Re: adhesion pain in the ER: A TYPICAL RESPONSE FROM AN ER WORKER WITH NO HEART
From: B L. Wade (babyblu30@fiam.net)
Mon Jun 25 21:46:49 2001
At Tue, 19 Jun 2001, anonymous wrote:
>
>I found this site by accident and have read so many stories of
>"mistreatment" by nurses and doctors in ERs when you come to us in pain.
>I want you to think of it in our terms.
>
>You wander in day and night, most of you walking on your own, in no
>apparent acute distress.
>You register and wait, telling everyone in the busy waiting area that
>you MUST be seen immediately, "because you hurt so badly."
>You take up valuable space in busy trauma and emergency medicine
>departments complaining of terrible pain in your abdomen, and you tell
>us you must get pain meds for the pain.
>
>One a pain assessment scale of 1-10, virtually all of you cite between
>an 8 and a ten. But you aren't perspiring, crying, vomiting, bloated,
>or acting like you are acutely ill.
>
>Many of you refuse to have x-rays, scans and other diagnostic studies
>because you say "all those tests have been done a million times and they
>are always negative" but you demand pain medication!!
>You tell us you have adhesions but adhesions are nothing more than
>layers of scarring that have no nerve endings. How can this cause pain?
>
>I am told "I need 100 mg of Demerol, IM " by someone who refuses to
>allow us to examine them, and when we refuse to give you narcotics you
>become upset.
>
>What do you want from us? If every drug addict walked into my ER and did
>what many of you do, they'd be booted out by Security but for some
>reason, you feel we are treating you unfairly??
>
>Maybe instead of asking for pain medication, you might benefit from
>talking to a therapist who can help you deal with your "pain"?
>
>If we do an MRI or flat plate and see something suspicious., of course
>you'll be treated aggressively, and receive sympathy and medication.
>Otherwise, please understand, we are not a narcotic dispensing
>department for everyone with indigestion or cramps.
THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY I WANT TO SPIT FIRE! HOW DARE YOU! IT IS PEOPLE
LIKE YOU WHO MAKE US SUFFERERS FEEL THE WAY WE FEEL EMOTIONALLY. IF
ADHESIONS DON'T CAUSE PAIN WHY IS IT THAT ALMOST HAVE THE PATIENTS THAT
SUFFER FROM THIS PAINFULL DISEASE THINK ABOUT SUICIDE BECAUSE THE PAIN
IS SO BAD???? YOU DOCTORS AND NURSES LIKE TO PERFORM MANY MANY SURGERIES
AND NOT DEAL WITH THE CONSIQUENCES. AFTER YOU CUTT US OPEN SO MANY
TIMES (LIKE ME 8 TIMES IN ONE DAMN YEAR), WE COME TO YOU CRYING IN PAIN
AND YOU SAY"ADHESIONS DON'T CAUSE PAIN, GO SEE A SHRINK" OR WORSE "YOU
NEED TO BE DETOXED BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO PAIN AND YOU NEED NO PAIN
MEDICINE"
I HAVE BEEN TREATED BY NURSES AND DOCS LIKE YOURSELF WHO APPARENTLY
COULD GIVE A CRAP LESS WHEITHER I AM IN PAIN OR NOT. WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN
PAIN AND HAVE NO WHERE ELSE TO TURN THEY GO TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT,
THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE THERE FOR, TO TREAT PATIENTS, NOT JUDGE THEM. JUST
BECAUSE WE'RE NOT BLEEDING OUT OUR EYES DOSEN'T MEAN THAT WE AREN'T IN
PAIN. I WILL SAY THIS AGAIN IT IS YOUR JOB TO TREAT NOT TO JUDGE AND IF
YOU TRULEY FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM THIS KIND OF PAIN,
I TRULEY WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU FIND ANOTHER CAREER IT IS OBVIOUS TO ME
THAT YOU SOUND BURNT OUT AND NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP YOURSELF. YOU ARE
NOT GOD AND HAVE NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER TO JUDGE ANYONE.
TO ALL MY FRIENDS HERE..........I AM SORRY TO GO ON AND ON BUT I READ
THIS POST AND IT GOT ME SO ANGRY THAT RATHER THAN SAY WHAT I REALLY
WANTED TO SAY ( WHICH WOULD HAVE CAUSED ME TO PROBABLY GET BANNED) I
JUST SAID WHAT I NEEDED. THIS POST IS UPSETTING TO SAY THE LEAST.....