Grrr

[Akasa]

So my best friend is in the hospital again. She was having such pain in her kidneys that she took a didaudid and it didn't touch the pain. So she called her doctor and he told her to go to the ER and have them admit her. She can't walk she's in so much pain she's basically in a fetal position. Her Dad had to carry her to the car. She gets to the ER and tells the nurse she has pain in her kidneys, took a dilaudid and it didn't help and the nurse immediately starts treating her as drug seeking. The DOCTOR didn't even come and examine her, instead they wrote her a script for bactrim and lortab and tried to send her on her way! Well she wasn't having it and contacted the patient advocate and her doctor. She gets given an ultrasound and she's in tears from the pain. I don't know what happened next, but they found she has a staph infection, admit her, and put her on jenamicin(sp?).

She was very upset when she called me to tell me about trying to get admitted.

[PandaHat]

That's rubbish! I hope she recovers soon.


P.s. I think its gentamicin?

[PepperElf]

can she or her advocate file complaints against the nurse & staff for that?

[Akasa]

Oh yes she is filing complaints. Once she got admitted they treated her decently, but being treated as a drug seeker right off the bat and ignoring the patient telling them that the pain is in her kidneys and it's not a bladder infection is going to be addressed.

[Sapphire Silk]

Yeah, gentamyacin. It's a pretty strong antibiotic.

There's no excuses for what happened. It is sad that we have such problems with drug seeking that nurses and doctors are so cynical about it.

[EvilEmpryss]

I've actually put off going to the ER and waited until my doctor opened in the morning because I didn't want to be treated like a drug-seeker, even when I was in Somebody-Please-Kill-Me-NOW!!! levels of pain. I have fibromyalgia, which some docs still believe either doesn't exist or is "all in my head", so between that and not having any tangible reason for the pain (like a broken bone or internal bleeding or something that will show up on tests). It doesn't help matters that most narcotics don't actually stop the pain but just dope me out so I don't care about it anymore and can sleep.

I've heard SS's ER frequent flyer horror stories enough to make me leery of going in. I shouldn't be, but I just don't need that kind of hassle when I'm hurting. Hopefully I won't have something life threatening the next time I put it off.

[Bandit]

I know I have delayed going to a doctor for pain as they will think it's all in my mind. I have dealt with chronic pain for the last 20+ years and still nobody really believes me - even with the documented Lupus diagnosis.

B

[BlaqueKatt]

It is sad that we have such problems with drug seeking that nurses and doctors are so cynical about it.

What's even worse is when you tell them you DON'T want painkillers of any kind, unless it's acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxin, and they STILL treat you like a drug seeker.

[dalesys]

... that nurses and doctors are so cynical about it.

Watch that one real close. They've been sneaking hits of oxygen dihydride every hour or so.

[Seshat]

I've actually put off going to the ER and waited until my doctor opened in the morning because I didn't want to be treated like a drug-seeker, even when I was in Somebody-Please-Kill-Me-NOW!!! levels of pain. I have fibromyalgia,

<joins EE on the fibro cart>

I actually went into the ER WITH a visible, tangible condition, and was still treated horribly by the triage nurse. Yes, we filed a complaint about her.

When the doctor saw me - and saw my swollen, hot-to-the-touch, bright-infection-red breast - he practically flew into action and I had IV antibiotics as promptly as anyone could wish.

But I'd probably have been on the antibiotics an hour sooner had the triage nurse not decided I was faking it.

(Yes, we reported her.)

[Sunshine]

My aunt...god rest her...was an advocate for chronic pain sufferers here in the states...im sorry you all have to deal with jerks on top of being in pain

[Seshat]

Thank you, and god bless to your aunt.

The relief she has brought to others, and sought to bring to others, is the work of a living angel.

[Sunshine]

Aw thank you seshat.

[Teskeria]

I go to the ER if necessary, but I expect 3-4 hr waits at minimum and I don't really expect them to do much of anything. Took my 10 year old daughter at 830 pm on a Friday night to a major hospital ER room. Xray showed broken arm. They put it in a sling and told me to see a Doctor that had Sat hours the next day to get it casted. Yeah, big help. They gave her tylenol 3 to get thru the night.

Went with such major pain in left ear this last Dec 6. My blood pressure was high. They ignored the pain, other than looking in the ear and saying 'oh my god this looks really bad' making me an appt for the 10th to see my doc and concentrated only on the bp. On the 10th, my dr. ignores the ear and the severe pain other than to say 'wow that does look terrible' and changes the bp prescription they gave me in er. After about an hour, she decided I should see ent for the ear. By that time the appt they had that day was gone, so it was the 12th before I saw ent. It was almost the end of January before the DOUBLE infections in the left ear were cleared up. Guess what ENT's 2nd questions was. yep. 'Why didn't they start you on Antibiotics on the 6th?'