After my major live aboard accident two weeks ago, my leg is still very swollen but the pain is better. The bruising is MUCH better! That large 8″ x 5″ black bruise I had is already gone!
Can you see why they called me E.T. Toes in high school? 😉
I bet you all never imagined I’d be postings pics of my thigh online…and my boat bathroom floor! 😉
This week, I’m sharing my emergency room experience because it was not at all pleasant.
First, as I have shared before, I have severe health anxiety, which is also known as white coat syndrome, or the more degrading label (in my opinion), hypochondria. I wasn’t always this way. The events that led to my diagnosis of PTSD and health anxiety, followed by two years of therapy for this condition, are described RIGHT HERE. I have a deep distrust of medical personnel because of misdiagnoses of myself and my loved ones (one misdiagnosis almost killed me a few years ago), under-treatment, and over-treatment. Under-treatment happens when something is very, very wrong and they don’t believe what you’re telling them. Over-treatment usually happens to people with really good insurance.
Whenever I must go to a doctor, dentist, or any other medical professional, I have very high blood pressure, a rapid pulse, nausea, and more. After my recent injury, on the way to the emergency room, I opened the car window because I thought I was going to hurl (I did not). When we drove up, a nurse ran out to help with a wheelchair. The nice man at the registration desk gave me a barf bag (which, thankfully, I ended up not needing).
They immediately wheeled me into triage, took my vitals, and checked my grotesquely deformed leg for noticeable blood clots. My pulse was 160 and my B.P. was off the charts. I told them of my embarrassing “condition” and they understood. They then put me in the waiting room for about 15 seconds before coming back, and wheeling me to a room.
A nurse came in the room first, and then the doctor. I told them exactly what happened, and showed them my horribly misshapen upper thigh, which hurt like a you-know-what, and also demonstrated how I had no use of my right shoulder though, oddly enough, it only hurt when I tried to move it. When I was sitting still, there was no pain. I told them I have a very high pain tolerance. They pointed out an abrasion on my forehead. I had grazed a stanchion on the way down. It wasn’t bleeding. There was a small scratch, maybe 1.5 inches long. No bump. No swelling. Just a scratch. The nurse and doctor were very nice and understanding of my condition. He asked me if I needed pain killers. My leg felt like it had been sliced in two but I don’t like taking pain meds so I asked for something non-narcotic. They offered Tylenol.
A few minutes later, a man walked in, saying he was taking me for a head and neck CT scan. WHAT?! Do you know how much radiation is in those?! (According to WebMD, a CT scan delivers the amount in 100 to 200 X-rays). My dad died of a brain tumor at the age of 30. No, thank you! I had a scratch with no bump at all. I told him no, I did not want nor need a CT scan. He said okay, and went to tell the doctor.
The same man came to take me for my x-rays. Three of my leg, and three of my shoulder. I was then wheeled back to the E.R. and we waited a little over an hour for the x-ray results. During that time, the nurse walked in with a syringe. She said, “I have your tetanus shot.”
HUH?! I WASN’T BLEEDING ANYWHERE! One of our children has a vaccine injury and I have researched vaccines extensively over the years. I’m not talking about the anti-vaccine groups. I’m referring to actual scientific studies. I said, “I’m not bleeding. I don’t need a Tetanus shot.”
She said, “You know what Tetanus can do to you, right?”
I said, “Yes, but I also know I’m not going to get it because I am not bleeding anywhere.”
She said, “Oh, so you won’t take a Tetanus shot but you’re okay with taking Tylenol?”
What the HECK?!?! Did she really say that out loud? Yes, she did!
She harrumphed, and walked out. Also, she never explained that it wasn’t just a Tetanus shot. I’ve done enough research to know that they don’t give “just Tetanus” shots anymore. It’s a DTaP. Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis – none of which I needed.
The doctor came in next and his demeanor had completely changed. He was very cold. He said nothing was broken and that I was being discharged. I guess I messed up his CT scan quota for the evening? What he should have done next was order an MRI of my leg and shoulder but he did not.
