So the last 8 days of my life have probably been the worst 8 days of my life. It started 8 days ago while I was fishing with the abrupt onset of a horrible headache on the right side of my head. Irronically I got called into work for a stat C-section so I took a few motrin and fought through it. The next day the headache was still there so more motrin and I worked a 12 hour shift. By that night, the headache was getting worse. By sat. evening it had gotten even worse. It was still unilateral and it's focal point was at the base of my skull and radiated up the right side just shy of my temple. Sunday was basically unbearable so Sunday night I went to my local ED to make sure I didn't have a bleed. I drove myself so I informed them I wouldn't be able to take anything for pain. I had a negative CT and the ER doc wanted to do an LP. I had no fever, no stiff neck, no nausea and had delt with an LP headache about 4 years ago so I politely refused. He offered me Lortab and I declined and requested Tramadol so I could still function. He also wrote for neurontin and tegretol thinking it may be trigeminial neuralgia. I saw my PCP on monday and she told me to hold off of the heavy neuro drugs so I only filled the Tramadol. She checked me and gave me a consult for a neurologist and wrote for steroids. I scheduled an appointment with them for Wednesday. Tuesday night was my worst night. Tramadol and 800 of motrin with 650 of acetaminophen wasn't touching it. I was also nauseas. I decided to go to the ED at the hospital my neuro has privledges incase they admited me for pain and obs. When I got to the ED, I gave them my history. They put me in a room and the doc asked me a few questions.
Here is where the offensive part starts. The Doc comes in and asks me questions. I give him my history. He offers LP and I decline again. He says he will start an IV and give me something for pain and I also asked for Zofran. Nurse comes in and gives Toradol 30mg and Zofran. Fine with me. Then, I don't see anyone for about an hour. I'm still in terrible pain. Nurse comes back in and I ask for water. She says she needs to check. 30 min. go by and she stick her head in to say she still is waiting for doc to tell her if I can have water. One hour later, another nurse comes in (this is not shift change by the way) with a glass of water and discharge papers. I'm baffled. I ask what this is all about and he responds that I didn't want an LP. No plan, no labs, no regards for my pain as far as I'm concerned. I ask him that if they are so concerned about a brain bleed and want to do an LP, than why did they give me toradol. He tells me that's not the only reason they do an LP and that they also check for meningitits. I promptly reply that I have no symptoms of meningitis. He looks at me baffled and leaves to get doc. While I'm sitting in the room, I hear someone in the hallway say "the medical professionals always know the right things to say to get them." Now I'm in severe pain and ****** off. The doc comes in and asks me what I want him to do. I tell him to help me figure out what is wrong with me and help me figure out how I'll survive through the night. He says he can give me a couple of pills and writes a script for 6 percocets. Fine. Get me the hell out of here.
I have never been so offended in my life. I plan to write a letter to the president of the hospital which happens to be in the same system that I work. I am not a drug user. I actually hate the things and still have 4 of the 6 percocet left, not to mention about 25 tramadol left. I have been taking Fioricet and motrin for the last 3 days with tegretol. Turns out I have Occipital Neuralgia which is a headache worthy of suicide. Today I received an Occipital Nerve Block. It is helping quite a bit. I'm not 100% but at least I'm not debilitated. So much for being a drug seeker. It's unfortunate that in today's society there are some many people addicted to these things but it's not fair to assume that everyone that comes in complaining of pain is drug seeking. I would love to see those nurses or that doc experience the pain I have experienced for 8 days and then tell me I was drug seeking.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
if anyone is offended, it may have something to do with the idea that you're being offensive right now. the only thing i'm taking from this whole series of posts is that it's impossible to please some folks.
by the way -- not sure what a "drug attic" is. spell checker gone awry? or some new term with which i, as an old jaded nurse am not familiar?
When your step-father who has been an MD for 35 uswest says maybe you should go to the ER, you go. I didn't want to, but I also didn't want to die that night. I didn't expect to be treated like the pill head that they thought I was. If the LP was that important, they should have said so instead of talking about me in the hallway.
