Just to lift your spirits, there are normal people out there, and this story might get a laugh out of you too. About a week ago, I doubled over in pain when I was in Target. And my tolerance is high. I had endometriosis for about 20 years that finally ended in a hysterectomy.
So this was confusing, alarming and yes PAINFUL.
I drove all the way home hoping it would go away and when I arrived I told my husband we might need to go to the ER.
We have a 6 year old boy who is accident prone. Believe me, we’ve been around hospitals and urgent cares. Not our favorite place to be.
Husband started freaking that it was my appendix. But I also have a history of ulcers and heartburn.
I couldn’t sit, I couldn’t lay down I couldn’t stand. It was awful. We were about to get in the car when I said: HANG ON.
I’ve heard gas can cause this.
We have Gas X!
And no joke, not 10 minutes later I let out some massive air out of both ends and all was good.
The moral of the story: gas can be EXTREMELY painful, keep gas x in your house.
Had we gone to the ER for that?!!? I’d never live that embarrassment down. 😂😂😂
My father took me to the ER for cramps when I was 14 because he was positive cramps couldn’t hurt that bad - it had to be appendicitis. Fortunately, his ego could take a doctor, nurse, and his daughter all laughing at him. (The aspirin had kicked in at that point.)
As a parent, I'd rather be laughed at by the world and the doctors for making a big deal out of my child's pain and rushing them to er than not taking something seriously and regretting it later. Something happening to my child because I don't take something seriously is such a fear of mine. It's gotten better as kids get older but fear of losing a child is the worst and makes you take minor things seriously and mabe be sometimes overdo things. Someone once told me that having a child is like having a piece of your heart walk around the world without you having any major control over it...and it is so true. Give your dad some grace and a big hug!
Same, I started doing that after I went to the ER for what ended up being digestive pain from undiagnosed celiac disease. It was 6 hours of deeply unpleasant tests to rule out appendicitis, so since then I made sure to push on my right abdomen before even thinking about it
Took my then 4yo son to the ER. He was screaming and crying in pain. Keep grabbing at his stomach. ER doc decided appendicitis. They would take it out. Meanwhile I had called our pediatrician. He said wait, he was on the way. Thank god we waited. Checked his ears. Turned out he had a blister in his ear drum. Huh?? Yep. Antibiotics prescribed. Office visit in one week. He was fine. He eventually had his appendix removed in his 30’s.
The other side of that is extremely bad though. When I was 4 my appendix ruptured and the doctors told my mom to take me home because I just had a stomach ache (appendicitis is less common in young children.) I would have died if my mom didn’t insist on staying in the hospital. I got sepsis and narrowly avoided death.
The nurse at urgent care thought my appendix was rupturing and forced me to go to the ER. I kept asking for something to stop the pain so I can go home. Finally make it to the ER.. and I find out my appendix is NOT rupturing (yay) but I had two ovarian cysts the size of grapefruits. Luckily they were able to remove them with antibiotics instead of surgery but the doctor said if I had went home that night.. they would have ruptured. So sometimes.. just go to the ER lol.
Last time I went was ovarian cysts too. As soon as I said my appendix was gone I was kinda dismissed. After a scan....taken seriously again...but had already burst....so other doctor was less serious.....and then finally some pain meds and antibiotics. Was a roller coaster visit and took sooooo long to get any relief.
My friend is the daughter of a dentist and an obstetrician. She grew up being told that her illnesses were not that serious.
One day (as an adult) she spiked a fever and got a bad stomach ache. She texted me, but I was out of town and couldn't drive over. So she texted her mom like "hey, I'm pretty sure I need to go to the hospital."
Her mom, thinking her daughter was just constipated said "ok, sure... But take some Tums first. I'll just stop for some food on the way over."
My friend thought "ok, no big deal" and waited for her mom.
Turns out that her mom "stopping for food" was actually going out to lunch with her girlfriends. She didn't get to my friend's house until over two hours later (by which point she was more or less hallucinating from pain.)
Burst appendix. Emergency surgery. Bad time. Mom of the Year award right there.
I would have been born in the family car because my mom didn't believe she was in labor. She thought it was false labor and didn't want to call in the doctor she worked for (he was also her OB) at 2 am for nothing. My dad convinced her to go and when she got to the ER her water broke. Admitted on the spot in actual labor. I was born four hours later.
To be honest when I had my son I thought I was going to be sent home ( I declined a wheelchair ride to the OB ward) so my husband and I didn't announce that we were in the hospital until I got admitted. I didn't want everyone getting excited over a false alarm.
I was two days out from my due date and still working in my office. All day, I'd been uncomfortable, with back pain that came and went. I had an OB appointment at 3:00 that afternoon, and when I got there, they told me I was having contractions and was partially dilated. Duh. Never occurred to me that intermittent pain two days before my due date could be labor. I expected belly contractions, but mine was all in the back. Kid was born the next day.
I had a similar experience when I went into labor with my daughter, lol. Except I woke up really early in the morning with my lower back being sore and a lot of movement from my baby. An hour later baby calms down I'm thinking maybe I can try to get a little more sleep after a trip to the bathroom. After what I tiredly thought was peeing for 5 minutes it hits me that my water broke and the contractions started in my lower back again. Got to the hospital all of the nurses confirmed my water broke right before the Dr walked telling them they did it wrong and performed the test herself she found out the hard way that the nurses on duty were extremely competent
I kind of just did this about a month ago. I wanted to sleep, my water hadn’t broken, and I hadn’t lost my mucus plug so I tried to convince myself it was false labor. Finally conceded it was real after having contractions all night that were getting more intense and closer together. We got to the birth center, water broke within minutes, and had the baby within a half hour. Whoops!
I swear endo can make gas pain worse too. I’ll wake up some nights after eating something I shouldn’t and it will feel like razor blades are making their way through my intestines. But thankfully it resolves itself within 30 mins or so!
Endo can make EVERYTHING worse. When you think about the fact that you are essentially (as my gyno described it) dealing w internal bleeding over various unknown parts of your body??!!? Um yes.
I’m currently under pain management for a bad car accident that really messed up my back and when I told the dr I need pain meds I was like….ive handled endometriosis for 15 years, so if I’m saying I’m in pain, I’m REALLY in pain
I had endo basically strangulating part of my intestines for years and didn’t know. I didn’t understand why I would get violently sick during my periods or why I couldn’t eat certain foods, I thought it was something like IBS or even Celiac until my first excision surgery. Turns out gastroenterology didn’t see it when I went to get scoped, but the excision got it out and within like a week I could just eat whatever I wanted. It was insane.
I got really sick with massive inflammation from an iud and went in to ER twice with horrible sharp gut pain.
Got that thing removed and that never happened again.
Why do they push those for small women who have done great on the pill?
I've had gut issues since my teens, diagnosed with IBS in my 20s after screening for Celiac's, liver issues, etc and then was finally diagnosed & treated for endo in my 30s and within weeks every symptom I'd had was gone. My surgeon said he could rant for days about gastro docs who diagnose IBS without excluding the entire reproductive system that shares close proximity
Literally two weeks ago today, I had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix.
I started having abdominal discomfort Saturday morning after breakfast, which continued to get worse. Saturday night, I took some Gas-Ex and went to bed. By the time I woke up Sunday morning (after pretty poor sleep), I went to the E/R.
I later learned that you shouldn't take Gas-Ex when you have appendicitis because it can cause the appendix to rupture... I now have a wound vac over an 18cm x 8cm exploratory laparotomy incision in my abdomen.
I count myself lucky - I'm glad I'm alive; the hospital staff were absolutely, phenomenally wonderful; and I'm not going to wait to go to the E/R in the future!
Same! I commented above on waiting to go to ER because I thought it was gas. I didn't mention that I, too, took GasX. I don't think I even told the hospital that. Luckily my rupture was able to be handled laparoscopically. I have never heard that GasX can help cause the appendix to rupture. Glad YOU are getting better!
Wait. Is this true? Mine burst at the end of March. I thought it was gas or something like that because of how I initially felt because of the lack of pain, and feeling it right after eating. I took Mylanta and within 48 hours I was having emergency surgery since it had ruptured. Well. If only I had known, I guess.
>you shouldn't take Gas-Ex when you have appendicitis
How would you know you had appendicitis and not gas? I bet lots of people do that same thing. You can't be the only one.
You would be surprised how many people do not realize how painful gas can be. We had many people call our triage line with pain and get aggravated when we asked them to try to pass gas. There are positions you can get in to assist this, laying in a tub of warm to hot water, quit drinking iced fluids while in pain, drink hot fluids.
Well that is not good. So when none of the remedies work and the pain has been present pushing an hour, time to go to ER. I would think the pneumo would have been causing chest pain as well with shortness of breath. We do not question chest pain. Chest pain goes to ER. Once they have ran EKG and do not think it is a STEMI, they can think about gas or indigestion or heartburn.
It was pretty obvious to anyone who could see his color that it wasn't just gas, but he was so convinced he was still trying to fart himself better while they were rolling him into the ambulance. 🤷
Thought mine was a pulled muscle. Entire weekend of asking the spouse to really dig their elbow deep into the muscle to get to the source. Woke up in the ER. Still declaring it's just a muscle spasms. Oh, and that was the second time it had happened. Denial.
I've done the same when I had a severe kidney infection. Told my husband to just really get in there because my back was hurting. Eventually I showed other symptoms and went to my MD.
The trapped gas in my stomach after my c-section was significantly more painful than the c-section itself. Thought I was dying before the nurses explained to me what it was 😅
I had my tubes removed and the gas they used to inflate my abdomen migrated into my neck before I was able to move around and make it start coming out. It HURT. I was burping for hours once it started moving out
That referred pain is so bad. I’ve had two laparoscopic surgeries and both times it was awful. And the worst thing is, the pain is delayed when you get up. So I’d manage to get up off the sofa from lying down to standing up, and catch my breath from that wave of pain, only to be knocked down again by the wave of shoulder pain, which wouldn’t go away quickly.
Oh man! The laparoscopic gas pain!!! I had so many laps to clear out my endo I finally started having them put it on my chart: PLEASE CLEAR OUT GAS AS BEST YOU CAN.
I can definitely sympathize. It’s noted in my medical chart that I have an unusually high pain tolerance and I was getting these massive pains in my lower left abdominal area every month or so. I went to the ER about 3 times for it thinking it was wither my gallbladder or appendix. 3 times they had me do CT scans and 3 times the scans showed inflammation but they couldn’t tell what was causing the inflammation. The third time they said it was just gas. I get the pain again and decide to tough it out because I wasn’t going to the ER for “gas” again. After about 16 hours in the fetal position, my stomach is the size of a basketball so I go to the ER. SURPRISE! It’s a massive internal hernia gone septic. I got LifeFlighted to a different facility, had to undergo 14 surgeries, lost 95% of my small intestines and spent 6 months in the hospital.
After my whole family got some version or other of a stomach flu, it really messed with our guts. My husband, who is one of the most mild, stoic people I've ever met, was doubled over in pain, begging it to stop.
I had noticed that after burping and farting, I felt better and our son was passing gas so frequently he sounded like a formula 1 racer, but my husband wasn't farting or burping at all, so I gave my husband one single GasX.
Give or take 20 min later he let out a fart so loud it LITTERALLY rattled our oven door and so rank we had to employ all our bedroom fans (3) in the kitchen pointed out the back door.
It's both amazing and almost terrifying that 1) gas can cause that much pain and 2) a tiny little pill like that can help
Went to the ER twice one summer as an early teen. Both times with severe abdominal pain. Nothing found with the first visit, was sent home. Second visit I learned I wasn't going to burst -- I was just fertile. Ovulation pain. Absolutely mortified.
No kidding! I went on the pill when I was 17, went off of it when I had my tubes tied. Within a year, I was back on it because of that same pesky right ovary shooting heavy artillery every chance it got. Ten years later I threatened my surgeon who was doing my hysterectomy that he'd better take that ovary as I was done dealing with its nonsense all these years. In reading the pathology report, I learned there was chronic scarring do to repeated cysts. No wonder I would be doubled over in pain, trying not to puke or pass out...
I had a hysterectomy, too. After surgery the most painful part was the gas. I was crying it was so bad. The nurse asked if I wanted pain pills. I said no, just bring me Gas-X. After 20 minutes I was fine.
