I gained access to my medical notes

[mrsflibble]

As many of you know i suffered a very traumatic time when i gave birth to sophie. I have gained access to my medical notes and have found ou WHY it all hapened, and for the ;last two days I have been researching stuff using the library, internet at my mum's and my mate who has done a year and a half of nursing training.

ok, the short story is I was in labour a long time, given many drugs, began to go into respiratory arrest, had a general anaesthetic and emercgency c section, went into full resp arrest followed by cardiac arrest requiring adrenaline and a defibrilator to get me going again, after which i was kept in drug induced coma for 12 hours, then when they removed the sedation i lapsed again into another coma; this one natural, this one also lasting about 12 hours. i have been left with almost no memory or the first two weeks of sophs life and a very crappy short term memory.

turns out, according to my consultant I had either an amniotic fluid embolism, or a pulmonary embolism. "in my opinion the arrests were caused by either an amniotic fluid embolism or a PE, Ialthough I am inclined to believe it is the former. I have discussed the findings with my colleague mr E**** and he concurs.". The quick thinking of my husband and the first consultant were, i think, all that saved me. one consultant (mr somethig or other) assessed me and said i wasnt going to be able to have aninstrumental delivery because my pelvis just isnt wide enough for a baby, let alone forceps too. the other, Mr E**** basically said he was going to try anyway. if the first consultant and james hadn't shouted at mr E i would have died.

doing come research, i am incredibly lucky to be alive and sophie is even more lucky to have a normal brain.

[JulieSherris]

Hi MrsF,

Some things turn out for the best - and in your case, it has..... you have beautiful Sophie, which you'll always be grateful for.

It can be scary looking over your medical records - I got all of ours copied when we moved out here last year - our doctor was really good about it & let me have the whole lot! (a THICK THICK wad for me.... 3 A4 sheets for hubby! )

I actually found out that up to the age of 8, I had many hospital visits - some I can remember, most I can't - and I had 'unexplained' bruising, a broken arm, a fractured skull... the list goes on.
I grew up in London with a single mum & we moved around a lot - the medical notes state reports by social services that mum was moving us to avoid the authorities.... she's passed away now, so I couldn't confront her about it - but in retrospect, I thank my step-dad, who picked us up when I was 9. I am thinking now that he was probably my/our salvation.
Scary.

Digest what's in your notes, MrsF - then move on & count your blessings - it's a learning curve, huh?

Julie.

[mrsflibble]

thanks for that julie, good luck putting yours behind you.

i am trying to digest it all and trying to feel lucky to be alive. i keep hoping for some kind of epiphany to happen like a lightbulb going on which will give me peace but i think i am kidding myself lol!

[Rosendula]

I haven't seen my medical records, but keep considering it. Do you just ask at the doctor's surgery?

I think you're right to be trying to view it in such a positive manner, scary though it was. Remember too, that even before you read your notes you were already skeptical of opinions that didn't feel right to you (I remember reading a previous thread by you). This skepticism was probably brought on through bad and scary experiences. OK, it was the quick thinking of other people that saved you on that occasion, but it's been your own clear thinking that got you through more recent troubles and will help you with any future difficulties (I don't mean to be negative, but we all expect to have medical help for something at some point in the future, even if we are a picture of health now). Everyone makes mistakes, and that includes people with qualifications.

Please remember to keep the past in the past. Reading through your notes may bring back some very real memories and emotions, and although you may need to examine these in order to put them behind you, that doesn't mean you have to re-live them. (Something I learned very recently and has helped me enormously).

[Graye]

Mrs F, that sounds like a scary find!

