I was having bad headache. I suffer with Hempiplegic Migraine. I went to the about 2:00am for help. After about 6 hour of no relief, I ask to be dicharged to go home an contact my Doctor. 3 minitues from drive off the ER parking lot I was arrested.The ER had call the police on had me arrested , brougth back to the ER for a Drug Test!!! I am a black woman,it was as if they were saying I was only in the ER for drug to get high off. We are still in court for the DUI charges against me,but I do plan to seek justice aganist the hospital for a false arrest. Has anyone one else expriecne this?
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Minortities treatments At ER
1/ 9/08 8:47pm
I'm so sorry about how your ER visit ended. Next time you see the doctor who treats your hemiplegic migraines, take these Emergency Room Treatment Forms along and ask the doctor to fill them out. They may or may not help if you have to go to the ER again, but they can't hurt. They have helped some people get the appropriate treatment in the ER.
Good luck.
1/ 9/08 11:20pm
Hi nutcracker1. thank you but what i'm upset about is that this is not the first time that the ER has treat me. They knew my medical condition, but just this day is seem as if they thought I was seeking drugs. I had the headache for two weeks. Had been released from that same hosptial 3 weeks earlier from a 12 days stay for a migraine.
1/11/08 11:53am
Fridaychild, I'm so sorry for what you've been through with the ER. My experiences with the ER have been horrible as well. I don't even go unless the pain of the migraine is unbearable, so once I get there, I can hardly see, much less communicate. My latest visit included a 2hour wait in the waiting room, while I vomited into a cup. Once in a cubicle, the doctor gave me a shot which didn't touch the pain, but refused to give me any prescriptions to fill, as my pharmacy was closed for the weekend. He lied and said my doctor would not allow it. The doctor across the hall gave a laughing prepubescent boy his choice of Vicodin or Percocet but they discharged me 10 minutes later with nothing. I spent the next 30 hours in bed until I was able to function again. This "care" cost me $182. I think if I was a drug seeker I could have spent that money more wisely.
The ER's of this country need to respect migraine patients as they would any other. Just because they cannot see our pain does not mean it is not there. Opiates are just an insurance policy so that we can live a normal life if we are cursed with a migraine on any given day. Good luck with this issue. The ER should be held accountable for its treatment of you.
1/16/08 1:54pm
hi beth. sorry i'm late with reply, dealing with migraine. THANK YOU! you understand how it hurts to think doctors and hospital think u r all about a drug fix.they know ur physicans, they have ur medical recordes. it showes that it is all kinds of prejudes in this world.some how we have got to get the word out to the national news,tv we are not standing for this. even our own doctors are "dumb&dumber" to our conditions.I thank God that i'm a Christian. boy would the four letters words fly out of my mouth.i have even let them do a drug test one time in the ER. when they cameback to me one said sorry,but they told me that i had a TIA, an went to working on me. finally admitting me to the hospital. I hope u never have to go thur this again. Good lucky in your future treatments.
1/16/08 5:26pm
Fridaychild,
Thanks for the reply. Do you mean they tested you for illegal drugs? That is crazy. I forgot to write that after my trip to the er, I wrote a formal complaint to the patient representative of the hospital, those people who are employed to be our representatives. After hearing my story, seven months went by, while they "conducted an investigation." Finally, I received a letter which said that they were sorry that I felt I had been discriminated against, but that their doctor was not guilty of any mistreatment of me. I cried when I got the letter, because it made me feel that I was powerless to change anything with these doctors and their prejudice against migraine patients. Maybe if enough of us stand up for ourselves, we can fight this. God bless you in your fight with these people.
1/11/08 1:37pm
Oh my Gosh!! I have never experienced anything to that degree, however, I have gone to an ER (not my normal hospital) to have the doctor tell my husband that the migraines were self-enduced! Try to give me tylenol, which I refused to take and then send me home. They nevered bothered to called my doctor (because he wasn't on staff at their hospital) to learn that I have BAM (basilar artery migraine) and treat the migraine properly. I should never have let that drop, but I did!
I can not begin to tell you how outraged I am at what has happened to you! I hope your doctor is going to speak up on your behalf. I would contact M.A.G.N.U.M. to see if they can provide you with any assistance. Your medical history should assist you in fighting this terrible injustice. I would also call the N.A.A.C.P. to see if they would stand up or the Civil Liberties organization. I would call anyone who is for equal opportunity, justice or women's issues!
To think that any of us could be arrested for having a migraine is proposterous...black, white, red, yellow...it doesn't matter we are all the same PERIOD!
