Hello chaps. I've been out of hospital a few days but had a bad experience this time and couldn't face talking about it straight away. Thanks Lucinda and others who persuaded me to see a doctor. It seems like it was 'just in time' as my heart rate was so high the doctor thought my heart wouldn't cope any longer. Strangely I didn't feel as ill as last admission (I was hallucinating that time).
I had a good experience with the NHS walk-in clinic, I was dreading going, but almost collapsing at reception resulted in immediate triage and immediate admission. It went downhill from there as maternity was completely full, so had to go via a packed war-zone style A&E. At one point I was told I might be spending the night in a corridor in A&E but they managed to get me a bed on a mixed surgical ward full of refugees from other, noro-virus infected wards, it wasn't even designed for people to sleep there! The obstetrician who came over was great but otherwise treatment was pretty poor.
There was no handover, I was just brought up to the ward and dumped, and they had no idea why! This meant instead of getting my first fluids and drugs asap it took hours before they put one in and then they put it on the slow rate.
The smells were awful - food waved under my nose, being told I must try to eat, smells of old ladies pooing themselves all around me. I was also mocked by 2 different nurses HCA for not being able to cope with the smell of poo, and for saying I felt sick when they asked why I looked awful (laughed and said, everyone's sick that's why they're in hospital). I tried to explain what HG was but no one seemed to have heard of it.
No chance of sleep, waking me up in the morning for obs and then delaying the drugs/biscuit and when I said I need drugs before I can have breakfast/move they thought I was being 'demanding'.
Finally a nurse refused me the meds prescribed by the obstetrician, on the basis that they weren't suitable for pregnant women. We argued.
Once I'd had 6l of fluid I insisted on leaving as I felt by that point I'd got all there was to be gained and staying longer would make me more ill through lack of rest and lack of/late meds.
Have managed to eat a little the last couple of days, although my resting heart rate is still over 100. I know that next time I will need to go in earlier rather than later, but am absolutely dreading it. It's a shame as I was treated so well at the maternity unit, and they knew exactly how to manage HG.
Sorry, rant over.