too many antibiotics.....

hello Jayne,I'm a relative newcomer to this myself so my advice is non existent unfortunately, to be honest I'm not coping very well either, scares me to death the shallow shortness of breath, hopefully once you've seen the chest specialist you will get the help needed, part of which involves self help with breathing techniques, loosening any mucus in the lungs etc, I have'nt yet been shown this but I understand it to be very beneficial. There are many lovely folks on here some who have had Bronchiectsis many many years who will offer sound advice and encouragement, best wishes to you.

Hello David thank you for your reply , I wish I could wave a magic wand and it would be gone I'm so tearful😂 I just hope everything goes well for you bless .

Hi Jayne  how are you, I'm sure it was you that said you had a doctors appointment yesterday.  How did you get on,  I trust it was beneficial

so very true Mo, I am getting frustrated with the lack of help here that's a fact, week after week and no resolution, HELP! I am almost making a nuisance of myself (or so I feel) by my constant gp visits, phone calls etc.

hi Lesley, changing my gp is'nt really an option available to me due to the isolated location of my cave in the hills there are two gps in my surgery so I will have to hope the other one has different thoughts on my treatment plan, otherwise I may as well go up to the local vets and try my luck. och aye the noo

"Hoots mon" Now there is a problem...do you see the specialist? Mine sorted it out for me, but then discharged me (or have I been written off) so I am at the mercy of my GP now, but they are a cheerful surgery, (so no problems...famous last words?). ...

therein lies part of the problem, I saw a specialist for all of 10 minutes, very distant attitude, and when his ramble was over he said I am happy for your doctor to treat you, and showed me the door! (although I already knew what a door looked like) makes me wonder if the right hand knows what the left hand is doing, so to speak. I'm in the beautiful far north highlands of Scotland, 3rd cave on the left after Inverness

...yes 10 minutes sounds about right! the nurse at my doctor's surgery...after having a spirometer test and telling me I was breathing normally...recommended ringing up the specialist for an appointment as I was coughing badly, an obvious infection. I waited for the result of the sputum test, and was given Tetracycline for Strep' A, so I then rang the specialist, booked an appointment and was in there for...you guessed it all of 10 minutes...but when you get to the specialist, you can explain that the doctor needs to understand that you need some tablets 'in stock' for times when you can't get to the surgery, holidays etc. and for him to explain to the doctor that you must have tablets immediately as the normal rules do not apply for people with bronchiectasis...you could end up with a lung bleed etc.

I find i have to manage this myself and be in charge of my own treatment ...well in theory...it doesn't always work out

Have fun, I hope your cave is well insulated, it is going to be cold tonight.

Blessings, Lesley

 

I asked my doctor for a couple of years to please give me antibiotics to keep in the house as it was always a weekend when the infections seemed to start. But they said no they couldn't do that. After 5 individual prescriptions one a double dose of antibiotics and no improvement I just went in and told her I wanted to be referred. The first thing the specialist said was you need to keep a rescue pack in the house. and they also told me 7 days is not enough you need 11 or 14 days supply to get to the bottom of the infection and the tablets you take will be changed if the sputum sample has a different bug in. The doctor gets letters from the hospital the same as me to inform them what I need and everytime I get a prescription I have to go bak to get it altered for a larger quantity as they still put 7 days on one occasion they gave me 7 days one to be taken twice a day don't even know where they got this from it is really unsettling. I worry as I think if this had been my mother or mother in law at my age they would have just done as the doctor said as the doctor knows best!! Wonder if people are living longer because they are managing their own problems!!

hey hello Maid Marion, pleased to "meet" you! yes Scottish born n bred although I spent a few misspent years in Englandshire for my troubles. Yes eventually I say the therapist but I could'nt help her got some breathing and huffing techniques shown, tried making me do various exercises but after the third one I was peching and panting, my bp had risen a fair bit so that was stopped, still feel I'm being left in limbo by the medical profession, as in I was refused antibiotics for my last infection, although it was'nt severe, and how do I distinguish between asthma and hayfever symtoms plaguing me? just a gurny owld git in my owld age haha