ER's Suck

[VaBusa]

Thanks, She is feeling better today and can walk without me holding on to her. Hopefully she can go back to work Thursday for a 1/2 day and go from there.
As far as me,

I went to my Dr today and he told me that there is nothing he could do for me. Because of the screws and in my back he did not know what to do. He was not sure what the screws were made of so he was not sure what to order as far as an MRI or CT Scan. He suggested I go to an Orthopedic to see what they say. So off tomorrow I will try to get to see one of them. Thanks for all the thoughts prayes

After I had surgery on my back, my doc impressed me and my ex so much, the ex told a coworker about him. This poor guy had such debilitating back issues and had undergone multiple surgeries in the past without relief, but he opted to see this guy, had surgery and couldn't believe how much better he finally felt. I'm a firm believer in 2nd, 3rd and 4th opinions...if you're not liking the results with the current docs, please consider seeing another. I did end up with an orthopaedic back specialist and I think it made a huge difference...hate that you're just having to suffer

 

[ditchdr]

First off, I am truely sorry ot hear of your wifes pain issues and really hope they get it fixed very soon.

Next: medicine is very costly. The number one reason for this is the massive amounts of people who have no insurance, and use the ER as a primary care Dr. They drive up the cost of things by not paying for them. Think of your local grocewry store, if 75% of the folks who went there got all their food for free, imagine what they would have to charge you just ot keep the doors open, much less make a profit.

Also a ER is just that a EMERGENCY ROOM, I personaly know here that many folks will go to the ER for something that a trip to the drug store would cure. I cant count the number of times i have puled my amulance up to a house where my "emergency" patient was sitting on the front steps drinking a beer smoking a cig just waiting on us beacuse they "did not feel well". The sad part is we have so many sue happy folks now a days that anyone would be crazy not to treat and transport them. I can see the lawsuite now " the ambulance did not take me to the hospital so i stood up to go inside, fell down and broke my leg".. Well ya fell down beacuse you were slap happy drunk, but somehow it is someone elses fault. See what i'm geting at? People abuse the system in every way. They see it as something for nothing, and most times it is.

Here is one I am sure you will love.

When I started EMS a ALS ride ( anything over basic care ie: and IV, meds, EKG montoring etc etc) would cost you 75 dollars flat fee plus what ever supplies
So a breakdown of a typical chest pain ride would look like this

Ambulance ride 75.00
IV 5.00
Asprin 2.00 times 4
Nitro 8.00 per treatment
O2 5.00
EKG montoring 6.00
plus .30 cents per mile

So an average 5 mile ride to the ER with chest pain would run ya 108.5

Now last year i was taken to the ER via ambulance due to a massive amounts of bee stings I got the bill a month later here is how it broke down.

ALS transport 1800.00
O2 300.00
EKG 500.00
Meds 150.00
3 miles to ER 15.00
IV 45.00

Comes to 2800 for a simple transport and some benadryl


Why is it so high? cause 99% of ems transports are pretty much for free.

Keep in mind I know what the county pays for meds as i use ot work there, the 50mg of benadryl cost them less that a dollar, the maybe 200 liters of o2 I used breaks down to less then .25 cents the IV set might cost a dollar, end the EKG stickes cost about a buck each. Oh and they get a deep discount on fuel cause they buy thousands of gallons at a time but i figure it took them 3 gallons to come get me and take me to the er so even at 3 dollars a gallon they are making money on that.

Sorry ot go off on a rant about this, but everyone is crying about health care costs, dont look at the provider look at the ones who are pretty much stealing it from us. Soon it will even worse when the government is calling the shots on what we can and can not have done. Oh hes 65 and has a blockage in his heart? Yeah were not allwed to send him to the cath lab cause he has out lived his value to us. I see it coming, sad sad sad foks.


And man I really hope she is doing better.

 

[MO-BUSA]

dang, really hope you both are doing better, back pain sux, hopefully with your wife it was just a spasm and will go away in timelease:

 

[mr8ball]

So its been over 3 weeks now and she has some so called results. I had an appointment to see the same Dr on the 17TH (Today) and hers was not until the 8TH of next month. We had to talk them into letting us switch so she could be seen first because of being she was in so much pain. My wife had her MRI Friday and this is what them came up with.