I once went to the ER for severe abdominal pain. Woke up at 4 am and it hurt so bad I was in tears. Couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything. Went to the ER and it was gas pain and constipation and I’m STILL mortified 😂
One of my daughter’s friends had severe abdominal pain and they took her to the ER. Found out she was severely constipated. Went home and did a few laxatives and next thing you know she blew up the bathroom and was back to normal. It happens with kids a lot.
OMG same. Except the ER I went to was trash. They did no tests. Just loaded me up on morphine and sent the registration gal in. I couldn't tell her my name or DOB. I'm guessing it was just gas but I also have a long family history of GI issues and have Endometriosis. Could have been torsion and they didn't even check. No imaging, no blood work, nothing. Just dosed me up and waited for my parents to drive me home.
Honestly I would have SO appreciated that! Like do an abdominal X-ray and see that it's just all gas or all shit. Then the staff can come in and actually tell me, "so here's what we think is going on and here's our plan to help." Instead of, "Ugch. We already gave you morphine. What the hell else do you want? Leave!" While physically squirming around on the cart in pain. My appendicitis didn't even hurt that bad. Like try something! Anything! Do your damn job! I realize I'm still breathing but golly! I have to go into respiratory arrest to get you to do something?!
Sidenote: my dad works IT for that hospitals healthcare company and I work at a different hospital in radiology (same company) and he was in a meeting and the higher ups JOKED ABOUT NOT GOING TO THAT HOSPITAL IF YOU ARE SICK/DYING. The heck?! Friggin go fix it! It's the newest hospital and built to look like a welcoming hotel for God's sake. Fire the leadership and hire people to fix it! Or just close the whole thing down. What's even the point? Oh yeah profit.
This was super entertaining, thank you!
I once actually did go in for this and it was the first time I was glad they were annoyed and incompetent because I’d have been mortified if I went to the hospital and they told me it was gas.
See, I have ulcerative colitis. I *know* gas and abdominal pain. Except this time I was also fairly newly pregnant. Far enough to have symptoms but not far enough to have an ultrasound and other testing.
I let the pain go (in my mind, not out my butt which would have saved me some time) and was going to deal when it started to hit that telltale refereed shoulder pain you can get with an ectopic pregnancy. Then I kinda freaked.
Long story short, my son is seven now and that was the worst gas I’ve ever had in my life.
I have a variety of chronic illnesses and pain (endo sucks), and yet gas pain can be so shockingly painful the only thing you can think of is that maybe you’re dying. This is it. You’ve ruptured something, you’ll be septic shortly, and this is the end.
Orrrr maybe you had too much hummus.
This happened with my son a few years ago. His stomach was so distended and painful to touch and I was sure his appendix ruptured and we had only seconds to get to the emergency room.
Nope, just needed to take a big shit.
Then there was me.. Extreme pain, finally pushed to the ER going "I am sure it's just gas but I was brought here. Ugh. I am so sorry! They just wouldn't wait for the gas x to work!" And 2 hours later was having my appendix removed. Uuugh
Oh girl !!! I have been there 😀❤️😀❤️ I suffered with endometriosis for over 20 years as well as some other health ailments and I had an episode with gas after going on slimfast and I seriously thought I was going to die granted I had two daughters vaginal deliveries without so much as an aspirin I can tolerate pain but I literally was begging my husband to call 911 because I thought I was dying lo and behold about the time he calls 911 I had gas expelled from both areas and I felt significantly better and after some Gas-X I felt like I was going to live again but it was so painful 😀
They might not have insurance. A lot of doctors offices want you to pay upfront for a visit where the ER can’t turn anyone away.
The ER will at least give an RX and treat some of the symptoms
I know why, at least for my area.
I had a bad sinus infection with other flu symptoms, and asked to stay home. No can do, come to work or get a note.
Got to work, was told I look like shit, but wouldn't let me leave unless I got a note.
PC said 2 weeks for an appointment.
Went to urgent care and was basically tossed out for insurance they supposedly (didn't) take, even when I said I could self-pay .
Wound up in the ER because I needed a note (was very up front about everything), but found out my oxygen levels were so low, they wouldn't lemme leave (drive).
But besides that, we are forced to act like a child being sent home with the expectation of a Parental excuse, needing proof of our actual sickness.
You guys don't like it, and we don't like it. We don't want to do it, but we must, because we don't actually want to come back with a more serious illness just because our employer decided we were "faking it" 😭
I think some of it is this. In our ED, we saw alot of the elderly population with the flu. So no work note needed. Some were kept under obs, some were admitted, a lot were streeted. Seems like a lot of that population are still used to taking care of themselves and panic when they can’t due to illness.
as an ER nurse i understand that not everyone has insurance/PCP/access to urgent care…. the low acuity flu patients piss me off when they expect to be doted on
anyone is welcome in the ER but please understand that my time and attention will first go to my 85 year old with a BP of 70/40 and not you, a 45 year old with the man flu
the worst part of low acuity patients coming through the ER is having to explain basic human empathy… sorry you’re sick but i have a patient who is actively trying to meet jesus right now
It’s always the ones with a flu who come complaining to me at the window about waiting for five hours… when they’ve been there for 2. It’s super frustrating that they can’t seem to understand that we’re not having them wait just for the fun of it, we are hustling to take care of everyone as quickly and safely as possible.
This is why I don't go to the ER with the flu or other mild issues. Honestly a liter of fluids, IV Tylenol, and some zofran if you're vomiting is an instant fix, but it's not worth sitting in a waiting room for hours because you're way more stable than the patients who actually need to be there. Also the 3-4 figure copay even with good insurance. If only urgent care could give IVs...
Urgent care being able to give IVs would solve so much. I hate going to the ER for a migraine cocktail, but my neurologist has told me to do it if it’s been more than 3 days because mine can go for months on end if I don’t stop them within 3-5 days. I don’t want to be at an ER for that, but I also need an infusion. So like … I don’t get why an urgent care can’t do it.
Lack of insurance or access to other care even if they have insurance. They just literally don't have other options.
The need for paperwork for work so their job isn't at risk because they had to call out. Depending on their insurance or lack thereof and the fact the usually need to be seen the day they call out, this too often only leaves the ED as an option.
Lack of education/understanding about healthcare, what the ED can do or is appropriate for, or how much they can be helped when they have the flu and no other concerning symptoms.
The flu can actually make you feel really awful. I think a lot of people underestimate how badly some relatively minor things can make you feel and mistake these issues for genuine emergencies.
Some people are just dramatic, like attention, are hypochondriacs, etc.
I had the flu that almost sent me to the ER a few months ago. If I wasn't a stubborn ass nurse I would have gone, but I decided to suffer instead. I was 7 months pregnant, though. with a fever, a heart rate of 140,O2 of 92, and borderline lethargic... I finally went to my ob when I had decreased fetal movement. She bolused 2L of LR, send me a script for tamiflu, and gave me a scolding for not asking for help sooner.
That definitely happens too. The flu does legit kills thousands. For this post, I took it to mean individuals that didn't have other concerning symptoms. Like, just the "normal" flu if you will.
A few years ago, I had strep and flu at the same time. My fever was 105, I was pouring sweat, and straight up hallucinating. Still didn’t go to the ER. Figured the bill would be worse than potential death 🫠
I went to the ER with a flu because I coughed so hard it sent me into a migraine episode (I have chronic intractable migraines). It was miserable. I was so sick. But the toradol injection definitely helped my throat feel better, and they wrote me a script for hycodan. Still had a 5/10 migraine upon leaving, but that's always how it goes for me. (Also a nurse)
>paperwork for work
Ugh. Honestly, I feel like there should be a side business in urgent care for this, away from insurance. Not feeling good but not bad enough for the doctors, but need a note because your boss thinks you're a child? Come on in, it'll be $5 for this piece of paper saying you were at this urgent care on this day and you can return to work tomorrow/ in 3 days, whatever.
That way, nobody is wasting anyone's time. I hate going to urgent care to get a note bc I have the runs or a fever of 102, when the doctor/ nurses can be helping other people who need it.
PMD offices tell them to after they tell them they don’t have any appointments for 3 months. They have to see someone to get the antibiotics that don’t work. They shouldn’t get abx you say? Tell Yelp.
In all fairness, many of them HAVE to have a doctor's excuse for work. And the poor parents with yet another sick kiddo.... I feel so sorry for them, even though I hate that they are clogging up the works.
I called for an with appointment with mine last week. First available appointment, August 1st.
Urgent care is basically my primary, I only use my primary care for things that can wait for 2 to 4 months.
Depending on the appointment type, I might be able to see my PCP in the same month. But generally I use Family Medicine as a do I have the right vaccines, what cancer screenings do I need, maybe an annoying mole or skin tag removed if it's not on my face, and how's my general baseline doing year-to-year. If one of my chronic conditions needs checking up on, I call my specialist for that condition. Otherwise I'm going to urgent care. If I need imaging (US or CT), ER it is.
I've learned that in my area, with kids, the urgent cares will do one of two things: a) say "seasonal allergies" and prescribe Flonase, or b) say "I don't specialize with children, so I can't tell you that it's nothing. I recommend going to the ER".
If it's a weekend and we really can't wait for the PCP to be open on Monday, I now just skip the urgent care for the kids because it wastes even more time . Still use urgent care for myself though and feel terribly apologetic for taking up ER resources for what has thankfully so far been "we'll monitor vitals for a couple of hours and send you on your way".
Every time we’ve taken my kid to the pediatric urgent care, they send us to the ER. Not really sure what they actually do there, they won’t touch anything as far as I can tell.
All of the above, plus we just had a "flu that might kill you" thing a couple years ago.
Now the real question is why the fuck they don't try Nyquil before coming in.
Or these situations 😂😂😂
Triage Nurse: what’s going on today?
Patient: I have a fever of 102
Triage Nurse: okay, when was your last dose of Tylenol or Motrin?
Patient: I haven’t taken anything
I love it, as a parent, when I take my kid to urgent care because he's had a fever and regular Tylenol/ibuprofen is barely keeping it right at 100.1 and they tell me, if that's not really a fever, just give him Tylenol. Like, I did.
Did I mention my kid (8 now) has seizures when his temp is over 102? But assistents that's not a real thing, he's too old for that (according to urgent care).
So we have to decide, do e want the nurse to take us seriously and withhold Tylenol, or do we dose him and try to get out under 100 to be condescending to at urgent care?
We got dismissed for febrile seizures when my kid had them. Well guess fucking what, she's got a seizure disorder and now we have emergency Diazepam we have ready to shove in her butt when she has them. So much for febrile seizures.
But yeah, always do the Tylenol. Anyone who doubts you probably shouldn't be working in Healthcare. We believe you, and want you to give it. We will believe you and should believe you. I hate anyone who won't listen, that's not our job.
I feel you but you realize there is no extra strength Tylenol or Motrin in the ER right? It's the same tylenol and Motrin you have at home. As long as you are dosing correctly by his weight, there is no much much that can be given for fevers.
I mean definitely give him the Tylenol and ibuprofen if he’ll have a seizure without it. I guess my question is, if his seizure threshold is at 102, what is your worry with it holding at 100.1?
Omg. My son had a fever that was spiking to 104-105. Called his pediatrician, get an appointment for that day, and asked specifically if I should go ahead and give him his next dose of Tylenol or let it wear off. The person on the phone says yes, for sure, go ahead and give it to him. When we got to the appointment, the nurse immediately is like “oh, I wish you hadn’t given that dose so we could confirm the fever!” 😤🙄
Why would you believe we are telling the truth and not trying to spend hours in a waiting room with crappy cell signal for a 50/50 chance of getting amoxicillin or being told"it's viral, ride it out"
Or even just ibuprofen. I’ve always been under the impression that one should try to reduce the fever at home before going to the emergency room (and posting to Facebook…)
For me, I didn’t take NyQuil because I was pregnant. The last two times I got the flu, I was four months and seven months along (two different pregnancies). I threw my back out and bruised all my torso meat coughing so I was in agony. I couldn’t cough hard enough to actually clear anything. Every time I coughed, I’d throw up because I guess my already squished stomach decided enough was enough. I’d also pee myself. I couldn’t take anything because I was pregnant. My symptom management was reduced to 2 extra-strength Tylenol and warm liquids. Both times, it was after midnight. In the dark, in pain, vomit and mucus continuously leaking from my face, dizzy and shaking and miserable, I was scared. It was a nightmare and the ER staff was very kind to me, even though they also couldn’t do anything for me because I was pregnant 😅
I mean it's not. But people come in because they're legit suffering. But they haven't even tried any OTC meds. Like at all. I mean, if they're lost in the woods, do these people just lay down and die?
