had to send out a letter saying it was only certain meds that needed to shield.

In Scotland you need 3 steroid courses in 6 months and it is 6 months from the current date so some people shielding in April aren't now

We're in the US, so no shielding letters

My DH is on immunotherapy drugs for MS. He had a virtual check up with his Neuro about a month ago. Not a word about extra precautions.

But surely if you have a medical problem, you would have checked on the list (is there a list, no idea tbh). We all have a duty of care to ourselves don't we? Do we need to be told? Or is the paperwork required for jobs etc (no idea)

callme it's not as simple as if you have X condition you are fine/vulnerable/extremely vulnerable. Medication can make you more or less vulnerable and the knowledge changes that over time. Some blood pressure medication was thought to make you at risk in March. Now they are trialling the same med as protective.

I got mine late, saying I'm extremely vulnerable. When all of this effort started I was trying to find out what position I was in. After multiple calls I was told "if you haven't got the letter already, you aren't extremely vulnerable".

A month later I got the letter. Well that was useful!! I carried on with what I was doing before, "shielding light", still living normally in the house with my family and going for a walk.

Got my letter from "Matt" and Robert Jenrick a couple of days ago. They must have been busy signing 2.2 million letters so quickly!!

Or is the paperwork required for jobs etc (no idea)

Yes, my company did want a copy of it. I'm in a client facing role, so it confirms to them I'm going nowhere. They've also had my mate Matts letter to what's happening next.

@StopGo. I'm so sorry.