My ex was rushed to a hospital for an attack of diverticulitis. They were concerned that he might have errupted and might become septic. This hospital was new and the ER room was not very busy at all! I know what a busy ER room looks like as I also worked in one once upon a time.

We arrived there at 6:00 p.m. They forgot him and didn't attend him until 10:30 p.m. after I threw a fit. They FORGOT him AGAIN! They finally transferred him to a room at 2:00 a.m.......busy....my ass. Negligent...yes.

He spent 2 weeks in the hospital with a morphine drip.

So, some Emergency Rooms do suck!

I AM venting, I DID wait with out complaining. but when it was my turn I just thought that I deserved a decent checkup.....and for the amount that I will have pay, for less than five minutes of Doc time, I AM paying for those that can't....

I do have an appointment to see a GI guy next week

I am a Nurse, and I have seen the attitudes you speak of. I am not saying it is right, but I am saying that ED are over whelmed and understaffed. You, absolutely did the correct thing in going in, especially given your History, and medication. I hope that it provided some comfort, in knowing that you were not going to bleed out, and that you need a follow up, with your own Physician. Big hugs to you ((((Pemdcat)))) Kimmee

Sorry that I am so "ignorant and beating up on people". And it would be nice to know who shared the contents of my hug with you so you could critique it. I guess everything is fair game here even personal messages.

I just wanted to add, that not all ED are the same either. In upstate NY where I lived, I took my daughter into the larger hospital at age 15 with chestpain. We waited in the waiting room for an hr. The thinking was that what could be going wrong with a 15 yr old heart. When we finally got in and they put the monitor on her, the attending Nurse almost shit her pants and got the doctor in there immediately, at the irregular heart rate. The next time this happened I went to the tiny one near to me, and they heard chest pain and triaged her in, as they should have. I hope that you are going to be ok, and try not to let it worry you. Being calm helps this situation. Put on some calming music, and do something that you love for awhile. Another healing hug, Kimmee

I did gain some comfort, and I will be following up....I didn't mind the wait, my daughter and son-in-law were there and we visited..I just felt that I was short changed... I know how ER's work and people do use them as dotors offices.....

Ladyfuzz I too feel your pain the hospital I work for announced that it IS closing in less than 3 years.....

Pemdcat...I am not minimalizing your health issues. ER's are more expensive. That is a fact. Part of it is because we have something like a 500% increase in non-paying people in the last 6 years. If you feel you did not get your money's worth and are still bleeding go back. It is your right. If you feel satisfied with your care (albeit short) get with your regular physician for a follow up. I know there are bad ER's but the bulk of them are getting a bad rap because people want everything yesterday. Sorry, if my comments were taken wrong. This is MY hot button since we are cutting back on services and salaries this last week and the layoffs will come soon. With that...the waits will be so much longer. Feel better soon...

pmed - you absolutely did the right thing = my best friend wound up having six bleeding ulcers that were such a slow bleed that there was no visible evidence. She got more and more fatigued. By the time I got her to see her doctor, the next step was the emergency room.

Tons of tests later and IV drip, they informed her she was down to 3 units of blood, which was "incompatible with life. They gave her six units of blood ans she was up to 10 units when she left the hospital. I kept her at my house to care for her for awhile.


The morale - GI bleeding is much more serious than I realized - good for you for scheduling your follow-up.

Lynne

PS - Alice is doing fine now!

Umm.... hugs are public.

I'm just saying...

Also, GI Bleeding is kinda significant... at the very least worth at least more than a cursory look, as Pemdcat has indicated happened...

again.. just saying...

Any kind of internal bleeding is a bad thing. It's not where you can see it, so it's hard to see how much blood is being lost and what it's doing to the organs.

Very scary!

If you need a job in a hospital, come to Seattle. Every single one of our hospitals are hiring tons of positions. It's almost insane.

Did no one other than me catch the fact that this man is on blood thinners and he did not even get the cursory check-up? He comes here to discuss this with us, knowing that there are a number of nurses on this board and he gets beat up for "complaining"! Argh..... I would actually suggest that you get a hold of your on call physician like right now... he will probably send you back to the ER, however, he will be there, or will have someone there to thoroughly check you out!

Are you on Plavix or Cumadin?

Giddy...

Yep... i caught that... I was hoping that the Doc had at least taken that into account...

I ustacud for a while years ago as an army Medic... thats why it piqued my curiosity...

ugg... i understand the necessity of dealign with patients as quickly as you can to keep the flow going... but soemtimes certain things need to trigger...


but then again... i don't trust doctors anymore... i only trust Nurses, Medics and EMTs... they still care for the most part.

just my opinion.

Ummm...Most of the people here aren't beating him up for this. We are actually sympathizing with the issues that go with going to an ED.

Many of us even told him that he did the right thing.

Nobody missed that part Giddy, but I also see that he said the doctor said the bleeding was too small to really treat. So I think the doctor probably did more than walk in say "Your not bleeding enough to treat" and walked out. I would bet that there was some sort of exam.

He did a stool sample smear on a test blotter and it turned positive for blood......I am on asprin therapy for cardiac issues....I normally clot OK but at times a small nick on a knuckle, or scrape will bleed nonstop for an hour.... I don't feel beat up and I do understand everyone's point of view....Ladyfuzz and I had some conversation and I am cool with her. I too understand her frustration....now I fell that I have vented enough....thank you all for you help and concerns...I do have a GI Group to see, I will follow up and if the warning signs come back I will haul my ass back to the ED and I will call my Docs and have them meet me there....Thanks Again....AJJ