My leg was still throbbing and, despite my aversion to pain killers, I told him the Tylenol wasn’t doing anything for the pain. He said, “We only give pain killers for breaks now.” And, he walked out. I recognized that attitude. The E.R. doctor thought I was shopping for pain pills! I experienced the same treatment a couple of years ago after another injury.
I remembered I had a bottle left over from my toothache last year so I didn’t push the issue.
The nurse came in right after that with my discharge paperwork. She didn’t go over it with me. She didn’t give me any verbal instructions at all. I was not advised to check in with my doctor within a certain number of days. I was not told what to look for in the event of a blood clot. I was told nothing at all. What she did tell me was to sign a form saying I was leaving against medical advice because I refused the CT scan.
Richard had gone to get the car so I slowly limped out of the room (no wheelchair discharge for me!), down the long hallway, and outside where I sat on a bench until he pulled up. After we got home, I wanted to see if I could suck it up, and go without narcotics. I tossed, and turned, and moaned, and cried out each time I moved all night long. Neither Richard nor I got any sleep. When the sun came up, I asked Richard to dig through the bin of extra medical supplies at the bottom of the closet…and find the drugs. I only needed them for two days and now the bottle is back in the closet, waiting for the next time a jerk doctor treats me like a junkie.
A couple of years ago, I tore my ACL. I could NOT walk. I dragged my foot behind me. In addition to the excruciating pain, my leg simply would not work right. I went to Urgent Care, and got the same type of treatment. I was only given an x-ray, and told it was a sprain. No pain meds. That doctor also treated me like I was pill shopping. Several days later, knowing something was seriously wrong, I made an appointment at a sports medicine office and they ordered an MRI. I came in the next day for the results and the doctor couldn’t believe I was actually on my feet because my ACL was ripped. It looked like a torn piece of chicken.
Two days ago, I receive a letter from the hospital, asking how my experience was. Boy oh boy, they’re gonna get an eye full when they receive my response!
I am still on my butt all day every day because, each time I get up, my leg starts to swell again. But, I can tell from the pain that it’s starting to slowly get better. The nerve damage is unsettling. There’s a large part of my leg where the skin has no feeling at all. But, just underneath the skin, it feels like a metal brush is scraping my insides. Very weird and very uncomfortable. I feel the inside brush pain every time a dead part of my leg skin touches anything.
The sport medicine place I went to a week and a half ago said it would take “several weeks” to heal. My shoulder pain comes and goes, and still keeps me up parts of the night. Lifting my arm from the keyboard to the mouse is very painful but I have a new lap desk (on adjustable legs) that’s helping and a big, fat pillow under my elbow.
I hate being a burden on everyone but, if I don’t stay off my leg, it’s never going to get better so I’m getting used to asking for help, which is something I’ve never been good at.
We are planning a small, quiet Thanksgiving and, just today, I realized something awesome, VERY awesome, about my injury! I don’t have to do any Thanksgiving cooking or dishes! HALLELUJAH!!!
Seriously, though, this year we are reflecting on how very thankful we are for all of YOU! Our readers and our authors make us smile every single day. We all love our jobs so much that each day doesn’t even seem like work! We get to “go to fun” every single day! So, THANK YOU!!! 🙂
Have a blessed, gluttonous Thanksgiving, everyone! 🙂
XXOO!!!
Have you, too, been treated like a junkie while getting medical care? Or, have you received too little care, or too much? Please share your experience in the comments box below! 🙂
RELATED
STILL GROTESQUELY SWOLLEN but the Doc Says I’m Not Gonna Die! (Includes a new photo!)
LOOK! I HAVE 2 KNEES ON ONE LEG!! My First Major Liveaboard Accident… (includes grotesque pics!)
Incorrect Diagnosis, Surgery…and Resulting PTSD + Long-term Health Anxiety
PTSD Update, School Shootings and Lack of Lunch
Our New Doctor Doesn’t Force Vaccines! Yea!
Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.
Follow Angela: twitter | facebook | linkedin
Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
Learn more here: https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/
HOW TO REMEMBER, WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR LIFE STORY
Angela Hoy's popular online class is now available in book format!
Remember Your Past
Write It and Publish It
in as little as 12 weeks!
Angela Hoy's book will get you started!
