ER nightmare

In leiu of all my crazy dog stories, last night I began to have excrutiating pain in my legs.  I got fed up and went to the ER in tears.  I can't take it anymore, someone has to figure out what this is.   Then they checked my BP which was 190/120.  Probably due to the level of pain I was in.  Anyway I got the third degree like i was some kinda drug addict.   Why do you have this pain?  Why is it this bad?  Your 29 whats wrong with you?  This is not possible you appear to be fine.  Crohns is your intestines, why do your legs hurt.  I don't know... why the h*ll do you think i'm here!  Otherwise, why would I let you treat me like a ginea pig if i wasn't desperate?  I was furious and embarrassed.  By that point, I told them I can sit and cry at home in my own bed thank you very much, without getting the third degree.   I am a professional and do not deserve this treatment.  Then they wouldn't let me leave bc they said it was dangerous because of my BP.  I could have a heart attack.  (By this point I'm sure that THEY were making my BP so high   < thats probably what I looked like.   So I had to take several BP meds until 6 hours later, one intravenous BP med finally worked and it dropped instantly to 148/85.  They were sympathetic towards the end.  But not after making me feel like a 6 yr old.  I was told to follow up with my primary for BP and can't take my Cimzia till I get clearance.  Life?  Sometimes I wonder what the point of all of this pain and embarrassment is for.  Why do we have to suffer time and time again.  Well, I will never do that again.  I don't get mad easy.  But I don't think I have ever been angrier.  And I will be filing a complaint with the hospital. 

I'm so sorry you had to go through this! Yuck! I would definitely file a complaint with the hospital! Hope you are feeling better now!

I'd talk to someone in charge of their ER unit and tell them your story. What happened to you is a bunch of crap, I wouldn't have that happen to me without them enduring a 15 minute tirade.

I think I know what hospital you went to and yes file a complaint. They sent me back home, a 2 1/2 hour drive with pancreatitis so bad I could not stand up and then said I could have stayed if I had asked . Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Lucky they were out of range when they said that...

Sick of it all have you been tested for lupus? Or drug induced lupus?

I'm so sorry you were treated so badly :-(.

What kind of leg pain is it?  Is it in the muscles, or in the joints, or just everywhere?  I am so sorry that you have suffered for so long.  I have to wonder if it is due to low potassium ..

I still bet they did not bother to do an ANA test, which if you have leg pain on remi, they should do at the most acute stage.

I am so sorry you went through this. I've had similar experiences with emergencies rooms. I used to go to an emergency room in a well-respected hospital near my home. I would literally be screaming in pain, vomiting, and unable to stand up straight, due to one of many obstructions; and I often had wait hours to be taken. When I was finally taken in, it was another long wait to see a dr. who often treated me like I was a maniac who was overreating to pain. To make a bad situation worse, when he found out that I was taking an anti-depressant his immediate reaction was "How long have you had this mental illness?" The smirk on his face made me want to...well you can imagine. Here I was an almost middle-aged woman (at the time) being treated like a little child throwing a tantrum. To top it off, he initially, wouldn't prescribe any pain meds when he discovered I was having an obstruction due to CD, due to the issue of the meds slowing my bowels and possibly making matters worse. (This was many years ago) It was the first time I wished someone would just shoot me to end my suffering. Well I was finally given some pain relief. But I will never forget this horrendous ER experience.

I now go to a hospital where I get treated with respect and dignity. The first time I went to their ER I mentioned my concern about the pain meds and slowing the bowels and the ER dr said although that was a concern, they are more concerned about relieving my pain. I was so happy to find a ER that I could gotoin times of need and know that I will get relief and be treated well.

sick, do you have lower back problems? That can cause Sciatica. They would have to do an MRI.

I'm so very sorry you were treated this way! I know how horrible it feels when they make you feel that way! I had a doc do that to me once. I was so confused and I guess embarrassed that I didn't really speak up as much as I should have at the time it happened. I did write a letter after, though. So, go for it and give them a piece of your mind! They are there to help, not to belittle. I'm just so sorry...

I'm probably way off the mark on leg pain, but it's another idea... When I get severely anemic my legs hurt like crazy in the hamstring area. Yours sounds more acute than mine gets, but I figured it can hurt to throw out that idea.

good luck figuring it out. And hugs to you! I hope you feel better away from that ER!

I had my follow up appt with the general dr. Dr was very sympathetic and annoyed with the treatment I've been receiving overall. After reviewing my appt notes from the rheumatologists he said that that dr had written me off as unexplained pain, just treat the chronic pain. He said he knew this dr was well respected and knowledgable. So he was extemely surprised to hear that and was disappointed in him not digging any deeper. He is also referring me to a pain clinic near by in the interim. He said this guy is the best in the state and should be able to figure it out. I also brought my cimzia with me and they found a nurse in the hospital to inject them in my abdomen. I have to say today my legs have noticably improved. I'm walking normally again. Even my husband commented on it. My BP is still high, so he also prescribed the BP med. that the hospital gave me, but pill form. Dr was also surprised they sent me home with no BP medicine. So I went and also got a monitor so if it does go up that high (even with the BP meds) I have to go back to the ER. Also today for the first time I didn't have a low grade fever, it was 97.8. Dramatic improvement there. Its usually 99.9. I was also referred to a diagnostic center in Houston to follow up with, if I don't get any better. He said they are like the show "House". If all else fails, I'll go there. Looks like I at least have a plan, finally! So again I'm optimistic. We'll see how it goes from here. Thx for all you guys support. Don't know how I'd cope without it now!

Sniper:  What's interesting is that the dr is sending me to the competition due to his hospital's incompentancy.  He said this was "off the record" giving me to someone else.   He was truly concerned and believed there are answers, but their drs simply cannot find them. 

What's also interesting is the fact that the leg pain almost completely went away after the cimzia.  Making me think this is directly related to crohns or another autoimmune condition.  When I took the cimzia, i had no clue it would decrease the pain this much.  I just knew I needed my meds for crohns.  By this point, I had been completely off medicaiton for 3 weeks, not good. 

Yay! Maybe I can get my life back.