ER Visit Fear: Testing or Reassurance?

[Snivy]

Have any of you gone to the Er when you have been really scared and couldn't get into the doctor? If so, what kind of experience did you have? Do they do any testing or do they just evaluate you and tell you to make an appt. with your own doctor? I'm getting pretty uptight and nervous, but don't want to waste money if they won't give me any reassurance. Know what I mean?Thanks.

 

[MarioMasher]

I went to the Urgent Care once. It's not quite the same as the ER, but it was a same day emergency type of thing. Basically it was all just a waste of time. Basically the doctor just told me I didn't have MS and to go home. Although, in the bigger picture, I suppose that wasn't a waste of time, what with the reassurance at all. But afterwards I did feel guilty about it, since I sort of took an Urgent Care time slot away from someone who might have actually NEEDED it.In my experience, once you start giving in to "panic" appointments (same days, urgent care, etc), you start down a long dark path of quick fix anxiety. And that's never going to solve anything, because there is nothing that will ever cure BFS symptoms in one day. Even the stuff that has been reported to work for BFS (minerals, exercise, vitamins, counseling, more sleep, etc) takes a long time to start working. In my opinion, you have to approach treating BFS as a quote-unquote lifestyle change, instead of a disease. I don't think that an urgent care or ER visit will ever provide anything, other than reassurance.

 

[MarioMasher]

Oh and to answer your question, they just basically gave me a clinical exam, took some X-rays to check my spine, and sent me home. They gave me some Flexiril and told me to follow up with my doctor in a week if I didn't feel better. Again, which is essentially the same thing a neurologist would have done. Once you pass the clinical, they aren't all that concerned about you.

 

[Savanturn]

Hopefully there is hospital in my town where is emergency for neurology too. I dont think doctors from standard ER are qualified enough to reassure you..I was there 3x due to my panic attacks.

 

[Krackersones]

I would agree that the ER is not the place to go unless you feel like you are having a sudden severe onset of something. Then it is probably not good to chance what could be a seizure, stroke, or some imbalance that could cause a heart arrythmia. If your symptoms are relatively stable then I think you should find the best expert in the area you are willing to travel to and go there. If you can't because the best expert requires a referral then go to an average neuro and insist on the referral if you are not totally reassured.I had three neuros want to tell me I had bfs and to just go home and do nothing. The last doc I saw (with a lot more expertise) has approached me a lot differently. Yes, I'm going through long shot tests that others may not want to go through. However, my clinical exam did not show weakness nor did my EMGs show signs of ALS. Two neuros saw my hand spasm and thought nothing of it. So just because you have no weakness and no signs of ALS on the EMG does not mean that nothing can or should be done. There are options or other approaches but they may involve risk, expense, and effort on your part. Only you know the subjective part of your symptoms and how bad or truly weird they are. As far as the reason for multiple EMGs, if multiple doctors are involved I think another reason is that an EMG depends hugely on the expertise and motivation of the doc doing it. I think doctors don't want to rely on another persons test when they know it can be done inaccurately. Maybe ALS won't usually be missed except by the most incompetent but more subtle things can be and these things may be worth knowing about.Krackersones