Asthma nurse

[syl]

Hi all well I am nearly ready to go over the edge tonight.
had a appontment with the asthma nurse at doctors today as been doing a peak flow chart for 3 weeks because of problems i had with new inhalers
Now my doctor (who i get on with ) know of my health anxiaty and hospital phobia and put it on the top of my notes in case i had to see another doctor if she was off.wich has worked with other doctors i have seen.

well today had the appointment with asthma nurse due to still sometimes being breathless and still got a cough sometimes with blood in .
I had got myself as calm as i could before i went but god when i got in and she started talking i could feel the panic rising when i told her about the cough with the blood she said in a loud voice ohhh that is serious she then went on to get me to blow in a electric peak flow very fast of course after doing that i started to cough up phelm (but i did have a tissue handy) and i just said oh here we go again with the blood she said again in a loud voice ohhh dont show it to me ( I wasnt going to ) she said right i think we had better send you for a chest xray and i said doctor said it wasnt neccesary but she said well i am saying it is.
I said what is the treatment for the blood in the phlegm by now panic was very close she said oh they operate and cut part of the bottom of your lung away god panic came fast she must have seen it on my notes about my fears i felt so close to tear i just walked out
went down to my local chemist to see if i could get something for the phlegm as i think that is why i am having to cough so hard to get rid of it and the pharmasist was lovely he said are you alright and i felt a bit of a fool but he said he could see i was having a panic attact (shame nurse couldnt)
he then asked me what was wrong and he went on to say that sometime when we cough hard there is little vein that burt and he suggested i try some MELTUS for coughs and catarrh as that would break the phlegm up and make it easier for me.
I know i have emphasema but now the thought of having the lung out away is terrifing me took me 4 hours to calm down when i got home
do you think a nurse should say things like this
or is it just me being to sensative
sorry for long post

[neil1975]

Hi Syl,

It sounds like the nurse was acting a bit above her station on this occasion though I am sure she thought she was doing the right thing.
Your GP is the person who is qualified to make those kind of decisions as to whether a chest x-ray is necessary or not.
If you really wanted a chest x-ray just for reassurance I am sure your GP would send you for one wouldn't he/ she?
Are you refered to a lung specialist because of your emphysema?
I have asthma too and had to go and see the asthma nurse recently also. All she did with me was check that I was using my inhaler and peak flow correctly.

Hope you are feeling better,

Neil

[syl]

Hi Neil
thank you for your reply.
I saw my gp 10 days ago and she said there wasnt much point in sending me for a chest xray as she knew what i had got,
they have been trying different inhalers on me since july but i had reactions to them and ended up with a terrible throat so they took me of them all till i had done the peak flow for 3 weeks .
dont see anyone except my gp for the emphasema not been bad till july this year when i had problems with inhalers
have decided i will try and go for xray on wed just that i have hospital phobia so not easy but then i will go back and see my gp on the 2nd nov and see what she has to say about it all
i know what you are saying about the nurse doing her job but she knows i suffer from health anxiaty and she didnt seem to care hence me having the panic attack and she didnt bothere
the MELTUS that the pharmasist sugested seems to be bring the phlegm up a lot and i dont seem to cough so hard most of the time so maybe that might ease my throat a little
can i ask what inhaler you are on neil

[anxious]

hope you are feeling better this morning. I once called the doctors out as my hubby brought up blood after a coughing fit and i panicked. They said the same thing about bursting tiny blood vessels when coughing. He always suffers with catarrh too.

Good luck with getting through the xray on wednesday if you decide to go,

anx xx

[syl]

Hi Anxious
thanks for your reply
Well yes i am going to try and go for the xray on wed fingers crossed.
must say the MELTUS that pharmasist suggested has brought a lot of the phlegm up this morning so hope that eases the cough a little it seems as if the meltus is for chesty coughs and catarrh so fingers crossed
thanks

[bottleblond]

Hi Syl Love,

I just want to shadow what ANXIOUS said, having blood there when you cough doesn't always mean there is something serious going on as i also know people who have had similar problems due to having a persistant cough.

Have you tried "steam inhailations"? i put half a teaspoon of VICKS in a large bowl with boiling water, get a towel over my head and stay there for about ten minutes, it's really good for clearing all that gunk!!

good luck hun

Lisa
xxxxxxxxx

[neptuno]

Hello Syl !
I'm rooting for you to go and have your x-ray - it will take only seconds and the relief you will experience afterwards will be tremendous and you will feel so glad you did it. I understand just how difficult this is for you but remember this - everyone who has read your post will be right there with you holding your hand !! Go for it !!
be kind to yourself

[traciec39]

dont stress about a bit of blood n phelgm, my mum in law brings at up all the time and has been in hosptal for it over the years too.

She has never had any operation mentioned to her, and she brings up clots of blood every time she gets an infection.

So please dont worry


luv tracie

[syl]

Well went for my chest xray wish i hadnt .after trying to stay calm all throu it i wasnt that bad.
went home pleased that i had managed to get there and get it done.
then five hours later i get a phone call from the hospital saying regarding the xray i had had done they needed to make me a emergancy appointment at the ghospital for next thursday 1st nov when i asked why they said you will have to speak to your gp they have been sent the results.
so i phoned my gp spoke to receptionist who said she would get a doctor to phone me back .
this is how the conversation went
hello doctor here yes it is about your xray results they showed a shadow on your right lung.
I said what does that mean doctor said lung cancer i said could it be anything else she said no not with you being a smoker
now i have to sit and wait till next thursday to go to the hospital that will take me two hours to get there to see a resportery consultant to be told i have lung cancer
god i cant cope but if thet is what they tell me i think i may make sure i have plenty of tablets in for when i get back easy way out i know but i cant stand the thought of test ,operations and what ever
my sidter died of lung cancer 8 years ago and they operated on her and she died 3 months later
sorry i just need to talk to someone

[Pickle]

Hi Syl

Crikey, some medical staff dont mince their words do they. I too had an xray and was told there were a couple of shadows on my lung - I spent the next few days in a right panic waiting for my appointment. When I saw the specialist he carried out another couple of tests (including a biopsy) and eventually told me the shadows were scarring from two bad bouts of bronchitis I'd had in my twenties!!!

I know it's going to be a worry for you until you see the specialist but please remember not all shadows are bad.

Keeping my fingers well and truly crossed for you

Take care