I imagine you would normally be a little like me. I usually spend ages researching any health concerns I have before deciding to consult a doctor so that I have a fair idea of what I'm looking at, although I don't pretend to have much medical knowledge, just common sense. I also think I'm a pretty balanced individual so I don't normally go of into flights of fancy thinking I have some really obscure tropical illness which has some similar symptoms. I also try to bear in mind that a GP would normally have a reasonably small amount of knowledge about an awfully large amount of illnesses but he has the information at his fingertips to be able to double-check etc. He knows all about the things he encounters on a daily basis but I could believe it might be easy for him to fall into the trap of not really listening once he has made his quick diagnosis. Unfortunately I think this is why people have to be slightly less trusting and ask their own questions, do their own research etc. As an instance, look at the prescription you were given for diet pills which were contra-indicated with your other health problems - just a lack of thought on the doctor's part but so easy when he has 10 minutes to deal with you.

The problem with being taken suddenly seriously ill is that you have firstly had no time to do your research and secondly might not be in a fit state to object to what is happening around you. So all you can do is rely on your relatives to be aware, remember what has been said and be prepared to question things. This happened in your case and your OH was quick-witted enough, along with the first consultant, to intervene. It sounds as if you were very lucky!

All I can suggest is that you don't dwell on it now - not for a minute. It's something in the past which turned out to have a very happy ending. Seeing your medical notes won't help in any way and will just make you angry. Keep yourself well-informed about any medical conditions you now have and what the usually prescribed drugs are - also what to look for if those drugs are wrong for you. Unfortunately medicine will never be an exact science because it involves people making decisions on symptoms which may not be well-described or conditions which present themselves in strange ways. Doctors and consultants should (and I'm sure do) always do their best but I always like to think "this is ME we are taking about" and that I have a fair idea about what is happening; and should I not be in a fit state to do this that my OH would be thinking on the same lines. Think positive and be self-aware, it will make your life less stressful!

I could write reams on the day I discovered my father was being seriously over-medicated for Parkinson's Disease. The huge improvement in his quality of life and small pay out he received in damages was always offset by the thought that his overall condition might have been better if he had always received the correct dose all along - but who can say? And we couldn't put the clock back then either.

Personally I don't see why we shouldn't be able to see our medical notes whenever we have a need. I've never even thought about this - is this something usually denied us?

By the way, for him in reference to the doctor you could read him/her - I was just being lazy!

[JulieSherris]

I haven't seen my medical records, but keep considering it. Do you just ask at the doctor's surgery?
.......................

Because of the data laws, you're actually entitled to have open access to your medical records at any time. I think you just ask the receptionist, that's what we did.

Because we were moving 'abroad', our medical records would have been formally closed at our surgery & then sent to the central holding office at Preston - once we registered at a doctor here, they would have sent to the UK for the data, & waited for our records to be sent. We felt that should our records be needed immediately, it would be best to bring them over ourselves - & our doc agreed, so they copied our records before sending the originals to Preston.

Julie.

[Rosendula]

That sounds easy in theory, but I bet our GP's receptionists will put up a fight about it.
Thanks, Julie. I'm interested in what went on when I was little - how they found out I'm deaf in one ear, what they think caused it, etc. Just curiosity, though. I don't think they can do anything about it, even now, and even if they could I don't think I'd want to hear in both ears - what an awful thought, not being able to lay on my 'good' ear on a night and cut out the noise of traffic outside *shudders*

[mrsflibble]

in england any notes pertaining to hospital treatment are held by the hospital. contact the patient liason service and they really really help. it costs money, a tenner for admin and up to £50 for photocopies but mine cost £21 for the copies and i had over 100 pages.

it IS scary, and i'm not dwelling on it except that had we known it was just a fluke james probably wouldnt have had a vasectomy. it is such a rare condition, and so often fatal because doctors don't recognise the symptoms that it's normally diagnosed post mortem so i'm incredibly lucky not only to be here but also to finally have a proper diagnosis.

[snapdragon]

well it fills in some of your spaces MrsF - even more reason to be thankfull for the beautiful Soph and your wonderful hubby (as if you didn't have sufficient lol)

A few years of my records were lost on moving to mainland Europe and back, but this was before you were allowed to even look at your own records. One day I might try to trace them.

[StripyPixieSocks]

Lordy thank heavens everything turned out OK!

To be honest I'd be too scared to read my medical notes...