How many times have you been to A&E / ER?

[shsm]

Have you been more than once with the same concern?

Have you had a compulsive urge to go to try and find re-assurance?

How were you treated by staff? Could they tell you have HA?

I have been more times than i can remember over the years with worries over different health fears including heart, kidneys, ms and mnd. It got to a stage where staff in A & E began to recognise me and some used to treat me like crap. Now I try and stay away from the place because after one trip in 2008 I was admitted for one night and I hated it. I was placed on a ward with six others, I hated the noise at night, the fact that there was only a curtain separating you and the person next to you, the noise of machines etc. another issue I had was that where I live we have one of the largest med school training hospitals in the country so 9 times out of 10 you would see a junior dr with little experience especially when it comes to dealing with folk who have HA (no disrespect to jnr drs)

I am curious to hear others members experiences.

[Stormsky]

Never been in 12yrs....

[emmasaurus]

When I first began having panic attacks, I was at the hospital every day. Sometimes several times a day. I didn't understand (and couldn't accept) that panic is a very physical thing. I was a mess. Hysterical. I feared everything from clots to haemorrhages to complications with my heart. I wasn't always seen, but just sitting in the lobby felt somehow 'safe'. Like I was 'in the right place' should my fears become reality.

Like you, eventually I became 'known' to several of the triage nurses, and they were brisk with (if not all-out rude to) me. I then lost confidence in their ability to help, and gradually stopped feeling as though I had to run to them every time I felt a twinge.

I haven't been in weeks now. Maybe months. And although my immediate (internal) response to the symptoms of panic is still (very occasionally), 'how far am I from A&E?', I'm miles better than I was. Experience itself can be reassuring. Instead of crying out for comfort, I now think, 'Yes. It feels as though I'm dying. But I felt something like this before and it had burnt itself out within the hour. And I'm still here. So just be patient.'

[Carys]

Never, though I sure felt like it many years ago (when I suffered badly with GAD and HA)

[speckles69uk]

On two occasions an ambulance has been called to take me to hospital as I thought I was dying, having a heart attack / stroke. The first time, (about 10/12 years ago) that I was taken to a&e, I had been to my GP that day saying that I had trouble breathing, they gave me an inhaler! That night, when I thought I was dying and taken to a&e the doctors did some tests, ecg, bloods, x ray and then discharged me, saying nothing was wrong with me, and that I might have had a reaction to the inhaler. This wasn't exactly reassuring, but it was an explaination.

The second time was more recent, October last year when I was out shopping with a friend. I suddenly felt really ill and couldn't feel one side of my body, my heart was pounding, I was dizzy, had trouble breathing and thought I was going to die, I thought that I was havng a heart attack or stroke. My experience with the paramedics was not great. In the ambulance one of the paramedics was extremely rude, he made me feel like an absolute idiot and that I had wasted his time. He said ‘it’s only a panic attack, are you stressed about shopping?’ How rude of him! I felt like I was dying. At the hospital I checked myself in, which I found very difficult as I was still shaking and found it difficult to speak. The lady behind the counter was also quite rude and kept saying in what appeared to be a rude manner ‘speak up, I can’t hear you, I can’t understand you’, so my friend had to assist. The doctor who saw me at the hospital was ok. After she asked me a few health questions etc etc. The outcome was the doctor telling me that I had had a panic attack. I could not understand why I would have such horrible physical symptoms from what was explained to me as a psychological condition.

Now I know what they are, I haven't been to the a&e since. Years ago, I would often visit my GP for all sorts of ailments. If I was to look at my records now, I bet I could link the majority of them to my panic disorder, yet it is only recently that I have been diagnosed with it. If only they'd have investigated further, it would have saved everyone's time and money and I could have started my treatment sooner.

Take care

x

[lisad1977]

hi everyone i my self have been to a&e loads i cant count how many times i ring for ambulance or go to a&e my self and like u i am well known by staff. they can b very bloody rude. it dont make u feel beta knowing they laughing at u. i worry what ppl thnk and say. but when im having bad attack with chest pain dizzy feeling sick off balance fast/slow heart beat i dont care what they thnk i just need help and thats all there is to it. i have had loads ecgs blood tests and other test that came bk ok but i have had some come bk abnormal like my d dimer test was high and they still sent me home with doin no scan or anythng so i wasthnking i had clot some where so my symptoms became worse. i was having chest pain so phoned for ambulance they came and did ecg and found some abnormality on ecg short pr inverted t wave it very scary.

[Carys]

This is a really interesting question, and I suspect there are many people here who have been to A and E, but don't you feel guilty afterwards for having taken up such a valuable resource ? I know that HA can be very scary and debilitating (goodness knows I've been caught in the spiral of fear of it in the past), but after one visit of there being 'nothing to find physically', isn't it time to start addressing the real problem ?

[purplehippo]

im not at A&E but i constantly go to the gp,i feel so stupid as they must see my name and think "here we go again what is the fruitloop up to now lol!"
at my surgery i often see differant doctors i try to see one or 2 that are good with me,some i come away feeling like why did i waste my time, they see you have HA and then everything is blamed on it,without any explanation.
the good couple of gps i see explain things better about my symptoms ,sadly they are both men so sometimes with my billion ailments i have to go to one of the female partners who i dont rate as much.
today ive joined bupa and put all my family on the policy aswell(god knows why so many exclusions on there so likely a waste of money!) but if i sleep better at night then ill do anything.
HA is awful isnt it!!!!

[virgo199060]

I have been a ridiculous amount of times! The staff are starting to recognise me and i've become so embarrassed about it that I try not to go now!