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        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
        
(Message started by: Jasen on May 22^nd, 2005, 10:56pm)

Title: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by Jasen on May 22^nd, 2005, 10:56pm

I've been having rebounds from the Amerge this weekend. I went thru 2 bottles of O2 finished the last one at 5 AM this morn. Was a bad day. I went to the ER about 10:30 AM Asked the Dr. for pain killers to get me thru til monday when I can get ahold of my Neuro.
Had a violent attack while there so I took the Dr. up on his offer for Dilaudid. I feelt pretty queezy after the shoot but just figured it wasdo to the meds and the CH. Been feelin queezy for hrs. now. I looked at my ER paper work, thay gave me Phenagren as well to help with nausa do to the meds.
Don't these people read the allergy paper work. I'm freakin allergic to Phenagrin. Fortunetly it was a small dose. The last and first time it was given to me it made me horribly ill and the ER wouldn't let me leave for 4 hrs.

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by lionsound on May 23^rd, 2005, 8:12am

Hi Jasen,
I hope you are doing okay today.Sorry you're having such a rough time and had to go to the ER.

If you are going to yor neuro today you might want to ask the doc about a protocol for the ER. Sometimes they will give you a card...or you can make one yourself to carry with you with the meds you're on, the ER treatment you need and and med allergies.

take care,
lionsound

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by Gator on May 23^rd, 2005, 10:49am

Sounds to me like they had the information written down. They just didn't bother to pay attention to it and they didn't advise Jasen of everything they were pumping into his system. A more litigious person would have them on their knees in court.

Jasen, sorry to hear you had such a rough weekend. That being said, going to an ER and specifcally asking for pain killers is going to label you and any other clusterheads going to the ER as drug seekers, lessen the quality of care you and others recieve and cause the medical staff to take our disease less seriously.

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by Karla on May 23^rd, 2005, 5:10pm

I am allergic to iodine. The stuff they use to clean wounds and areas to have babies. Well I had a horrible reaction between births of my twins 1 1/2 hrs apart. I had to wait for swelling down there to go away.

Then when I have my next baby I tell them I am allergic to iodine. Then what does she do? She turns around and grabs the bottle of iodine to cleanse me with before birth. If I would not have been paying close attention I would have been in for big trouible. I cussed her out a good when and told her suppervisor also.

Some are just helpless and don't get it I guess.

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by yikes-another-one on May 23^rd, 2005, 6:13pm

Why don't more ER people know about oxygen?

Why do they make us sit around with our thumbs
(you know where) waiting, waiting, waiting...
instead of hooking us up to the o2????

Why is this world so topsy turvy?

Alas.

I should make a resolution to stop asking why....

It gets me no where. ;)

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by kcopelin on May 23^rd, 2005, 9:21pm

I went to the ER about 2 years ago-2 a.m. and I friggin drove with a 7-had a bag of frozen peas plastered to my right eye-I was probably clinically insane at that time-anyway-no oone else there- I sat in the ER for 3 hours-of course the cluster was gone by the time a doc looked at me. Of course I asked repeatedly for O2. Know what they said? We can give you a shot of demerol if you have someone to drive you home. What a waste.

P.S. I still haven't paid that medical bill.
Kathy

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by Jasen on May 23^rd, 2005, 11:41pm

Gator,
I see your point, let me be more spacific.
I told him I was out of O2 and the meds I were on wern't right. I asked for something just to get me thru till monday when I could call my Neuro.and try another abortive. Told him I had been on Vicodin for break throughs and that helped a lot.

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by forgetfulnot on May 24^th, 2005, 12:39pm

on 05/22/05 at 22:56:13, Jasen wrote:

Option for phenenrgan: http://www.pfizer.com/download/uspi_vistaril.pdf

Leave for 4 hours, take a cab or piss off your best freind.
(That could be your wife)

ER,s don't keep permanant records as you would expect. They keep them but due to the time crunch you are treated as a "new" patient everytime you come in. They would have no way to know of your allergy unless you tell them. They normally ask.

Lee

Edit to add. If they suspect you are a drug seeker, they might refer to their records as you sit there for hours for them to retrieve them.

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by blueeyes_rn on May 25^th, 2005, 3:44pm

I am a registered nurse, I teach pain management to nurses and let me just tell you ER staff are the worst to try to get through to!!!

They stereotype, and they aren't up on what's "new"
We know that CHs aren't new, but I can speak for my medical center which employs 1400, very few have even heard the term CH, let alone know about treatment options.

I recently bought the wrist bands and people ask me about it all the time, in the elevator, at lunch; I take the time to tell them what we are suffering with.

Every person we educate goes a long way to getting the word out.

I really liked lionsound's advise: If you are going to your neuro today you might want to ask the doc about a protocol for the ER. Sometimes they will give you a card...or you can make one yourself to carry with you with the meds you're on, the ER treatment you need and and med allergies.

blueeyes_rn

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by kimmeesue on May 25^th, 2005, 4:10pm

Because I take so many meds and am allergic to so many more I carry a little card, as does my husband which is the first thing I ( usually he) hand to them along with my insurance card. I'm usually in no shape to answer many questions and just say "look at the card". Have been thanked my many nurses and docs for providing this info.
Duh, just read through on this thread. Well, it is a good suggestion, Lionsound, I can attest to that, have used it for years.

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by forgetfulnot on May 25^th, 2005, 11:46pm

on 05/25/05 at 15:44:29, blueeyes_rn wrote:

Thanks blue, we need all the help we can get!

Lee

Title: Re: Trip to the ER nearly went bad.
Post by Apple on Jun 1^st, 2005, 11:03pm

I agree with the above poster(s) who mentioned the frustration with the ER. You are so fortunate to even get anyone to take you seriously and NOT treat you like a drug seeker. However, that allergy oversight sounds horrid!!!

BTW, it's fairly common to get phenagran with a narcotic at the ER. So, if you don't get a treatment protocol from your neurologist, you might want to ask your neurologist what you should be given instead of phenagran and then request it at the ER.

I wrote an article about this topic at the Headache/Migraine website at www.remedyfind.com. Part of it is still archived: April 2005 edition. You can sign up for all the newsletters by going to the site. They come out monthly.

It's bad enough to suffer from Migraines and/or Cluster h/a's, but to go through hell in the ER on top of it is just too much! BTDT. It stinks!

Blessings,
A.