Well, I think you know my answer about going in. You are having persistent pain and a high BP.

The thing with the ankle brachial index is that it has to be done with an arm cuff, not a wrist, and it has to be done by a cardio tech. There's a certain way they do it. I tried to repeat it at home and couldn't. It's a concern when the arm is higher than the leg.

The upper left side of your body is where the spleen is. The stomach is about mid-upper to right. The aorta travels down on the middle left side. They divide the "trunk" into quadrants: i.e., upper left, lower left, upper right, lower right. It's hard for anyone to say what is going on without testing and a doctor! Or a testy doctor.

Do you have any bruising anywhere? Stomach or abdomen? Not that you should press but if you very gently press, does the pain increase. Oh, heck, you have to have a doctor do all this and ask you all this!!!!

I simply don't want anything happening to you, Tyson. The body gives us clues, some small and some huge. It seems to me that you are getting really LOUD clues that something is wrong. I wish you didn't have doctors who were deaf.

Go take care of yourself.


Annie

Annie. I've tried for the past 1 1/2 hours to convince my aunt and uncle that I need to go. It's going away. Yet when I breathe in my heart hurts. I wanted to go in when it was happening so I could figure it out. Now it's gone again. They said they didn't want to go to the er at 1 in the morning. I can't sleep, the pain comes back and travels from my hip and goes to my heart.

I wish I could just have them realize this is an emergancy.

I wish I could go alone.

I'm sorry.

Tyson:

Call an ambulance to come get you.

Elanor

I agree. Maybe if you threaten to call 911, they will take you seriously and take you to the ER. Since you are still a minor, do you need a guardian to accompany you to the ER? Not to get too personal, but are you on their health care plan or one of your own?

Hope you find out what's going on with your pain. I'm sure it is very frustrating for you to have to deal with all of this at your age. I'm 57 and know I would have a hard time dealing with all you have been through.

Sending good vibes your way.

How many news stories have there been about six year olds (for example) calling 911 to get their parents medical help? It really doesn't matter what age a person is, like these guys have said, call 911 if you feel you need to. The police show up first and who is going to argue with them, eh? The ambulance follows.

If your insurance pays for it, it's a smart thing to do if you feel your life is being threatened. You sometimes do have a say in where you go (UNC vs DUKE).

In your state, if I'm reading the statute correctly, it's only reckless endangerment to ignore the medical needs of someone if you are under age 16. So why your state thinks that 16 and 17 year olds aren't going to be recklessly endangered, I don't know. You can dial 911 anyway because there are still laws that protect someone in your situation.

I just hope someone in your state will help you.

Kathy, thanks for your input. I didnt go. Yet i did go to the doctor today....she perscribed me depression medication. Im not depressed. Im 17, and have a disease w.out a cure. I dont need that. I need something to help with the pain, but she wouldnt give it to me.

I do not have the same insurance as them. Im on my dads plan, who lives in maine, its a great plan.

Annie- I hope someone soon helps me aswell...

Because of all the abuse of pain meds in the news, doctors are shy about prescribing any pain meds. They could also put on lots of fluid, which would not be good for you right now. But then so could the antidepressant!!! When in doubt, throw an antidepressant at a patient. The important thing is to figure out WHY this is all going on.

If you are needing some mental lift, you can drink some coffee. It increases dopamine. If you are depressed, you obviously would need help. I'm not minimizing depression, guys!!! But sometimes doctors act silly. And sometimes they do it to "shut up" patients. Like how they give older people or disabled people Ativan to "calm them down" so they don't have to deal with them anymore.

The percentage of people abusing pain meds is low. I'm not sure what the percentage is of doctors abusing the prescribing of drugs is. It's just that there are very high profile cases of celebs in the news who have abused them.

I think a lot of us forget what it's like to be your age. To have to deal with all you are going through and to be CALM is really commendable. I know you will get help. There are really good doctors out there who will listen to their patients.

Annie