Quote:
Originally Posted by Aarcyn
I am sorry the visit to the ER went so poorly.
When you decided to go, what did you expect for the staff to do? How could they have helped you with your scary and real symptoms? Maybe the doctor needed to rule out something other than mega MS.
In terms of needing food to take with a certain drug, why didn't your mother or husband go to a vending machine and buy something to keep you from getting nauseous?
Also, why were you not seen by the neurologist? Did you know a neurologist is required to be on staff at the hospital?
My large spasms go into overdrive when I fall and hurt myself or when trigeminal neurolgia rears its ugly head. ERs can be crazy places on the weekends and it sounds like your hospital was insane. I remember the helpless feeling of the staff nurse as every twenty seconds I had to stop talking, wait out the pain and then begin to converse. Even though everyone knew Demerol would be the solution, it took hours to finally be prescribed.
I needed assistance to use the bathroom and could not have DH help since I was in one of the bed bays. We asked a few times but no one helped. My nurse was so upset to come in and find I had wet the bed. Not at me, at the attendant who never helped.
Again, what were your expectations going in to the ER? What did you specifically want them to do?
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Dear Aarcyn,
I know your post was directed to Starznight, but I would like to respond.
MY expectations upon going to a hospital emergency room is to be treated with RESPECT. Thankfully, the few times I have ever needed the use of an emergency room was for an acute incident that required immediate care, not for any "episodes" related to chronic issues.
When I fell and broke 5 ribs, knowing that there is not much anyone can do for that, I initially declined to go to the hospital. After a few hours of very painful breathing, and fear that I may have injured some other internal organs, I did go to the emergency room. NO, I did not expect them to "fix" me or make me better. I knew that only time would heal my broken ribs. What I needed was to be sure that no "other" damaged had been done, AND they did give me a prescription for the pain to get me through the night and the next few days.
They x-rayed my ribs, informed me that 5 were broken, and handed me a prescription for pain meds. I handed the prescription back to the physician and told him that pain meds made me much too sick and I did not need nor want to be throwing up with 5 broken ribs. Unless he gave me something to prevent the nausea that the pain meds would cause, I did not want the prescription. He then gave me TWO prescriptions, one for nausea and the other for pain.
At least I was not treated in the same manner as Starznight. I was treated with respect and was definitely NOT treated like a drug seeker.
Without realizing it at the time, I guess you might say that I actually DID go to the ER "seeking" drugs. I really had not thought about that until they were offered. My primary reason was to be sure I was not injured further than what I knew. Having broken many bones in my life, I KNEW before having x-rays that I had broken some ribs. I just did not know it was FIVE of them.
My point is, no matter WHAT expectations Starznight may have had, she should have been treated with respect.