I've used the online doctor once. About a month ago, I thought I might have a UTI. So, I used the online doctor that the hospital group that my doctor works for offers.

They diagnosed the UTI by symptoms. I had enough of the symptoms for the NP to Rx me some antibiotics. I liked being able to do that. I "ordered" the phone consult online. Gave them my phone number. They called me about ten minutes later. I had my diagnosis, and Rx within twenty minutes. The pharmacy is five minutes from my house, and it was early morning. So the pharmacist had it filled by the time I got there. I'd left the house at 1:10am, and was home by 1:20am. Quickest ever doctor's "visit" that I've ever had.

But, there are times that calling 911 is needed. Like this morning.

My mom has been having some issues. She had a small stroke in february. She also just got done a couple of days ago with wearing a heart monitor for 30days.

This morning she got up to go use the bathroom. We're not sure exactly what triggered it, but she fell in the bathroom, probably in the middle of getting ready to use the potty. Landed on the floor wedged next to the toilet.

My dad heard her fall. Went in there just in time to see her have a tonic clonic seizure. Good thing he's a nurse. He stabilized her airway, in the middle of trying to call me on my cellphone to wake me up, and calling 911. (he called 911 first).

My mom is in the hospital right now, being observed for the seizure. She bit her tongue pretty hard. Hope she'll be home tomorrow.

Oh gosh! I'm so very sorry for your mom and I hope everything works out for her and she's able to come home soon. Thank heavens your father is a nurse and was quick thinking as well as able to hear it happening. And if ever there was a time to consider something an emergency, a sudden onset epileptic episode is definitely the case.

But there are still the occasional emergencies that don't seem like emergencies. My mother's assistant manager had been helping to get the store ready for it's inspection. He spent a day dusting all the air vents in the ceiling, and the next day was feeling a tightness in his chest, a few minor tingles in his arm depending on how he moved it, but he knew he had over taxed his muscles. I mean of course your chest muscles, shoulder muscles and dominate arms (left in his case) are going to be kicking up a fuss if you spend a day holding them over your head, right?

He unfortunately died the next day, when my mother insisted he go to the hospital so much so that she drove him herself. It was within minutes of him going into the hospital that he died. The nurses hooked him up to an EKG and instantly went and grabbed him some pills, he didn't even have a chance to take them before he seized and passed. He was only in his 50's, was in excellent shape, and aside from losing a few finger tips in the Navy and a chronic migraine sufferer, he was pretty healthy too.

If he used the online doctor thing, they probably would have sent him to the ER because of "chest pain" being in the complaint, but there truly was a 50/50 shot as to it being a simple pulled muscle or signs of a heart attack. And he was planning on going to see his doctor later that week, he just didn't have an appt just yet.

But then again, my mom is was an EMT for 20 years and worked as a nurse's aide for another 20 (10 years before becoming an EMT, 10 years after she stopped being an EMT) She finally decided that working at a convenience store was much much less stressful. Silly her, as her customers now use her as a medical consultant. They aren't shy in the south as we've come to learn... people have no qualms at all about dropping drawers or pulling up shirts to ask about this thing or another...

And it doesn't matter that she always tell them "What you need to do is go to the doctor and....show/tell" Or even that once or twice she has called an ambulance on them when they've shown her something extremely serious. Like one customer who sadly passed from renal failure who came into her store with both her legs swollen up till they looked like elephant legs attached to her skinny little frame. She had both her young children with her at the time and my mom kept the kids at the store for their mom until their grandmother could come and pick them up on her way to the hospital. Though I might add shows the scary amount of trust her regular customer had in her, to leave your children behind like that...

To my mother that was almost worse than her worst call as an EMT, as she had two scared children on her hands and no way of knowing what was going on in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital... were they calling it in correctly? Did they know not to give her fluids? Would they stick around the hospital (Camden Malpractice) long enough to make sure the ER doctors weren't going to kill with their typical stupidity? She knew just how serious the symptoms were, knew barely beyond a shadow of a doubt as to what was wrong with her, but couldn't do anything but keep her kids entertained for a half hour and had no way of finding out what was going on with their mother and if help had come too late or not.