Degenerative disc degeneration, herniated
Lumbar spondylosis w/o myelopathy
Sacroiliitis (SI dysfunction)
She also was told she has a small tear in her disk.

I don't understand this. She has been on an ice pack and heat pad and so drugged up for the past 3 weeks she could not hardly function. Up until the past few days she could not even walk to the car without me helping her. Now she is going in to have an injection shot in her back next week. Just seems like to me it has to be more then what they are telling her. I have never seen anyone suffer so much with their back and not have more show up. Thanks for all the support and heres to hoping this works.

 

[MO-BUSA]

guess it just depends on the swelling around the disk and such, those nerves can be pretty touchy and cause allot of problems. good luck to both of ya with your backs

 

[VaBusa]

If you guys are not liking the care being provided, please consider a 2nd opinion! I've been through so many docs with one problem or another, and they are all so different, their treatments are so different. If you don't feel like you're getting what you need (or that your wife is getting proper care/full disclosure), then get away from that doc quickly and seek other help. It's a huge PITA, but trust me, I've been through all of this for years with everything from infertility to the herniated disc...

 

[beachz]

I certainly wish you both the best of luck!

I will tell you my story in hopes that you find some encouragement as you move towards a resolution. I have two herniated discs in my back and have suffered on and off for probably 15 years. My wife and I both swim and that seems to be the best thing for me. As long as I am working out my back doesn’t give me too much grief.

But, that is not what this story is about. A year ago last September, we were swimming laps and my left shoulder started to bother me. I didn’t think much about it but after a few more laps decided I would call it a day. Within a couple of weeks I was waking up in the middle of the night in pain. This got progressively worse until I was getting just a couple of hours of sleep a night. It felt like someone was picking me up with a pair of those old time ice tongs. The pain was bad enough but I was completely out of it from lack of sleep! I looked and felt like crap. We took the kids snowboarding between xmas and new years while I was in this condition and it was excruciating. The only thing that help with pain management was a TENS unit that I had previously gotten for my back. It really didn't ease the pain but it distracted my brain from the constant barrage. Meds did not help me, and trust me, they tried many.

After x-rays, MRIs, and a visit to the shoulder specialist, I was told there was absolutely nothing wrong with my shoulder and he sent me back to the MRI for my neck. I returned to their practice to see the spine specialist who confirmed the herniated disc in my neck that was pinching the nerve bundle tracking down my arm. We discussed surgery but both decided that we would go down the less evasive path first.

At the end of January, I was given a steroid shot from front of my neck (I got to watch on the x-ray screen... very cool). When he hit the spot with the needle, he exactly duplicated the pain that I would feel when laying down at night. I started a physical therapy program at a sports medicine practice and started to feel better within a couple of weeks. My expectations were that I would be doing the injections every few months given the severity of the pain. I have not been back nor have I had another issue with my neck or shoulder.

Thoughts and prayers headed your way!

 

[fallenarch]

Hope all works out. It is amazing what doctors can miss. It also depends on a patients tolerance to pain. When I broke my shoulder it took them 4 x-rays and an MRI over 3 weeks to realize the shoulder was broken. The doctor said they suspected it because of the black and blue chest and the big lump on the shoulder but figured I would be protesting more if it was actually broken! It's really scary when you realize they are clueless!


Hope you find help soon.

 

[sleepless_red]

So sorry to hear. I really hope and pray that you and your wife get better.lease:

 

[mr8ball]

We had a talk this eve and we both decided that the shot is the first thing she will try. She talked with a Chiropractor and they seemed to be against the shot thing all together. Telling her that it will only mask the pain and that she might hurt herself even worse after words. I have been down both roads with 13 shots in my back and was hurt by a CP pretty bad once witch I had to have surg. after words. I went to a CP for years and everything was fine but when he left and I went to another and that was it. Our gold for now to ease her pain so she can get around better and go from there. Hopefully things will get better soon. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers

 

[card16969]

i wish for the best for her i know how ridiculous er's are i was in one for a good chunk of the day today, i hope things get better