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Awful, angering experience yesterday...

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Posted 2/22/2011 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't been able to sleep well..I've always had problems with insomnia,but the past few nights before yesterday had been horrible..so yesterday I got up and went to work after almost two days straight of no sleep or rest, feeling like i was hearing things all night in the dark, and tons of negative thoughts that were overwhelming and attacking me. But i thought I just had to go to work and tough it out. I got there and started working (I work outside and where I live it's very hot right now)..drank coffee and five hour energy but things just kept getting worse. I couldn't remember anything, the negative and angry thoughts were taking over, my body was giving out and I kept feeling like I was going to pass out or throw up. Finally I went into the back to drink some water and one of the guys who works with me came up to me and asked if I was ok, and that was when i broke down and started crying really hard and hyperventilating (it was soo embarrassing ://) I just turned away from him and tried to hide my tears but i was going into a full blown panic attack. I just quickly told someone I needed to leave, clocked out and drove to the hospital because I really felt like I couldn't do anything else, that the world was a horrible place with no hope and I was going to do something horrible and impulsive if I didn't get help. BUT the hospital just made me very angry in the end...i went in there in a panic, crying and looking insane, begging for a psychiatrist. I went through the system, got evaluated. I told them i  needed medication badly at least to calm me down for the next few days or talk to a counselor TODAY but since I have no insurance I was denied the right to speak to someone who could help me. All i was given was a bill for 300 plus dollars!!! Now I just feel even more stressed than before. It makes me so mad that the health system can't or won't help people in need for mental health. And one of the ladies there told me to just go home and eat ice cream and that would make me feel better. NO. I'm sorry but that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. When you're having this severe of mental problems ice cream isn't going to help, *****! ;(((

Sorry for the long rant. :/

Post Edited By Moderator (getting by) : 2/22/2011 4:08:03 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/22/2011 10:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

I am sorry you were told to go home and eat ice cream. Emergency Departments are not allowed to send anyone away or to discuss payments up front if they are regulated by Joint Commission.  ER physicans are required to provide you with a medical screening exam to make sure you do not have an emergency.

Social service should have stepped in to arrange help for you.  Many ER's do not have a psychiatrist on staff nor facilities for mental health in patients.

I know that doesn't make you feel any better but perhaps it may help explain how ERs work. 

I do hope you made an appointment today to see your primary care physician.
 

Just an FYI, it’s best to stick to the nutritious drinks like fruit juices, coconut water, green tea and other natural beverages. Energy drinks like red bull, and power horse, may give you a kick for a while but they will also create a downer when the high subsides, and they don’t contribute to the body’s wellness because of the caffeine and sugar content in them – so energy drinks are just bad for you, and the less consumed the better. Good old water is a great choice.

I am not judging here,  just sharing what I have learned of these drinks.

I hope you are feeling better and remember we do support you. <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Posted 2/22/2011 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Hybridmoments,

jmho, but I think that the caffiene from the coffee and the energy drink is what caused the panic. And with not getting any sleep. I am sorry that the hospital treated you in the way that they did. You needed help, not to be let down. I agree with Kitt. See your primary care physican as soon as possible. You need some help with this and that is a good place to start.

Take care, keep posting.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 2/22/2011 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you guys for the advice. I was desperate to stay awake at work and I thought the only way to do so was lots of caffeine :( I'm sure it caused part of my panic attack along with lack of sleep and my mental state. The general hospital here in my town actually does have a psychiatric ward inside the hospital, the only reason I wasn't allowed to stay was because my insurance wouldn't cover it...so the social services that is responsible for paying for emergency cases ignored my pleas for help because they didn't want to pay for my stay, even though I explained as best I could how I was suicidal and needed help asap. I could've see a psychiatrist right down the hall! that was what really bothered me :( and since I live in a small town they had plenty of room available in the ward. I know now though not to go back there...I need to find a private psychiatrist/therapist even if it costs more money :/

Thank you again for your support and advice, I appreciate it!! <3
Posted 2/23/2011 1:32 AM (GMT 0)

THAT SUCKS nono !!!!!!!!! SENDING HEALINGS TO YOU.

WITH COMPASSION, JAMIE. A GOOD THERAPIST MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE. KEEP STRONG, HERE FOR YOU. JAMIE

Posted 2/23/2011 1:53 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you!!
Posted 2/23/2011 3:46 AM (GMT 0)
It was wrong of that hospital to do that to you. I do hope you will ask your pcp about
getting help, maybe he/she can recommend something and when you call to get an appointment
ask about discount if you pay cash. Sometimes they do a cash discount. I hope you
can get in and seen soon...
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hybridmoments))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Prayers, well wishes and healing hugz
Posted 2/23/2011 6:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hybridmoments wrote:

"Since I have no insurance I was denied the right to speak to someone who could help me."