- Using Angela's MEMORY TRIGGERS, recall memories that have been dormant for years
- Record those memories in chronological order in your memory notebook
- Using the memory notebook as your outline, write your autobiography!
- Also works for biographies and memoirs!
Read more here:
https://booklocker.com/books/4764.html
Wow, when my Runaway Prius almost killed me they did Xrays and MRI at the hospital but nobody looked at them and I didn’t know I had a broken neck, broken collar bone, broken shoulder, broken ribs, broken hip, and crushed elbow until I was in court with Toyota and their doctor listed all of that as minor injuries from his reading of the xrays and MRI. We have gone from having the best health care in the world to worse than places I have lived in Africa.
Geez!!!! I’m so glad you recovered, Joseph!!!!! 🙂
Angela,
Given earlier responses, I think you may interested in CBD for inflammation, pain, and sleep, take a look at CBD from hemp instead of from marijuana. It has no psychoactive ingredient and, therefore, perfectly legal in all states. It is less expensive than cannabis CBD. I don’t think it’s as potent and that may be why it’s sold in much higher dosages, but still less expensive. Here’s a company that sells various treatment products infused with CBD. I’ve heard it’s a reputable company. http://myctfocbd.com/ I have used this product with no adverse reactions.
I hope you have found safe, effective treatments to reduce the edema and help the soft tissues heal. It will take time.
Thank you so much! I was just reading about that for uncontrollable itching from nerve damage. The skin on a large section of the injury has no feeling at all. Yet, several times a day, it itches. I scratch but get no relief because I can’t feel myself scratching my skin. It is driving me MAD!!!! I’m going to go to that website and order some right now. I hope they have expedited shipping options! 🙁
Angela
ps… asprin you may want to know is an eye toxin. sorry for your pain but asprin may not be the answer and can cause all kinds of long term complications like ulcers etc… there are many herbs that duplicate it and are much much safer. Also i learned that a.fib is a lot like asthma which i have too, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of triggers. I used to have low b.p. but now at almost 60 i guess it’s kicking in. I was using med. pot to control muscle and joint pain but as it turns out that is a also a trigger for some of us. Don’t want to use the oxycodone unless it’s an emerg. so what to do? even vaping raises my b.p. (maybe eatibles? or extracts?) hope ur btr soon: prayers ur way. Also Reiki can help.
Wow! I’m so glad you told me this because, just this week, I developed a sty inside my eyelid that puffed up my eyelid!! I started taking even more Vitamin C and have been using warm black tea bags as compresses. I have not taken aspirin in years, until this accident, and I’ve never had an internal sty before. Now it all makes sense. Thank you again!! 🙂
Angela
was in e.r. fri for a.fib 180 bpm and had no pain but told i could have a stroke at any min. my heart does this a lot and i knew it was beating fast but i felt ok. so did i.v. drugs and then one pill of b.p. med. it’s a horrible r.x w/a black box warning i found out and i’m so not taking it. I had bad reactions to what they gave me but no one cared. I’d gone in for an echo and they rolled across the street to the e.r. and could not do the test. The cardiologist office called to resched. and i told them i’m off meds and have pissed off at least one cardiologist who said if i won’t do meds go see my g.p. I never said i wouldn’t do meds just not that horrible b.p. medicine. the side effects are horrendous and i already have a lot of them like asthma, headache, runny nose etc… so how in God’s name would I even know to call the doctor if those symptoms occur cuz i alreday have like 75% of em b4 i went to e.r. They can’t even tell me what to test for in terms of b.p. b4 i retake the echo. So i may be wasting my time and others.
Wow!! Yes, recent news reports said a popular blood pressure med causes cancer. A relative of mine was on bp meds. Went in for her check-up and the doctor changed her bp prescription even though she wasn’t having any problems with the original meds. She ended up in the E.R. a couple of hours later with a horrible allergic reaction. Her entire face swelled up. Her lips were HUGE! She could have died. So, why did the doc just suddenly change her prescription? I think maybe the drug company that makes that medication took him out for golf or something. Our medical system is SO screwed up. 🙁
Angela
Oh, yeah. I have also been misdiagnosed, as well as my mother, my grandma, and my grandpa even had someone else’s surgery performed on him back in the 1970s. So, yeah, I’m one of those who wants to keep my head (no mental meds) and I tend to be allergic or highly sensitive to most prescription meds, too. So, I totally get where you’re coming from!
