Sometimes when the pain is too much to control with pills or home remedies, then it is time to go to the Emergency Room. Most migraineurs keep this as a last resort, for their more intractable cases. There are many fears and facts associated with a trip to the E.R.
Fears: the lights will make me worse; the noise level will be unbearable; the doctor won't listen to me or help me; the staff at the E.R. will treat me like I'm just a drug seeker; what they give me will just make me worse tomorrow; what if they refuse to treat me at all?
Some of these fears are actualities, and some of them are just our imagination running away with us. So I am going to discuss each fear, and give you my tricks and tips to handle them.
Facts:
Lights: yes the lights will make you worse, even if you wear sunglasses. My trick is to keep your eyes closed until you absolutely have to open them, and keep your sunglasses on the whole time.
Noise: depending on the type of hospital you go to, this may be an issue. I have noticed that the older hospitals, with open wards, tend to be louder than the newer hospitals. Unfortunately I have no tips for this, unless you can get your hands on a few pairs of ear plugs, and someone to talk for you.
Doctor: this usually isn't a problem. I'm not saying it is never a problem, I am sure there are some doctors out there who are so worn down by their experiences that they just don't care anymore, but in my experience, at least they listen. There is only one thing you can do as a patient if the doctor doesn't listen. Get out of there. Go to a different hospital. And hope you get a good doctor this time.
Drug seeking: unfortunately this is a real problem for some migraineurs. Because our illness is not physical, it is hard for doctors to visually assess our issue. I have not had this specific experience. I keep all my medical professionals in the same hospital network. My Primary Care Physician, my Neurologist, and the hospital I go to, all share my medical records with each other. The E.R. doctor knows I see a neurologist for my migraines. It is much harder for someone to say you are "just a drug seeker" when you have medical records to substantiate your claim.
Make me worse: this happened to me, I went to the hospital because my head was so bad I went home from work in the middle of the day, by the time I got home I could barely stand. My fiancé took me to the hospital, and they gave me a cocktail. By the next day my migraine was worse than it was when I went in the day before. I went back to the hospital, told them that I was in the day before, and now my migraine was worse, and I thought it was from the medications they gave me the day before. They checked their records, and said "oh, that medication has a side effect of causing headaches." I just about lost it, I told them "if that's the case, please don't give it to me again." By the time I left that day the migraine stayed away. If the E.R. trip makes you worse the next day, don't be shy about going back.
Refusal to treat: I have never heard of this happening. It hasn't happened to me, and I hope it hasn't happened to anyone else. I think this is just one of those times that our imagination gets the best of us. If this has happened to you, every hospital has a patient advocate, if the doctors or nurses refuse to treat you, they are available to step in and get you your rights.
Is it hard for people with Chronic Pain to get help at an E.R.? Yes. Chronic pain is an invisible disease. Just by looking at someone you cannot tell if they are afflicted. It is unfair of the E.R.'s in this country to tell us that we aren't in pain, just because we don't look like we are. We should not be afraid to go to the E.R. for the help we need to break the chronic migraine pain cycle. The E.R. is supposed to be there to help when we cannot get in to see our own doctors.
My advice is: when choosing an PCP, specialist, and hospital, try to keep them in the same network. In this technological age we live in, the networked doctors have the ability to know your medical history, and what most likely brought you to the E.R. the second they open your file.
**This blog is not intended to be used as a substitute for medical advice**
"Never feel guilty about a medical choice you made to help yourself deal with your pain, when it was at its worse. You were just trying your best in a world that shuts us out." - Fibromyalgia on Pinterest
No comments:
Post a Comment