Just got out of the hospital....

[Pinner]

Originally Posted by Komskies

Morphine sounds fun.

My experience with Morphine, other times I think I just got Demerol.

Relaxing, very relaxing.

My ER nurse Ken was cheap with Demerol and made me beg for more, jerk.

But when I got over to the to the pre op side the nurse looked at my x rays and said "yikes that must hurt, how much do you weigh?"

I was pain free shortly after that, comfortably numb but very alert, I couldn't keep my eyes open and could slip into a dream instantly (I was pretty tired by that point) but still wide awake if that makes sense. Basically I couldn't feel my body I guess.

I could see how people in chronic pain would like that drug, just not as much as I had.

[Ice]

Originally Posted by boobaloo

Likely because the insurance payments are higher than a mortgage payment would be. I have friends in Tennessee whose health insurance premiums are about $800/month EACH, and they don't have any health issues. She said it would be at least double that if they were sick. Ah the world of free enterprise......

They should shop around. My entire family is fully insured for 750.00 per month. We pay extra to go to whatever doctor we want without needing permission or referrals. If we went to an HMO it would drastically reduce the cost. That amount gives us full medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage for four people. My husband is diabetic and has been since he was a child. I know private insurance isn't a perfect system, but the fact is, if you live in the US you need insurance. You don't have to pay 800.00/month for an individual to be insured.

[1stLand]

Originally Posted by PIMking

Well early Friday morning while in bed I started to feel like complete garbage. I felt like I had to poo or burp. The Pain was horrific, Needless to say I didn't have to do either. I went to the kitchen and drank a bit of water and tried to eat a piece of bread to calm my stomach. The pain didn't go away and as I was walking back to the bedroom I collapsed in pain no longer being able to walk. I crawled to the bed and woke up the fiance at around 4 am. At this point I couldn't breathe. I had tingling in my arms, legs and I was having a hard time seeing. I didn't know what the hell was going wrong.

So the fiance called her dad (dean of School of Social Work at bama) and he rushed to the house as I was in the front yard crippled and crying thriving in pain not being able to breathe.

We get to the ER and the give me Morphine, and an IV. So they take me up and get a sonogram and take me to my room. The doctor from India was a complete dick. He thought that I was just making all of this up and treated me like garbage until he went and found out I was full of Gaul stone (sp). came back about 3 hours later and told me that he was going to have a surgeon consult me. Well about 5 or 6 pm (after being in my room for at least 6 hours at this time) the nurse comes in to give me more morphine and a new bag. I asked if I could eat since I haven't ate since 9 pm on thursday night and I was starving.

Well they wouldn't let me eat and told me that the surgeon just walked by my room and asked if he stopped in. Well he didn't I ended up staying the night drugged up out of my mind ( I don't like painkillers) and finally the Indian doctor shows up this morning and tells me that the surgeon didn't come in or basically denied to see me because I don't have health insurance. (WTF) I was like he denied talking to me because I don't have Insurance? If I were an Illegal he would of cut me open and fixed me and just sent the bill to the government. Well then Jim walked in and being part of the Pediatric medical board along with the dean the Indian doctor asked who he was and well his tone totally changed along with everyone else in the hospital.

Well they found a new surgeon and I have to go in tuesday for a consult and get these things out of me. I'm not happy what so ever. I lost 2 days of work and starved for nothing. I was drugged and feel like poo because of it and I'm still in pain.

I am so against suing a hospital but I am really really looking at my options about this.

My stomach well more the part right under my rib cage is killing me. It feels like I have a 300 lb man just standing on it. I feel loopy from the drugs and I'm just not happy.

What should I do?

Oh, The nurse botched my IV. Put it in the arm wrong. Going from someone that has had all kinds of broken bones and crap I am scared to death of needles....

sounds like appendicitis man.....I had the same symptoms. Had to get appendix removed

[boobaloo]

Originally Posted by Ice

They should shop around. My entire family is fully insured for 750.00 per month. We pay extra to go to whatever doctor we want without needing permission or referrals. If we went to an HMO it would drastically reduce the cost. That amount gives us full medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage for four people. My husband is diabetic and has been since he was a child. I know private insurance isn't a perfect system, but the fact is, if you live in the US you need insurance. You don't have to pay 800.00/month for an individual to be insured.

