"Not taken seriously."

I had come to A&E a few times over August. First day I was told I had costochondritis but I had had this before and I tried to say to the doctor that it don’t feel the same something else is wrong but I was sent on my way anyway so the next day feeling so bad can’t hardly breath near passing out couldn’t stand for any period vomiting stomach acid as I hadn’t been eating for over a week I went back and was told I had pneumonia and surprisingly sent on my way again with some antibiotics this time.

I over the next 2 weeks ended up back at A&E lots of times with a fast heart rate trouble breathing and terrible chest pains all around my lung and ribs that seemed to move around but for the most part in the middle at the front of my chest both sides and at times in my back too. The breathless wasn’t so bad that I was panting but I could feel myself how difficult it was to achieve which when trying to tell the doctors this they just didn’t understand. All my levels and blood results was good and I had chest X-rays nearly every time I went back but they couldn’t find anything yet they still wouldn’t send me for a CT scan.

In the end I was told I was having panic attacks which simply wasn’t true, my lungs felt like I couldn’t get enough air in them and the pain was so very bad and scary.

I left the area and went to another hospital back where Home and they did a CT scan as again all results had come back showing nothing but they did find out that I have pleurisy which Taunton had missed on a number of times andI felt like I wasn’t taken seriously at all.

They would only do a set amount of testing which is why it took so long to get my diagnosis which in turn only let my condition get worse as I had no idea what was wrong or how to start anyway of relieving my symptoms.