With how I was treated in a and e

[Arcade]

I’ve got endometriosis it gets so bad I pass out throw up etc. I’m currently on morphine codine and other meds for the pain. Yesterday it became so bad I was almost hysterical with pain and nothing was working the bleeding was also more extreme than normal. My partner ended up driving me to a and e as I couldnt spend any more time in this amount of pain. When I arrived I was seen fairly quickly and the nurse was lovely she suggested right away I have more morphine codine and some other meds. She said she could only give me the codine as they where tight on space and I really needed to be watched while taking morphine and codine at the same time but I would be seen soon for the morphine. So I took my codine and went back to the waiting room and politely asked the receptionist roughly how long the wait was tonight so I could tell my partner to go home instead of waiting in the car they said it wasn’t long. I then wasn’t seen for 1.5 hours and ended up just silently crying in the waiting room. I went back to the receptionist and said would I be aloud any more pain relief as I’m in agony. She spoke to the nurse who then did after 25 minutes bring me out some morphine . I was in so much pain I did consider going home as I was so uncomfortable but I knew going home wouldn’t fix it and I was throwing up badly. By which point I hadn’t been seen again for 3 hours but was then eventually taken for a blood test and told to have a sleep on a bed as the wait time in a and e was six hours before a doctor could see me. I said in the end while crying through the pains that I would go home to sleep as I live 2 minutes away and was exhausted by this point as it was now 2 in the morning. I then did get home and manage to sleep through sheer exhaustion. But I’ve woken up being sick again from the pain my partner thinks I should go back to a and e but I cant manage sitting in a waiting room for 6 hours again. Atleast at home I can lay down with my hot water bottle and take some of my own morphine. How can and a and e leave someone throwing up and crying in pain with no real pain relief until they beg I get they where busy but I’m at my last end I’ve tried every cure going numerous surgery’s physio therapy private doctors hormones just to have pain like this constantly.

I went to our local urgent treatment centre when I was dehydrated after vomiting for 24 hours with a migraine. I got seen really quickly, got a shot of anti-emetic and they put a drip for a couple of hours which rehydrated me while I had a lovely sleep.

I reckon that for anything non-life threatening, or unlikely to require surgery, UTCs are a much better bet, even if they're further away.

It's a shame they're only open during the day and early evening.

A & E departments have to deal with road traffic accident patients, stab victims, people who have had heart attacks, strokes, serious head injuries, and a whole host of other life-threatening things wrong with them. Your problem, although very painful and uncomfortable, isn't that.

YABU. My sister is a doctor in A&E - current waits are up to 21 hours. They are completely overwhelmed in every way.

Unfortunately threat to life has to take priority.

Why are you trying for a baby when you've got an unstable medical condition that requires daily morphine and reduces you to tears in A&E?

How would you cope in the same situation with a newborn depending on you?

@Thenorthwoman that's a rather unhelpful comment.

If the OP was to have the baby she could go onto birth control which is most effective at stopping Endo symptoms, unfortunately it's rather difficult to get pregnant that way.

@rookiemere

I know what a stupid thing to say. Pregnancy puts endo into remission during the 9 months and then contraception afterwards can be very helpful too. I think it’s disgusting how women with endo are treated to be honest. I haven’t got endo but I can only imagine how awful the condition must be with the societal dismissiveness only adding to the desperate Ed’s of the condition.

And how would she cope with the pregnancy? It sounds like she cannot cope with life as it is.

OP people are being way too harsh on you. When you're in uncontrollable severe pain of course you should go a&e. I'm going to bet that everyone saying you're unreasonable because "it's not life threating" can't even comprehend or have a basic understand of the level of pain you're going through. People appear in a&e for all sorts of severe pain that is not life threatening, gallstones, kidney stones, but how does anyone know without being seen by a medical professional. It's also dangerous to just assume severe worse than what you're used to pain is just endo as well. Just like gallstones and kidney stones you can end up in a situation that may require immediate medical attention with endo too. Unfortunately when you say to a&e you have endo they sometimes start treating you like you got a bit of a stomach ache and can't handle normal pain.