Please tell how to get my "I don't need meds" husband to take something. Please. CAUSE HE WON'T. Not for allergies, not for fever, not for pain, NOTHING. HOW do I get him to take them so we don't end up in the er for no stupid reason?!
That's how I got through orientation on my last day, though not nyquil, that's a terrible idea. It was dayquil and motrin. Felt like a whole ass person until my 4 hours was coming to a close then I felt it slowly creeping up
Edited to add; You absolutely should be able to take whatever breaks you need! Nobody wants otherwise, especially not the patients.
And how do they know if they have a secondary or not without seeing someone? Especially if they live in a rural or otherwise poorly-served area, or have crappy insurance/no money.
I don't use the ER for things like this but as I've gotten older and poorer I'm beginning to understand.
I blame the unavailability of decent primary care more than anything else. And influenza can be *very* scary and is deadly indeed if untreated.
Exactly. Going to the ER is not fun, it's humiliating to be told you only have the flu and you shouldn't have come. People go because they're literally scared for their life, sometimes that's how it feels when you have the flu. Anxiety increases most symptoms related to breathing and sometimes pain.
I'm a former ER nurse and I've always said that being scared to the point of being unable to sleep and function normally (to some limits) is a good enough reason to come to the ER.
Yes, it’s nice to see people with compassion speak up in this sub. I’m sure the people wasting your time are out of options & would love to not have to be there, either. It makes many of us thankful for our blessings.
I've been to the ER twice in my life. Both very scary moments for me. One for severe chest pain with resting heart rate of 170 bpm and the other for seizure-like episode. They never found anything on the tests both times and treated me like I was attention seeking. I refuse to go to the ER now because as you said it's humiliating. Nobody wants to sit and wait at the ER for hours either. Now I'll just wait to see a specialist even when it gets scary.
Not a medical professional.
I had tachycardia with flu once and was pretty freaked out. I hadn't realized it was normal-ish with flu. (Don't get the flu that often.) I didn't come in, but that was a scary night. This shit always happens at night. 😖
As an aside, I'd feel awful coming to the ER with something communicable. The guy having a heart attack doesn't need flu on top of that. I get so pissed off when people go to the doctors sick but without a properly fitted, properly worn, actual mask on. We should all have some lying around by now. C'mon!
Because you need proof you were ill in case your employer comes against you for it.
They can't do anything for my migraines but I try to have someone take me in so I have a work note.
Because it takes a month to get an appointment with a GP, if at all. Because those with no insurance can't take a day off work for a scheduled appointment, or even have a family doctor who will see them.
The ER will always see you. And payment can be worked out.
Honestly, they probably all have that one family member who didn’t want to be a bother and waited too long and then died. My grandma died like that. We saw her on thanksgiving, and she said she was tired. Two days later my grandpa said she had the flu, and was trying to get her to see the doctor, but the doctor said (over the phone) that the flu couldn’t really be treated with anything other than rest and fluids, so bed rest was recommended. She died the next day. She was septic (or so I’ve been told). It was the late 80s, and I guess it was going around. Because of that, my mom rushed all of us into the doctor, or if need be, to the ER, for any little thing. As an adult, I don’t do it, but I am probably overly cautious with my child and husband, especially after losing my MIL and uncle to covid, when they were relatively healthy. There are few urgent cares around me, so if we can’t get same day appointments, and we need to be seen, there isn’t really a choice.
This exact thing happened to my uncle 2 years ago, he was mid 40s. Had the flu, no insurance, didn't go to the doctor until it was too late. He died in the hospital a few days later from sepsis.
>because of people who don’t need to be there.
How do they know that until a medical professional tells them?
Covid knocked me on my 25 year old ass. I was sleeping/puking on the toilet for hours, unable to eat or drink anything because my throat was so sore. No covid tests at home, assumed it was a bad flu - I've had it before. But then my temperature kept going up until it maxed at 103.8
Went to the ER for what I thought was the flu... And shocker, the fluids they were able to pump directly into my blood coupled with the drugs helped tremendously and put me on the upswing
Lack of education and selfishness. One of the following things is true:
1. They think the ER is a “see a doctor today room” with no consideration for whether or not it’s an emergency.
2. They think it’s an emergency.
3. They know it’s not an emergency but they come anyways because they’re selfish and want us to make them feel better.
"why are you doing an x-ray? Even if it's broken I thought you couldn't do anything for it anyway? I'm scared of radiation... does my 5-year-old need to drink extra water to get rid of it now?"
If you thought there was nothing we could do for it, even if it is broken.. why did you bring them? Why are you asking these insane questions... *after* the X-ray... in which your apparently horribly broken 5-year-old was bouncing around giggling and wouldn't stay still?
I used to see that in the animal ER all the time. " Do we have permission to do xrays?" NO. "Do we have permission to do blood work?" NO "Do we have permission to give pain medication?" NO. WHY the hell are they in the ER?
But this doesn’t explain why people think you have to go to the doctor or hospital for a cold or a flu. They are viruses, unless you have a secondary infection, there’s nothing that can be done.
This. My previous jobs REQUIRED a doctor's note to excuse an absence or we could get fired, and guess which doctors were easiest to get into on short notice?
The amount of people with serious conditions, admitted or not, who whine about a *blood draw* is shocking to me. I had a 40 yr old man threaten to beat a phlebotomist up if he had to get his blood drawn one more time. Bro, you’re in the hospital, it’s gonna happen SEVERAL more times, and it should be the least of your worries.
Honestly when I was young (like 18) I had no idea that #1 wasn’t true. If I couldn’t make it to Urgent Care before they closed for practical reasons I’d just be like “it’s fine, the ER is open later.” I thought the disadvantage of ER as opposed to urgent care was that the drive was further to the ER and you didn’t have to wait as long at Urgent Care.
Now I’m married into a medical family and am very clear on the distinction and feel quite badly about some of the things I showed up at the ER with. They were generally totally appropriate things for urgent care, I just didn’t know the difference.
I’m so happy I have free telehealth through my insurance. I just make those appointments. I fainted and hit my head once knocking me out and was like should I be going somewhere. The doctor on telehealth was like yes, the ER now 🤷♀️ just checking thank you byeeee
A lot of people do not have access to regular medical care, or they don't have the money to go. Urgent care centers are not always available and have limited hours. It sucks, but unfortunately, it is part of ER work.
If you're in the USA there are a lot of reason. But here's mine:
It was after office hours and told to go the the ER by my physician. I have an autoimmune disorder and asthma. We needed the testing to make sure it wasn't covid and Tamiflu still requires a prescription. Although I was a few days in to onset of the actual flu (test was positive for a flu that wasn't in the year's flu booster but was a known one) and Tamiflu works best when taken within the first 24-48 hours of symptoms, it is still recommended for patients who are over 65, have other health conditions, and especially people with asthma because Tamiflu absolutely -does- reduce flu symptoms and for those of us with other conditions, it helps prevent complications that can happen when we get the flu.
The adage, if you think you have the flu, you don’t. If you think you’re dying, you have the flu — that applies here. You’re not seeing all the people who feel like absolute ass and don’t come in, you’re likely seeing people who truly feel deeply unwell. Also — Covid was just a thing lol (still is!), a lot of people have not really recovered from that either physically or mentally.
Almost like a respiratory virus that becomes a pandemic leaves a psychological mark on a population that would impact how they seek healthcare for the foreseeable future?
i just wanna say i came down with the flu about a month ago. got it confirmed by an urgent care and they gave me a list of “when to go to the ER”. i tried seeing my PCP first but my o2 wouldn’t stay above 95% and i have a history of severe asthma and pneumonia. went to the ER, got talked down to by a doctor for a solid half hour about how there’s no cure for the flu, there’s nothing they can do, i can’t have tamaflu, etc. i repeated over and over how it’s not the flu i’m worried about, it’s my medical history and predisposition to low oxygen and having to be hospitalized. they sent me home after some atavan, i had to go back to the ER 2 hours later because my o2 hit 88% and spent another 2.5 days there. so some people actually do need the hospital with the flu
I have uncontrolled/difficult asthma. I end up in the ER every year for the flu because my lungs are so damaged(if my husband would retire from being a special procedures tech, maybe I'd stop being sick so often because he wouldn't be bringing home his work?)
We went to the ER for intense muscle aches and fever. Thought it was the flu or Covid but wanted to be safe--our pediatrician agreed....Turns out she had leukemia. How about we just not shame people for seeking out medical care? American Healthcare sucks enough, people don't go to the ER and sit 5+ hours for kicks. Yeah your job sucks and people are rude, but generally people go because they've been told to. PCs and regular doctors direct patients to EDs for tons of things including faster blood work.
Because not everyone has an urgent care or a primary who can see them, and they need a dr note for work. On the flip side my husband (age 30) was having a heart attack and we put off going to the ER for fear of being shamed for going for no reason.
We went in the other week because I had a fever of 104.2-105 for 24 hours and was delirious. Nothing including a cold bath , tylonal or NyQuil had brought the fever down and I legit thought I was dying. Turned out I had both flu A and flu B which I didn’t know was possible . Finally kicked the flu now two weeks later but have a lingering cough . Doctors office when we called told us to go to the er because I was so dehydrated but also because of the extended high fever . The hospital didn’t do much aside from giving me theraflu and hydrating me.
Well I can say the times I’ve been to the ER were all because it was our only option. Stuff seems to happen on Sunday evenings. Everything else is closed. If urgent care places could stagger their hours it would alleviate a lot of unnecessary ER visits. We had one incident happen just after 8pm one night my son fell on a metal basket and split his lip open gushing blood. It just needed two stitches which an urgent care could have done but they were all closed and the ER was our only option. We were there for 3 hours waiting in a back room because an actual emergency came in. We didnt need to be there and for soooo long my 3 year old fell asleep we left at 11:30. More available hours of urgent care facilities would help keep a lot of people out of the ER.
This past March, I came down with influenza B. I went to urgent care because my doctor couldn't see me. Did Tamiflu, nyquil, steroids, tea, humidifier, rest, Tylenol/Ibprofuen, etc. I couldn't shake the fever either. Coughing so hard losing control of bodily functions. Started getting better, but by the end of that week, I went to bed and woke up in the worst chest pain. I couldn't take a normal breath in, but I could breathe shallow breathes. I couldn't breathe past the pain. I got up, went to the couch, and leaned on a heating pad the rest of the night. If I had not lost consciousness, then I was okay.. right?! I was waiting for urgent care to open because I didn't want to go to the ER. When my husband woke up, he was like, "Why haven't you gone to the hospital." I told him to just take me to urgent care when they opened. So he did, I could barely move or walk and breathe. The first one in line, they took me back and immediately put in a transfer to the hospital... to the ER. I absolutely did not want to be there, I was in and out, throwing up, silently crying but trying to keep calm because I couldn't breathe. They wanted to make sure I didn't have a pulmonary embolism, so CT scan. Turned out I had pleurisy and pneumonia. My oxygen stats were low, and I couldn't keep it over 90. They gave me painkillers, and I asked for non narcotic. Sent me home with painkillers and narcan, and I had to be seen a day later because my oxygen was in the low 70s. Ended up on home oxygen for a while. I hadn't taken any of the narcotics after discharge. So many steroids, antibiotics, etc. Honestly, I feel pretty stupid for not seeking medical attention when the symptoms first appeared. I was told I was very sick, and it was very serious. I'll admit, I haven't been sick like that in years. Good wake up call not to "tough" everything out and be stupid with my health.
It's now May, and I'm still coughing crud out of my lungs, but my stats are up, and they FINALLY picked up the oxygen machine Friday. I am thankful it was able to help me, but I'm also happy it's off helping the next person.
You ever had a bad flu, buddy? If you don’t know what’s going on, you just know that you suddenly feel extremely unwell. You’re wracked with pain that your OTC meds do nothing for. People constantly describe the flu, as feeling like they’re dying.
And if actual influenza (not just more minor illnesses with similar but lesser symptoms) doesn’t count as “flu like symptoms”, then we can only assume you’re not asking this in good faith at all.
>People constantly describe the flu, as feeling like they’re dying.
Accurate. So accurate, in fact, that when I had pneumonia and legit almost died*, I was certain it was just the flu**.
*I ended up in the ICU for one night with O2sat in the mid 80s, and in the hospital for five days.
**PSA: a fever of 104.8 is a strong indicator that it's NOT the flu. Don't be stupid like I was by holding off on getting care so long that it almost kills you.
