Anonymous wrote:Doctors are more likely to believe mens pain. My DH has been in the ER for kidney stones and back pain, they load him up. I went to the ER one time with a broken bone and they gave me Tylenol. I was told I fit the profile of a drug user because I was a white female in my 40's.

NP. I absolutely believe this. My husband was prescribed 30 Dilaudid after his vasectomy. He was fine only taking Advil for a couple days for post-procedure discomfort. I very much doubt any women are given 30 Dilaudid after getting their tubes tied.

Doctors are more likely to believe mens pain. My DH has been in the ER for kidney stones and back pain, they load him up. I went to the ER one time with a broken bone and they gave me Tylenol. I was told I fit the profile of a drug user because I was a white female in my 40's.

I totalled my car and was brought in by ambulance. I hit my on the head restraint in the rebound portion of the crash. In the ED, I saw a doctor who wanted to do a CT and get me some help for my pain. Then there was a huge crisis in the ED that required everyone's attention, including the doctor.

A nurse came in later and said that I was drug seeking. I didn't know the name of the doctor I had seen and she said unless I could give her the name I was drug seeking. I also (although unknown at the time) had a concussion and my cognitive skills were not at their best. She basically shamed me by calling my visit post-crash drug seeking behavior. I got up and left (a friend took me home). She started screaming that I had to sign out AMA. I told her I didn't get any medical advice.

Several years later, in the same ER, my sister tore a disc in her back. Without ever doing any imaging, they gave her morphine, valium and lidocaine and sent her on her way. The next day I took her to my doctor (she is not local) and he ordered an MRI and she had torn a disc and ruptured another. He agreed that the meds (except the valium) and put her on prednisone.

There are real pain emergencies in the ED. Has it come down to the point where whatever caregiver you get decides if you have pain or not? There has to be a better way.

Anonymous wrote:I agree the pendulum has swung way too far in the ER for pain management. I have only been twice- both for broken bones due to falls- and in both cases it was hours before I could get anyone to speak to me about pain relief much less addressing my injury.

At Inova Fairfax they forgot me in the hall and only remembered me when my husband came looking for me several hours later. Since it was my ankle that was broken I couldn’t even walk to the main area to ask for help.

When I broke my wrist it was better because I could walk to the nurse station and remind them each hour that I was waiting for an x ray to be read so that I could go home and take a Motrin.

I’ve heard this so many times from friends. INOVA FFX is an amazing top notch hospital. But unless you come in on a stretcher with a major trauma, the ER is not for you. If at all possible go to another hospitals ER.

I agree the pendulum has swung way too far in the ER for pain management. I have only been twice- both for broken bones due to falls- and in both cases it was hours before I could get anyone to speak to me about pain relief much less addressing my injury.

At Inova Fairfax they forgot me in the hall and only remembered me when my husband came looking for me several hours later. Since it was my ankle that was broken I couldn’t even walk to the main area to ask for help.

When I broke my wrist it was better because I could walk to the nurse station and remind them each hour that I was waiting for an x ray to be read so that I could go home and take a Motrin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NSAID allergies sure is a red flag. It's even flagged in the medical literature with quotes around it. I developed the allergy when I took too much aspirin back in the day because doctors thought my major migraines were fake. Their solution was to take hot baths and go for walks. This was in the years before Imitrex came on the scene and migraine patients were brought into the mainstream.

So my husband, neighbour and myself all had dental implant surgery with sinus lifts which causes major post op swelling. They were prescribed painkillers and NSAIDS to keep swelling down. Because I am red flagged I was given nothing so had to just use hot and cold compresses to try to keep the swelling down and just wait out the pain.

I fully expect when my osteoarthritis gets too bad I will have to choose medical aid in dying. I live in Canada where 2 women have been "put down" because of arthritis so far.

Super dramatic.

I’m the PP above this post and question their information. There was also a nurse posting a few pages back that said this claim is false. There is something else in this persons background that is either a contradiction to narcotics or that has labeled this person as drug seeking. It’s not the allergy.

