to think that peeing gallons of blood & having a fever is an emergency?

[Trying2Heal]

I've a history of urinary tract infections progressing to kidney infections since I was about 3 years old. 18 years ago I was diagnosed with bladder cancer, but following treatment it has been in remission since then.

After an extremely stressful life experience I had what I thought was yet another urinary tract infection but yesterday it progressed to blood literally pouring out of me whenever I urinate, and I'm having to urinate at least once every 20 minutes. During the night I counted the number of times I had to get up to pee it was 21 times. And each time I peed blood my urine is quite intense red, and it is EXCRUCIATINGLY painful. I am shivering and sweating. I called 111 and they told me a "local service" would call me back. The local service was this awful rude woman who told me to just drink lots of water and to try to get a GP appointment later this year and just kept asking me if I have friends and a support system. She was so rude and eventually hung up on me.

The last time I had these symptoms I ended up with a serious kidney infection and hospitalised for several days. Clearly I need antibiotics.
Am I to just sit here getting progressively more ill?

[quote LemonPeonies]@DrTemperanceBrennan oh yes of course we're not allowed to ensure we organise a break for ourselves to have a quick drink, wee and bit to eat. And heaven forbid we discuss anything else aside from work! Not exactly unprofessional to talk about TV 🙄[/quote]
I’m glad someone else said it. The nurses don’t choose who gets taken to critical care 🙄. I liked the flourishing touch of a CONSULTANT coming to save the day like the gods patients think they are 😉

Hope you got seen quickly OP, that sounds horrendous!

Hoping all is getting sorted OP

Go to minor injuries or A&E straight away you are at serious risk of sepsis.

I hope you’re doing ok op

Go to A&E to get some antibiotics. Went there myself today after not hearing back from 111 for hours, it was pretty quiet.

How was A&E, OP - sounds like best place for you. 111 does not always get it right.

@cobpickles the nurses may not choose who goes where, but I’m pretty sure patient care is one of their responsibilities, along with a little kindness and dignity for patients. No matter what grade the healthcare professional is working at, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to be upset that they chose to completely ignore a woman who was in a lot of pain for four hours, after making her feel a complete nuisance for daring to come to A&E and bother them in the first place. My relative was criticised for bothering them during a pandemic, dumped on a plastic chair in a waiting room with absolutely no update or explanation for hours. Nurse or consultant, that’s pretty shoddy IMO.

I don’t want to derail the OP’s thread any further, I just wanted to make it clear that she needed to be very firm and assertive when she went to A&E as it seems you have to make yourself a right pain to be noticed or acknowledged. Hope you’re feeling better OP.

Just read this and hoping you've been to a&e and getting the appropriate care. Lots of love to you xxx

Hope you're doing ok OP.

I hope the OP is ok. I would never call 111 for anything to be honest.

I remember before 111 was launched there used to be local out of hours services, so for my area you would call and an actual doctor would call you back...

Hope you're doing ok OP. I'm glad you've got yourself off to hospital as you didn't sound at all well xx

Christ your symptoms sound clearly like a medical emergency to me. Hope you’re getting the proper help you need now OP.

Thanks for your concern everyone.
I went to A&E and am now back at home with a one week course of the antibiotic Amoxicillin and Co-Codamol for the pain. I have to have a follow up appointment with a Urologist.
The antibiotics seem to have started working already as I have already stopped peeing blood, thank goodness.
I'm so glad I went and got help. I think the infection/feverishness had reached a point where I was becoming increasingly confused and disoriented. Your responses here helped give me the reality check I needed to take this seriously and go get help!

Thanks @DrTemperanceBrennan

@HoneysuckIejasmine Did you manage to get any help with your infection?

Thank you for updating us. You've been in my thoughts. Glad you are starting to feel better.

[quote Trying2Heal]@HoneysuckIejasmine Did you manage to get any help with your infection?[/quote]
Yes thank you. I'm picking up my antibiotics in an hour or so. So glad that you got help - as much as people complain about time wasters abusing the NHS I think you've proved there's actually a large portion of the population who fail to seek help when they need it for fear of overreacting.

Glad you were seen OP. A UTI or kidney infection makes you feel very strange, it can leave you confused or disorientated.
Rest as much as you can now, get well soon.

My son has kidney issues that included several sepsis infections. GP and 111 let us down a multitude of times, one GP refused to medicate him or look at his specialist letter.

If you know the advice is wrong IGNORE it. Go either to a GP who knows your condition and can prescribe correct antibiotics, or personally I’d opt for A&E at this point due to amount of blood. My A&E were great and, despite me apologising as the GP should have sorted it so I was (I felt) technically wasting time, they told me they were very glad I came as he needed immediate treatment and if the gp wouldn’t do that then it was right to seek it with them.

All medical staff can be wrong. Never trust them on the basis they are medical staff, you are always free to question them or get a second opinion. Often, its down to inexperience with certain issues as no one can be perfect in everything. Don’t risk serious complications because someone told you to over the phone.

Just saw the update, so glad you got seen! If I’d ignored symptoms or allowed myself to fobbed off regarding my ds, he wouldn’t be here today, it’s so important to remember, if you disagree, you can ask to be seen by someone else or present at A&E. Yes, some people waste time, but if you have a history of serious symptoms and are presenting with serious symptoms, this is not wasting time at all.

We even had a culture non reviewed for 2 weeks with a GP receptionist being rude as anything to me as I phoned to ask for results. (Important as bacteria type would mean changing antibiotic, which it did). I actually phoned the lab in the end as the GPs kept on saying the culture results weren’t in and I knew they would be. The lab were very helpful and gave me details, turned out in was stuck in some not yet reviewed by GP file on the GP computer. Constant mistakes like these by medical staff can lead to serious repercussions, and that was for a 5 month old baby who’d already been hospitalised for the same issue multiple times! You’d think they’d take that seriously - apparently not! Anyway, hope you get better quickly OP, so glad antibiotics seem to be working already!

Thanks for the update; I hope you feel much better soon💐

So glad you were seen and are being treated. Hope you feel better soon

Glad you got seen, got treated and are feeling better!
And very glad you have an appt with a urologist - they can see if there's anything else going on as well (hopefully not!)

Received this follow-up from 111

Good grief, if I'd followed their instructions here & taken no further action to get checked/treated I could have presumably ended up with sepsis or something