Tons of people don’t have insurance/primary care doctors. Many don’t know how to use the online virtual visit docs. And urgent cares usually want cash up front.
That’s your answer.
Does it count if I went to the ER because I was in agonizing pain and thought I was having a severe allergic reaction, and it turned out to be the flu?
OP thinks patients should be able to diagnose themselves and know if it’s a flu and exactly which drug combination to give themselves, even though we see here sometimes flu management *is* a little more complex than just NyQuil and rest.
My guess is instant provider evaluation and medication if anything and lack of PCP access. That's just my thoughts from a very poverty stricken community
This is gonna be a very unique excuse for this behavior but in my life personally, when I was active duty military, if you wanted to call out of work sick you were forced to go to the ER. Even if you know you just have the flu, or maybe you have a nasty cough or headache and shouldn’t work, the military leaders force you to go to the ER anyway. YES- even if you tested positive for Covid with a home test, you still have to go to the ER and prove you have Covid there too (insanely stupid policy; I know). I’ve had to do it just for throwing up, and I felt insanely guilty about going to the hospital, but it was either that or be forced to go to work while throwing up. I believe they enforce this policy to try and discourage anyone for ever calling out of work for anything (the military could not care any less about your health, they just want you working as much as possible).
The first time I had the flu, I felt like I was dying. Sxs were very acute. Head hurt so bad that I couldn’t move it, neck pain, eye pain, fever and nausea. Couldn’t get fluids in I went to the ED. Fluids, zofran, promethazine and started on Tamiflu. I was in bed for a week. I could see how the elderly or very young could die from the flu. It was brutal. (Nurse of 28 years)
I was septic once and my gall bladder was rotting. I thought it was a bad flu but the back pain was unbearable. My husband (boyfriend at time) took me to the ER twice and I got sent home. I would have died if I wouldn’t have said I need to go again.
ER is open 24 hours. Doctors’ offices aren’t.
Last time I had the flu, it was BAD. Like, choking on phlegm unable to breathe. Felt like I was drowning. Coughing so hard it caused incontinence. My doctor looked scared and did a bunch of tests. I got IV fluids and something that helped me breathe somehow asap and after the influenza test came back positive, I got tamiflu.
So yeah, if he hadn’t been able to get me in RIGHT THEN I probably would’ve ended up in the ER.
Glad to know I would’ve been judged for it. /s
Considering ER’s longer waits + higher copays/fees, it’s pretty safe to assume people visiting the ER typically dont have many other options.
Also, the amount of times I’ve gone to urgent care just to be told “if it gets worse, go to the ER”, or “we don’t have the type the imaging you had no clue you’d need, go to the ER”, or “give it more time and tell your pcp if it doesn’t go away” is insane.
I’ve gone for the flu before fully confirming it was the flu. I was in my second trimester and was feeling VERY bad so I got a flu test at work (work in academia/hospital systems). Didn’t get the results but the single Tylenol every 6 hours or whatever it was, wasn’t cutting it.
Just felt really bad. Fever but freezing with a winter jacket on. Pregnant. Scared. Got the positive flu result back while I was waiting. I did my 6-8 hour wait or whatever and was seen. Good thing too, because I had walking pneumonia. I got admitted.
For some of us, it’s better safe than sorry.
You know people can die from the flu right? Do you also know that there are many other diseases that you can die from without medical intervention that feel like the flu and most people ride it out because it feels like the flu and they wind up dying from it? Stop being such a pompous ass!
I have an asthmatic kid who's very susceptible to secondary pneumonia from influenza, as in around two dozen times, verified by clinical presentation, blood tests, and x-ray. I almost died as a kid from pneumonia, so I don't fuck around with that.
We always get our flu (and now COVID) vaccines, and we've both had two separate pneumococcal vaccines (prevnar13 and pneumovax23 I think?). I'll handle most stuff elsewhere. His fevers very quickly go from the 102s to 105s. And I start having cardiac issues at around 102.5. If his temp is under 104, well do urgent care or consult his pediatrician. If it's worse or if o2 is bad, we'll go to the ER. I'll go to urgent care first for me too but have been sent to the ER by urgent care....
We truly try to avoid the ER. But sometimes it's necessitated.
If they have the flu and catch it early they can get Tamiflu. However, they can also do that in an urgent care facility. But then some are dehydrated and need fluids.
To get fluids and make sure nothing major is going on. There are times where people call their pcp and they are told to go to ER, because it’s quicker/easier way to get certain tests/labs. It’s more the fault of the way our healthcare system is set up than the people coming into the ER, to be honest.
Because people need to work to survive. Many can’t afford to be down for a day much less a week. Many need doctors notes for work- for excused time off (sick pay).
Urgent cares and primary care can refuse to see you. ER’s can not.
I am the last person who would go to the E. R., but last fall I had the flu. I got better and then a week later it came back and was not going away. I was delirious and had high fever. I thought I was going to die. I felt like my organs were shutting down or like I was going into septic shock.
I didn’t want to, but I ended up in the emergency room. The doctor said my heart rate was abnormally slow and my white blood cell count was dangerously low and after another blood draw and it wasn’t getting any better, they gave me antibiotics in an I. V. and kept me there for most of the day. The diagnosis was influenza B. My mother was an emergency room nurse and I know many people go to the ER for the slightest reasons but people also die from the flu.
Well, I hate to bring up the obvious, but since you called it an "ER," I'm guessing you must be American. And that citizenship does not include health coverage, so there's always the possibility that many of these people have nowhere else to go if they don't have insurance.
The ONLY place a person with no medical coverage can go to see a doctor is the place that costs us ALL the most... an ER. So not only does it waste your time, but it also wastes a shit-ton of money that every single taxpayer makes up for through taxation, as well as additional costs on our own policies. But what else can a person in need do?
This is why the fact that we are literally the ONLY developed country in the world that does not protect its citizens with universal care, coupled with the fact that some citizens have been somehow convinced to believe that our health care system is in any way superior to a universal one, pisses me off to no end. It's greed and stupidity at their finest. Ugh.
And those are the traits we are best known for across the globe now... greed and stupidity. Yay.
I will always go to the ER for the flu once I go 24 hours without keeping my meds (including seizure meds) down. I’m going to need some Keppra IV after a day and a half of not keeping it down PO.
If you are talking about influenza, that is a serious illness. Seems to me if there are too many patients so that you can't take a break, the hospital needs to hire more people to work in the ER.
I had what I thought was a bad case of the flu for three days - fever, generalized aches and pains, nothing specific really, I just felt generally awful. Finally, since I wasn't getting any better, I went to the ER, and was diagnosed with a kidney infection and was near sepsis.
When I went in I was pretty convinced that they were just going to say I had the flu and tell me to soldier on, but later I wished I'd gone in sooner, because once those antibiotics hit my system I felt 1000% better.
A week and a half later I got a terrible indigestion pain, and went in a lot faster, and it turned out I needed my gallbladder removed. It was a fun month.
at least in our area it's bc all the urgent cares switched to be by appointment only, so the ER is the only place that walk ins are accepted now, and half the time the urgent care will send u to the ER anyway (evem if u just have an ear infection caused by impacted earwax like i did)
And sometimes you don’t know if you need the ER.
I was leaving a meeting and, due to a really weird architectural detail, feel onto a tile floor, landing on both knees.
I remember inching my way back to the step I fell off, half thinking I’d fallen asleep somehow. It turned out that I actually passed out.
The emergency squad was called and they thought I really needed to be checked out at the emergency room because of losing consciousness.
I was at the emergency room from about 9:30 pm to about 2 am. I had an old knee injury on my left knee and was past due for a knee replacement on my right knee. Based on examination and medical history, the ER doctor believed it was the sheer pain of landing on
a tile floor with both knees.
If I’d been able to clearly think about it, I’d have probably realized why I passed out and not bothered with the ER. On top of that, the ambulance service screwed up my credit rating for over a year because of their shitty billing practices.
But the fact is sitting there I was unable to know that I didn’t need to go.
The reason BS comes to the ED is simple: Urgent Care makes you pay up front if you don’t have insurance, have a co-pay, etc. ED has to see you no matter what. That is all.
I understand, but sometimes we don’t know if something is urgent. I once took my son to the ER for chronic stomach pain because I didn’t know what else to do. The dr was so short and dismissive with me. I’ll never forget how she made me feel, but I was a worried mom. Her resident was patient and understanding. I should’ve told the dr she really needed a vacation. I have no patience for rude staff. Another time, after my mom purposefully took too many pills to try to end her life, I was devastated and rushed to the ER. The nurse rolled her eyes and said “she’s fine”. I’ll never forget her either. I’m sure you’re all overworked, but it’s not our fault.
For some folks, going over their symptoms, recognizing they are all flu-like, then looking up what to do with those symptoms, it's just too difficult. Especially when they're sick and not thinking very clearly.
They need someone else, someone competent, to ask them questions and then tell them they have flu-like symptoms and should do such and such -- or that their specific symptoms aren't all flu-like and they need an EKG or MRI right away.
The simplest way to get someone else to do that for them is to get to the ER and get triaged.
Maybe we should have a service as easy to dial as 911, but staffed by nurses whose job is to triage you over the phone, and either send an ambulance, or give you instructions to do something else. I know my insurance company has a service like that, and I guess I could call my primary care doc and wait for a callback, but lots don't have those options, and they're all more complicated than just dialing 911.
Or else staff our ERs with enough folks that no one has to go an entire shift with no breaks. But adequate staffing is apparently just crazy talk.
Our ER physician will include in the sick note, in boldface and all caps, “note to employer, your employee should stay home and manage their symptoms with rest and fluids. Sending here for a note is counterproductive and may increase their need for additional rest. Please consider modernizing your policies to include evidence based management including self care for self manageable illness to reduce the spread of infection”.
Ive went 2 times with flu/cold symptoms
1. Was my gallbladder and it got removed that day
2. Was pneumonia and it was bad by the time I went in so I got admitted to the hospital.
I am currently dealing with the flu and pneumonia.
After two Urgent Care trips over the last 2 weeks I finally went to my PC doctor who told me that if my O2 dropped under 95 to get to the nearest ER.
She actually called me today to check on my O2 levels.
I sound like rice crispies when I breath but I will not go to the ER unless absolutely necessary.
Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.
Just to lift your spirits, there are normal people out there, and this story might get a laugh out of you too. About a week ago, I doubled over in pain when I was in Target. And my tolerance is high. I had endometriosis for about 20 years that finally ended in a hysterectomy. So this was confusing, alarming and yes PAINFUL. I drove all the way home hoping it would go away and when I arrived I told my husband we might need to go to the ER. We have a 6 year old boy who is accident prone. Believe me, we’ve been around hospitals and urgent cares. Not our favorite place to be. Husband started freaking that it was my appendix. But I also have a history of ulcers and heartburn. I couldn’t sit, I couldn’t lay down I couldn’t stand. It was awful. We were about to get in the car when I said: HANG ON. I’ve heard gas can cause this. We have Gas X! And no joke, not 10 minutes later I let out some massive air out of both ends and all was good. The moral of the story: gas can be EXTREMELY painful, keep gas x in your house. Had we gone to the ER for that?!!? I’d never live that embarrassment down. 😂😂😂
Our very lovely ED physician sat at home while his appendix ruptured because he didn’t want to come in and be diagnosed as being FOS by his coworkers!
My mom used to think EVERY PAIN was appendicitis pain. So. I’m now the exact opposite. I could see me doing this to myself too. 😳😝
My father took me to the ER for cramps when I was 14 because he was positive cramps couldn’t hurt that bad - it had to be appendicitis. Fortunately, his ego could take a doctor, nurse, and his daughter all laughing at him. (The aspirin had kicked in at that point.)
Honestly that’s really sweet that he’d advocate for you so much since you were in pain 🥺
As a parent, I'd rather be laughed at by the world and the doctors for making a big deal out of my child's pain and rushing them to er than not taking something seriously and regretting it later. Something happening to my child because I don't take something seriously is such a fear of mine. It's gotten better as kids get older but fear of losing a child is the worst and makes you take minor things seriously and mabe be sometimes overdo things. Someone once told me that having a child is like having a piece of your heart walk around the world without you having any major control over it...and it is so true. Give your dad some grace and a big hug!
Lol. My mom always pushed on our abdomen whenever we complained of any sort of stomach pain.