You do realize that in Alberta there are no health care premiums and you can go wherever you like as well. Doesn't cover prescriptions, vision (exams under 18 are covered) and dental, however, but you'd have to have quite a bit of those to justify 750/month premiums......Glasses are 3-400 so if you bought a family of 4 new glasses every year, you'd only spend 2 months worth of your insurance fees. . And I know, you NEED it in the US...that's why the universal health care thing is so good and so underappreciated up here.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

why don't you have insurance?

25 year old college student that works at a hotel. Yes I make enough after rent, water, electricity, Car insurance, and Car payment for health insurance. I quit playing hockey so my chances of being hurt are really low and I just cant afford it. Insurance is so damn expensive.

[NuclearFart]

What exactly would you sue them for?

[PIMking]

I'm probably not going to sue. I was still pretty high on morphine. But If they end up taking out my Gall bladder on wed. Then why in the world did they keep me in the hospital for 2 days then kick me out just for a couple of days? Really, Just because it's memorial day weekend?

I feel like total crap. I have a hard time standing up. My stomach area is just killing me and I'm taking darvasit (sp) and I'm still in pain. I will go into work tonight. I just cant miss any more days at work. But if they end up taking out my gall bladder I'm going to be irate. How in the world can they just send me home for 3 days just to do it? kinda pathetic.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by boobaloo

You do realize that in Alberta there are no health care premiums and you can go wherever you like as well. Doesn't cover prescriptions, vision (exams under 18 are covered) and dental, however, but you'd have to have quite a bit of those to justify 750/month premiums......Glasses are 3-400 so if you bought a family of 4 new glasses every year, you'd only spend 2 months worth of your insurance fees. . And I know, you NEED it in the US...that's why the universal health care thing is so good and so underappreciated up here.

Buy glasses online, got mine with everything for $87, the same frames, just frames in store were $199 before lenses!

[metallicat]

Drop the car payment. If it comes down to health insurance or a car payment, I would choose the health.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by PIMking

Well they found a new surgeon and I have to go in tuesday for a consult and get these things out of me. I'm not happy what so ever. I lost 2 days of work and starved for nothing. I was drugged and feel like poo because of it and I'm still in pain.

While I know the exact pain you are feeling and am sympathetic, I am not however to your sue happy attitude.

It isn't the hospitals/doctors fault you are missing 2 days of work and are now hungry with probably a limited diet. It's the damn sicknesses fault!!!!!!

By the sounds of it, they "wasted" only 6 hours of your time before actually referring you to a proper surgeon. (Who can't see you until Tuesday anyways).
So why exactly do you want to sue? Is it the fact they wouldn't treat you without insurance? Is it because they wouldn't refer you to a surgeon/doc until you pulled the "do you know how we are" card with your fiances dad? (They probably still would have anyways, they wouldn't just let you sit in the bed forever).

I had pains almost exactly as yours, and I had taken the day off work to move. Instead, I spent 1 hour in a clinic, then 6 hours in the ER waiting room, then 6 hours in the ER bed. I also felt like I wasn't being taken seriously and in the end I was referred to a specialist. Was I mad that it couldn't be resolved right away? Hell no, I realize that's not possible.

[PIMking]

when I had my knee surgeries I had em done with in a day of the injury. But this was at the U of I medical centre. Better overall hospital than anything here in alabama.

Also I'm not a sue happy person. I hate people that sue but at that point I felt so lost and not helped. like I didn't matter, Also if I were an illegal alien they would of just fixed me up and sent the bill to the government. But since I have citizenship I was screwed.

[Hack&Lube]

So what's the deal with Obamacare getting insurance to the uninsured? Could that help you in any way?

The whole deal with illegal aliens is also a wierd US thing. With socialized medicine (actually one payer system), nobody here really cares who gets health care. Everybody deserves it, even illegal immigrants because they are human beings.

[PIMking]

Obamacare wont take affect for 4 years. They take the money and (hopefully dont piss it away) will provide insurance at discounted rates to people like me and for the people that cant afford it now. (the ones already on medicade) will get free iinsurance.

So basically Obamacare take taxes from everyone and still charge for insurance at a discounted rate.

It's not a socialized health care system like Canada.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by PIMking

I'm probably not going to sue. I was still pretty high on morphine. But If they end up taking out my Gall bladder on wed. Then why in the world did they keep me in the hospital for 2 days then kick me out just for a couple of days? Really, Just because it's memorial day weekend?

