Healthcare Woes - Spontaneous Pneumothorax/Potential Detached Retina

antonymous

Hi all, this will take a while.

I've been suffering immensely with a few conditions and I would like to share my experiences, and see if anyone has experienced similar.

I'm 30, Male, and have been relatively healthy for the best part of my years. I'm nearsighted (currently -4.5) and had mild asthma as a young lad, but apart from that nothing major.

I'm originally from Ireland, but lived in the US for a number of years. In November 2013, while on a business trip in Washington state I was up one morning about 6 ironing a shirt (nothing too dramatic) when I got an incredibly sharp stabbing pain on the left side of my chest. After about 5 mins it was excruciating.

I called an ambulance, and they arrive within 5 mins (impressive). Once they got me in to the nearest hospital I was immediately x-rayed, and they determined I suffered from a Spontaneous Pneumothorax (random collapsed lung basically) within an hour I had a pipe in my chest while they sucked the lung back into place over the next 5 days. There was no trauma or other underlying health conditions which could be deemed the cause.

After 5 days, I was healthy enough to be discharged, although I couldn't fly. So I ended up driving from Washington state back to Florida (where I resided), essentially from the far northwestern US to the far southeastern US. I was told it will most likely happen again, and it will require surgery.

The following years 2014, 2015 my chest and breathing was never better, and my overall health was in great shape. I used to be a moderate smoker, and occasional drinker. But as of 2013 no smokes, and as of 2014 I haven't touched alcohol. I also dont use drugs.

In August 2015 my marriage ended, badly, and due to a number of factors I decided to move back from the US to Ireland.

Two days after arriving home, I was walking down the stairs and.. bang.. same pain, same location. I called my father and got a lift right into Beaumont (remember, I was told it will most likely happen again and require surgery). Well, as you may guess, this is where the fun and games begin.

I got into Beaumont, and was seen relatively quickly, I was xrayed. I was called in by the Doctor who advised me there had been a collapse. The prescribed treatment? Sent home with 24 solpadeine, come back if it gets worse....

I waited for 5 days at home in excruciating pain, barely able to move or breath. I went back to Beaumont one afternoon because the pain was too much. After a long wait (arrived at 1pm, x-rayed at 6pm and seen at 4:15am) the Doctor, who was incredibly unhelpful said "there is no collapse, I don't know why they told you that" and the pain was caused by, and I quote, "a muscular deficiency which usually affects women lifting heavy boxes". You read that correctly. I was prescribed nothing, and sent home.

After another 2 weeks of the same pain and inability to breath, I went to Lourdes in desperation for a third opinion. They initially treated it very seriously, as it was apparent I was in a massive amount of pain. They x-rayed me, and got me on a trolley and left me in a ward. They stated they wanted to keep me in overnight so the consultant can see me in the morning.
For anyone whose spent a night (or nights) on a trolley in a noisy ward in Ireland, you know how rough it is. By the next morning I was flat out sick with a chest infection, on top of my existing chest issue. Throughout the night I wasn't given any pain relief despite requesting it on a number of occasions.

In the morning, the consultant arrived, and without so much as a hello, said one word. Pleurisy. He prescribed Difene, and discharged me.

At this point we are now into late September 2015, I am still in the same amount of pain as before, I have finished all my pain medication and at my wits end with this condition. I went to Beaumont, yet again. was x-rayed, MRI etc. still no sign of collapse and no medication given. After a night on the trolley, I was discharged after receiving the wonderful news that although they didn't see a lung collapse they did identify a potential heart condition where some heart muscles didn't seem to be moving as smoothly as they expected. I asked was this related to my chest pain and breathing issues and they said no.

I haven't been back to hospital though A&E since that fourth and final time in late September. I have been seen by a professor at Beaumont (fortunately my GP pulled strings after they put me on an 18month waiting list, deeming my issue non crtical). The professor, literally poked me in the side and said its a muscular skeletal issue, because I felt pain when he poked me (quite hard) in the side. Yep...

So, in terms of day to day, right now I'm still in massive amounts of pain. I struggle to breath most days and cant lie on my left side. When I go into a low oxygen environment (such as a packed train or crowded cinema for example) I am literally gasping for air, I passed out on the train about a month ago due to not being able to get any air, and if I do get the train I either have to stand by the door and get what air I can, or get off a stop early and get the next train. I want to point out that I used to commute daily on crowded trains here in Ireland back in the early 2000's for college and work, and never experienced these issues.

I have tried exercise and breathing techniques, and after a short while I am in a lot of pain, and the feeling of breathlessness. It also feels like there's a steel pole stuck right through my upper part of my left lung (where it previously collapsed).

Needless to say, this has impacted me on many, many levels. As a result of this illness I have been unable to secure employment, and I would be lying if I said my mental health hasn't drastically suffered. I am currently not on any medication to treat this and it seems no treatment plans or options are available for me at this point. So basically, I just have to continue to suffer.

Well, that was my main woe, up until recently that is.

On the 19th of Dec I woke up and my vision was extremely blurred for about an hour. Afterwards, I noticed a massive increase in the number of floaters in my vision (mostly the right eye), accompanied by some flashes. I gave it a few days until it got to the point where I started losing about 20% of my peripheral vision in my right eye. I went to my GP who did an impromptu field of view test. She determined I did has some peripheral vision loss and marked it as a potential retina detachment and critical. She referred me to the Mater Eye emergency dept. and off I went immediately.

Once I got to the Mater, it being New Years eve, they were on somewhat of a Skeleton staff. I gave them the GP letter and after about 3 hours I was seen by a junior Doctor. She did some investigation of my eye, and stated she didnt see any signs of detachment. She sent me home and said come back if it gets worse. Ok I thought, lets see if I go more blind???

The next morning (New Years day) I awoke to even more vision loss, now in addition to a crescent of my peripheral vision I have a band of black going across my right eye. I called the Mater and eventually got through to the (junior) Doctor on call. I rushed in to find a completely empty floor in the Mater (which was quite odd) and eventually the Doctor showed up. She again did some tests and found no sign of detachment or tear, I asked what could be causing the dramatic vision loss/flashes/increase in floaters and she didn't give an answer. She told me to come back Tuesday for a field of view test, although she couldn't make me an appointment and couldn't guarantee I'll be seen. She said there may be a cancellation and I'll get seen.

So that was yesterday and today I awoke to even more vision loss. The Mater Eye emergency dept. is closed on weekends and honestly I'm not sure what my options are. I am planning on seeing my GP Monday morning to get referred to the Eye and Ear for a third opinion. All the symptoms seem to indicate retina detachment or tear, and at -4.5 vision, I really cant afford to lose any more.

Needless to say, this, on top of the chest situation have really stretched me to my limit and I'm beyond depressed at this point. I am seriously struggling to get decent treatment in Ireland (and I know I'm not the only one). At this point, I'm just waiting to see if I lose more vision and if my chest will ever stop hurting or my breathing goes back to normal. The fact I've been to hospital 6 times since August and told a multitude of different things has worn me down, and I'm really not sure what my next steps will be at this point....

I don't plan on this to be a post about how inadequate the public health system is in Ireland, because its already been brought up a number of times, we all know its pretty bad out there. I just wanted to share my experiences so others who are going through similar know they're not alone (lets bask in the misery together people..). If anyone has encountered similar conditions to mine, please share your experience.