I just want to clarify that the EMTALA law covers life threatening emergencies and labor only. An ED is obligated to screen you for anything that is immediately life threatening (ie. symptoms of a heart attack). Once you are deemed "medically stable" they just have to refer you back to your PCP for treatment of a chronic problem. An ED is not meant to treat chronic conditions, and with the change in health care laws we are seeing a swing back to treatment of emergent issues only.

I know that it really sucks when you're in severe pain, but it's just how things are now.

As a healthcare provider, we are monitored now for the amount of opiods we write. It's a difficult place to be in for both patient and provider.

One piece of advice I can give is, when seeing a provider for the first time do not overwhelm them with every healthcare problem you have. Give a short, concise health history and then pick one problem you want to focus on for that visit (ie, CRPS or your bladder issue but not both). Be polite, clean (at least have taken a shower that week, and concise. Don't say negative things about other healthcare providers.

I wish you the best of luck in finding help.