Something as fundamental as medical treatment should be available to EVERY citizen. It is the only institution for which I support socialism. We regard free speech as an inalienable right. We even revere the sanctity of contracts and property ownership. Shouldn't basic medical treatment (especially during a potential emergency) be at least equally valued?

It can/has been argued that socialized medicine degrades the overall quality of health care. But, that ignores the plight of the uninsured person who is getting NO treatment whatsoever.

Hybridmoments also wrote:

"And one of the ladies there told me to just go home and eat ice cream and that would make me feel better."

Unless she is a doctor, nurse practitioner, or other person qualified and licensed to give medical advice, she should not have offered ANY advice. A twenty-something girl sitting behind an E.R. computer once told me that I had congestive heart failure. [I didn't/don't have it]. It took her a grand total of perhaps 90 seconds to arrive at that diagnosis. I was stunned by her audacity.

Insurance or not, I have learned that you must be your own best advocate when dealing with the medical profession. It doesn't hurt to have another advocate (friend, relative) working on your behalf behind the scenes. Without self advocacy, you run the risk of being pushed aside the moment your case becomes hard to diagnose.
Posted 2/23/2011 6:17 AM (GMT 0)
no idea, jamie. it is weird.
Posted 2/23/2011 6:18 AM (GMT 0)
Figured it out. It was the [ S ]. Doh!
Posted 2/23/2011 6:20 AM (GMT 0)
good davecholly. jamie
Posted 2/23/2011 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
I would tell them to take their $300 bill and shove it where the sun don't shine. It's a disgrace that we live in America and cannot get the help we need!
Posted 2/24/2011 12:19 AM (GMT 0)
Omg!!! I am going thru something right now as i type and its awful for me, but not nearly as bad as what I just read what they did to you. I don't know you from Adam, but if your here your my brother or sister sorry on my phone can't see a lot so I can't see a signature but I am so angry at how you were treated!!!! Wrong, wrong,wrong... U don't deserve to be treated like that regardless of financial means. You are a person who is going to the E R because you feel it's to that point that you should be there. I am so mad, sad, hurt for you. Panic attacks alone are awful but with the thoughts, being scared.... How do those people go to sleep at night I wish I could of gave u a hug and been there for you. I may have had you even laughing because I would of been acting like a patient in the 3 stooges crazy ward!!! I will get up later, I hope u post more so we can see ur ok and talk it out with you. My fist is still shaking cause I am so mad u were reaching out for help at the one place we are all told to go in an emergency and it was clearly an emergency.... Shame on them.
Posted 2/24/2011 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your support, I really can't believe how bad the system is at hospitals!! I really believe that if i person comes into a hospital in a mental or physical crisis they should be helped as much as possible, yet these people treat you as if youre just a number...and the two ladies who were supposed to be from social services were acting like it was just a joke that I was even there!! >:( The first person who talked to me said I should really stay at the hospital to get some help, because THEY DO have a psychiatric ward right there on site and they were not full at at all.. they said there was only ONE other person staying there, so it's not like i was taking up space or time!! but since i don't have insurance the social services that are supposed to fund hospitilization for people like me (with no insurance) ignored what i was saying about being suicidal, needing medicaiton desperately, etc because they did not want to pay for my stay. All i wanted was to speak to the psychiatrist down the hall, or even a therapist, but instead they were rude, patronizing and told me to eat ice cream and laughed about it while i was in pain. Like davecholly said its better to have a advocate with you to demand help I guess, but at the time I was so weak and in mental pain I couldn't do it for myself...and my family does not understand or support me enough to be there and advocate for me. Anyway, I am done with that hospital...and any ER if i can help it. I went there in an emergency and wasn't helped! I don't have a private regular doctor..most of my life I've gone to clinics where I see random doctors, who ever is available at the time..and since I just moved to a small town I don't even have a doctor or clinic to go to yet, but I'm trying to find a private psychiatrist/therapist! I hope they can be more helpful!

Once again thank you everyone for support I really appreciate it!! <33
Posted 2/24/2011 12:36 AM (GMT 0)
Oh yeah, and I AM NOT paying the 300$ bill!! wink wink
Posted 2/24/2011 3:27 AM (GMT 0)
neither would i !!!!!!!!!! keep strong. with healing compassion, jamie
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