Help! Too embarrassed to go to GP?

[Derry30]

Really stupid I know but just looking for a bit of advice

I’ve got a really bad cough as a result of a recent flu. I’m otherwise recovered but cannot shift the cough, and it’s to the point I’m coughing so hard at night I’ve vomited a few times (not because I’m sick, but just because of how hard I’m coughing) and the coughing is keeping me awake now - if I cough hard I vomit, but if I don’t cough hard then the brown phlegm feels like it’s blocking my chest

I’m asthmatic and at my last plan they said if I get any lingering colds I should contact them for an appointment because I’ll probably need steroids.

but last time I was at the doctors surgery the nurse said ‘I’ve met you before haven’t i?’ I wasn’t actually sure so I just said probably yeah because I’ve had bad luck recently in terms of my health, and she joked ‘yeah I feel like you’ve probably met everyone in here by now you’ve had that many appointments!’ It sort of stung a bit and I’m now really, really self conscious and paranoid about going. For context- that was a few months ago and was because I had a new lump which had grown suddenly and quickly on my neck (and needed a 2 week referral so it wasn’t for nothing IYSWIM). previously to that I had several appointments over the last few years (maybe averaging 3-6 a year) for a few things but it’s all been legit (asthma, psoriasis, heart condition etc)

I know the comment wasn’t meant in a bad way but it’s really made me nervous about going back and being seen as difficult or a time waster because it’s obviously been flagged that I go a lot 😬 but at the same time I cannot take another sleepless night from coughing! How do i suck up the embarrassment and make an appointment tomorrow? Thanks

Don't put it off OP. My persistent cough, that nobody took seriously at first, ended up being double Pneumonia, caused by Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and nearly killed me. By the time lumps appeared on my neck, I was in real trouble.

Now that's an extreme example, and I'm not trying to frighten you, but you need a chest X-ray.

OP please don't allow someone else's words to have so much power over you that you don't book a GP appt when obviously ill.
Book one today and hope you recover soon.

Regardless of how many times you’ve visited the surgery she had absolutely no right to make that comment!
Please make an appointment to see your GP about the cough and consider writing to the Practice Manager regarding the unjustified comment, not necessarily by way of complaint but for the member of staff who made it to be reminded of their duty of care…….and that does not include criticising patients with medical conditions who need frequent consultations.

Your Doctor will probably want to see you, ignore the insensitive comment from the Nurse and get yourself down to the surgery.
Get well soon OP.

Oh fuck the doctors comment and your embarrassment, Your coughing so hard your sick and have brown phlegm on your chest? Go to the doctor. Put your health first, no matter what. Rather be embarrassed than die from embarrassment.

I’ve had comments like that, it’s not meant nastily, it’s just something to say. People feel the need to say things, just to fill the silence, and come out with all sorts of random crap. I understand you feel self conscious about the amount of appointments you need but you need them and that’s just the way it is. Please make a doctors appointment.

The nurse’s comment could have been meant in an entirely different way eg you’ve suffered so much with your health, you’ve needed to attend so many appointments.

I think you’re interpreting it / reading it the wrong way because you feel self conscious about your health / anxiety. It’s common.

if you think you need help, that’s when to get it. Trust your judgment!

Please go to your GP and insist that you get seen. Ignore the comments made by medical professionals. They see so many people, I wonder if they register what they are saying half the time. Since I got older, I've gotten bolder and it does help. Be matter of fact, state your symptoms and ask Now what?

OP, the nurse shouldn't have said that, but it could have been a silly, chit/chat throwaway comment.
Coughing until you vomit can be a sign of Whooping Cough. You are asthmatic, you probably need some antibiotics/steroids. Do go to the GP. You owe it to yourself and should be looked after appropriately.
Best of luck, it sounds like you're really suffering with this, miserable. X

Actually @Derry30 , what she said was really unprofessional and out of order, and I think if the clinician responsible for your asthma plan knew you were feeling this way they would be very cross with her.

Please make the appointment today, and consider mentioning what she said, it’s definitely a development need for her and you shouldn’t have to see her again.

You need to see your GP, not have a chat with 111 about this, call your practice instead and make an appointment.

If your symptoms, e.g., chest pain, shortness of breath, fever, get worse then please go to A&E. Get well soon

I think you're being a bit silly op. Go to the doctor. That nurse might not even be there anymore, and anyway who cares. She made a misjudged joke

Don’t put embarrassment over some stressed-out woman’s throw away (but insensitive) comment, above your health, for goodness sake!

make the appointment, get the meds, feel better soon!

I would've assumed from that comment that the nurse was trying - awkwardly - to validate me by commiserating the fact that I'd suffered frequent health problems.

You need to see the GP.

They actually can these days

Get yourself to the docs, I think the nurse was just making chat even though it didn’t feel like that to you.
Ive had episodes of ill health and we joke I have my own sit at the GPs and hospital!

The only person here who needs to be embarrassed is the nurse whose comment has made an asthmatic doubt getting the care they specifically need. Book your appointment. If you see the same nurse and they say anything tell them straight, this appointment is part of your asthma plan and will potentially stop you needing treatment in a hospital, taking up a bed and risking your life.

Yep, they can:

AI Overview

Yes, a UK pharmacist can prescribe amoxicillin, but only if it's part of the Pharmacy First service and if they assess the condition as requiring an antibiotic, such as a persistent bacterial infection. Asthma is a respiratory condition, so a pharmacist would only prescribe amoxicillin if they determine there's a secondary bacterial infection, not for the management of the asthma itself.

It really sounds to me that she was trying to make small talk in an awkward situation where SHE felt embarrassed you couldn’t remember her (maybe you have met vaguely in a shop or pub or somewhere and you can’t remember but she can?). Don’t let perceived feelings over one throwaway statement cloud your judgement so much you risk your wellness, even your life.

Accept that you feel how you feel but that your health needs you to take control now and do the sensible thing. Go. To. The. Doctor.

It doesn’t sound like the nurse meant it in a mean way, she was just making conversation. When my FIL was alive, he & the nurse used to joke that they’d give him his own seat in the waiting room - and she certainly wasn’t implying he was there too often. You’re really overthinking this.

Please make an appointment today, you don’t sound well at all.

Asthma can be very dangerous @Derry30 especially if you’re coughing until you vomit. You definitely need to see the GP urgently - please try to ignore that rude nurse, she was likely having a bad day and you happened to be in her proximity - nothing to do with you x

You need to take control of your health and assert yourself . Persistent cough needs to be seen by a GP not a pharmacist or practice nurse

Also, I work in a health care setting, and might well say ‘we’ve met before haven’t we’. This is because I’ve seen my name when I’ve reviewed your notes. I’m saying that to make you feel more comfortable, not because I really remember you telling me about your ingrown toenails 6 months ago.

How many appointments have you had this year? It sounds like a case of mistaken identity because you don’t sound like you have had many. How would the nurse know you had had a lot of GP appointments? She wouldn’t. So I think she’s talking about someone else, someone that she has seen for a lot of appointments or procedures.

I had this too. I'm asthmatic and every time I got covid, I ended up with a prolonged cough which eventually turned into a chest infection because I didn't deal with it quickly enough. Go to your GP now for this and then book an appointment with your asthmatic team to talk through your daily treatment. It may be that they can manage your asthma better to stop basic coughs/colds turning into something more sinister. Also, make sure you get the flu and covid vaccines.

Hope you feel better soon, I've done the coughing til I'm sick thing a few times. Please get help.