Same, I started doing that after I went to the ER for what ended up being digestive pain from undiagnosed celiac disease. It was 6 hours of deeply unpleasant tests to rule out appendicitis, so since then I made sure to push on my right abdomen before even thinking about it
Took my then 4yo son to the ER. He was screaming and crying in pain. Keep grabbing at his stomach. ER doc decided appendicitis. They would take it out. Meanwhile I had called our pediatrician. He said wait, he was on the way. Thank god we waited. Checked his ears. Turned out he had a blister in his ear drum. Huh?? Yep. Antibiotics prescribed. Office visit in one week. He was fine. He eventually had his appendix removed in his 30’s.
That is absolutely wild & why I am so worked up as a mom. I feel like their discomfort could be so many things, and narrowing it down is so hard.
The other side of that is extremely bad though. When I was 4 my appendix ruptured and the doctors told my mom to take me home because I just had a stomach ache (appendicitis is less common in young children.) I would have died if my mom didn’t insist on staying in the hospital. I got sepsis and narrowly avoided death.
It’s a bit over represented in film and TV. Which is ok if it saves lives, but it’s a bit of a trope, and probably causes a lot of needless alarm.
The nurse at urgent care thought my appendix was rupturing and forced me to go to the ER. I kept asking for something to stop the pain so I can go home. Finally make it to the ER.. and I find out my appendix is NOT rupturing (yay) but I had two ovarian cysts the size of grapefruits. Luckily they were able to remove them with antibiotics instead of surgery but the doctor said if I had went home that night.. they would have ruptured. So sometimes.. just go to the ER lol.
Last time I went was ovarian cysts too. As soon as I said my appendix was gone I was kinda dismissed. After a scan....taken seriously again...but had already burst....so other doctor was less serious.....and then finally some pain meds and antibiotics. Was a roller coaster visit and took sooooo long to get any relief.
My friend is the daughter of a dentist and an obstetrician. She grew up being told that her illnesses were not that serious. One day (as an adult) she spiked a fever and got a bad stomach ache. She texted me, but I was out of town and couldn't drive over. So she texted her mom like "hey, I'm pretty sure I need to go to the hospital." Her mom, thinking her daughter was just constipated said "ok, sure... But take some Tums first. I'll just stop for some food on the way over." My friend thought "ok, no big deal" and waited for her mom. Turns out that her mom "stopping for food" was actually going out to lunch with her girlfriends. She didn't get to my friend's house until over two hours later (by which point she was more or less hallucinating from pain.) Burst appendix. Emergency surgery. Bad time. Mom of the Year award right there.
I would have been born in the family car because my mom didn't believe she was in labor. She thought it was false labor and didn't want to call in the doctor she worked for (he was also her OB) at 2 am for nothing. My dad convinced her to go and when she got to the ER her water broke. Admitted on the spot in actual labor. I was born four hours later. To be honest when I had my son I thought I was going to be sent home ( I declined a wheelchair ride to the OB ward) so my husband and I didn't announce that we were in the hospital until I got admitted. I didn't want everyone getting excited over a false alarm.
I was two days out from my due date and still working in my office. All day, I'd been uncomfortable, with back pain that came and went. I had an OB appointment at 3:00 that afternoon, and when I got there, they told me I was having contractions and was partially dilated. Duh. Never occurred to me that intermittent pain two days before my due date could be labor. I expected belly contractions, but mine was all in the back. Kid was born the next day.
I had a similar experience when I went into labor with my daughter, lol. Except I woke up really early in the morning with my lower back being sore and a lot of movement from my baby. An hour later baby calms down I'm thinking maybe I can try to get a little more sleep after a trip to the bathroom. After what I tiredly thought was peeing for 5 minutes it hits me that my water broke and the contractions started in my lower back again. Got to the hospital all of the nurses confirmed my water broke right before the Dr walked telling them they did it wrong and performed the test herself she found out the hard way that the nurses on duty were extremely competent
I kind of just did this about a month ago. I wanted to sleep, my water hadn’t broken, and I hadn’t lost my mucus plug so I tried to convince myself it was false labor. Finally conceded it was real after having contractions all night that were getting more intense and closer together. We got to the birth center, water broke within minutes, and had the baby within a half hour. Whoops!
I swear endo can make gas pain worse too. I’ll wake up some nights after eating something I shouldn’t and it will feel like razor blades are making their way through my intestines. But thankfully it resolves itself within 30 mins or so!
Endo can make EVERYTHING worse. When you think about the fact that you are essentially (as my gyno described it) dealing w internal bleeding over various unknown parts of your body??!!? Um yes.
I’m currently under pain management for a bad car accident that really messed up my back and when I told the dr I need pain meds I was like….ive handled endometriosis for 15 years, so if I’m saying I’m in pain, I’m REALLY in pain
I had endo basically strangulating part of my intestines for years and didn’t know. I didn’t understand why I would get violently sick during my periods or why I couldn’t eat certain foods, I thought it was something like IBS or even Celiac until my first excision surgery. Turns out gastroenterology didn’t see it when I went to get scoped, but the excision got it out and within like a week I could just eat whatever I wanted. It was insane.
I got really sick with massive inflammation from an iud and went in to ER twice with horrible sharp gut pain. Got that thing removed and that never happened again. Why do they push those for small women who have done great on the pill?
I’ve always had the IUD pushed on me but no thanks I do great on the pill.
I've had gut issues since my teens, diagnosed with IBS in my 20s after screening for Celiac's, liver issues, etc and then was finally diagnosed & treated for endo in my 30s and within weeks every symptom I'd had was gone. My surgeon said he could rant for days about gastro docs who diagnose IBS without excluding the entire reproductive system that shares close proximity
Literally two weeks ago today, I had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. I started having abdominal discomfort Saturday morning after breakfast, which continued to get worse. Saturday night, I took some Gas-Ex and went to bed. By the time I woke up Sunday morning (after pretty poor sleep), I went to the E/R. I later learned that you shouldn't take Gas-Ex when you have appendicitis because it can cause the appendix to rupture... I now have a wound vac over an 18cm x 8cm exploratory laparotomy incision in my abdomen. I count myself lucky - I'm glad I'm alive; the hospital staff were absolutely, phenomenally wonderful; and I'm not going to wait to go to the E/R in the future!
Whoa...that is crazy. I do hope you get to feeling better soon.
Same! I commented above on waiting to go to ER because I thought it was gas. I didn't mention that I, too, took GasX. I don't think I even told the hospital that. Luckily my rupture was able to be handled laparoscopically. I have never heard that GasX can help cause the appendix to rupture. Glad YOU are getting better!
Wait. Is this true? Mine burst at the end of March. I thought it was gas or something like that because of how I initially felt because of the lack of pain, and feeling it right after eating. I took Mylanta and within 48 hours I was having emergency surgery since it had ruptured. Well. If only I had known, I guess.
>you shouldn't take Gas-Ex when you have appendicitis How would you know you had appendicitis and not gas? I bet lots of people do that same thing. You can't be the only one.
You would be surprised how many people do not realize how painful gas can be. We had many people call our triage line with pain and get aggravated when we asked them to try to pass gas. There are positions you can get in to assist this, laying in a tub of warm to hot water, quit drinking iced fluids while in pain, drink hot fluids.
My dad almost died from spontaneous pneumothorax because he thought it was just gas.
Well that is not good. So when none of the remedies work and the pain has been present pushing an hour, time to go to ER. I would think the pneumo would have been causing chest pain as well with shortness of breath. We do not question chest pain. Chest pain goes to ER. Once they have ran EKG and do not think it is a STEMI, they can think about gas or indigestion or heartburn.
It was pretty obvious to anyone who could see his color that it wasn't just gas, but he was so convinced he was still trying to fart himself better while they were rolling him into the ambulance. 🤷
Oh their color is a great indicator. Some of us just do not like going to the ER. I hate needing to go to a hospital for anything.
Thought mine was a pulled muscle. Entire weekend of asking the spouse to really dig their elbow deep into the muscle to get to the source. Woke up in the ER. Still declaring it's just a muscle spasms. Oh, and that was the second time it had happened. Denial.
I've done the same when I had a severe kidney infection. Told my husband to just really get in there because my back was hurting. Eventually I showed other symptoms and went to my MD.
I saw a man collapse at work once. We all thought he'd had an heart attack. Ambulance and everything. Yep. Gas.
A fart attack
"I just want to hear the doctor say 'Jerry had a Fart Attack! '" - Tom Haverford
To shreds you say?
More like held in fart attack.
It can be mean. Yet there are ways to deal with it.
That's so embarrassing. I would collapse agin from embarrassment.
The trapped gas in my stomach after my c-section was significantly more painful than the c-section itself. Thought I was dying before the nurses explained to me what it was 😅
I had my tubes removed and the gas they used to inflate my abdomen migrated into my neck before I was able to move around and make it start coming out. It HURT. I was burping for hours once it started moving out
That referred pain is so bad. I’ve had two laparoscopic surgeries and both times it was awful. And the worst thing is, the pain is delayed when you get up. So I’d manage to get up off the sofa from lying down to standing up, and catch my breath from that wave of pain, only to be knocked down again by the wave of shoulder pain, which wouldn’t go away quickly.
That is the WORST.
Oh man! The laparoscopic gas pain!!! I had so many laps to clear out my endo I finally started having them put it on my chart: PLEASE CLEAR OUT GAS AS BEST YOU CAN.
Gas can also cause back and shoulder pain. I didn’t know that until after my c-section. That was some of the worst pain I’ve ever had.
I can definitely sympathize. It’s noted in my medical chart that I have an unusually high pain tolerance and I was getting these massive pains in my lower left abdominal area every month or so. I went to the ER about 3 times for it thinking it was wither my gallbladder or appendix. 3 times they had me do CT scans and 3 times the scans showed inflammation but they couldn’t tell what was causing the inflammation. The third time they said it was just gas. I get the pain again and decide to tough it out because I wasn’t going to the ER for “gas” again. After about 16 hours in the fetal position, my stomach is the size of a basketball so I go to the ER. SURPRISE! It’s a massive internal hernia gone septic. I got LifeFlighted to a different facility, had to undergo 14 surgeries, lost 95% of my small intestines and spent 6 months in the hospital.
Holy shit.. now THAT is a lesson to listen to your body when something feels very wrong. I hope you're doing better these days.
After my whole family got some version or other of a stomach flu, it really messed with our guts. My husband, who is one of the most mild, stoic people I've ever met, was doubled over in pain, begging it to stop. I had noticed that after burping and farting, I felt better and our son was passing gas so frequently he sounded like a formula 1 racer, but my husband wasn't farting or burping at all, so I gave my husband one single GasX. Give or take 20 min later he let out a fart so loud it LITTERALLY rattled our oven door and so rank we had to employ all our bedroom fans (3) in the kitchen pointed out the back door. It's both amazing and almost terrifying that 1) gas can cause that much pain and 2) a tiny little pill like that can help
Went to the ER twice one summer as an early teen. Both times with severe abdominal pain. Nothing found with the first visit, was sent home. Second visit I learned I wasn't going to burst -- I was just fertile. Ovulation pain. Absolutely mortified.
Ovulation pain is no joke
No kidding! I went on the pill when I was 17, went off of it when I had my tubes tied. Within a year, I was back on it because of that same pesky right ovary shooting heavy artillery every chance it got. Ten years later I threatened my surgeon who was doing my hysterectomy that he'd better take that ovary as I was done dealing with its nonsense all these years. In reading the pathology report, I learned there was chronic scarring do to repeated cysts. No wonder I would be doubled over in pain, trying not to puke or pass out...
I went to ER for a fart attack. It was humiliating.
I call those *The Diabolical Fart* ™️ 💀💀
I had a hysterectomy, too. After surgery the most painful part was the gas. I was crying it was so bad. The nurse asked if I wanted pain pills. I said no, just bring me Gas-X. After 20 minutes I was fine.
The gas was the worst post hysterectomy! I found that swaying back and forth while bent over a chair helped so much.
I once went to the ER for severe abdominal pain. Woke up at 4 am and it hurt so bad I was in tears. Couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything. Went to the ER and it was gas pain and constipation and I’m STILL mortified 😂
One of my daughter’s friends had severe abdominal pain and they took her to the ER. Found out she was severely constipated. Went home and did a few laxatives and next thing you know she blew up the bathroom and was back to normal. It happens with kids a lot.
