Happy Spring to all, & may you be pain-free!
Yesterday, home alone, I was very ill, went to the bathroom for the commode fest, started choking on emesis, couldn't get a breath/vaso-vagal, and loss consciousness for an unknown time. Woke up choking and still vomiting very forcefully! When I looked in the mirror, there were tiny venoules & capillaries that had burst around my eyes,(petechiae). My husband, took me to the ER that evening, with treatment forms I downloaded from this site, completed. Saw a PA, very thorough history/exam, discussed treatment and the need for IV fluid. Then he came back with a Dr. I had seen once before. She proceeded to stand 3ft. from the end of my gurney, and lecture me for essentially "wasting her time, and seeking narcotics"and I should avoid coming in during her shift. (By targeting when she isn't there, it gives the impression of "sneaking around", for treatment?) She contended that on the last visit she informed me she would only treat the nausea, and maybe give some fluid, husband suggested D5.45NS rather than normal saline, she ask him if he was a Dr., reply was he has taken care of me for the past 18yrs, and this seems to work better. I ask my husband if I had missed her saying this,(I wear ear plugs), he said he hadn't heard her tell me this, maybe it was the PA that day. My husband, PA, IV nurse & myself were stunned! IV nurse put in hepplock, left said would have to wait for fingerstick/glucose before hanging fluid, 45 mins. later fingerstick showed 75mg/dl. site continued to bleed for 30 mins. Fluid to run in at 500cc/hr. 2 more hours in er! Ask for ramp up of doseage, ok'd by PA, infusion of 500cc's with the beeping pump/ turned off and dc'd line. Never saw the Dr. again for recheck. IV nurse said he only dealt with the PA, as she didn't treat people like me, and wouldn't give the ok for the meds to the PA. He informed us this happens alot with this Dr., and apologized profusely for the type of treatment I did/didn't receive. I expressed the concern for lack of compassion, bedside manner, and the being made to feel like the lowest of the low for even seeking treatment on her shift.
I am unaware of whom & how I should address this in the state of AZ. I don't want anyone else to be made to feel this way, or stuck in a room and ignored while the Dr.s and nurses are talking and joking in their station. Any information shared would be greatly appreciated.
i would start with a phone call to the adminstrator of the hospital, and then one to the state medical board.
if you have documented proof of migraines, i would do my best to see that this doctor, and i use that term very loosely, is sanctioned.the hospital should do it's own investigation.
this is why i am thankful that i live in a small town. i have had the nurses call to check on me at the end of their shift.......... one of them even lives on the street over behind me, and has come by to see if i was better. my doctor pulls 2 nights a week in the ER......... and both of the other docs in the ER know me, and know i am not going to go until i can't stand it anymore.
I was told by hospital administration, these are private contractors, locum tenems, which change every 2 - 4 months. The jest was to avoid this doctor! It's the old adage, "the doctor knows best and to err on the side of caution", for her. Here in Arizona there is no Joint Commission Accreditation of Hospital to regulate them. I'm used to the California system mentioned above, with proper channels to follow in this type of situation.
Llike yourself, I don't go in at the first sign. I wait until I'm in atrial fibrillation, dehydrated(minimum 6 sticks for an IV line, 45mins. under ultrasound for a PICC line) or have lost consciousness due to a vaso-vagal episode, which this time included broken blood vessels and capillaries on my face from the force of the vomiting, this really scared me as I was home alone.
I am exploring other avenues of action within the system, but no one wants to "rock the boat", especially for a migraineur a.k.a. "drug seeker". I have also found out that on weekends (this is when the episode took place), they have only one Dr. and 2 PA's, this is a rural Level II Trauma Center!
Thank you for your response and support, it really means alot, to have someone who understands and has been there. If I can be of any help to you, please let me know. If you come across any information I would be very grateful to hear from you.
every state has some type of medical licenseing board. that is who you should really complain to.
my mom had a stroke that was mis diagnosed as a migraine. when 2 days later i was called and told she was no better i took her to HER doctor, but by then the damage was done.
let's just suppose for a minute that what you are having isn't really a migraine, but a stroke. you might now regain conciousness.
report this doctor before they kill someone!