Your GP didn't know what to do with you and directed you to the ER. Given all the complaining and non-compliance on your part, my feeling is that you were ceremoniously dumped.
NickB...you go to an ED, refuse the MD's plan of care...refuse an LP, tell them which meds you DON'T and DO want, and leave.
Go to another ED and do the same thing.
What did you expect? I don't get why you are so upset.
I wouldn't walk into a law firm and tell the lawyers how to do their job. I have no idea what lawyers do...just please do your job if I need you!
If you walk into an ED, let them do their job, as well.
Those who work in an ED know that for every "typical" presentation of meningitis (and every other disease), there are 5 atypical. Knowing that makes ED people effective nurses and doctors.
To Dixie RedHead....I think you are letting your 20 years get a little bit into your head. A patient has the right to be educated about his or her condition and chose the course of his or her treatment. Keep that attitude up, and someone is going to be admitted to a North Carolina hospital and possibly walking out with your license in hand. I like how this forum states there are no personal attacks....YET FROM WHAT I READ HERE....THAT IS WHAT I SEE WHAT HAPPENING.
Wow kayak. Where did this come from? Nobody was personally attaking anyone (well until your post). In which post did Dixieredhead say pt's shouldn't be educated? I must of missed it. She said pt's don't have the right to dictate their tx. As they don't when they come to the ER like the OP did when she visited the ER. The OP basically tied the ED staff's hands when she refused narcs, important tests etc. But pt's do have the right to refuse tx and tests.
And KUDOS to all the ER nurse's. From the OP's post (aside from the hallway comment IF it was about the OP) they didn't do anything wrong. You will never know what it is like until you work there. And although we are just "screenames" I feel I have come to know alot of you. And respect the opinions given by my fellow nurse's. If given the chance I would pack up and move if given the chance to work along side some of these nurse's. Dixieredheaded included!
This entire thread has turned into a personal attack. Some of these posts don't even make sense anymore. You all have gotten two entirely different trips to the ED mixed up in your need to try to belittle me. And yes, jumping on someone for spelling a word wrong is a personal attack as are numerous other attempts on here. But don't worry, none of these hurt my feelings because the majority of you are real tuff when there is a computer screen between us. You're right, we won't know how it feels until we walk in your shoes. And guess what, you'll never know how it feels until you're in the pt's shoes. Guarantee more than half of you have never been there. What this thread has done is show how prone the majority of you are at making assumptions about people. I feel pity for the majority of your pt's. The majority of you walk around the hospital acting like you know more than the MD's the majority of the time (see this thread: https://allnurses.com/emergency-nursing/worst-doctors-orders-333899.html) until you need it to your benefit and THEN the MD becomes the almighty voice of reason. I always include all of my pt's in their plan of care. When I have a nurse as my pt, I give them the respect that they have earned and if they don't know what they are talking about or have a false assumption, I talk them through it. I didn't know what to do next. I'm a freaking obstetrics nurse. I was in an extraordinary amount of pain. Pain I'm sure the majority of you have never felt (Look up Occipital Neuralgia and cluster headaches sometime.) I tried to take the least aggressive approach and take the weakest drug I could that would still work. When it didn't work anymore, I went back out of fear and desperation. When your 21 week pregnant wife and 3 year old are crying because you are on the floor in agony, there's not much left to do. If a freaking LP was so important, than the ER doc should've said so instead of nonchalantly (did I spell that right spell checker?) saying, "well, we could do an LP?" And yes, they were talking about me outside of my room. And even if they weren't, have some freaking couth (did I spell that right?) and go talk about people at the nurses station.
@ kayak133, I am a pretty tough cookie, and I don't mind someone speaking their mind. You have voiced your opinion, and I respect that. I like a little back and forth sometime, stops all the back patting and slap and tickle. We disagree.
That being said, if they are going to get my license, they are going to have to do in within the next 23 months. I will retire.
:lol2:
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
i hope it's spell auto-cprrect gone awry!