i had forgotten all about it but it just hit me, i did have something like that a long, long time ago. it was a strange situation, and at the time i felt very dissociated from myself, i was tired, confused, hadn't been able to see clearly for a few months (lost my glasses, sort of on purpose, not completely, but i didn't like the way they looked, i was 17). i had been living on the street for about a month i think, and hitchhiking across the country trying to find something. i ended up in new orleans through a strange series of events, but the morning i got there i was pissed off and trying to get away from the man i was travelling with, and ended up getting hit by a car when i crossed the street. they took me to Charity hospital, which was horrible, and i lay on a gurney for hours. i don't even remember if i was in pain, what i remember is being really, really thirsty. i was very thirsty already when it happened, and they would not give me any water, even though i kept begging for it. they said i couldn't have any until the doctor checked me. i knew there was nothing wrong with me that a drink would hurt, and that made me even madder, and there was nothing i could do but lay there. what was really upsetting, as i lay there suffering, was two doctors standing next to my gurney laughing and chatting about their golf game, completely ignoring me. it was so surreal and unbelievable i couldn't even say anything, like when my dentist told me to stop crying, the other children would think it hurt (that's another story, when i was a kid i never even knew there was such a thing as novocaine, it took me 35 years at least until i could relax around the sound of a dentist drill). i have seen callousness like that before in doctors, it is sickening. i saw them once laugh at a woman who was mentally ill and very distressed and raving while i was in after a suicide attempt, that was at county. there is a segment of the population that does not consider the poor to be human beings, just a higher class of beast than domestic animals. i have seen that in action, my dutch neighbors in costa rica have a guard (nicaraguan, who are looked down on as lower than costa ricans) that they treat literally like a dog, and he and his family have accepted that as their status and go along with it, which sickens me as well. i guess that makes it easier for them to rationalize their lives and they like to imagine that they have earned what they have, as if everyone has opportunity. perhaps that is factoring into your treatment, but i don't know your situation. when i had my experience, it wasn't even upsetting really to me, i was quited used to that sort of treatment (and worse) at the time, but i always knew they were rotten. sometimes the only thing i can say is it's a shit world, full of greed and selfishness and apathy ("Richard said, 'Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy,'" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luuqhAS0x6o ), and sometimes i wish it could be changed, but all we can really do is protect ourselves from it as best we can and try to find people who are better than that.

I'm so sorry that happened to you, Brain. Doctors and hospitals are huge triggers for me because of my history. I completely agree with what both of you have said.

I don't want to scare people away from medical treatment when they need it, but I DO think it's important that you go into it with the attitude that YOU are in control of healing, not the doctors. You have the right, and obligation to yourself, to ask questions, demand answers, and tell them what they can and can't do to your body. Doing so could save your life, or the life of a loved one.

Here's a quick synopsis of some of my experiences:
Abused by a doctor doing a rectal exam at age 11, told woman doctor at 13 about it and she assured me she wouldn't do an exam, then forced me to have one anyway. I stayed away from doctors until my early 30s, then dared try my husband's doctor. Trusted his nurse with the story of the abuse, and asked for an external ONLY ultrasound for an issue I was having... She made an appointment and when I got there the hospital had me set up for an INTERNAL one. I'll never trust another one.

Also, nurses OD'd my dad on painkillers once, giving him an entire 8 hours' worth at once. I had to stand between a nurse and my hubby after surgery, physically keeping her from giving him a drug he had had a bad reaction to (that his doc said he'd put on his chart and didn't). Then my dad died during a "routine" surgery because his cardiologist failed to do a pre-surgery test that would have shown a high risk for the surgery.

Nope, I don't trust them for a moment. They aren't superheroes; they're just people. Most of them do what they think is right, but WE know our bodies better than they do, so if something doesn't seem right to you, trust YOURSELF over any doctor. Ask questions, demand to be listened to, and don't hesitate to leave.

As far as emergency rooms go, I tend to think that most people arrive there in a minor crisis, and aren't seen until it turns into a life-threatening crisis caused by waiting so long. I've heard of people waiting with broken limbs for 6 hours or more... Terrible.

Stay healthy!
Wistala

OMG you must live in Powell, WY like me! I moved here about 3 1/2 years ago. Prior to that I lived in a town of similar size, but the community had different prioroties regarding health care and law enforcement. They cared. They trusted their patients and citizens. However, now I live here. For the most part, I love it here. Provided I don't have to go to the DR or deal with the worthless Park County Law Enforcement.

