Man Belmont I'm sorry you went through all that. Same reason I hate going the doctors.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man Belmont I'm sorry you went through all that. Same reason I hate going the doctors.
"An amature trains until he gets it right... A professional trains until he can't get it wrong" (Author unknown)
Not that you would need to fully disclose it here, but whatever condition took between 6.5 to 7.5 hours to diagnose and treat via an emergency room visit must have potentially been rather serious. Either that or they were overwhelmed that night...or then again you simply dealt with pure ineptitude.
I've spent some late nights getting fixed (usually stitched up) in the ER, but worse case scenario without being outright admitted was about 4 hours. But even then I clearly remember wondering where the fu*k the friggin staff was. Sometimes it seemed as though they all went into a designated nap room or to the local 7-11.
At the "cash" place I went to...a blood test was 13 and urine test was like 10 or 11. I got see seen within 10 minutes of walking in the door.
I got asked at each step what the cost would be, and had to sign for it. I have no problem with that being a cash and carry type of patient.
I also have no problem with ER's being the same way. I think the mandatory treatment is BS, and just because of your job doesn't mean you should be forced to work for free.
If last night would have turned into chaos and Id needed surgery Id have made some arrangements, and handed my debit card over for it. I don't want to given the run around handing over thousands to doctors who don't know what they are doing, do all this shit, and then tell me to go somewhere else. In the discharge paperwork it says I need followup treatment within 3 days with this doctor they referred me to. Called this doctors office this morning, and I got the soonest appointment on the 24th.
I have both sharp and dull/burning pain in my stomach, feel weak, feel like passing out when I stand up. Varies day to day, though. Yesterday was "enough", and I told my wife as soon as she got home I was going. Felt like passing out multiple times yesterday AM, was shaking and trembling. Have had back pain mid to lower back with severe weakening off and on in my left leg. 2 months ago I was in Lowes and my left foot as asleep like as if you slept on it wrong, and woke up with a numb limb. Most of the time its like dragging my leg or if you just woke up and feel weak if you try to exert yourself. Daily diahrea within 20 minutes of waking up. Black spots in stool 1-3 times a week. My ab muscles feel constantly tired and sore like if you just did 100 situps and feel that burning pain. If I stretch my abs like arching my back the muscles feel sharper pain like post work out pain.
Started about 3 months ago with a pressure sensation in lower left abdomen. Got worse from there. Started feeling hot flashes and sweating within a few weeks for 1-4 hrs a day. Sharp pain mostly in lower left abdomen but occasional all over the front abdomen. If I sit down for 20 minutes, and then raise up my back will pop like popcorn.
Also had a couple cases of numb spots on the top of my left hand, left face, and left side of tongue/mouth. I initially got the numb spots in 2006 along with headaches. While at a FOB in Baghdad in late 2006 I had to get a shot of Benadryl in my ass to put me to sleep. Headaches 4-6 times a week through mid-late 2007. Back pain lessened. Had numb spots on my hand while deployed in 2006. In 2007 at Ft Lewis I got numb spots again on left hand and also back of head near neck/head line and up to my right ear. Went to clinics both in Germany and ft Lewis around 15 times and finally saw a PT lady. She saw me once, and said it was because of bad posture. Never went back. However most of that was limited to neck upper back area. Lately Ive had lower to mid back pain mostly on the left side. Right side feels "strong" and only in the last 2 weeks has the sharper stomach pains been going on with the right. The first 2 months was limited to all of my left side. So the stomach pain burning/sharp pains have only spread to the right side recently. I have good days and bad though. 2/3rds bad where I feel like crap and hurt. 1/3rd I still feel it but can move around alright. Today I did laundry, made food, cleaned up, put the trash cans out, ect. Yesterday I was thinking about passing out and going unconscious.
If you've red this far you got further than I got with either doctor yesterday. I said maybe 1/3rd of this and they were out of the room.
Black spots in the stool sounds like a GI bleed? Do you take a lot of NSAIDs like advil? These can cause peptic ulcers and bleeding.
Maybe lanesmith will chime in.
I've been a practicing emergency physician as an attending for 6 years and I split my time between a busy community ED and a big academic center. Not trying to be nasty, but what you describe (multiple, seeming non-related complaints, lasting months, in a relatively young person who was sent to the ED by another doctor) is our nightmare situation because someone is enevitabily going home dissatisfied. This is mainly due to our poor skills at resetting a patient's expectations that are often more than what an ED can provide for most chronic problems (i.e. lasting more than 2 weeks).
That is to say, we are very good at identifying and treating acute (usually lasting less than 3 days in a young person) life threatening illness. For example, the ED is the place for you if you are shot, have sudden chest pain, a sudden severe headache, an asthma attack, abdominal pain worsening over 1-2 days, etc. Notice that these are single problems involving 1 or 2 organ systems that are worsening over a brief period.
We are not good with chronic problem not because we are stupid, inept, or don't care (OK, many times we don't if you are a frequent flyer). Instead, our tests are simply not sensitive for chronic illnesses such as migrains, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic back pain, peptic ulcer disease, irritable bowel disease, etc. that require a good family doc or appropriate specialist to make the diagnosis with tests not routinly available in an ED.
So, people who sit on problem for months who finally decide "enough" are very likely not to have their problem diagnosed in the ED despite paying a fortune. They will get a medical screening exam to rule out a life threatening cause of the symptoms and some temporizing treatment until they can see a primary doctor. Although chonic problems rarely require expensive tests in the ED such as CT scans, patients are very likely to get these tests when they describe a sudden worsening, or mix in some new symptoms that are potentially life-threatening. Basically, expect to pay out the ass if you choose to use an urgent care or ED for a problem(s) that have been brewing for months.
Finally, I will apologize on behalf of my speciality for the poor communication. There is rarely an excuse for the level of feedback that you describe. I will say that I've dropped the ball in this department when faced with multiple critical patients, but I still try to treat the decent people with dignity and respect.
OP, did they do a CBC? The current problems sound like a liver issue. What are your billirubin, ALT & AST counts?
Understandable, and I realize Im probably not a priority in an ER. I ONLY went there because another doctor told me too. This was the FIRST time Id been to a doctor in over 4 years, and first time out of the military. Ive been with wife and kids but not me personally.
I really do appreciate the work health care people do, and as I said my wife is in home health nursing and hospice work. We've spent a lot of time and money getting her into and through school. Ive put off using my GI bill since 2009 for her because I was basically starting out fresh, and she already had her CNA and other classes done.
The communication and wait time was pretty lacking IMO but Im sure they have more important cases to see, and I can tell tell you if I have something to get done I want it done ASAP. I don't like sitting around looking at walls or twiddling my thumbs.
Luckily the GI doctor Im going to see has 50% off for cash patients. I don't know why more doctors don't do "cash n carry" services. My wife had to have a cervix biopsy and that is how we did it. Same hospital as the one I was just at just a different part. Went in for it, swiped my card, and that was that. Got told up front what the charge would be. It would be great is hospitals had "menus". Cash or charge on the spot.
The liver function tests that you describe are not in a CBC (complete blood count) which only includes hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cell count, platelet count, etc. The tests that you describe are found in a comprehensive metabolic panel (some places call it a Chem12 or chem16 depending on what is included). A CMP is fairly routine for most people presenting to the ED with undifferentiated abdominal pain (medical speak for pain without identified cause).
Personally, I would not recommend any more tests until you find a primary doctor that you like, who takes the time to listen to your concerns, performs a thorough exam, and recommends tests after explaining their cost/potential risks/benefits. FYI, it is usually very hard to be this thorough in an ED when the shit is hitting the fan.
Bookmarks