Copd - care after hospitalisation

Hi sheep_ali adjusting into a new world can be rough it normally changes slowly with gradual decline, only when a sharp drop is felt are we able to observe the that which is now out of reach.

A referral from anyone involved in caring for you too Social Services should have an improved quality of life brought back

chin up no sense in moping

Hi sheep-alis, make a telephone appointment with your GP and ask to access the Occupational Health Team and the Community Matron ask if they can call on you soonest. Explain what you have said here, tell your doctor sa,e. I hope things improve for you soon and you will find yourself managing better.

Take good care. Vee

Thank you, huffbluff & Vee. I have just been feeling so isolated & it is good to know that there is someone out there in the world.

I do not know what a Community Matron is so I am assuming that we do not have such a thing but I will try to get access to Occupational Health.

Thanks again

Alison

Hi Alison, your GP should be able to put into action the community matron for you, usually she will be looking after respiratory and cardiac patients in their own home. If you GP looks blank or doesn't come up with the goods, contact the respiratory team at the hospital that recently discharged you. It may already be in the works but worth you checking or following this up.

Wishing you lots of good care and all the support you need at this time.

Vee

Hi, just an update to say that I have been invited on to a tele-health scheme for copd sufferers. Does anyone have any experience of this? It sounds good to me & hopefully will make me feel less isolated & also pick on any potential problems earlier. Had this been in place earlier I do not believe that my problems would have been allowed to go so far as at one point I was running a temperature of 102F & this would have been picked up on the monitoring a week before I was admitted to hospital. At least I assume that that is how it works.

That is great news Alison, I don't have personal experience of it but have read up on it and it also sounded like a good scheme to me. Here's to your better care - all good wishes.

I will not assume that we are talking about the same tele health or tele medicine as the contracts are with a lot of companies in each area they will have their own system. It would only cause confusion if trying to relate with the system that is delivered.

keep updating

Hi Sheep-Ali,

Maybe you could share your experience of Tele-Health with us, please, if you are comfortable doing that?

Regards,

Robert.

Hi Vee,

If you would, could you PM me with some of your findings re subject. Had sent you a short message on 25/1/13 dont know if you got it?

Regards,

Robert.

Hi, i am very sorry for this bad situation but i couldn't able to understand in which state you are? like GOLD-I/GOLD-II/GOLD-III/GOLD-IV. Don't give up but fight until you win.

Hi jjeremy, Sorry I do not know what GOLD-1, etc mean as I have never had any of these mentioned to me. This is not really surprising as when I was first diagnosed over 3 years ago I was told that I had COPD & given a couple of inhalers & that was it for information. No one does any checks of any sort. The only time that I see a doctor is when I get an excacerbation. This is one of the reasons why I am so interested in this tele-health programme. At least then, hopefully, someone will be monitoring my condition.

Thanks for your support.

Hi Robert,

I will post updates on my tele-health experiences once the thing is up & running ( hopefully next week ).

Apparently it is lead by the district nurses so we shall see how it goes.

Thanks Sheep-Ali,

It will be good to hear more about how you get on. I have been greatly blessed with the backup of a great team of Respiratory Nurses, Chest Consultant, GP and Pulmonary Maintenance team here in Northern Ireland, with the Respiratory Nurses always easy to contact by telephone if I have any concerns. Hope that Tele-Health will help and reassure you re your condition, a condition that I know myself can be scary, frustrating and, at times, depressing.

Regards,

Robert.

It’s ok sheep_Ali. Those are the different stages of this CopD disease. Nevertheless keep updating us so that will be awareness for us to prevent this kind of disease.

Jeremy

Hi,

Just to give you an update- basically there is no sign of the telehealth monitor despite being told that it would be with me in early February.

I have now bought a stick so that I have something to lean on when I get breathless when I am out. I had to get one of the lightweight foldable ones as I have arthritis in my hands & cannot hold one for any length of time without my hands seizing up - it never rains but it pours

Have had telehealth monitor for a week now & it measures my blood pressure & oxygen levels. It also asks some general questions like how I am & how breathless I am. These results are sent 5 days a week to the local district nurses & if there are any obvious problems, they contact my GP.

The practice nurse visited me the other day with a whole load of questions which she had to record. These included my religion, next of kin, how many pets, etc. I asked what this was for & she said it was to get me into the system. What is that about?