You were right to go. It's not you who is causing issues in the NHS. You are a genuine person in urgent need of medical care. This medical system is not fit for purpose for those with long term crippling medical conditions. It's not your fault.

@Thenorthwoman

erm because you don’t experience endo pain during pregnancy? Please educate yourself

This is factually untrue. Many women experience no change or the pain gets worse. And the adhesions can lead to myriad complications.

@YellowDome

Totally agree. What sort of healthcare system have we got when it’s now acceptable to just leave people for hours and hours on end in severe pain? Where is the humanity in that? You wouldn’t let a dog suffer like that so why is it okay?

It’s only okay because women are dismissing endo as woman’s problems and that makes me sad 😢. So much for female solidarity.

How do you cope with being a parent when you're so ignorant and lacking in compassion.

There's plenty of disabled and chronically ill people out there that make wonderful parents.

@Thenorthwoman

but many women do experience relief from pain in pregnancy. Does she not deserve to try for a baby ever then? Your comments are so insensitive.

Op it’s awful and no it’s not great but I don’t think the public really understand the pressure. I work in A&E and tbh it’s depressing going in. We routinely are expected to manage anywhere between 80-120 patients at busier times. Everyone wants to be seen now but not everyone is life threatening. So many waiting on beds on the wards preventing us from giving others somewhere to lie down. It’s unsustainable and not fair on patients and not fair on the staff.

I'm just saying that aiming to get pregnant when her pain is so out of control she's gone to a&e for morphine may not be the wisest choice.

Let alone the ethics of being pregnant and taking morphine (if pregnancy isn't the magic cure-all for endo that some think it is).

Wanting a baby isn't a good reason to have one when you can't raise it safely.

@Thenorthwoman

So why didn’t you “just say” it like that in the first place? instead of being so incredibly rude with comments like “can’t even look after yourself”.

Have you ever heart of tact? Very spiteful comment indeed. There are many people who have had relief from endo in pregnancy OP has no idea if this will be her or not.

Ethics? Judging from your horrible post I doubt you’re really concerned about ethics.

@itsjustnotok

People do understand the NHS is a shit show. Most people know it’s not those working on the front lines fault, it’s not. We are simply discussing the lack of care in this country!

Because you.werent in a life threatening condition that's why!. You have to expect to wait. What a stupid move to go home was!!

What sort of healthcare system have we got when it’s now acceptable to just leave people for hours and hours on end in severe pain? Where is the humanity in that? You wouldn’t let a dog suffer like that so why is it okay?

One that is chronically underfunded by the government - and the Tory government in particular. Dogs wouldn't suffer like that because you'd have to pay for their treatment.

If you want better - and free NHS - treatment, don't vote Conservative at the next election.

None of this is the people who work in A&E's fault! They have to make very difficult decisions every single day about who to treat first, and who is a priority.

You were clearly suffering, @Arcade, but unfortunately not a priority.

I have so much empathy for you, OP but unfortunately, it isn’t ideal to be treating an acute flare up of a chronic condition in A&E. I really hope you get a better treatment and pain management plan put in place because it sounds horrific for you.

@BIWI

I have never voted Tory in my life.

Was admitted back to a and e on Monday. Got seen straight away and was sent to dr and then gynaecologist been told nothing they can do long term but have told me to keep on top of my morphine. they admitted me to a and e to make sure I didn’t have an infection as well as giving me a morphine drip. Feeling better but exhausted. The only option left now is hysterectomy but that might not even work.

I'm so sorry OP Endo is such a horrible disease.
Have you tried going on birth control to give yourself breathing space ? I'm on long term Cerazette with no breaks and have been pretty much pain free after a couple of months of starting.

In fact I got pregnant with DS almost immediately after coming off Cerazette. I didn't know I had Endo , just unbearable period pains so they put me on it.

I can’t take 70% of hormones due to migraines risk of stroke etc then I also get really sick on hormones I wake up every day being sick. Went on the depo injection but I ended up bleeding for 5 months non stop I’m also trying for a baby at the moment

@Arcade There are some hormonal treatments you can have even with complex and severe migraines. Speaking from personal experience! It doesn't really sound like your treatment is optimised tbh.