I don't know whether to bother my GP

[ByLimeAnt]

I'm not sure if I'm overreacting and am happy to be told to suck it up.

I posted on General Health part night. Essentially I've been feeling exhausted for the last few months and it has got gradually worse so I am sleeping in the middle of the day and going to bed at 730. For the last 10 days or so I've needed to go to bed after lunch and work from there. GP says I have very low ferritin (haemoglobin fine) and has put in an urgent referral to bowel team (history of multiple polyps).

It's 9am and I need to lie down. Slightly short of breath on exertion but not at rest and having palpitations.

I spoke to my Gp yesterday and whilst she is normally fabulous, I didn't get much of a chance to tell her about the breathing or extent of the fatigue. She prescribed iron but I can't physically get there to collect and have noone to ask.

Definitely not bothering with 111 as they just send you straight to hospital.

WIBU to request a duty GP callback?

I agree with PP, go to A and E.
My mom was similar with the naps in the day, fatigue, breathlessness etc and was fobbed off with iron/ b12. She knew something was pretty badly wrong but she took the doctors word for it despite multiple appointments over 2 months. Long story short, she ended up in hospital on boxing day and was diagnosed with CMML (a type of leukaemia).

Extreme fatigue/exhaustion, breathlessness, palpitations are really not good. Please phone 111 at least, as you probably do need to be seen quite urgently - I'm particularly concerned about the palpitations and breathlessness, as it sounds like your heart is having to work quite hard at the moment. Wishing you the very best of luck in getting it sorted.

Please go to a hospital - try 111 first to see if they can make you an appointment there.

You aren’t “bothering” them. They are paid to help you. Thats what they are for - and you sound very unwell.

You need to be seen in person.

I would consider going to a&e instead - they may be able to fast track your referral.

I don't know if you'd had a thyroid panel? The iron is obviously a problem but it might be worth checking if it hasnt been already. I've recently been diagnosed as underactoce thyroid and two of the symptoms (for me) are fatigue and restricted breathing. Apparently it quite commonly coexist with iron or vitamin deficiencies as it affects your ability to absorb them. I hope you feel better soon.

Please get to A&E I had symptoms just like this and had blood clots in my lungs that nearly killed me!

Please don’t ignore this and don’t be fobbed off. You must either ring 111 or go to A&E directly - you most definitely will not be wasting their time.
When you start noticing heart and breathing symptoms then it’s not something you should leave. You need to be investigated for why you’ve got so anaemic as well - a FIT test would be a good place to start as you’ve got a history of bowel polyps.

Agree with pp about either 111 or A&E. Don't give them too much on the anaemia - focus on how you feel right now.

Your GP sounds useless - why haven't they investigated your anaemia (which must be really bad for them to even bother commenting on! Just women's issues, innit). Did they tell you what your levels are?

if it's 'simply' anaemia & you're this bad you need an infusion. Tablets take a LONG time to get levels up any appreciable amount - but you need to be seen urgently.

do you have a clinic where you pull a ticket (like they used to have at Clark’s) to do a blood test without going to drs surgery.
You could be low on B12?? Did they do a full blood test? If irons low they tend to do a follow up blood test- sorry you’re feeling so rubbish.
are you vegetarian?

Hope you have got some help and been seen OP

The GP doesn't sound greatly helpful. However this seems like an undiagnosed long term health condition, with now acute symptoms. If I were you I would get to A&E (if you know what hospital you have been referred to for the Gastro team go there). I have an Inflammatory Bowel Disease and have in the past need to be admitted for Iron infusions, IV medication, severe dehydration etc. If you are so genuinely fatigued you cannot get to the GP you need the hospital. Iron tablets take time. You also do not say what the bowel issues are apart from polyps, but alot of people with bowel issues (me included) cannot take Iron tablets.

Thank you all very much for responding. Ended up seeing a different GP who stated I am on 2 week pathway and mentioned sorting out an iron infusion. She also offered to sign me off. The bit that concerned me was that she said I should tell my line manager a few details so they know I'm not well and have appointments coming up. Thanks again, I really struggled today.

Hope you get some answers soon x

My DD has had very low ferritin on and off for years. The lowest it was 8, and she felt terrible, sleeping lots. I wouldn’t have thought it was A&E urgent but i’m no GP.

Glad to hear that, OP. This is what they should have been doing & had they communicated it with you clearly you'd not be so worried about it - it's just been handled badly. (or! Your brain is so fried you're not taking stuff in properly which mine certainly didn't with really bad anaemia!).

Fingers crossed you have some answers soon - lots of very NOT terrifying reasons to feel as you do & the two week pathway should get you right soon 🙏

Why isn't it being sent to the pharmacy?

I wish! Live in the Highlands, nothing is nearby.

Why are you asking me?

Mine is sent to the pharmacy, but the pharmacy doesn't deliver, so if I was too unwell to leave the house I'd be in a similar position!

Iron tablets unfortunately take ages to kick in.
I had anaemia last year (low iron and ferritin as well) it was few month before I start feeling better.

But what you are describing is much more what I was feeling. Call 111, possible you need blood transfusion or iron shots at the hospital.

Hope you feel better soon.
Maybe your thyroid is playing up as well.

I'm so glad that you saw a sympathetic GP - a bit of advice, when you go for your iron infusion, take a good book or something to occupy you as they take around 4 hours (or all of mine have anyway).

Once you've had the infusion, you will start to feel better pretty quickly but obviously they need to find the underlying cause.

Until then, take it easy and let yourself rest x

Hope you get some answers soon, OP.

@ByLimeAntI’ve had several occasions when I felt the way you describe.

twice with blood clots
twice with very low bloods.

please seek help asap x

Not trying to frighten you, but maybe alert you to possibilities.

I had very similar symptoms to you. I was so weak I fell off the office chair (WFH) and hit my head and knocked myself out for a few seconds. I was totally unwell but had carried on for a while. Ferritin and haemoglobin were low but treated with Galfer iron tabs. That was useless, but I carried on since GP said it would take a while to work.

After hitting my head, I was so dazed. My sister happened to be passing that evening and just dropped in. What a lucky thing that she did. Off to A+E immediately and they found a gastric bleed from an ulcer caused by HPylori. Straight onto blood transfusions and then iron infusions. It was a close call.

If you still feel the same today I would advise getting to a hospital. I didn't go immediately myself, but ended up there, and was lucky to survive really.

Take care.

4 hours?! Wowsers, mine was super quick, like 20 minutes, the saline took longer. I know there are different types but had no clue the time was so different

It might be because I have a form of blood cancer and my iron was incredibly low each time.
I remember the first time I went in, the letter for the appointment said it should only take an hour, so I had to leave the hospital with the cannula in and ask my carer to go home and I'd phone when I was almost finished.
I remember other patients also saying it would only be an hour and having to go and tell their lifts etc and the nurses getting really annoyed that the letters had all said an hour.

Maybe it's a different set up with different hospitals as it took an hour at least for me to be processed, cannulated and then see the consultant before then waiting for the actual iron, then waiting for the saline flush, then waiting more for my obs to be done again, before they'd finally let me go home.
My iron infusion itself was actually pretty quick - maybe it was all the admin etc around each one I had.

Either way, they made me feel a lot better.
I'm thankfully in remission now and have been for 2 years, so I've not had to have an infusion or a blood transfusion for a while.