I had a severely pulled hamstring a couple of years ago. Went to the ER. Could NOT straighten my leg out, no matter how hard I tried. They tried to get it straight and take x-rays of my hip, because I said I needed to know my hip wasn’t broken. (When I fell, my hip completely popped out of the socket and I could not pull it back because all my muscles were messed up. I had to push my leg back and pop that hip back into the socket by myself.) Anyway, after the x-rays on my hip, they were sending me home. Nothing broke. WHAT??
“What about my muscles?” I asked.
“What about your muscles?” the nurse asked back.
I told him I needed to know how bad they were pulled, torn, whether they were ripped completely loose, or what.
He sent me for a CT scan, which is little more than an x-ray. Should have sent me for an MRI, but no.
My blood pressure shot sky high. I had to go to the bathroom. I found out that day that needing to go makes blood pressure rise very high. They FINALLY brought a potty in for me. Have you ever tried to go to the bathroom with one leg bent back against itself, so you can’t hardly sit down?
Then, they were going to discharge me. The tech came in with a brace for my leg. He asked if I had any clue how it worked. I asked what it was. He said it was a brace to help keep my leg straight.
I asked if he realized I couldn’t even straighten my leg. He took the brace back and brought me crutches.
Five days later, my leg finally straightened back out. At that time, we also saw the massive bruise along the inside and back of my leg. Never got a diagnosis on my muscles.
I needed to lose weight to walk on that leg. When I tried walking, my leg started deforming because all the other muscles were trying to take up the slack for the hamstring and no telling what other muscles. I got a surrey to ride because a pool wasn’t available (Surrey and pool offered no-gravity exercise which would use all the muscles and help them all grow back like they needed to be.)
Soon after that, my husband had a heart attack, then two carotid artery surgeries. Then, he had an ER visit similar to yours and mine.
HORRIBLE Emergency Room service.
By the way, think first and tell the hospital AND the insurance company about your bad experience. The insurance company may make some kind of deal over the cost. Worth a try, anyway.
What a nightmare!!! I am so sorry you received such horrible treatment. It’s a great idea to complain to the insurance company, too! Thank you!
Angela
Oh my god, so many medical horror stories! I have a few myself, but they would take up too much space. Let me just say, less is more when it comes to any type of medication. Anytime you can treat an ailment through nutrition, you are better off. Most doctors don’t take more than the required nutritional courses and prefer to go the synthetic drug route with all the accompanying side effects. I am so sorry that your leg is still so painful. Do be careful about taking ibuprofen instead of Tylonal. Tylonal is processed through the liver and therefore can cause liver damage. Ibuprofen is processed through the kidneys and can damage both the kidneys and lungs. It thins the blood and can cause bleeding in the lungs and kidneys: this is why hospitals chose Tylonal over Advil. The medical marijuana is the safest bet for most pain management. I do wish you a very happy Thanksgiving! Cheers!
Oh, Angela, how awful. I hope the sports medicine facility can help you heal.
My story: On our truck ride from MN to AZ, a four-day journey since we were pulling a fifth wheel, my back molar started throbbing on Day One, Monday. When I drank my hot coffee, I thought my husband was going to have to pull me off the roof. Needless to say, I couldn’t get my caffeine fix the rest of the journey, and to help with the pain, I popped two Advil every four hours. I called my dentist to see if he could see me on Friday. Nope, the office isn’t open open on Friday. So, I made an appointment for Monday. I knew I couldn’t wait until Monday, so I called my periodontist, a nice, compassionate woman. I made an appointment with her for first thing Friday morning. She thought I needed a root canal and was able to make an appointment with an endodontist that morning. I drove right over and sat in the waiting room with tears spilling down my cheeks. I didn’t take any Advil, and I was stressing over the $1,000 I’d have to spend. After taking x-rays, Mr. Endodontist applied the heat test to my tooth, even though I told him it was heat sensitive. I kept jerking his hand away. He announced I didn’t have to have a root canal and wanted to know if I wanted to see a pain management specialist. I was livid, said I did not, and he walked out of the room. I stormed back to my periodontist, and we man bashed for a few minutes, then she gave me a prescription for pain meds to use for the weekend. I’m like you, Angela, and don’t like to take pain meds, so I just lived on Advil again. My regular dentist referred me to another endodontist, and he did the root canal the next day. I’ve read bad things about root canals, so I didn’t really want one, but that trumped the pain, so I bit the bullet, so to speak.