I don't blame you, I would fight this to my dying day! It's discrimination not only because you are of color, but a woman, a migraine sufferer because it's just wrong...
Sister Sufferer
1/11/08 3:20pm
You mention you had been in the ER for 6 hours. I assume that during that time they gave you some medication to treat your migraine? What did they give you? Of course you were seeking drugs, drugs to treat your pain. However, if you were given medication that could impair your driving, and you drove yourself away from the hospital, it sounds like you may have been guilty of DUI. It doesn't matter if the medication is legal and prescribed or administered by a physician, driving under the influence is illegal and dangerous. Could it be that the ER staff was just concerned about the safety issue of you driving?
1/16/08 12:27pm
sorry that i'm late in my reply, but under the weather with migraine.yes i was given a sedative shot. at 2am. but it is now 7:30am .still having migraine,asked to go home, nurse discharged me,with my paper , that i signed. no one said do not drive. an i was sitting in my car for 5min., nurse standing there watching me,not saying one word,she let me drive off. when i was stop by the police i thought i was being arrested for smoking on the hospital ground!! there is a no smoking there an that what i was doing in the car before i left. why did she not tell me taht they has made a mistake, i need to come back inside an wait couple more hours then drive.?
1/16/08 12:52pm
i sorry for the late reply,but having migraine.let me say to all that i followed what the hospital told me . i was DICHARGED. it mean that u can leave. u can only get ur discharge paper from a nurse,in our hospital. please understand this nurse throw the papers on the bed, an told me i could go.once in my car i sat there for about 5min before leaving. the nuse was outside looking at me, not saying one word. she let me dive off. yes i was given a sedative about 2am it now 7:30am .an if was as so under the influnce of the drug how did i walk out? get in car ,smoke a cigarette, put seatbelt on start car.i have tried to get the ploice report,but they are saying it is up to the officer if he me have it. bul!!!what are u hiding.we have been to court,twice an the police officer keeps asking for continces.sound like the hospital an officer has something to hide? lawyer is question this too.
1/16/08 12:58pm
sorry i.m late with reply but dealing with migraine.the nurse could have stopped me from driving off. she stood behined my car watching me smoke a cigarette.why did she not say that a mistake was made ,i need to come back inside an wait coulpe more hour before leaving?u can only leave the hospital when the nurse gives u ur discharge paper.
1/16/08 1:26pm
Sounds like you had the bad fortune to be there on a day when the staff was not the bright shining stars of medicine. And, I agree that if the hospital staff was concerned about your driving under the influence they should have at least said something to you. That being said, you need to understand that once you are discharged you are just another person...it is not their job to police your decision to drive...in fact, they have no right to try to stop you (although, they can talk to you if you consent). If they thought you were impaired from the medication they gave you, and they were aware you were planning to drive yourself home, they should have held your discharge until you were no longer impaired. They can't stop you from leaving AMA (Against Medical Advice-without being discharged), but they have a responsibility to counsel you on the matter.
I hope this works out for you. Good luck.
1/17/08 10:49pm
If you weren't supposed to drive, and they discharged you, the discharge papers should have stated no driving until ____. Unfortunately, many migraines leave you less able to drive than being medicated. Anyway, your attorney should be provided with a copy of the discharge document and I'm only a paralegal, not an attorney, but from the facts you've described, I'd be looking for a jury trial. The prosecution would have to prove you were under the influence beyond a reasonable doubt. Under the influence when it's medication and not alcohol or illegal drugs is a lot harder to prove without a blood test, it's just the officer's opinion. And your past medical history and condition, combined with no orders on the discharge paperwork not to drive would support that you were not influenced/impaired by the medication. For instance, I wear a duragesic patch, therefore my body is adjusted to the level of medication and I am not impaired for driving.
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That sounds like an awful experience. Do you wear a Medical ID bracelet for Hemiplegic Migraine (HM)? During some HM attacks people can have an impaired consciousness and the inability to speak. It that was the case, they may have thought you were having drug issues. A Medical ID braclet may help with future problems.
HERE is information on Hemiplegic Migraines, and Medical ID information can be found at the bottom of this page.
I would speak with the doctor who treats your HM, and see if he can help with the DUI charges due to HM.
Keep us posted, ok?
Hi Nancy, yes I do wear a Medial Id bracelet.I showed it to the police officer but they still arrested me for DUI. As for , my neurologlist, that I wanted to contact also said that the ER was wrong for the arrest. This is why I am seek restition from the ER.I"m having a hard time finding a lawyer to work wth me on this case.