My poorley husband

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PhoebeC

PhoebeC

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Well its not diabetes related, but it is health related and about the NHS, that we love/hate.

My husband has had these symptoms before, sickness and stomach pains, not being able to sit or lie with the pain. He has had it twice in the past 6 months, lasts about a week. Last time he had it i told him to go to the GPs but he wouldn?t said it was just a bug.

Well it started Monday night. He was really really sick, and it was reddish, not bloody just nothing like what he had eaten all day. His belly was swollen and he was in a huge amount of pain. He got no sleep with the pain.

He managed to get to see a GP, not his own. This Gp told him to eat soft foods, take paracetimol and he could come back in a week for a blood test. That it was nothing and defiantly not his appendixes.

When i got home that night, he had eaten or drunk nothing all day not even water. He looked dreadful. I told him he needed to go to A&E, he kept saying it was nothing. But i carried on and he gave in.

We sat there for the 2 half hour wait then got seen to by a doctor, they took some bloods, and then we waited for the results the dr thought it was his appendixes and if the blood came back he would have to stay in. They sent me home ( i had no idea what was going to happen, horrid) They kept him in and gave him lots of painkillers, he saw the surgeon who said they should operate that night but he would rather wait till the morning.

It takes 15-45 mins to take appendixes out,he was down there for 2 and half hours. It was really inflamed and in a really bad way. Surgeon said it was lucky they got it out when they did.

They kept him in till Thursday night then he came home, thinking he was acting brave so they let him come home.

At the hospital they were all amazing, fast and didnt mess around. But that stupid GP could have killed my husband, he made him feel like he was wasting his time, and he really wasnt. I thought it could be that and I?m not a dr.

He is at home now, resting, lots of drugs and has 2 weeks off work but can go back and get more time off.

I am so angry at that stupid GP, and so pleased he is ok. I really dont want to think about what could have happened.

And it shows that as i thought i am always right 🙂 and he should listen to me more xxx

Look after yourselfs and each other
xxxxx
 
Oh Phoebe - poor husband - and you must have felt so scared and isolated particularly in your current condition. At least he is on the mend now - I hope you venting as helped you cope with the frustration of it all.
 
Glad to hear he's better - and I sincerely hope he only had one appendix, as more than one would be worth writing up in a medical journal. 🙂 If it had burst, then the surgeon would have had to remove as much infected matter as possible, which takes longer than removing a simple intact appendix.
 
Aww Phoebe, what a dreadful, stupid doctor. Like you say, you knew or suspected what was going on with no medical training (apart from being diabetic which trains us on all things medical of course) Really sorry that you and hubby have been through such a bad ordeal and really glad you kept on at him till he went to A&E. Will you complain about doc do you think? Hope hubby goes on ok now, hugs and love to you.xx
 
You kept strong for your man well done..........

On of my friends had his appendix removed last week too, what is the point of an appendix, absolutely nothing.............

Lessons will be learned, always listen to misses....😱
 
How awful! I think some report should be made about this doctor's lack of concern. I'm sure it must be very difficult to diagnose a lot of conditions but this is the third (non-diabetes) misdiagnosis with potentially life-threatening consequences I have heard of recently. The doctor whould at least be made to be more vigilant and err on the side of caution in future instead of being so dismissive.

So pleased you pushed him and that he is now on the mend - don't let him forget who saved his life! 😉
 
Northerner said:
So pleased you pushed him and that he is now on the mend - don't let him forget who saved his life! 😉
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Its one all now 🙂

Thanks everyone.

He is going to complain, i want to write to the local paper but he says he will deal with it. So on this occasion while he is ill he can have his own way. xxx
 
I understand that the first GP was not on the ball ( to say the least), but at least you can celebrate that the good old NHS saved your husbands life and he wouldnt be here today without that emergency operation.

Sorry if that sounds harsh - but I do get sick of people NHS bashing when if we lived in a different country things would be very different. So I say celebrate that your husband was able to recover from such a dangerous condition and praise the NHS for what they have done rather than what they nearly didnt do.🙂Bev
 
bev said:
I understand that the first GP was not on the ball ( to say the least), but at least you can celebrate that the good old NHS saved your husbands life and he wouldnt be here today without that emergency operation.

Sorry if that sounds harsh - but I do get sick of people NHS bashing when if we lived in a different country things would be very different. So I say celebrate that your husband was able to recover from such a dangerous condition and praise the NHS for what they have done rather than what they nearly didnt do.🙂Bev
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Exactly.....
 
