medical issues

Parent Cafe
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<p>I guess this is probably more of a vent than anything else… I have had a crazy weekend.</p>

<p>I woke up on Friday morning with what I thought was a kidney infection. I had a stabbing pain in my back on the right side right above my hip which was made significantly worse by moving around, in particular bending over or trying to sit down. I also had a fever, and some other symptoms verging on TMI that I don’t need to mention… but highly suggestive of UTI or kidney infection type illness.</p>

<p>I don’t have a GP at the moment because my one retired and I haven’t replaced him yet, and I usually see the gyn for UTI and similar issues, so I figured I’d try calling her first but she told me to go to the ER. I decided that as long as it didn’t get any worse, I’d wait until after work to make a decision about that and left for my office-- it wasn’t that bad at the time as long as I tried not to move and I am running low on sick days. I ended up leaving at 3 to go to urgent care at the behest of everyone at work who insisted the urgent care would be an appropriate place to investigate this rather than the ER (in addition to being $65 versus $200). But then the urgent care wouldn’t see me either and also told me to go to the ER (after, of course, trying to examine me so they could still try to charge me the $65 even though they’d already admitted all they could do was send me to the ER). So I went to the ER.</p>

<p>At the ER they gave me pain medication that didn’t work, did bloodwork, urine test, and a cat scan to check for kidney stones. They tried to give me morphine, which not only didn’t change the pain at all but felt like it nearly killed me… a few seconds after they injected it I got a stabbing pain in my left shoulder and my arm went numb and I couldn’t breathe and nearly passed out. Six hours of sitting around later, I am told the test results turned out to all be negative. I didn’t find this to be particularly odd as my urine tests are usually negative when I have a UTI for some inexplicable reason, but the doctors decided it was a muscle strain and sent me home. I was practically sedentery for the last week and the pain started while I was sleeping, so I am not sure I understand that… particularly given the fever and bloody urine, but, you know, whatever.</p>

<p>Yesterday I was okay as long as I didn’t move around too much, but then I tried to go to the grocery store and ended up nearly vomiting and fainting in the store. Today I couldn’t go anywhere. I still feel okay as long as I don’t move and nobody touches my back… which I REALLY don’t understand, you’d think it would hurt all the time. The fever and other symptoms are still there and in some ways getting worse.</p>

<p>Now I owe $200 for the er visit plus something like 20% of all the tests they did, I don’t know what’s actually wrong, and I don’t know what else to do since nobody but the ER would see me and I don’t really think the ER actually figured out what was wrong. They pretty much told me that they didn’t know and that they were just going to call it a muscle strain for lack of a better idea and send me home since they felt they’d confirmed it wasn’t going to kill me anyway.</p>

<p>If the pain doesn’t eventually go away on its own I don’t know what I am supposed to do. I am very annoyed that I took time off work and spent a hefty chunk of my emergency fund supposedly doing the “right” thing to take care of myself only to accomplish a whole bunch of nothing.</p>

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<p>Muscle strain doesn’t explain fever or bloody urine.</p>

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<p>Well, I would get back to the gyn and go back in :/</p>

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<p>As an aside, do any of your symptoms match the ones in this thread? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1322661-any-doctors-here-severe-abdominal-pains.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1322661-any-doctors-here-severe-abdominal-pains.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Could be the result of some trauma. Could be a kidney infection. Could be lots of things. You need to get to a doctor fast, or have another ER visit. Severe pain of three days’ duration is potentially serious.</p>

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<p>I would go back to the doctor. I know that our ER is questionable at best. Smaller hospital, use “rent-a-doc” to staff and their goal is to get you out of there as fast as possible. I don’t know if that is the case where you went or not. I would call a multi-specialty clinic in your area, if you have one, ask to speak to the triage nurse and explain what is going on. She should be able to get you into a doctor today.</p>

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<p>Does your insurance company have a nurse hotline you can call?</p>

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<p>Yes, jym, it does. I just noticed that the other day and haven’t used it before… I’m not sure what that kind of service is for other than to determine if one needs to see a doctor.</p>