Anonymous wrote:NSAID allergies sure is a red flag. It's even flagged in the medical literature with quotes around it. I developed the allergy when I took too much aspirin back in the day because doctors thought my major migraines were fake. Their solution was to take hot baths and go for walks. This was in the years before Imitrex came on the scene and migraine patients were brought into the mainstream.

So my husband, neighbour and myself all had dental implant surgery with sinus lifts which causes major post op swelling. They were prescribed painkillers and NSAIDS to keep swelling down. Because I am red flagged I was given nothing so had to just use hot and cold compresses to try to keep the swelling down and just wait out the pain.

I fully expect when my osteoarthritis gets too bad I will have to choose medical aid in dying. I live in Canada where 2 women have been "put down" because of arthritis so far.

Super dramatic.

Anonymous wrote:NSAID allergies sure is a red flag. It's even flagged in the medical literature with quotes around it. I developed the allergy when I took too much aspirin back in the day because doctors thought my major migraines were fake. Their solution was to take hot baths and go for walks. This was in the years before Imitrex came on the scene and migraine patients were brought into the mainstream.

So my husband, neighbour and myself all had dental implant surgery with sinus lifts which causes major post op swelling. They were prescribed painkillers and NSAIDS to keep swelling down. Because I am red flagged I was given nothing so had to just use hot and cold compresses to try to keep the swelling down and just wait out the pain.

I fully expect when my osteoarthritis gets too bad I will have to choose medical aid in dying. I live in Canada where 2 women have been "put down" because of arthritis so far.

I have an NSAID allergy and have never been “red flagged”. I also had an implant this year and was given a steroid pack and a few days of percocet. I also had a csection 2 years ago and was given percocet.

Where are you reading that those with NSAID allergies are “red flagged”?

NSAID allergies sure is a red flag. It's even flagged in the medical literature with quotes around it. I developed the allergy when I took too much aspirin back in the day because doctors thought my major migraines were fake. Their solution was to take hot baths and go for walks. This was in the years before Imitrex came on the scene and migraine patients were brought into the mainstream.

So my husband, neighbour and myself all had dental implant surgery with sinus lifts which causes major post op swelling. They were prescribed painkillers and NSAIDS to keep swelling down. Because I am red flagged I was given nothing so had to just use hot and cold compresses to try to keep the swelling down and just wait out the pain.

I fully expect when my osteoarthritis gets too bad I will have to choose medical aid in dying. I live in Canada where 2 women have been "put down" because of arthritis so far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I have literally the opposite experience. Doctors seem to throw narcotics at me. I cut my finger and needed a couple of stitches. Went to the ER. 15 days worth of narcotics. I broke my toe and saw my doctor to be sure it didn't need to be reset. Narcotics. Root canal. Narcotics. My 22 year old was prescribed Loritab for a bad sore throat last year. It's crazy.

Are you in West Virginia?

Yeah, I'm curious about where PP is located. I can tell you that in Northern Virginia, it is extremely difficult for legitimate chronic pain patients to obtain even low dosages of opioids. Some pain management practices have policies to not prescribe opioids at all. These practices now just focus on procedures $$$. It sucks big time for legitimate patients. I wonder how many resort to buying drugs on the street/internet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ERs are just a crapshoot. I was having an asthma attack and went to be treated. The dr told me that I was fine and he didn't hear any wheezing when he listened to my lungs. Yup, you don't hear wheezing when your lungs are too constricted to move air. They told me it was a panic attack. Any panic was caused by the fear of dying because they wouldn't treat my asthma.

Any doctor knows the difference between diminished lung sounds and clear. They can also see that your vitals are fine. You were having a panic attack.

Ha. Not true. My kids also have asthma and we often meet physicians who can't diagnose asthmatic symptoms. On many occassions doctors will identify the wheezing after a nebulizer treatment when pre-nebulizer the doctor says their chest sounds clear.

So why did they order meds by nebulization? You don't do that for perfectly normal lung exam.

There's a difference between "clear" (can't hear abnormal sounds) and "normal lung sounds" (normal exam with good breath sounds). If they said "clear," didn't necessarily mean "normal" -- and if it did, your kid wouldn't have gotten nebulized meds.