The LM's are at church, the house is quiet. I'm sitting here when I should be doing house work. But the recliner and a beer is so much better.
The Story of the Urgent Care Visit:
One not so good day, I had a talk on the phone with my therapist. I was distressed, hardly functional... and had a call in to my psychiatrist's office. Therapist told me to go to ER/Urgent Care if I didn't hear from the doctor by 5.
So off I go to the hospital's Urgent Care- waiting room full of sick people. Real sick people who needed medical attention, not a crazy person. But I did what I was told to do.
I waited my turn. Crying. In the waiting room. In triage I cried. Cried some more in the treatment room while waiting for the doctor.
He came in. Asked some questions: (Are you suicidal? No.) (Do you think about hurting yourself? Yes.)
Then it goes like this: "Well, what I can do for you is draw some blood and call a councelor in to come and talk to you."
Me: "No. I don't need you to draw my blood. My bloodwork is fine, I just had my doctor do bloodwork. My thyroid is fine. I have a councelor. I don't want to talk to anyone but her, and I don't want anyone to have to come up here after hours when there are really sick people to treat." (guilty feelings ALL over the place for taking up this Doctor's time when he could have been dealing with sick people).
Since WHEN could you detect severe depression from bloodwork? I am now very upset that they tell people with mental distress to go to the ER if this is the way they are treated. Blood work? Oh- the doctor did cross his arms over his chest and told me that if I needed to talk to someone I could talk to him. Yeah. That made me want to open up. Dude. I'm here, I'm wigging out, I don't know why. I felt bad enough to go in the first place which meant I felt like I needed help. Is that how they treat people? Fragile people? Just because I wouldn't actually hurt myself doesn't mean another person wouldn't. Would they just chase them out of the ER, too?
So I went home and pulled it together like I always do. I haven't told anyone that story (except DDL) until now. I was insulted.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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8 comments:
I am so sorry Mamalicious. I would feel insulted too. Don't worry-you will not stay fragile. It is temporary.
What is with ER docs and their so-called training for people with mental illness? The bedside manner is truly lacking. Maybe they have a class in med school? How to Make a Person Having a Breakdown Feel Even Worse 101. Or maybe Introduction to Being an Azzwipe with breakout sessions in negative body language. Sorry you went through this and I agree that the ER is not the place to go (unless you are suicidal).
i have been here time and time and time again. the difficult part is that only YOU know what's going on in your head and sometimes, it's pretty scary to talk about. but somehow, some way, you pull through the darkness and get back to normal again... whatever normal is. hang in there. you are not alone in this struggle. i think knowing that i'm not alone and there are other people exactly like me and that was okay was the biggest realization that helped me get out of my funk (which i'm sure i will get back into someday, that's just life). we all make it in the end. you're a fighter, you'll beat this. we're right here in it with you.
So sorry you had to go through that.
What an asshole "DR."!
Call me next time! Seriously, I cannot prescribe anything of course, but I can listen and talk and cry... stupid doctor.
love you!
I am SO sorry that happened, that is just plain old ridiculous!! Just what you need when you're feeling like that, a big old prescription for 'yourwastingmytimeandIcanthelpyou'. Nice. I totally agree, why send people there in the first place? I hope you enjoyed your beer,chair and quiet time, you deserve it!
I'm so sorry. I'm currently trying to claw my way out of a depressive episode and it's hard. It gets harder every time to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I went one time to the ER when I was in the midst of PPD hell and the only suggestion the moron ER doc had for me was a 72 hour psych hold. The hell?! He actually proposed the idea as though he was "helping" me by giving me 72 hours in a padded room by myself. I had a husband, 3 older kids and a 9 week old baby at home. Then he called social services to do an evaluation on whether my kids were safe at home with me. I almost ripped his head off, it was very close. If I wasn't a social worker with many contacts in the field, I might very well have lost my kids that night. Way to push a struggling mom right on over the effin edge!
It's unbelievable that all doctors are not trained to better serve those with mental illness. I'm sorry you were not treated better.
I hope that you are able to tell your therapist about this ER trip. S/he needs to know so as not to send you (or anyone else) there again should an emergency come up.
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