<p>I am just at a bit of a loss because all the doctors I spoke to before I went to the ER said it sounded kidney related and, “as that can be quite serious,” said I should go to the ER-- which, it seems like to me, is the end of the line. But then I feel like the ER just threw up their hands and sent me on my way… the buck was supposed to stop somewhere! I don’t know how that ER is rated but that is supposed to be a good hospital, I thought they’d be able to figure this out. I went home of a mind that it was probably still kidney related and that I’d just go home until the infection got bad enough to trigger a urine test properly, but the pain is so strange… if I just sit around and don’t move I am comfortable. Any movement that puts pressure on that right side hurts, and it gets exponentially worse the more I move around-- walking through the grocery store became excruciating within half an hour. When I first walked into the ER the pain was only a 6 or 7 out of ten with movement (maybe a 2 or 3 if sitting still), but toradol and morphine had virtually no effect. It’s just WEIRD.</p>

<p>The pain is better this morning, granted I haven’t been moving much, and though I haven’t taken my temp I don’t feel feverish. It looks like there is more blood, though. These symptoms are just bizarre, even for me and I’ve been something like a Dr. House patient since birth. I don’t get it.</p>

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<p>A couple of weeks ago, my D spent the night in the ER, probable appendicitis. Well, $8,000 later, we were told that the “good news” was no appendicitis and that we should go to the pediatrician the next day. The pediatrician was able to make what was probably a correct diagnosis with no labs, no CAT scans, only billing for an office visit. After hearing the diagnosis and googling it, it seems like the ER staff should have been able to make the diagnosis.</p>

<p>What I come away with after the expensive experience is that the ER staff is there to handle emergencies. If you have a condition that isn’t in that category, their diagnostic abilities may not be the best. (Don’t you always wonder that the hospital bill is like for Dr. House’s patients, with all the tests they do that turn out to not have been needed?)</p>

<p>In the ideal world, we all have very competent GPs and all of our medical problems happen during normal office hours. The real world experience, however, is more like yours.</p>

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<p>You really need to establish a relationship with a GP - best would be a small independent office with 2 or 3 providers. They would all get to know you, they would be the ones that would phone you back in the middle of the night, not some 3rd party -on-call person. If they trust your judgement regarding UTI (most women seem to “know”) you would have gotten a prescription phoned in that day.</p>

<p>Your insurance sounds as bad as mine. Based on the fact they gave you painkillers but nothing else it seems like they suspect kidney stones.</p>

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<p>They did initially, and they did a cat scan to check and said they found no stones. I think they really had no clue what was wrong but once they were sure it wasn’t an emergency they figured it was safe to cut me loose. Which I don’t blame them for, it IS the er, but I am irked with all the NON-emergency medical staff I spoke with who refused to treat me… like the urgent care. Everybody I spoke to insisted they were not equipped to handle a probably kidney infection and that I absolutely must go to the ER.</p>

<p>I do need to find a GP and establish a good relationship… I miss mine TERRIBLY. I have tried a few and still haven’t been able to find one I can work with, and it’s been a while-- I have several extremely complicated medical issues and some doctors just aren’t detail oriented or creative enough to manage them. I had one I was seeing for a while who wasn’t quite what I wanted her to be but she was working out okay other than being convinced that adults (and females) can’t have autistic spectrum disorders (ugh), but her office is only open now between the hours of like 10am and 12pm and 1pm to 3pm. What working adult is going to be able to make that happen!? If I only had to go to the doctor once or twice a year that would be okay but unfortunately that doesn’t happen for me… I get things like UTIs and strep and raging unyielding sinus infections and can’t take off work every time. Lately I’ve shifted my focus to doctors nearby to work that are open during lunch and/or in the evening, but that seems like it is getting rarer and rarer. I’ve been having better luck finding specialists than GPs, and that’s just sad.</p>

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<p>Just as somebody in the ER may not be able to treat your non-emergency, those clinicians you are upset with may not be trained to handle what could be an emergency. If you display signs and symptoms of a possible emergency, they really have no choice to refer you to the ER until that possibly emergency has been ruled out. Now that the ER has decided it’s not an emergency, your other physicians may be able to better help you.</p>

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<p>Okay, but it looked as though you had a possible kidney stone. If a non-urgent care facility treats you for a kidney infection when in fact you have a kidney stone, they are facing a huge lawsuit when that large stone ruptures a ureter, or even the kidney itself. The first thing out of your attorney’s mouth would be “WHY didn’t they send her to the ER when they clearly do not have the facilities to rule out or treat a kidney stone?”</p>

