I am NEVER going to the ER again! | Arthritis Information

I did not sleep well Friday night. I was in a lot of pain in my hips and it was running down my leg into my knees and then to my ankles. My legs kept jerking and waking me up. I took the max of the ultracets and still was in a great deal of pain. I did not sleep at all.

Then I had this horrible pain in my head, made my eyes hurt, along with the pain the pain meds would not make go away.

I had to call and get son an appt because he was running a fever. So... hubby took son to his appt and I stayed home in the bed crying from all the pain. then I was having a hard time breathing. And then I had to go to the bathroom, and was very lightheaded. I kept feeling like I was going to pass out.

I called hubby to see where he was and he said on his way home. SO... I told him he was going to have to take me to the ER.

We got to the ER. I was there for 45mins before they called back to check vitals. I was hugging walls. I told the nurse of the pain in my hip and running throughout my leg. About my head and how I was weezing and how my kidneys hurt. She poked me with q-tips in my nose and throat and had me pee in a cup.

Then she sent me back out to the waiting area. I was there for over 2 hours in the waiting area crying from pain. Then the nurse came out to the waiting area and told me I had the flu. I think she lied. I do not feel like I have the flu. So... I got pissed because she said I had the flu which I do not think I do and I went to the front desk and asked if I could leave. He said I had not seen a doctor yet, I said well the nurse told me I have the flu, and there is nothing they can do for the flu. So... he said you have the right to leave if you want. I said yes I would like to suffer and cry from all this pain in my own bed. So... I signed myself out and went home.

I do not have the damn flu! I do not feel sick. I just am coughing a little. And the flanks of my back hurt. Like I have a UTI.

Hubby said I should probably go to my GP next week and see what he has to say. I know he is not going to say I have the damn flu. I do not feel sick!

I just wanted to know why I was having a hard time breathing, lightheaded, and to get something for the pain that my pain meds would not take away. I think the nurse thought I was a pain pill addict or something.

I am not going back to the ER, ever!

My hubby says I have a problem with ER nurses. I was like yeah because they are all bitches! When someone is in pain and crying from the pain you do not send them out to wait for hours and hours.

SO... I guess I cannot go see my mommy until I get told I do not have the flu. I am telling you I do not have the flu! I do not have any of the symptoms. The nurse did not even listen to me weeze.

I do not have mucsle aches, I have joint pain! I told her where and how it hurt and I guess she took it as all over achiness. I have no fever. And my headache was caused by my neck muscle being tensed up again. I need a better muscle relaxer. and my pharmacy put my meds back so now I have to order them again. I did not pick them up within a week. I did not have the money to pay for them.

I DO NOT HAVE THE FLU! I am in a flare!

Oh and I am going to have to cancle my Remicade appt for March 3rd, until I know I do not have an infection.

This is crap! And if I could refuse to pay for that ER visit, from false DX, I would!

You go girl! I am sorry for what happened to you Joonie, there is nothing worse, you see we know what isn't wrong with us, and we know what is wrong with us and nurses/Drs sometimes don't like that we know before them! It is quite normal for us to be aware of what is wrong with our bodies when it happens to us all the time. I guess the only thing you could have done better was to actually see the Dr and tell him what you think, I didn't realise the nurses who triage you were allowed to diagnose you? I hope you get onto your GP soon, take care and prayers for your Mum, hugs from Janie.
Sorry your ER is such a crap place. When I had to go to the ER during onset they took one look at me and they got me in the back almost immediately. It got to the point where I had to be in a bed in the hall because so many people came in with chest pains and they needed the rooms more than I did. However everyone treated me very nice. They did give me a nice shot of something that helped a lot. It was just an all day affair because life threatening comes first despite level of pain and there were people worse off than me in that dept.
I guess you will have to go to your real doctor on Monday if you want to avoid all that. Or do you have one that would make a special concession and come into the office on the weekend if you need them?
I sure hope you are feeling better today. I would at least call the doctor and alert them to how bad you are feeling. Maybe they will call something in for you.
Joonie so sorry you had such a horrible time at the ER. It's horrible enough to feel like crap and then not have the staff in the ER listen to what you are saying. Who klnows better what is happening to us than we do. We are living in this body with RA and we know what we are feeling. Hopefully you are feeling better today, being in pain is the absolute worst thing. I hope you can get in to your reg dr. real soon so he can get to the bottom of it all.
Sending prayers and healing thoughts your way.
[QUOTE=joonie]That is how I was tested for the flu as well. Honestly, when I had the flu in college, my joints had never hurt so bad.

In one respect, I hope it isn't the flu since there is nothing you can do but ride it out. But, if it is the flu, it will eventually pass and then hopefully your joints will feel better.

Regardless, take care and rest up. Definitely go call you regular dr. and tell him what's up.

very gentle hugs......

sorry you're suffering Joonie..

the flu can make you feel like a flare!! Hpe you're better soon.

I'm sorry you feel so bad Joonie..

I give thanks every day that we have a lovely small hospital just 6 blocks away. Give me rural living every time. If you go to the ER you are seen in seconds it seems.