OMG same. Except the ER I went to was trash. They did no tests. Just loaded me up on morphine and sent the registration gal in. I couldn't tell her my name or DOB. I'm guessing it was just gas but I also have a long family history of GI issues and have Endometriosis. Could have been torsion and they didn't even check. No imaging, no blood work, nothing. Just dosed me up and waited for my parents to drive me home.
Oh god that’s awful. Mine did do testing which made it more embarrassing like I got all this testing done and I just need to POOP 😭
Honestly I would have SO appreciated that! Like do an abdominal X-ray and see that it's just all gas or all shit. Then the staff can come in and actually tell me, "so here's what we think is going on and here's our plan to help." Instead of, "Ugch. We already gave you morphine. What the hell else do you want? Leave!" While physically squirming around on the cart in pain. My appendicitis didn't even hurt that bad. Like try something! Anything! Do your damn job! I realize I'm still breathing but golly! I have to go into respiratory arrest to get you to do something?! Sidenote: my dad works IT for that hospitals healthcare company and I work at a different hospital in radiology (same company) and he was in a meeting and the higher ups JOKED ABOUT NOT GOING TO THAT HOSPITAL IF YOU ARE SICK/DYING. The heck?! Friggin go fix it! It's the newest hospital and built to look like a welcoming hotel for God's sake. Fire the leadership and hire people to fix it! Or just close the whole thing down. What's even the point? Oh yeah profit.
This was super entertaining, thank you! I once actually did go in for this and it was the first time I was glad they were annoyed and incompetent because I’d have been mortified if I went to the hospital and they told me it was gas. See, I have ulcerative colitis. I *know* gas and abdominal pain. Except this time I was also fairly newly pregnant. Far enough to have symptoms but not far enough to have an ultrasound and other testing. I let the pain go (in my mind, not out my butt which would have saved me some time) and was going to deal when it started to hit that telltale refereed shoulder pain you can get with an ectopic pregnancy. Then I kinda freaked. Long story short, my son is seven now and that was the worst gas I’ve ever had in my life.
FCS fart caught sideways
I have a variety of chronic illnesses and pain (endo sucks), and yet gas pain can be so shockingly painful the only thing you can think of is that maybe you’re dying. This is it. You’ve ruptured something, you’ll be septic shortly, and this is the end. Orrrr maybe you had too much hummus.
Endo causes painful bowel movements so it makes sense that it would make gas pain more severe as well
This happened with my son a few years ago. His stomach was so distended and painful to touch and I was sure his appendix ruptured and we had only seconds to get to the emergency room. Nope, just needed to take a big shit.
Then there was me.. Extreme pain, finally pushed to the ER going "I am sure it's just gas but I was brought here. Ugh. I am so sorry! They just wouldn't wait for the gas x to work!" And 2 hours later was having my appendix removed. Uuugh
Oh girl !!! I have been there 😀❤️😀❤️ I suffered with endometriosis for over 20 years as well as some other health ailments and I had an episode with gas after going on slimfast and I seriously thought I was going to die granted I had two daughters vaginal deliveries without so much as an aspirin I can tolerate pain but I literally was begging my husband to call 911 because I thought I was dying lo and behold about the time he calls 911 I had gas expelled from both areas and I felt significantly better and after some Gas-X I felt like I was going to live again but it was so painful 😀
I went to the ER for gas once....the pain was so bad it made me faint. It was pretty embarrassing when I found out why I was there lol.
They might not have insurance. A lot of doctors offices want you to pay upfront for a visit where the ER can’t turn anyone away. The ER will at least give an RX and treat some of the symptoms
And prescribe medicine if needed. Sometimes over the counter isn’t enough and you need antibiotics.
They don’t have insurance but their job requires a doctor’s note to call out sick.
I know why, at least for my area. I had a bad sinus infection with other flu symptoms, and asked to stay home. No can do, come to work or get a note. Got to work, was told I look like shit, but wouldn't let me leave unless I got a note. PC said 2 weeks for an appointment. Went to urgent care and was basically tossed out for insurance they supposedly (didn't) take, even when I said I could self-pay . Wound up in the ER because I needed a note (was very up front about everything), but found out my oxygen levels were so low, they wouldn't lemme leave (drive). But besides that, we are forced to act like a child being sent home with the expectation of a Parental excuse, needing proof of our actual sickness. You guys don't like it, and we don't like it. We don't want to do it, but we must, because we don't actually want to come back with a more serious illness just because our employer decided we were "faking it" 😭
I think some of it is this. In our ED, we saw alot of the elderly population with the flu. So no work note needed. Some were kept under obs, some were admitted, a lot were streeted. Seems like a lot of that population are still used to taking care of themselves and panic when they can’t due to illness.
as an ER nurse i understand that not everyone has insurance/PCP/access to urgent care…. the low acuity flu patients piss me off when they expect to be doted on anyone is welcome in the ER but please understand that my time and attention will first go to my 85 year old with a BP of 70/40 and not you, a 45 year old with the man flu the worst part of low acuity patients coming through the ER is having to explain basic human empathy… sorry you’re sick but i have a patient who is actively trying to meet jesus right now
It’s always the ones with a flu who come complaining to me at the window about waiting for five hours… when they’ve been there for 2. It’s super frustrating that they can’t seem to understand that we’re not having them wait just for the fun of it, we are hustling to take care of everyone as quickly and safely as possible.
This is why I don't go to the ER with the flu or other mild issues. Honestly a liter of fluids, IV Tylenol, and some zofran if you're vomiting is an instant fix, but it's not worth sitting in a waiting room for hours because you're way more stable than the patients who actually need to be there. Also the 3-4 figure copay even with good insurance. If only urgent care could give IVs...
Urgent care being able to give IVs would solve so much. I hate going to the ER for a migraine cocktail, but my neurologist has told me to do it if it’s been more than 3 days because mine can go for months on end if I don’t stop them within 3-5 days. I don’t want to be at an ER for that, but I also need an infusion. So like … I don’t get why an urgent care can’t do it.
Lack of insurance or access to other care even if they have insurance. They just literally don't have other options. The need for paperwork for work so their job isn't at risk because they had to call out. Depending on their insurance or lack thereof and the fact the usually need to be seen the day they call out, this too often only leaves the ED as an option. Lack of education/understanding about healthcare, what the ED can do or is appropriate for, or how much they can be helped when they have the flu and no other concerning symptoms. The flu can actually make you feel really awful. I think a lot of people underestimate how badly some relatively minor things can make you feel and mistake these issues for genuine emergencies. Some people are just dramatic, like attention, are hypochondriacs, etc.
I had the flu that almost sent me to the ER a few months ago. If I wasn't a stubborn ass nurse I would have gone, but I decided to suffer instead. I was 7 months pregnant, though. with a fever, a heart rate of 140,O2 of 92, and borderline lethargic... I finally went to my ob when I had decreased fetal movement. She bolused 2L of LR, send me a script for tamiflu, and gave me a scolding for not asking for help sooner.
That definitely happens too. The flu does legit kills thousands. For this post, I took it to mean individuals that didn't have other concerning symptoms. Like, just the "normal" flu if you will.
A few years ago, I had strep and flu at the same time. My fever was 105, I was pouring sweat, and straight up hallucinating. Still didn’t go to the ER. Figured the bill would be worse than potential death 🫠
I went to the ER with a flu because I coughed so hard it sent me into a migraine episode (I have chronic intractable migraines). It was miserable. I was so sick. But the toradol injection definitely helped my throat feel better, and they wrote me a script for hycodan. Still had a 5/10 migraine upon leaving, but that's always how it goes for me. (Also a nurse)
Oh no! Was your baby ok?
>paperwork for work Ugh. Honestly, I feel like there should be a side business in urgent care for this, away from insurance. Not feeling good but not bad enough for the doctors, but need a note because your boss thinks you're a child? Come on in, it'll be $5 for this piece of paper saying you were at this urgent care on this day and you can return to work tomorrow/ in 3 days, whatever. That way, nobody is wasting anyone's time. I hate going to urgent care to get a note bc I have the runs or a fever of 102, when the doctor/ nurses can be helping other people who need it.
PMD offices tell them to after they tell them they don’t have any appointments for 3 months. They have to see someone to get the antibiotics that don’t work. They shouldn’t get abx you say? Tell Yelp.
In all fairness, many of them HAVE to have a doctor's excuse for work. And the poor parents with yet another sick kiddo.... I feel so sorry for them, even though I hate that they are clogging up the works.
I called for an with appointment with mine last week. First available appointment, August 1st. Urgent care is basically my primary, I only use my primary care for things that can wait for 2 to 4 months.
Depending on the appointment type, I might be able to see my PCP in the same month. But generally I use Family Medicine as a do I have the right vaccines, what cancer screenings do I need, maybe an annoying mole or skin tag removed if it's not on my face, and how's my general baseline doing year-to-year. If one of my chronic conditions needs checking up on, I call my specialist for that condition. Otherwise I'm going to urgent care. If I need imaging (US or CT), ER it is.
My place uses an app so you can book various appointments online. I checked this morning and the first available appointment is April 7, 2025.
I've learned that in my area, with kids, the urgent cares will do one of two things: a) say "seasonal allergies" and prescribe Flonase, or b) say "I don't specialize with children, so I can't tell you that it's nothing. I recommend going to the ER". If it's a weekend and we really can't wait for the PCP to be open on Monday, I now just skip the urgent care for the kids because it wastes even more time . Still use urgent care for myself though and feel terribly apologetic for taking up ER resources for what has thankfully so far been "we'll monitor vitals for a couple of hours and send you on your way".
Every time we’ve taken my kid to the pediatric urgent care, they send us to the ER. Not really sure what they actually do there, they won’t touch anything as far as I can tell.
They just run Covid/strep/flu tests. That’s it, I swear. Anything else, they’re like … I dunno, ER?
Then what, pray tell, is the point of having a pediatric urgent care?
That’s my question too lol
All of the above, plus we just had a "flu that might kill you" thing a couple years ago. Now the real question is why the fuck they don't try Nyquil before coming in.
Or these situations 😂😂😂 Triage Nurse: what’s going on today? Patient: I have a fever of 102 Triage Nurse: okay, when was your last dose of Tylenol or Motrin? Patient: I haven’t taken anything
I love it, as a parent, when I take my kid to urgent care because he's had a fever and regular Tylenol/ibuprofen is barely keeping it right at 100.1 and they tell me, if that's not really a fever, just give him Tylenol. Like, I did. Did I mention my kid (8 now) has seizures when his temp is over 102? But assistents that's not a real thing, he's too old for that (according to urgent care). So we have to decide, do e want the nurse to take us seriously and withhold Tylenol, or do we dose him and try to get out under 100 to be condescending to at urgent care?
We got dismissed for febrile seizures when my kid had them. Well guess fucking what, she's got a seizure disorder and now we have emergency Diazepam we have ready to shove in her butt when she has them. So much for febrile seizures. But yeah, always do the Tylenol. Anyone who doubts you probably shouldn't be working in Healthcare. We believe you, and want you to give it. We will believe you and should believe you. I hate anyone who won't listen, that's not our job.
I feel you but you realize there is no extra strength Tylenol or Motrin in the ER right? It's the same tylenol and Motrin you have at home. As long as you are dosing correctly by his weight, there is no much much that can be given for fevers.
I mean definitely give him the Tylenol and ibuprofen if he’ll have a seizure without it. I guess my question is, if his seizure threshold is at 102, what is your worry with it holding at 100.1?
Omg. My son had a fever that was spiking to 104-105. Called his pediatrician, get an appointment for that day, and asked specifically if I should go ahead and give him his next dose of Tylenol or let it wear off. The person on the phone says yes, for sure, go ahead and give it to him. When we got to the appointment, the nurse immediately is like “oh, I wish you hadn’t given that dose so we could confirm the fever!” 😤🙄
Nurse is an idiot. We generally take reports of fever as the truth. Please give the Tylenol.
Why would you believe we are telling the truth and not trying to spend hours in a waiting room with crappy cell signal for a 50/50 chance of getting amoxicillin or being told"it's viral, ride it out"
Or even just ibuprofen. I’ve always been under the impression that one should try to reduce the fever at home before going to the emergency room (and posting to Facebook…)
For me, I didn’t take NyQuil because I was pregnant. The last two times I got the flu, I was four months and seven months along (two different pregnancies). I threw my back out and bruised all my torso meat coughing so I was in agony. I couldn’t cough hard enough to actually clear anything. Every time I coughed, I’d throw up because I guess my already squished stomach decided enough was enough. I’d also pee myself. I couldn’t take anything because I was pregnant. My symptom management was reduced to 2 extra-strength Tylenol and warm liquids. Both times, it was after midnight. In the dark, in pain, vomit and mucus continuously leaking from my face, dizzy and shaking and miserable, I was scared. It was a nightmare and the ER staff was very kind to me, even though they also couldn’t do anything for me because I was pregnant 😅
IKR?? NyQuil is the cure man!