<p>Much of what is done/not done in medicine today is all about lawsuits and liability. That’s why so many tests are done in the ER, it’s why as a nurse I have so much documentation that it prevents me from spending more time taking care of my patients, and it’s why non urgent care centers will refuse to take care of someone who may have a serious problem, even if the non urgent condition is actually more likely to be what is going on.</p>

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<p>I do understand that… I work with liability insurance, I know all too well how it works. I am just frustrated because I had to spend so much money and take time off work. I don’t know how bad it will be until I get the bill, but I may have to wait to follow up with someone else until I can recoup that money… that is frustrating! It’s a shame that, if all that was needed to rule out a kidney infection was the urine test, that that urine test couldn’t have been done anywhere but the ER. I guess the possibility of stones may have been the reason for that. Doesn’t make it any more fun. :(</p>

<p>I would feel a lot better if I were sure the ER had really ruled out anything besides the stones. The muscle strain they diagnosed me with does not explain blood in urine or fever and just doesn’t make any sense unless muscles strain themselves out of the blue… I still think it could be a kidney infection, and the doctors I have available to me have made it clear they are not equipped to treat that. So I guess I just have to trust that the ER docs know better than I do, which should be a lot easier than it is…</p>

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<p>I think you need to HURRY to another doctor. Find one who will see you quickly … maybe an internist? Your symptoms scare me, as a mom. Muscle strains do not cause blood in urine, nor do they cause fever. Let us know what happens - you can bet we are all worrying about you.</p>

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<p>Absolutely, a kidney stone which completely blocks the ureter can cause a kidney infection “back upstream.” Yes, a urine test could diagnose a kidney infection, but it doesn’t rule out a stone.</p>

<p>I understand the frustration. I just got a bill for $650 for my ER visit. The problem was clearly shingles, but because I described “chest pain wrapping around my side to the back,” I had to have an EKG. I was so annoyed as I had the diagnostic shingles rash, but attorneys have found that if the words chest pain are uttered, heart problems MUST be ruled out.</p>

<p>Blood in the urine is a problem, as is fever. I hope you get this diagnosed and treated soon as your symptoms are worrisome.</p>

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<p>I’m going to see what I can do. These symptoms are not part of my usual repertoire of ailments and are worrisome.</p>

<p>Is there a reason why the ER can’t just say they don’t know, but it’s not an emergency and to follow up with a primary care doctor? If it IS a kidney infection, even without stones that could become serious if untreated and they could very well have led me on the wrong track with this muscle strain diagnosis were I just a little bit less inherently suspicious of unknown medical personnel. :stuck_out_tongue: I guess if I follow up with a pcp either way it doesn’t matter what they said, but it seems kind of dumb that I now have to tell them that yes, I already went to the ER and ruled out kidney stones, but they think it’s a muscle strain… why muddy the waters with an out-there theory if you just don’t know? They prescribed vicodin and told me everything was fine and to follow up with a pcp in a week, in the same breath as, “we don’t really know what’s wrong, but we’re calling it a muscle strain.” I just don’t GET that.</p>

<p>On the plus side, I didn’t even have a chance to sit down in the waiting room before they put me in a room, and they seemed to genuinely care about relieving the pain. As far as ER visits go, it wasn’t all bad.</p>

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<p>I went through the works when i was in the ER over the summer because my side hurt (later was determiend it was my gallbladder and had surgery to remove it).</p>

<p>If its not lifethreatening, they kick ya out :/</p>

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<p>I hate to second guess your ER doctor, but bloody urine, fever, severe pain does not usually indicate a muscle strain, even in the absence of a kidney stone. You definitely need a second opinion.</p>

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<p>Just another mom saying to get your symptoms checked out. Maybe if you call your Gyn’s office and ask to speak to a nurse, they would have a suggestion as far as where you might go to be rechecked. </p>

<p>Or, calling the insurance co. nurse may be an idea–he/she might give you an idea of some local providers and what to have checked out.</p>

<p>If you still have a fever, you may well be building up a bigger infection/problem. Which I know you know—I just don’t want you to mess around with blood in the urine and fever. I wonder if the ER missed early stage kidney infection? You may have HAD stones that were small/passed and thus were not visible. </p>

<p>Good luck and let us know what happens.</p>