Thanks for reading. I hope you are on your way to full recovery and no pain.
Oh Heavens!! The only thing worse than a toothache is childbirth!! 🙁
Hugs,
Angela
So sorry you went thru this..have had to battle docs for my husband all summer
It could be worse…I broke my elbow on the Saturday night before the all the public employees in Costa Rica went on strike. Even though I was told I definitely needed surgery, they “weren’t scheduling surgeries” during the strike. For six weeks, the strikers blocked the roads at key bridges, paralyzing the country and making travel impossible. My normal 30-minute trip to the hospital took 5 hours one day — 2 hours at one roadblock, then another 3 hours at the second. At the roadblocks, enterprising Ticos
walked down the line of cars, selling snacks and water. One guy had a grill on wheels, with delicious BBQ skewers of pork or fish (for only $2). Another guy had a cooler of really cold beer. It’s the Pura Vida way: “Why get frustrated, we’ll just have a party.*” Two months later, my arm is out of a cast, and it’s not healed well at all. You get what you pay for — my medical care insurance costs $24 per month, no copays, never a bill.
*More on the party attitude: A beer distributor truck overturned yesterday, spilling its product all over the highway. As reported by the local news, “about 50 people showed up within 5 minutes, scrambling to collect the free beer as though they were at a pinata game.”
I’m so sorry for your horrible experience! Prayers for healing quickly. Hugs)))
Oh, I’m sorry your experience was so awful and I’m glad you made the decision to see a Sports Medicine clinic. I never would have thought of that and it makes so much sense. Incidentally, taking aspirin. I recommend upping your Vitamin C intake a bit as aspirin can interfere with C. Also, C is helpful in healing.
My story. A few decades ago, a fell down a flight of stairs ( I never used to hold onto the bannister. Now I do.) At the emergency room, when my x-ray came back after three hours, the doctor came in with a big smile and said, “Good news. Nothing is broken.” I said, “I am in too much pain to walk.” He said, “But the x-ray doesn’t show any break.” At that point, I raised my voice and he finally sent me down the hall to the Orthopedist (This was Kaiser so everything was together and paid for by insurance) with the air of a man getting rid of an unreasonable, hysterical patient. The very nice orthopedist discovered a hairline fracture in my acetabulum which is the socket your bone fits into. I had to live six weeks in a wheelchair with the warning to put no weight on my leg for six weeks. I’m happy to say, full healing resulted.
Geez!! And doctors wonder why were get so nervous when we have to go see them!! 🙁 I’m so glad you recovered!!!
Big hugs!
Angela
Hi Angela,
I sympathize with you regarding your treatment at the ER. We are experiencing a pain treatment crisis due to the fault of physicians and not the patients,however it is the patient who suffers.
I have not experienced that myself, however my husband who is 67 years old who had a significantly swollen and painful foot without injury. On his first visit to the ER on a weekend, he was diagnosed with cellulitis and given IV antibiotics, oral antibiotics and a low dosage of generic Vicodin. His foot continued to be swollen and very painful. The pain was so bad he could not bear any weight on his foot. I purchased a cane for him and during the night had to provide a plastic container for him to urinate in because he couldn’t get up on his own to go to the bathroom. The second trip to the ER the doctors changed antibiotics and gave a prescription for oxycodone. This helped the pain but not the swelling. We then hobbled to his medical provider and she tested him for gout. Yes, this is what he had. She then prescribed more oxycodone and a med for the gout. This helped, however now the pharmacist insist on a consult every time he gets a prescription filled.