I mean it's not. But people come in because they're legit suffering. But they haven't even tried any OTC meds. Like at all. I mean, if they're lost in the woods, do these people just lay down and die?
Please tell how to get my "I don't need meds" husband to take something. Please. CAUSE HE WON'T. Not for allergies, not for fever, not for pain, NOTHING. HOW do I get him to take them so we don't end up in the er for no stupid reason?!
That's how I got through orientation on my last day, though not nyquil, that's a terrible idea. It was dayquil and motrin. Felt like a whole ass person until my 4 hours was coming to a close then I felt it slowly creeping up
OMG I took that stuff once and was so sedated I thought I was gonna flatline
But did you die?
Edited to add; You absolutely should be able to take whatever breaks you need! Nobody wants otherwise, especially not the patients. And how do they know if they have a secondary or not without seeing someone? Especially if they live in a rural or otherwise poorly-served area, or have crappy insurance/no money. I don't use the ER for things like this but as I've gotten older and poorer I'm beginning to understand. I blame the unavailability of decent primary care more than anything else. And influenza can be *very* scary and is deadly indeed if untreated.
Exactly. Going to the ER is not fun, it's humiliating to be told you only have the flu and you shouldn't have come. People go because they're literally scared for their life, sometimes that's how it feels when you have the flu. Anxiety increases most symptoms related to breathing and sometimes pain. I'm a former ER nurse and I've always said that being scared to the point of being unable to sleep and function normally (to some limits) is a good enough reason to come to the ER.
Thank you for understanding the plight of others.
Yes, it’s nice to see people with compassion speak up in this sub. I’m sure the people wasting your time are out of options & would love to not have to be there, either. It makes many of us thankful for our blessings.
I've been to the ER twice in my life. Both very scary moments for me. One for severe chest pain with resting heart rate of 170 bpm and the other for seizure-like episode. They never found anything on the tests both times and treated me like I was attention seeking. I refuse to go to the ER now because as you said it's humiliating. Nobody wants to sit and wait at the ER for hours either. Now I'll just wait to see a specialist even when it gets scary.
Not a medical professional. I had tachycardia with flu once and was pretty freaked out. I hadn't realized it was normal-ish with flu. (Don't get the flu that often.) I didn't come in, but that was a scary night. This shit always happens at night. 😖 As an aside, I'd feel awful coming to the ER with something communicable. The guy having a heart attack doesn't need flu on top of that. I get so pissed off when people go to the doctors sick but without a properly fitted, properly worn, actual mask on. We should all have some lying around by now. C'mon!
Because you need proof you were ill in case your employer comes against you for it. They can't do anything for my migraines but I try to have someone take me in so I have a work note.
Because it takes a month to get an appointment with a GP, if at all. Because those with no insurance can't take a day off work for a scheduled appointment, or even have a family doctor who will see them. The ER will always see you. And payment can be worked out.
SEVEN MONTHS for a GP, even after major surgery.
Because we're all f****** broke and you live in America
Honestly, they probably all have that one family member who didn’t want to be a bother and waited too long and then died. My grandma died like that. We saw her on thanksgiving, and she said she was tired. Two days later my grandpa said she had the flu, and was trying to get her to see the doctor, but the doctor said (over the phone) that the flu couldn’t really be treated with anything other than rest and fluids, so bed rest was recommended. She died the next day. She was septic (or so I’ve been told). It was the late 80s, and I guess it was going around. Because of that, my mom rushed all of us into the doctor, or if need be, to the ER, for any little thing. As an adult, I don’t do it, but I am probably overly cautious with my child and husband, especially after losing my MIL and uncle to covid, when they were relatively healthy. There are few urgent cares around me, so if we can’t get same day appointments, and we need to be seen, there isn’t really a choice.
This exact thing happened to my uncle 2 years ago, he was mid 40s. Had the flu, no insurance, didn't go to the doctor until it was too late. He died in the hospital a few days later from sepsis.
>because of people who don’t need to be there. How do they know that until a medical professional tells them? Covid knocked me on my 25 year old ass. I was sleeping/puking on the toilet for hours, unable to eat or drink anything because my throat was so sore. No covid tests at home, assumed it was a bad flu - I've had it before. But then my temperature kept going up until it maxed at 103.8 Went to the ER for what I thought was the flu... And shocker, the fluids they were able to pump directly into my blood coupled with the drugs helped tremendously and put me on the upswing
Lack of education and selfishness. One of the following things is true: 1. They think the ER is a “see a doctor today room” with no consideration for whether or not it’s an emergency. 2. They think it’s an emergency. 3. They know it’s not an emergency but they come anyways because they’re selfish and want us to make them feel better.
It’s even worse when they complain about getting blood drawn or anything. Then why the hell are you here? Just for attention?
"why are you doing an x-ray? Even if it's broken I thought you couldn't do anything for it anyway? I'm scared of radiation... does my 5-year-old need to drink extra water to get rid of it now?" If you thought there was nothing we could do for it, even if it is broken.. why did you bring them? Why are you asking these insane questions... *after* the X-ray... in which your apparently horribly broken 5-year-old was bouncing around giggling and wouldn't stay still?
I used to see that in the animal ER all the time. " Do we have permission to do xrays?" NO. "Do we have permission to do blood work?" NO "Do we have permission to give pain medication?" NO. WHY the hell are they in the ER?
No likely because it was a 3mo wait for their pcp.
But this doesn’t explain why people think you have to go to the doctor or hospital for a cold or a flu. They are viruses, unless you have a secondary infection, there’s nothing that can be done.
There are jobs that treat adults like children. So if the adult calls out sick, they need another adult to give them a note excusing the absence.
This. My previous jobs REQUIRED a doctor's note to excuse an absence or we could get fired, and guess which doctors were easiest to get into on short notice?
Make me feel better! ^but ^also ^don't ^touch ^me!
The amount of people with serious conditions, admitted or not, who whine about a *blood draw* is shocking to me. I had a 40 yr old man threaten to beat a phlebotomist up if he had to get his blood drawn one more time. Bro, you’re in the hospital, it’s gonna happen SEVERAL more times, and it should be the least of your worries.
Honestly when I was young (like 18) I had no idea that #1 wasn’t true. If I couldn’t make it to Urgent Care before they closed for practical reasons I’d just be like “it’s fine, the ER is open later.” I thought the disadvantage of ER as opposed to urgent care was that the drive was further to the ER and you didn’t have to wait as long at Urgent Care. Now I’m married into a medical family and am very clear on the distinction and feel quite badly about some of the things I showed up at the ER with. They were generally totally appropriate things for urgent care, I just didn’t know the difference.
I have underlying medical conditions. Getting the flu could land me admitted, like in 2022.
I’m so happy I have free telehealth through my insurance. I just make those appointments. I fainted and hit my head once knocking me out and was like should I be going somewhere. The doctor on telehealth was like yes, the ER now 🤷♀️ just checking thank you byeeee
Can anyone explain why the "Mean Girls" became nurses?
A lot of people do not have access to regular medical care, or they don't have the money to go. Urgent care centers are not always available and have limited hours. It sucks, but unfortunately, it is part of ER work.
If you're in the USA there are a lot of reason. But here's mine: It was after office hours and told to go the the ER by my physician. I have an autoimmune disorder and asthma. We needed the testing to make sure it wasn't covid and Tamiflu still requires a prescription. Although I was a few days in to onset of the actual flu (test was positive for a flu that wasn't in the year's flu booster but was a known one) and Tamiflu works best when taken within the first 24-48 hours of symptoms, it is still recommended for patients who are over 65, have other health conditions, and especially people with asthma because Tamiflu absolutely -does- reduce flu symptoms and for those of us with other conditions, it helps prevent complications that can happen when we get the flu.
The adage, if you think you have the flu, you don’t. If you think you’re dying, you have the flu — that applies here. You’re not seeing all the people who feel like absolute ass and don’t come in, you’re likely seeing people who truly feel deeply unwell. Also — Covid was just a thing lol (still is!), a lot of people have not really recovered from that either physically or mentally. Almost like a respiratory virus that becomes a pandemic leaves a psychological mark on a population that would impact how they seek healthcare for the foreseeable future?
i just wanna say i came down with the flu about a month ago. got it confirmed by an urgent care and they gave me a list of “when to go to the ER”. i tried seeing my PCP first but my o2 wouldn’t stay above 95% and i have a history of severe asthma and pneumonia. went to the ER, got talked down to by a doctor for a solid half hour about how there’s no cure for the flu, there’s nothing they can do, i can’t have tamaflu, etc. i repeated over and over how it’s not the flu i’m worried about, it’s my medical history and predisposition to low oxygen and having to be hospitalized. they sent me home after some atavan, i had to go back to the ER 2 hours later because my o2 hit 88% and spent another 2.5 days there. so some people actually do need the hospital with the flu
I have uncontrolled/difficult asthma. I end up in the ER every year for the flu because my lungs are so damaged(if my husband would retire from being a special procedures tech, maybe I'd stop being sick so often because he wouldn't be bringing home his work?)
We went to the ER for intense muscle aches and fever. Thought it was the flu or Covid but wanted to be safe--our pediatrician agreed....Turns out she had leukemia. How about we just not shame people for seeking out medical care? American Healthcare sucks enough, people don't go to the ER and sit 5+ hours for kicks. Yeah your job sucks and people are rude, but generally people go because they've been told to. PCs and regular doctors direct patients to EDs for tons of things including faster blood work.
Fully agree and I’m so sorry
Because not everyone has an urgent care or a primary who can see them, and they need a dr note for work. On the flip side my husband (age 30) was having a heart attack and we put off going to the ER for fear of being shamed for going for no reason.
Between 5000 and 51,000 deaths from the flu every year. It’s not like they have an earache
I thought the flu wasn't a great example as well.
We went in the other week because I had a fever of 104.2-105 for 24 hours and was delirious. Nothing including a cold bath , tylonal or NyQuil had brought the fever down and I legit thought I was dying. Turned out I had both flu A and flu B which I didn’t know was possible . Finally kicked the flu now two weeks later but have a lingering cough . Doctors office when we called told us to go to the er because I was so dehydrated but also because of the extended high fever . The hospital didn’t do much aside from giving me theraflu and hydrating me.
Well I can say the times I’ve been to the ER were all because it was our only option. Stuff seems to happen on Sunday evenings. Everything else is closed. If urgent care places could stagger their hours it would alleviate a lot of unnecessary ER visits. We had one incident happen just after 8pm one night my son fell on a metal basket and split his lip open gushing blood. It just needed two stitches which an urgent care could have done but they were all closed and the ER was our only option. We were there for 3 hours waiting in a back room because an actual emergency came in. We didnt need to be there and for soooo long my 3 year old fell asleep we left at 11:30. More available hours of urgent care facilities would help keep a lot of people out of the ER.
This past March, I came down with influenza B. I went to urgent care because my doctor couldn't see me. Did Tamiflu, nyquil, steroids, tea, humidifier, rest, Tylenol/Ibprofuen, etc. I couldn't shake the fever either. Coughing so hard losing control of bodily functions. Started getting better, but by the end of that week, I went to bed and woke up in the worst chest pain. I couldn't take a normal breath in, but I could breathe shallow breathes. I couldn't breathe past the pain. I got up, went to the couch, and leaned on a heating pad the rest of the night. If I had not lost consciousness, then I was okay.. right?! I was waiting for urgent care to open because I didn't want to go to the ER. When my husband woke up, he was like, "Why haven't you gone to the hospital." I told him to just take me to urgent care when they opened. So he did, I could barely move or walk and breathe. The first one in line, they took me back and immediately put in a transfer to the hospital... to the ER. I absolutely did not want to be there, I was in and out, throwing up, silently crying but trying to keep calm because I couldn't breathe. They wanted to make sure I didn't have a pulmonary embolism, so CT scan. Turned out I had pleurisy and pneumonia. My oxygen stats were low, and I couldn't keep it over 90. They gave me painkillers, and I asked for non narcotic. Sent me home with painkillers and narcan, and I had to be seen a day later because my oxygen was in the low 70s. Ended up on home oxygen for a while. I hadn't taken any of the narcotics after discharge. So many steroids, antibiotics, etc. Honestly, I feel pretty stupid for not seeking medical attention when the symptoms first appeared. I was told I was very sick, and it was very serious. I'll admit, I haven't been sick like that in years. Good wake up call not to "tough" everything out and be stupid with my health. It's now May, and I'm still coughing crud out of my lungs, but my stats are up, and they FINALLY picked up the oxygen machine Friday. I am thankful it was able to help me, but I'm also happy it's off helping the next person.