My mom is quite happy to be mostly retired now, no longer working as a manager at her store and therefore harder for the customers to catch her for their consult about this that or other. And sometimes even worse still are the stories of Camden Malpractice that make her want to go and strangle some supposed doctors. Like the doctor who told the mother of an infant that spinal menegitis wasn't contagious (her husband had been admitted to the hospital with it the day before and her infant had started running a high fever.) Along with the number of people showing all the signs, symptoms ad risk factors of a stroke/blood clots that CMC turned back out the door only for them to die either within hours or the next day. And we're not talking just the young kids, though those are sad enough, but even the elderly patients. CMC couldn't diagnose a stroke in their ER if you walked in with a CT scan showing the clot.

And yes the hospital has been reported every which way including Sunday. But doctors work their because the hospital completely covers their malpractice insurance no matter how many claims against them, and can afford to do so because of the Navy base in town basically footing the bill. Our service members get sent there since it's a small base that without it's own hospital or medical offices. Which means really our federal taxes are going to keeping open probably the most deadly hospital on the eastern seaboard, if not in the country. And because it's now the only hospital in the county all emergency services are directed there. So if an ambulance is called... that's where you're going, end of story. I say I'll save myself the few bucks and just die at home thank you very much. If I can't get to a hospital "a real hospital" in the back of a car... just let me die, forget the medical fees and ambulance charge because CMC will probably kill me anyways. I also probably stand a better chance of recovering enough to go to a real hospital, waiting to die at home rather than taking my chance on CMC.

Though I have been stupid enough to go there in the past to know just how messed up the hospital is. They even let me drag/carry myself out of their ER with two crutches when I broke my back and told me I had shingles and there was nothing they could do for me. It didn't matter that my reflexes were non-existent, that I couldn't so much as wiggle my toes, or that the only way I was "walking" was by using my crutches as a sort of unstable mobile pararelle bars, which thanks to a strong upper body and a great sense of balance I was able to drag my lower body along with.

In retrospect.... it's a good thing they didn't treat me as it would have meant emergency surgery on my back and do you think I would trust those fools to do it But still kind of stands... who in their right mind sends a patient home with a paralyzed lower body and tells them it's shingles? When the only symptom of shingles is they had chicken pox as a kid once. Especially without at least taking an X-ray. I mean come on... an X-ray is like $80, and 10 minutes. Paralyzed doc! (Ready for the real kicker! The doctor who insisted that it was just shingles works as a SPORTS MEDICINE DOCTOR when he's not a the ER.) And he's not too bright of one of those either since he can't tell the difference between tendonosis and tendonitis.

But hey this was supposed to be about finding another doctor LOL. Well at least you have a preview of some of the stupidity I need to shift through out in town here. We have a ton of scary bad doctors in the area and all the ER doctors from Camden Malpractice Center work out in town as well. It's a horrifying time when I lose a doctor whatever the reason.

Dear Erin,

Wishing your Mom a speedy recovery and that she will soon be back home and in better health. I am very distressed to hear this news. Your Mom and entire family are in my thoughts.

Hi Starznight,

Your post was excellent. Yes, there are times when we don't know if something is an emergency or not, which is what I was trying to convey in my response to Kitty's post.

It is not always clear cut. Patients do not always know if their symptoms are life-threatening or not.

My thoughts are "When it doubt, check it out."

There are so many stories of people ignoring symptoms with dire consequences.

But you also have the flip side where ER's are inundated with non-emergencies, anything from a hangnail to a foot blister.

The only thing I was trying to say is we now have various resources available and there is a time and place for each to be of benefit. The TRICK is knowing when to use which type of service.

You are so correct that there are times when something seems very minor but is actually something very serious. Even a simple foot blister CAN become something serious, especially for a diabetic. And as you posted, arm pain may not be a simple pulled or sore muscle, but instead be a fatal heart attack.

What appears to be a simple cold could be pneumonia and become fatal.

I worked with a young woman that died at home while on the telephone with her mother. She told her mother she had a bad headache. What she had was an aneurysm that was rupturing in her brain and she died while on the phone with her mother.

So, yes, very simple everyday symptoms, can be VERY serious. It is very difficult to know when to seek medical care and from what sources. It is not always a simple decision. But, again, the flipside is we can't run to the ER every time we sneeze.

If I went running to an ER every time I have "chest pain" (angina), I would be making the trip constantly. I DO fear that one day, it won't just be angina, but actually may be a full blown heart attack and fatal. I hope I make the decision to call 911 if that day comes, but, if I don't and I die at home, maybe I wouldn't have been saved in time anyway.

I hope I will make the right decision and seek treatment when necessary as I am the one that will have to live (or die) with my decision. Knowing WHEN it is more than angina may be difficult but I hope to realize at that time, I DO need to call 911.