Recently my husband lifted a heavy utility trailer onto his truck. This foolish action further damaging his osteoarthritis in his sacrum area, verified by x-ray and CT scan. His medical provider will not order anything except Tylenol, because NSAIDs damage his kidneys, but was given a referral to an Orthopedic clinic. The appointment is close to two weeks away, and in the meantime he has to suffer pain standing, walking, bending and turning over in bed.
I’ve never liked the idea of legalized marijuana, but my mind is changing. If CBD is really helpful in reducing pain, this maybe the last resort for chronic pain patients. Fortunately, marijuana is legal in Oregon.
If I was in your shoes, I would definitely find go for a medical marijuana prescription. I’ve heard it’s very good for pain…and far more natural than narcotics!! Your poor hubby. He is so blessed to have you there to take care of him. 🙂
Angela
I had had a chronic cough for months and when I was at the doctor I asked her about it. She just blamed it on one of my meds, but I knew this was different. So, I asked her to ex-ray my lungs to make sure there was nothing going on. She did and came back all smiles to inform me that there were fibers in my lungs. I asked questions none of which she could answer. She said that she would get back to me. A week later she hadn’t gotten back, so I called her office. I tried several time to reach her, and finally a week later she called me back. I asked her what fibers in the lung meant. She said she didn’t know. I asked her if it was dangerous. She said, yes, it could be. I asked her was there a treatment. She said, no. I asked her what I could do for it. She told me to take deep breaths. At that point I politely said, “Thank you,” hung up and went looking for a new doctor. My new doctor sent me to a pulmonolgist, because she didn’t have expertise in this area. The pulmonologist told me that I had Pulmonary Fiberosis, and that there are treatments. So, I finally got a correct diagnosis, but not with any help from my previous doctor.
OMG! Each time I read a story like this, it makes me even more nervous about going to a doctor! I spent MONTHS being sent from one specialist to another a few years ago and after dozens of tests, every one of them told me I needed a psychiatrist. In the end, after almost bleeding out in the emergency room while on vacation (which was from double birth control my doctor had put me on to CONTROL bleeding), they determined I was severely anemic, and had been for a couple of years. It all then made sense. Once I had surgery to correct the problem (the meds caused polyps, which bleed like CRAZY), all of my physical symptoms disappeared. Dozens of tests (even an MRI of my head!). Numerous specialists. More money than I care to post online. And, nobody bothered to run simple bloodwork on me. I still get mad when I think about it. I literally spent two year sick as I could be. Two years I’ll never get back. I’m so glad you took control of your own healthcare!! Good for you!!! 🙂
Hi Angela,
I sympathize with you and am sorry the medical industrial complex tried to upsell you and then treated you coldly because you protected your own body and rights! And you can bet they get kick backs for pharma and all varieties of other businesses. I went into my formerly trusted neighborhood health clinic of 40 years to check on some elevated liver levels and was guilted and literally terrified into having a CT scan, not knowing the massive (and totally unnecessary radiation levels it exposed me to, not to mention a $2500 bill! There were indications of liver illness, caused by years and years of Tylenol use and Naprosyn use for cramps so severe that I was immobilized in bed. So, no school, no working, no walking, nothing. I thought it was safe and NOT, it wasn’t. So as usual, Western medicine creates the problem, blames the patient for the problem, then charges the patient for trying to fix the problem.
I did my own research and started to take Turmeric, an inexpensive Chinese herb for liver issues and went from being told by a Western doctor to go to a counselor they referred me to, to prepare for death (at $166 per 30 minutes) and was given a “meet and greet” at the clinic with him to just introduce us. I then got a bill for the “greet” and refused to pay it. Quit the clinic forever and have improved my liver and health by using Turmeric. A deep orange spice used in Indian Curry. I am still on the road to wellness and my life will be shortened by 40 years of their prescribed cramp medication for cramps but they will be years where I can stand up, walk and function. Buyer beware with that industry. And using psychological torture to try and squeeze more money out of an already traumatized patient should be criminal. Period! Happy healting!