Joonie - this health care system is so broken, its pathetic. I waited six hours one time and by the time I saw the doctor I was over the flare (didn't know that then), and he was all pissed off at me because everything came back normal. Of course they didn't test for RA.

I don't blame you, ERs are not what they used to be. American health care is not what it used to be, and the stats prove it. I hope our Congresscritters finally get on it.

joonie, I have learned over the years to never say never. Everytime I have said it, it has come back to bite me in da butt.

Take care,

Tink

Joonie, influenza is widespread right now down in your neck of the woods. You could very well have it. I can't remember - did you get a flu shot last fall?

If flu is caught early, there are antiviral medications that can be given to lessen the severity and duration of the illness. Headache and widespread body aches are often the first signs of influenza. And while these symptoms are certainly miserable, you don't know what other cases the ER was dealing with at the time. I've been to the ER where I was the top priority patient, and times where I sat for hours, because a relatively simple hand laceration was certainly not as urgent as the gangmember kids being patched up after a gun fight.
JOONIE whenever you have severe head pain and dizziness you should get to the ER immediately, with your history of stroke!!! I was so worried as I started reading what your symptoms were. Did you tell them that you have had a stroke in the past???Kind of sounds flu-like. It stinks because we are just plain sick enough without yet something else. I hope you feel better soon.

ERs stink because they don't understand chronic illness--if you are bleeding, have broken bones or burns, got stabbed or shot, they're the place to be. For fibro or something like RA, they aren't equipped to deal with it.
Joonie I no longer go to the er. Usually they seem to want to address my antidepressents and give me the same stupid tests I always want to just come home and usually no help was given to me.......TeresaHow are you feeling????Hi everyone I am feeling much better today. My knees are not hard swelled anymore and my joint pain did not start again until about 9pm tonight. I have not took any pain meds today. Me getting all that sleep yesterday really helped all of my pain and also being able to take more pain meds sure did help alot. Would have just been helpful if I could have just gotten a shot in the ass LOL!

I am telling ya'll I do not have the flu. How can you feel not sick, and have the flu?

The ER nurse said she was swabing to check for strep, not influenza.

I am calling my GP in the morning to make an appt and calling my RD to cancel my Remicade infusion.

How is it that I am the only person in my house to get the flu? I think I have bronchitis. My MIL said I had some rubbing and crackling in my right lung.

Why is it that when you hurt the worst it is on the weekends, when your GP is not open?

My flare has passed. I can bend and straighten my knees again, FINALLY! It snowed here last night. We got like 2-3 inches of snow. So... that is the reason for my flare. I slept really well last night. No leg jerking, not much pain, or should I say pain that kept me awake or made me cry, and my neck muscles are not as tense as they were.

I did not know it was to snow, until hubby came home from in-laws around 10pm last night. He said the news said it was to snow. I told that nurse my pain was caused by the weather changing.

I am better now, pain wise. It was awful to have the horrific headache that made my eyes hurt as well, and to have that pain running up and down my left leg all at the same time and then not being able to breathe and feeling lightheaded and like I was going to pass out was just too much for me to handle all at once.

I talked to my mom today, and told her about it all. She said it must have been bad for me to go out in public without a bra on, no glasses, and in slippers. I swear... I do not like going out in public braless, my boobs are just way too big to go braless. And I cannot see but a few feet in front of me without my glasses. Even hubby said I was bad off enough to go to the ER, he knows I hate shots.

Like I said I felt good today. I still say I do not have the damn flu.

You should ask me girl! We both feel like ____ when the weather front is changing darmadically. When i read what night it was i knew. ha ha sorry but the weather really makes a difference in my life. hope all is well and when this snow melts we should have some nice days. take care! and stay well! susanHi Joonie

Sorry you are not so good..Sounds like you had a bad time at the hospital waiting around like that. I was tested for flu with cotton buds too. I had no flu symptoms as such but also felt hard to breath and I ached like crazy and light headed..I felt like I had a huge flare, my culture came back as flu too.I didnt feel sick either so maybe its the start of the flu bug or you just have it lingering in your system.. Hope you feel better soon

Well, either way you shouldn't have had to wait for 2 hours in that kind of pain, and especially if you told them you were havong a hard time breathing. I am sorry for your experience and let me tell you it isn't just the ER nurses some of the floor nurses can be that way too. That's what happens when you take a job for money only. Nurses are in big demand right now. You really have to love being a nurse to be patient and attentive. You could have at least been evaluated enough to see if you could be safely given pain meds. It's what they like to push on me. Only, I can't tolerate it. I think it just depends on the hospital too. because the hospital near me treated me like that but the teaching hospital just wants to make sure I am not in pain when I go in.

Glad you are doing a little better. Hang in there.

In my opinion if you didn't like what the nurse was telling you; you should have stayed and waiting on the doctor. You went that far; why turn back? I know the ER is bad....but why wait that long only to go home pissed because you didn't like what they said. Another hour and you could have seen the real doctor and gone home with a few answers.

Hope you continue to feel better and it's nothing serious. The flu can turn serious for someone like you and it is wide spread this year.

What was wrong with your son? You might have said I just scanned the second page here.