Well done for getting hubby to A&E. You did absolutly the right thing. I Hope he is feeling better and will make a full recovery.

My doctor is an idiot too.If we are in lots of pain or can't wit to be seen we go to A&E!
 
Nice work getting him to a and e hun, takes me all my nouce to get mine to go to the chemist for cough medicine
 
Apparently it is very difficult to diagnose abdominal pain unless you know the precise site of the pain which often isn't there when you see a Dr. I had a stats lecturer who was aware of the poor diagnostic statistics and marked the source of her pain before collapsing from it. There are so many possible causes.

Did the GP actually examine your husband or just look at him?
 
To be fair to the doctor who initially examined Phoebe's husband (and "examine" can include questioning over the phone, although if the doctor and patient are in the same room, I'd expect the doctor to handle the patient; it depends on both the doctor asking the right questions and the patient giving honest answers), most problems in the abdomen start fairly generally, then symptoms get more specific depending on whether the appendix or an ectopic pregnancy is the problem, for example, although it's safe to rule out pregnancy in a male. The term "acute abdomen" is used in medical professional circles - see here for Wikipedia's explanation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_abdomen
In A&E, the diagnosis "Abdominal pain" is used until something more specific is identified.

I'd also like to second Bev's recommendation to praise the right treatment, which didn't come too late to prevent death, rather than concentrate on one doctor who delayed diagnosis when symptoms were more vague than later.
I've met people who lost siblings to appendicitis during WWII, because antibiotics were being sent to treat troops with wounds and what were then called venereal diseases. Antibiotics and the NHS are generally wonderful - and both began in UK 🙂
 
Steffie said:
Nice work getting him to a and e hun, takes me all my nouce to get mine to go to the chemist for cough medicine
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If he needs cough medicine, he'll get it a lot quicker and easier from a chemist than A&E, so you're doing the right thing, Steffie 🙂
 
Phoebe, my family and I know exactly where you are coming from.
I collapsed, vomiting blood for over 3 days and in absolute agony,but was passed from pillar to post by NHS Direct, my GP(who wouldn't see me because no appts) and A&E (who insisted I go to my GP).

I got progressively worse, until my husband took me to A&E for the third time and whilst he was yet again being told I had to go to my GP, I collapsed unconscious.

My gallbladder had completely perforated and poisoned me. The consultant who did the op told us I was lucky to have survived.

As a result of the gall bladder perforating, a cancerous lump was also found, which was immediately dealt with and I am now totally fine and kept under regular observation.

So Lucky escape times 2 for me!

I would never ever want to go through the ordeal again.

I do feel for you and your husband Phoebe.
 
I really feel for your husband - and you - as this happened to me too but the other way around, my gp kept sending me to hospital with appendicitis and they kept saying it wasn't! This went on for over a year with my appendix grumbling away until I had to be taken in, pretty ill, to have it removed and it was stuck to my bowel so was in surgery for a few hours. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't complain, really wish I had done so now.

Best wishes to your husband for a speedy recovery and well done you for forcing the issue and getting him the treatment he needed.
 
Oh Pheobe, I feel for you and your hubby (((hugs))) x
 
novorapidboi26 said:
You kept strong for your man well done..........

On of my friends had his appendix removed last week too, what is the point of an appendix, absolutely nothing.............

Lessons will be learned, always listen to misses....😱
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I wasnt strong at home without him, im blaming hormones. I kept crying, i never cry and i couldnt sleep.

Everyone but the GP was amazing, they looked after him so well, and really fast, we went in Tuesday 7.30ish and he was home by 7 on thursday, thats a fast turn around.

I have heard others having issues with the same GP, but like newbs said people are to busy at the time to complain, i think like with anything if somebody messes up it should be known about and also if somebody is amazing they and the people above them should know.

I have never had an issue with the NHS i have always had great GPs and hospital treatment xxx
 
PhoebeC said:
...i think like with anything if somebody messes up it should be known about and also if somebody is amazing they and the people above them should know.

I have never had an issue with the NHS i have always had great GPs and hospital treatment xxx
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When I left hospital after my diagnosis I wrote letters to the top people praising two nurses in particular, but all the staff as well - including the catering staff! (I thought the food was wonderful after being completely starved for a week before going in! 🙂)
 
at least he will back in shape by the time you will have your baby so good luck for a speedy recovery
 
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