To go to A&E? I’m desperate.

[Havanawinter]

Early hours of Saturday morning (48 hours ago) I woke with the worst stomach cramps. I’ve been pooing liquid ever since, over 50 times a day. I can’t keep anything in. I haven’t been sick but I feel sick. It’s getting no better, the stomach cramps are indescribable, I can’t even lie down they’re so awful. I feel like death and I’m scared of dehydration. Do I call 111? Go to A&E? DH meant to be away in London for work tomorrow and I have 2 young kids by myself. I need help.

Yes… you FAMILY!! Loved ones.

You lump anonymous chat forum posters alongside loved ones?

One of these days there’ll be a DM story about a mumsnetter who started a thread on her very ill 2 year old, listing the symptoms and asking whether she should go to a&e.

and a loss of completely unqualified mumsnetters give her their thoughts… a mix of don’t go, do go.

The OP wastes time reading and responding and updating.

the next day the child dies. The Op went with the majority of anonymous unqualified posters and didn’t take her child to a&e

Mumsnet hq should ban these threads

If only there was a service manned by qualified people who could advise mothers if they should take their very ill 2-year-olds to hospital. But, alas, there is no such thing, so until then mothers will just have to keep asking unqualified strangers on the internet these life and death questions.

There have been posts on here where posters have asked on here and it has turned out to be extremely serious so they have essentially saved a life there. There is one thread that really sticks out in my mind regarding a toddler.

The trouble is that like the pp has said if posters say not to go and something awful happened it would be horrific so I think I agree perhaps these posts should be banned.

Are you being facetious? 111 is exactly the service. They've always been excellent when I've called for a child.

I hope she was.

ditto my experience with 111 and my children - exemplary

We have had pretty good 111 experiences, once for DS when he ate some berries from a Holly tree, really great advice of what to do as the Internet was not helpful at all. The 2nd time they took a long time to call back regarding DH who was in horrendous pain but the advice when they did was really good.

Yes, I was being sarcastic. It's stupid to ask strangers on MN for advice on potentially life threatening illnesses. It's even more stupid to follow that advice. Phone 111 and ask the professionals. Dont come here and listen to what User3684562 tells you to do.

Yes I was chatting on SM with friends and family while in Resus, no different to posting on MN really

You were in the wrong place.

Resus

an area of accident and emergency (= the part of a hospital for people who need urgent treatment) where people are taken if they need life-saving treatment immediately

if you were on social media updating friends and family - your life was not in immediate dire straits at high risk of death

You were in the wrong place.

Resus

an area of accident and emergency (= the part of a hospital for people who need urgent treatment) where people are taken if they need life-saving treatment immediately

if you were on social media updating friends and family - your life was not in immediate dire straits at high risk of death

You needed resuscitation and you were able to message on SM?

It's not as clear cut as that @Doingprettywellthanks . Patients are also placed in resus if they are at high risk of deterioration and need a close eye keeping on them.

My ds1 spent an afternoon in resus following an episode of anaphylaxis last year. He was perfectly happy on sm for a couple of hours - until he suddenly deteriorated and needed oxygen and adrenaline. Then fine again. But they wouldn't send him to the ward until they were sure he was stable. Basically if they are concerned that you may need resuscitation then it's the best place for you.

Luckily you dont know what you're talking about. My dp was in resus talking to me and even texting. He was in the middle of a very serious heart attack and had emergency surgery 30 minutes later to unblock a blood clot from his heart.

Surely he was wasting valuable energy on talking and texting during a serious heart attack?!

i would be saying - get off the phone love and save your energy!

@Doingprettywellthanks you can be messaging and upright and still need urgent treatment
I was outside having a vape to cope with pain and probably looked fine (if limping about a bit) but needed an emergency operation
It couldn't have waited or I would have been paralysed
Everyone has different tolerances, pain thresholds and ways of dealing. Mine was pacing outside

Yes , i was on a drip as severely dehydrated and being monitored as at risk of going into a diabetic coma. ( i had dk part of dka) .
I was sent from gp straight to A&E at 10 am,dh drove me there. Within 10 minutes of walking into a&e and taking a seat in the waiting room someone came to collect me to take me to resus. Moved back to A&E in a bed about 1am , was there until lunch time and then spent a week on a ward on intravenous antibiotics and also getting my blood sugars stable.
It was early this year so i was there by myself as nobody allowed to come with me because of covid and the only way for my family and friends to know what was happening was me to text them. I was clearly not well but more than able to message on SM.

Yes , i was on a drip as severely dehydrated and being monitored as at risk of going into a diabetic coma. ( i had dk part of dka)

what’s the “dk part of dka”?

By the time someone comes here to post about a problem they're having they likely do need to go to A&E.
Women tend to wait and see if it goes away as I know I do.

So if I see a thread like this, I always advise to go. You never really know what is going on with the poster and it's best to be safe than sorry.
There have been far far more potentially life saving on here than wasting A&E time. Plus it's scary to be ill and not know what's going on, especially if you're alone or with small children and knowing someone is on here reading can be a bit comforting.

OP I hope you're on the mend now.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis without acidosis.

If I listened to them, my 3yo might not be here.

NHS guidance means she should have been assessed immediately (she had various 'red flags'). 111 missed them. 6 hours later, my gp sent her up the hospital as a precaution. The next day she was undergoing life-saving surgery.

111 can pass you on to the professionals, but they also operate to a script, and is your don't fit in exactly (because it's a toddler and they can't answer the questions) then things can often be missed.

I won't be trusting them again any time soon.

I hope your feeling much better x

Hello 👋🏼 well I’m still feeling rotten. I thought I felt a bit brighter yesterday so for dinner ate two mini tortilla wraps and a few bits of apple. Well. I was up from 1am until morning in agony passing it on the toilet. I’ve never smelt anything like it. Sorry, TMI. I haven’t heard back about any test results yet. I’m meant to be going on holiday on Saturday… be honest, what are my chances?

When I had something like this the first thing I was able to eat was a little yoghurt. Anything else caused awful pain etc.

Glad you're feeling improved.

Don't think you'll be going on holiday. Got insurance?

Call your gp, op.

(please don't wait this time!)

You need to follow up with them,they should chase up your results and hopefully give further treatment.

Your bowel needs to rest to recover which is where gp can help. Alternatively- and this might be more effective - did the hospital you go to have a colorectal/gastro ward? Id call them. Number should be on website or speak to switchboard.

are you managing to consume anything at all? Did they give you any medicine?