I feel like total crap. I have a hard time standing up. My stomach area is just killing me and I'm taking darvasit (sp) and I'm still in pain. I will go into work tonight. I just cant miss any more days at work. But if they end up taking out my gall bladder I'm going to be irate. How in the world can they just send me home for 3 days just to do it? kinda pathetic.

If you arent brewing an infection, gall bladders don't have to be taken out right away. In fact, the surgery is easier with better recovery rates if you can give the gall bladder inflammation a chance to settle down a bit. Your story isn't aberrant to an accepted standard of care.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by fotze

But he was Indian. INDIAN!!

Dot not feather!

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by PIMking

25 year old college student that works at a hotel. Yes I make enough after rent, water, electricity, Car insurance, and Car payment for health insurance. I quit playing hockey so my chances of being hurt are really low and I just cant afford it. Insurance is so damn expensive.

And you are planning on going to another city to watch a hockey game before getting insurance? You need to work on your priorities.

[HPLovecraft]

Insurance is for wussies. Take it like a man. You think they had insurance back in the the 1600s?!

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

And you are planning on going to another city to watch a hockey game before getting insurance? You need to work on your priorities.

Yes, since I can read into the future and see that my gall bladder is toast. Also Birmingham is only 40 mins away from me. I'm getting insurance but it wont make a difference since this will be a pre existing condition. Before you try to be a jack ass and pull the classic one liners on CP think before you do.

[Jagger]

US health care scares the heck out of me. Last year my wife was rushed to hospital in Florida while there on vacation. The four days she spent there cost over $30,000. We continued to get bills from the hospital and different specialists for five months! It was insane. Luckily we had medical travel insurance but it was nothing but hassle sorting everything out. They never did find out what was wrong with her either. Just did a few tests and gave her saline and very little else but charged large for it.

A word of advice for everyone. Do not take a chance on travel insurance, even on the shortest trips. It could end up costing you a tremendous amount of money.

[Ice]

Originally Posted by boobaloo

You do realize that in Alberta there are no health care premiums and you can go wherever you like as well. Doesn't cover prescriptions, vision (exams under 18 are covered) and dental, however, but you'd have to have quite a bit of those to justify 750/month premiums......Glasses are 3-400 so if you bought a family of 4 new glasses every year, you'd only spend 2 months worth of your insurance fees. . And I know, you NEED it in the US...that's why the universal health care thing is so good and so underappreciated up here.

I wasn't really comparing it to Alberta healthcare since the OP is in the US. There are pros and cons to each systerm and that's an entirely different conversation. I was responding to the comment about someone paying 800.00 for individual coverage, which I think is unnecessary. Like I said, I pay higher premiums by choice because I prefer to see any doctor I want, get an MRI tomorrow (or even today) if I need one, and not wait for approval to see a specialist if that's what I, or anyone in my family, needs. My sister-in-law has her family covered for 220.00 per month with an HMO. That's the choice she makes.

My other main point is that, like it or not, if you live in the US there is no socialized medicine, therefore you need insurance or you need to be able to afford to pay for medical costs out of pocket. If you choose not to buy medical insurance, you risk dealing with a situation like the OP is dealing with.

Also, illegal aliens do not get to walk into any hospital with say, a gall bladder problem, and get surgery for free. They'd likely have to wait a week or so for the surgery. If they aren't dealing with a critical, life threatening illness, they'll be told to go to a County hospital. County hospitals are usually overcrowded and have less physicians and nurses per patient. Its not like they get a free ride at any hospital they walk in to. Obviously, anyone who would die without immediate medical intervention would be treated. Even if the US people are not just allowed to die because they don't have insurance or legal resident status.

I should say, while imperfect, I really don't have a severe problem with private healthcare. Regardless of what anyone in Washington thinks, privatized healthcare is always going to exist. Rather than waste money forcing people to buy government healthcare, which I can't imagine will be decent, they should work on reforming the insurance industry. As for my family, I"m more than happy to pay a little extra to get the treatment I want and I appreciate that we can choose the amount of coverage and the access we want. I do think there needs to be an option for people who make too much to qualify for medicaid but don't make enough that they feel they can afford insurance to get coverage. I just think there's a way to do that without allowing our goverment, which has a terrible track record spending taxpayer dollars, to be the entity overseeing a new huge project like healthcare.