I know exactly what you mean, Angela. Both I and my Mom have White Coat Syndrome. And I have been treated such as you were. But thankfully only once. Once is enough. I’m so sorry you’re in pain! I’ll say a prayer for you, and I pray you will get well real soon!
I was in therapy for two years. Near the end, I realized the longer I spent “talking” about it, the worse it was getting. I had a full-blown panic attack at my doctor’s office during one visit so it was documented. They later refused to let me leave until my blood pressure was under control. They happily gave me a prescription for 30 Xanax pills. That was 5 years ago. I still have pills left in that bottle (though they are mostly powder now and the label is faded to nothing) so I think I’m doing pretty good. I keep the bottle in my purse as a “security blanket” of sorts. Last year when I needed a tooth pulled, my blood pressure was so high that they wouldn’t pull the tooth. I told them I was NOT leaving with that excruciatingly painful tooth in my mouth, even if I had to yank it myself. They made me chew up a Valium (yuck) and that did the trick. My BP dropped right down and, yank! I was all better. 😉 Thank you for the prayers!! 🙂
I’m beginning to sound like the proverbial old fart living in the past, but I remember when Bayfront was a public hospital – when they cared more about your bottom more than their bottom line. Further back, I recall pain was dealt with by popping a couple of reds, or ludes, blowing a joint and watching Tom and Jerry cartoons till dawn. It didn’t actually lessen the pain, but you cared about the hurting a whole lot less.
Wishing you a speedy recovery and an absence of pain.
I feel for you, Angela. I know exactly what you went through in that situation.
If it is any consolation (and I know, it isn’t), I have had even worse comments and treatment thrown at me by MDs I wouldn’t now recommend to prep a cadaver.
If you want to stay alive, often times you have to fight your way through the medical system to get the care you really need.
P.S. — Asprin (salicylic acid) will save your life in many situations (be sure to take any aspirin with food to avoid the potential to cause G.I. ulcers). Tylenol should NEVER be put in your mouth. This drug has been responsible for more liver failure issues than you can imagine.
Ug! Thank you so much! I have HUGE bottle of Tylenol right here. I’ll get rid of it!
Angela, What a nightmare experience at the hospital. So sorry you had to go through it. Our Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is one of the best in the country, I wish you had been lucky enough to have the decent medical care we get when needed. A friend in Sausalito, CA (across the Golden Gate from San Francisco) had an accident almost exactly like yours, getting onto her houseboat, she broke 5 ribs. Terrible how a misstep can knock you down for weeks or months. Here is hoping you get back on your feet soon. Judy Pearce
Blame your government for threatening doctors with loss of license if they give pain meds out.
The real crisis is endemic pain not that alleged opioid crisis that was made up by the politicians.
As to tylenol, I would never take that due to liver damage potential. Motrin works far better on pain, at least for me.
They first mentioned Tylenol as an option. They never offered Motrin. Maybe they have a contract with the manufacturer of Tylenol. >:-( Also, from a personal standpoint, I don’t know why anyone would want to take pain killers longer than absolutely necessary. They mess with my stomach and they put me in a VERY bad mood. 🙁
it depends on the pain vs the consequences of using motrin.
i used it for years because of severe pain in my knee. had to stop when i started bleeding.
dont know why but tylenol seems to be the goto choice to help pain unless you ask for something else.
This whole situation grieves and worries me.
Are you sure that you’ve gotten all the medical advice you
need?
El
Yep. I decided a week ago Saturday that a sports medicine facility would be my best bet since they see blunt force injuries all the time. Sure ’nuff, the nurse and doctor had seen this before. That facility is HUGE and works with the local professional sports teams. Whenever I hike up my skirt (heh…) to show curious dock neighbors my ginormous, elephant-man thigh, they cover their mouths in horror (which I admit I’m getting a kick out of). At the sports med facility, they just shrugged their shoulders. They were very detailed in their explanation of the injured area, including what I could expect. And, they also set my mind at ease about blood clots, saying it’s too close to the surface to likely throw a clot into the wrong vein/artery. Also, as my “pancake” slowly gets reabsorbed into my body, the pieces are so small that they won’t cause any problems. Still, I’m taking aspirin as a precaution, under their suggestion. 🙂