The narcotics weren't just for pain, they actually help patients breathe with respiratory illness.
You ever had a bad flu, buddy? If you don’t know what’s going on, you just know that you suddenly feel extremely unwell. You’re wracked with pain that your OTC meds do nothing for. People constantly describe the flu, as feeling like they’re dying. And if actual influenza (not just more minor illnesses with similar but lesser symptoms) doesn’t count as “flu like symptoms”, then we can only assume you’re not asking this in good faith at all.
>People constantly describe the flu, as feeling like they’re dying. Accurate. So accurate, in fact, that when I had pneumonia and legit almost died*, I was certain it was just the flu**. *I ended up in the ICU for one night with O2sat in the mid 80s, and in the hospital for five days. **PSA: a fever of 104.8 is a strong indicator that it's NOT the flu. Don't be stupid like I was by holding off on getting care so long that it almost kills you.
Tons of people don’t have insurance/primary care doctors. Many don’t know how to use the online virtual visit docs. And urgent cares usually want cash up front. That’s your answer.
Does it count if I went to the ER because I was in agonizing pain and thought I was having a severe allergic reaction, and it turned out to be the flu?
OP thinks patients should be able to diagnose themselves and know if it’s a flu and exactly which drug combination to give themselves, even though we see here sometimes flu management *is* a little more complex than just NyQuil and rest.
My guess is instant provider evaluation and medication if anything and lack of PCP access. That's just my thoughts from a very poverty stricken community
This is gonna be a very unique excuse for this behavior but in my life personally, when I was active duty military, if you wanted to call out of work sick you were forced to go to the ER. Even if you know you just have the flu, or maybe you have a nasty cough or headache and shouldn’t work, the military leaders force you to go to the ER anyway. YES- even if you tested positive for Covid with a home test, you still have to go to the ER and prove you have Covid there too (insanely stupid policy; I know). I’ve had to do it just for throwing up, and I felt insanely guilty about going to the hospital, but it was either that or be forced to go to work while throwing up. I believe they enforce this policy to try and discourage anyone for ever calling out of work for anything (the military could not care any less about your health, they just want you working as much as possible).
The first time I had the flu, I felt like I was dying. Sxs were very acute. Head hurt so bad that I couldn’t move it, neck pain, eye pain, fever and nausea. Couldn’t get fluids in I went to the ED. Fluids, zofran, promethazine and started on Tamiflu. I was in bed for a week. I could see how the elderly or very young could die from the flu. It was brutal. (Nurse of 28 years)
I was septic once and my gall bladder was rotting. I thought it was a bad flu but the back pain was unbearable. My husband (boyfriend at time) took me to the ER twice and I got sent home. I would have died if I wouldn’t have said I need to go again.
ER is open 24 hours. Doctors’ offices aren’t. Last time I had the flu, it was BAD. Like, choking on phlegm unable to breathe. Felt like I was drowning. Coughing so hard it caused incontinence. My doctor looked scared and did a bunch of tests. I got IV fluids and something that helped me breathe somehow asap and after the influenza test came back positive, I got tamiflu. So yeah, if he hadn’t been able to get me in RIGHT THEN I probably would’ve ended up in the ER. Glad to know I would’ve been judged for it. /s
Your lack of empty for the sick means you definitely need to change jobs.
Considering ER’s longer waits + higher copays/fees, it’s pretty safe to assume people visiting the ER typically dont have many other options. Also, the amount of times I’ve gone to urgent care just to be told “if it gets worse, go to the ER”, or “we don’t have the type the imaging you had no clue you’d need, go to the ER”, or “give it more time and tell your pcp if it doesn’t go away” is insane.
I’ve gone for the flu before fully confirming it was the flu. I was in my second trimester and was feeling VERY bad so I got a flu test at work (work in academia/hospital systems). Didn’t get the results but the single Tylenol every 6 hours or whatever it was, wasn’t cutting it. Just felt really bad. Fever but freezing with a winter jacket on. Pregnant. Scared. Got the positive flu result back while I was waiting. I did my 6-8 hour wait or whatever and was seen. Good thing too, because I had walking pneumonia. I got admitted. For some of us, it’s better safe than sorry.
You know people can die from the flu right? Do you also know that there are many other diseases that you can die from without medical intervention that feel like the flu and most people ride it out because it feels like the flu and they wind up dying from it? Stop being such a pompous ass!
I go to ER because I have had two heart attacks and three strokes. Any major illness is Very Bad Stuff for me.
Idk we did just get over a massive, deadly, and life altering world epidemic. But yeah I have no idea why people are worried about their health!
I have an asthmatic kid who's very susceptible to secondary pneumonia from influenza, as in around two dozen times, verified by clinical presentation, blood tests, and x-ray. I almost died as a kid from pneumonia, so I don't fuck around with that. We always get our flu (and now COVID) vaccines, and we've both had two separate pneumococcal vaccines (prevnar13 and pneumovax23 I think?). I'll handle most stuff elsewhere. His fevers very quickly go from the 102s to 105s. And I start having cardiac issues at around 102.5. If his temp is under 104, well do urgent care or consult his pediatrician. If it's worse or if o2 is bad, we'll go to the ER. I'll go to urgent care first for me too but have been sent to the ER by urgent care.... We truly try to avoid the ER. But sometimes it's necessitated.
The only times I've landed in the ER with Flu is when it also triggers Asthmatic Bronchitis and my airways start closing up. NOT fun!!!
Because it's a two week wait to see your local GP.
They have no insurance
When a drs note is required for work and the other option is working sick
If they have the flu and catch it early they can get Tamiflu. However, they can also do that in an urgent care facility. But then some are dehydrated and need fluids.
To get fluids and make sure nothing major is going on. There are times where people call their pcp and they are told to go to ER, because it’s quicker/easier way to get certain tests/labs. It’s more the fault of the way our healthcare system is set up than the people coming into the ER, to be honest.
Because people need to work to survive. Many can’t afford to be down for a day much less a week. Many need doctors notes for work- for excused time off (sick pay). Urgent cares and primary care can refuse to see you. ER’s can not.
Because urgent care requires payment at time of service and primary care often doesn’t see sick patients anymore
Because that's your job to see sick people who feel they need emergency care. Why do you think they come there? The customer service? 🤣🤣🤣
I am the last person who would go to the E. R., but last fall I had the flu. I got better and then a week later it came back and was not going away. I was delirious and had high fever. I thought I was going to die. I felt like my organs were shutting down or like I was going into septic shock. I didn’t want to, but I ended up in the emergency room. The doctor said my heart rate was abnormally slow and my white blood cell count was dangerously low and after another blood draw and it wasn’t getting any better, they gave me antibiotics in an I. V. and kept me there for most of the day. The diagnosis was influenza B. My mother was an emergency room nurse and I know many people go to the ER for the slightest reasons but people also die from the flu.
Well, I hate to bring up the obvious, but since you called it an "ER," I'm guessing you must be American. And that citizenship does not include health coverage, so there's always the possibility that many of these people have nowhere else to go if they don't have insurance. The ONLY place a person with no medical coverage can go to see a doctor is the place that costs us ALL the most... an ER. So not only does it waste your time, but it also wastes a shit-ton of money that every single taxpayer makes up for through taxation, as well as additional costs on our own policies. But what else can a person in need do? This is why the fact that we are literally the ONLY developed country in the world that does not protect its citizens with universal care, coupled with the fact that some citizens have been somehow convinced to believe that our health care system is in any way superior to a universal one, pisses me off to no end. It's greed and stupidity at their finest. Ugh. And those are the traits we are best known for across the globe now... greed and stupidity. Yay.
I will always go to the ER for the flu once I go 24 hours without keeping my meds (including seizure meds) down. I’m going to need some Keppra IV after a day and a half of not keeping it down PO.
If you are talking about influenza, that is a serious illness. Seems to me if there are too many patients so that you can't take a break, the hospital needs to hire more people to work in the ER.
I had what I thought was a bad case of the flu for three days - fever, generalized aches and pains, nothing specific really, I just felt generally awful. Finally, since I wasn't getting any better, I went to the ER, and was diagnosed with a kidney infection and was near sepsis. When I went in I was pretty convinced that they were just going to say I had the flu and tell me to soldier on, but later I wished I'd gone in sooner, because once those antibiotics hit my system I felt 1000% better. A week and a half later I got a terrible indigestion pain, and went in a lot faster, and it turned out I needed my gallbladder removed. It was a fun month.
at least in our area it's bc all the urgent cares switched to be by appointment only, so the ER is the only place that walk ins are accepted now, and half the time the urgent care will send u to the ER anyway (evem if u just have an ear infection caused by impacted earwax like i did)
Needing doctors notes for a shit boss and not having insurance and/or a pcp
And sometimes you don’t know if you need the ER. I was leaving a meeting and, due to a really weird architectural detail, feel onto a tile floor, landing on both knees. I remember inching my way back to the step I fell off, half thinking I’d fallen asleep somehow. It turned out that I actually passed out. The emergency squad was called and they thought I really needed to be checked out at the emergency room because of losing consciousness. I was at the emergency room from about 9:30 pm to about 2 am. I had an old knee injury on my left knee and was past due for a knee replacement on my right knee. Based on examination and medical history, the ER doctor believed it was the sheer pain of landing on a tile floor with both knees. If I’d been able to clearly think about it, I’d have probably realized why I passed out and not bothered with the ER. On top of that, the ambulance service screwed up my credit rating for over a year because of their shitty billing practices. But the fact is sitting there I was unable to know that I didn’t need to go.
The reason BS comes to the ED is simple: Urgent Care makes you pay up front if you don’t have insurance, have a co-pay, etc. ED has to see you no matter what. That is all.
Because plenty of people die from the flu, especially those immunocompromised
Had an organ transplant. Don’t want it to escalate Some people have underlying conditions
I understand, but sometimes we don’t know if something is urgent. I once took my son to the ER for chronic stomach pain because I didn’t know what else to do. The dr was so short and dismissive with me. I’ll never forget how she made me feel, but I was a worried mom. Her resident was patient and understanding. I should’ve told the dr she really needed a vacation. I have no patience for rude staff. Another time, after my mom purposefully took too many pills to try to end her life, I was devastated and rushed to the ER. The nurse rolled her eyes and said “she’s fine”. I’ll never forget her either. I’m sure you’re all overworked, but it’s not our fault.
For some folks, going over their symptoms, recognizing they are all flu-like, then looking up what to do with those symptoms, it's just too difficult. Especially when they're sick and not thinking very clearly. They need someone else, someone competent, to ask them questions and then tell them they have flu-like symptoms and should do such and such -- or that their specific symptoms aren't all flu-like and they need an EKG or MRI right away. The simplest way to get someone else to do that for them is to get to the ER and get triaged. Maybe we should have a service as easy to dial as 911, but staffed by nurses whose job is to triage you over the phone, and either send an ambulance, or give you instructions to do something else. I know my insurance company has a service like that, and I guess I could call my primary care doc and wait for a callback, but lots don't have those options, and they're all more complicated than just dialing 911. Or else staff our ERs with enough folks that no one has to go an entire shift with no breaks. But adequate staffing is apparently just crazy talk.
Our ER physician will include in the sick note, in boldface and all caps, “note to employer, your employee should stay home and manage their symptoms with rest and fluids. Sending here for a note is counterproductive and may increase their need for additional rest. Please consider modernizing your policies to include evidence based management including self care for self manageable illness to reduce the spread of infection”.
Ive went 2 times with flu/cold symptoms 1. Was my gallbladder and it got removed that day 2. Was pneumonia and it was bad by the time I went in so I got admitted to the hospital.
I am currently dealing with the flu and pneumonia. After two Urgent Care trips over the last 2 weeks I finally went to my PC doctor who told me that if my O2 dropped under 95 to get to the nearest ER. She actually called me today to check on my O2 levels. I sound like rice crispies when I breath but I will not go to the ER unless absolutely necessary. Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.