ANYWAY, I would like to tell you about my hospital situation. My son has adhd and ODD. He takes two meds, one is a controlled substance, which I am required by a federal law to physically pick up the script no more than one day prior to his being out. The "dr" has a policy of you must call a minimum of 2 days in advance, however it could take a week or more to get it filled. It will, however sit on his desk. You are not allowed to go to the walk in clinic because the dr's threw a huge fit and now the walk in clinic will not fill your meds. WTF are you supposed to do with stuff you need to function on a daily basis?! Anyway, then I'd heard about people going into the ER who the people had missed heart attacks (3 in one guy) and dr's too busy having coffee n smoke breaks to come in and birth a child. As a result, the babies have died. I got really sick about a year ago, and thought I was having an ectopic pregnancy and didn't have the time or money to travel to another town, where my previous OB was. So, on a desperate whim I called the local place and they had a new dr. who was accepting patients. I decided to give him a try. He was one of the most fantastic, people-oriented dr's I've ever encountered. He knew exactly what was wrong with me and how to treat it. I had IC not an ectopic pregnancy. Well, we got that straightened out and the first week of April I found out I was pregnant so we decided to use him. His nusing staff was great, worked cohesively, and all that fluffy stuff. I was 5 weeks pregnant. So we had to wait another month to come back to make sure. At 9 weeks we had a nice, strong heart beat! Anyway, things progressed normally for me-awful morning sickness and exhaustion (i was working nights and afternoons and evenings)and IC flareups. So we took care of that. The dr. would call me occassionally to check up on me and make sure I was fine. Then came time to have our first ultrasound. 18 weeks I think. Well she said everything was fine but her report and pics were VERY inconcclusive. As a result, they couldn't determine that all the chambers of the heart were there and functioning. TOTAL PANIC! Our dr was very calm and said not to worry. So we went back a couple weeks later for ANOTHER ultrasound. She showed us the sex and the four chambers all doing what they should be. IN her report, she listed the heartbeat and the sex. THat was it. No pics either. WTF. SO the dr tested out a brand new super duper ultrasound machine on us. Everything was fine, thank god! A couple weeks later it wasw HOT and it was fair time. I ended up in the ER with a migraine and numbness in my face and left arm. This wouldn't be good in a normal person, let alone a pregnant one! I was the first in there, but then three people walked in simultaneously all needing stitches. After 30 min of sitting in my dark room, I conned them into getting me an ice pack. Finally I heard the er dr outside my door saying she'll have to wait until Dr. Preston gets here because I want to go home. She then proceeded to stitch up the three people. TWO HOURS LATER, I'm still in my room, my husband and children are in the waiting room, and dr. Preston finally comes on shift. He talks to me briefly and says that he isn't going to do any testing. Couldn't understand my paranoia about it possibly being a blood clot and since my headache and numbness had stopped I went home. We literally walked out of the building the same time as Dr. horton, the first er dr. WTF!!! About a month ago, I was in such severe pain I could not breathe. I had to get up at 5 to work and it was now about 11pm. Nothing was helping the pain. SO I drove myself to the er once again. This time, they were fairly nice, but the dr kept saying you have kidney stones and blah blah blah. You have a lot of blood in your urine, just no infection, so we don't really know. I said look, the blood is from the ic, and i'm 90% sure the pain is too, I just want something I can take that will kill the pain enough for me to go to sleep. What did they do? they sent me over to the OB deptartment to be monitored to make sure I wasn't in labor. I WASN"T HAVING CONTRACTIONS AND THE PAIN WAS IN THE WRONG SPOT! UG. Anyway, I finally was allowed to leave around 330am. I stumbled into work and left my dr's note on the boss' desk and found out that they'd found me a sub for my classes so I drove home, took one of the pain pills I'd finally convinced them to give me and fell asleep around 5am. Two weeks later when I went in for my dr apt my dr looked at me and said, why did you go to the er when you knew what was wrong? You don't have kidney stones. You were right that it was the ic. I said It hurt so bad i couldn't breathe. He told me well that was a perfectly good reason to go but to never to over there for diagnostic stuff because they don't know. Anyway, we set up weekly treatments for my ic, and I began to get better. About 10 days ago, I had two apts to see him. His nurses called me and cancelled. Told me he was not available anymore. I asked a few questions and they told me all they were "allowed" to tell me. My dr. had been asked to leave. I was devistated! So I called the patient representitve lady, the one I'd been chewing on regarding my son's dr and the bogus er crap. She found out it was contractual. Basically the Hospital was going to offer him half the money that they'd promised him and had the audacity to get pissed when he refused. So they told him to piss off. that left me with no dr, and 9 weeks left in my pregnancy. I saw one of their better obs, who flat out told me she had no idea how to treat my ic or my diabetes and that she'd call in a prescription for my sinus infection. IT's been a week, still no script. I've even called her office. ANYWAY, I forced them into referring me to a neonatologist in Billings. Another state and 100 miles away. When I explained to him what happened he called over to his ob center and hooked me up appropriately. Instead of the 2 month wait to get in, I had a 2 week wait. They did ultrasounds and test and determined the baby was healthy and growing strong and I was doing well too. I got into a nutritionalist that wasn't 300 lbs like the one in powell was and my apt is in 11 days. That's where we're at now. I had to push and push and fight and fight for a week to get competency, but at least I'm finally comfortable knowing neither my child nor I will die during labor and delivery due to ineptitude. That hospital was bound and determined to not lose me as a patient. I told them I'll be damned if I will put my safety on the line because of your company's vanity. It's not gonna happen. I have every right to see an ob for the remaining 8 weeks of my pregnancy, since they are the one delivering my baby. I shouldn't have to see your pac when the ob is there. Well, my new hospital agrees with me and I kind of like that. On another note, that idiot dr horton from the er, lectured us on being shitty parents because my daughter dropped a rock on her finger and we thought she broke it. I had a "moment" and jumped down her throat with my husband right behind me and we literally chased her out of the room. She never came back, we went to xray and found there was no break and life went on. How dare that stupid woman start lecturing us on parenting skills BEFORE she even looked at our daughter who was crying in pain. Anyway, I would call the hospital number and say you want to talk to someone you can formally lodge a complaint with. And give them detailed hell. Be polite, but persistent. Get their personal line or cell phone number-SAVE it, and make sure you get what you need. If not, refuse payment. Write a detailed letter and send it back with their bill. You might get out of paying for a service you never actually received. Sorry your hospital blows too :(:(:(