About 5 days ago I started having pain in cheek, jaw, rt side of my head and my neck down to my shoulder. Last night the pain got so bad that my mother(who is a RN) brought me to the ER. Now this is at a hospital where my Dad works, my Mom worked for 20 yrs, my brother used to work, and I worked IN THE ER for 5yrs.
So the Dr. came in and saw me said I probably had TMJ and he would give me a shot for pain. Now when I was checking in with the nurse I told her what meds I was taking, that I was a chronic pain pt. and what medical problems I had. When she took my vitals my BP was high and my pulse was high (which I do not know how to fake those!!) so the dr. came back after about 20 minutes and said that one of the nurses said that I have chronic pain and I was probably faking just to get drugs(IN the past year I had been there twice-once for stomach problems and I was admitted and once for a foreign object in my eye). I told the doctor, who I had never seen before all of this and he then said he would give me a lesser amount of the med. While I was waiting in the room I could hear one of the nurses talking about me in the hallway and he was not saying anything good so I was in pain and upset so I stepped out of the room and asked him noy yo be such a jerk. well he went back and told the Dr. that I had called him a name so the Dr. came in and said that he was discharging me w/o any pain relief. AAAAAAHHHHH!
This morning I called my pain Dr. and told him my symptoms and what had happened-he advised me to go to another ER and that they could call him if they needed to because he was not in the office and he gave me a # for them to call. Finally my Mom got me into see an ENT Dr. this A.M. and he diagnosed me with TMJ
syndrome and gave me Rx's for Vicodin ES, Robaxin, and Motrin besides my regular meds. He was fully aware of my other pain issues and I have to go see him again next week for some injections. Why don't ER staff take chronic pain issues seriously?? They made me feel like a worthless drug addict!! Please give me any advice you can- I'd appreciate it!
I've heard so many of these horror stories that I cannot even believe that this still happens and that all the legitimate chronci pain patients have not contacted their state medical boards over this treatment.
I've been instructed by my own physician to carry certain pertaining records with me when I travel with all the information that he wants to give them, so they will know that I am a legitimate chronic pain patient, incase I have to ever go into emergency for any reason. I normally am able to control my pain with my already prescribed medications and have fortunately not had to use an emergency room since I've been in pain. But I'm sure your jaw pain was not expected and certainly one cannot plan for such dreaded occaisions.
I'm really sorry that you were treated so poorly, I guess we can blame all the drug seekers out there for our treatment and how every pain patient must be forced into this kind of horrible treatment.
I'm really glad you have a regular doctor who cares and I hope your able to find some relief from your TMJ along with your other pain illnesses.
Betty