$5000 for ER Incompetance

It started roughly 5 months ago with what felt like a UTI but turned out not to be in the end. After a urine test they found no blood in the urine and I was put on liquid laxatives because the first thing my GP thought was that my colon was clogged. So after 3 or 4 times of having to go through the pain of drinking Magnesium Citrate for days at a time my symptoms only started to get worse.Finally about 3 months ago I called my Dr’s after hour’s line because I could hardly breathe let alone walk because of the severe pain I was in. I was told by my Dr. to go to an ER which caters to low income and illegal immigrants due to severe stomach/side pains that had been bothering me for about 2 1/2 months by that time. (I am not illegal so I do not qualify for Emergency Medical and I make $4 too much on Disability to qualify for state subsidized care so my only hope is that Medicare A picks up the cost but that means I HAVE to be hospitalized) OR that the Dr figures out what is wrong so that it would be worth my putting what was left in my savings towards getting rid of the horrible pain I was in.After waiting for several hours in the ER waiting room doubled over in pain, I was finally put in a bed and all the Dr. did was convince me to have some Morphine in an IV even though I was afraid that it would dull the pain to the point that I wouldn’t be able to pin point where the pain was and ran some blood tests. After an hour or so the PA came back and said that my blood and urine looked fine. Since when is BRIGHT orange and minimal urine fine? Not to mention my feces had turned a bright yellow color over the course of the 2 1/2 months this had been going on.I asked the PA if could it be a Gallstone or Kidney stone (I was unable to urinate into the cup when asked and my urine flow had been getting worse over the course of my illness). Eventually after they ruled out NOTHING and didn’t even listen to my symptoms, they wanted to give me more Morphine as the pain started to return but I denied it… I was there to find out what was going on… not to get drugged up for Gods sake! Finally I was able to get a mini ultrasound done on my gallbladder and the PA said he saw 1 stone but didn’t know the size and he would need to talk to the Dr. to see if he could send me for an ultrasound that would measure it. That was soon eliminated by another dose of the Magnesium Citrate detox I did when I got home. (Having high blood pressure and drinking Magnesium Citrate for up to 5 days at a time has its own hazards.)Hours passed and no word on the ultrasound so finally I decided that I was leaving since I don’t have “normal” insurance due to being disabled and I couldn’t foot a $10,000 bill unless I am admitted into the hospital but they were acting like I was only there for the drugs since I had Alprazolam and Vicodin in my system (Alprazolam due to CC-PTSD and Vicodin because of the pain I had been in for so long). So after roughly 6 hours I was so frustrated that I took out my own IV, told the PA I was leaving since they obviously did not care to listen to my symptoms to find out what was wrong with me.All he cared about was writing me a script for MORE pain meds! I was horrified!! I denied those too and went home. Next thing I know I am being billed over $4300 for the ER and $700 for the Dr. who didn’t even do anything but talk to me and tell me I needed a pain killer.

They are trying to charge me for the second morphine shot that I didn’t even take, but since they filled the syringe I owe them?! I didn’t even ask for the shot!

In the end I went back to my GP the next day and because of where the pain progressed to he decided it was a kidney stone!

Had the ER LISTENED to what I said to them and the fact that I couldn’t even urinate (when I did it was so little and dark that I wasn’t even sure it was a viable sample, it was not even an ounce) and that it had been getting worse over time they might have caught what was REALLY wrong.

It took another month before my GP put me on meds to open up the prostate so I could urinate a little and hopefully pass the stone or stones; however I just kept getting worse, I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs and lost 30 lbs (not a total downside). I kept asking my GP to have me admitted into a hospital for testing but no luck.

Finally 4 ½ to 5 months into it I woke up one morning with my neck burning and when I put an ice pack on my whole chest broke out in a HORRIBLE rash. I woke up my husband and told him what was going on and that is the last I remember until the next day. My husband started giving me Hydrangea root extract every 4 hours because one of the benefits is detoxing the urinary tract, intestines and helping to break down kidney stones. I have never urinated so much blood in my life and that lasted at least 3 days.

For the next week I kept trying to call my GP and his PA to get answers but no luck, finally after a week in bed my GP said he would try to have me admitted into a hospital but I never heard back from him! Thank God for Homeopathic remedies or I wouldn’t even be sitting here to type this. In the end due to all the symptoms we figured out that it was more than likely one or more BIG kidney stones blocking my kidney or kidneys from eliminating the toxins from leaving my body (which was making my body feel like a Mac truck hit me) due to a blockage hence the not being able to urinate! We still have no idea if I am out of he woods or if it was kidney stones, I am still taking the Hydrangea root and Dandelion root extracts just incase and I won’t know for sure until I can get hospitalized for a full check up. As to date I have lost around 35 lbs in 4 to 5 months which should have proven there was an issue!

At this point I don’t care if the hospital puts the bill on my credit report, because of their lack of giving a proper care I almost died. It took me a week before I was able to get out of bed just to go downstairs and 2 weeks before I could any eat solid foods again. Week 3 and I am finally able to walk a little more, breathe again and leave my house to go on a shopping trip though I still have to take it easy and not overdo it or I get very dizzy. I was put on a liquid diet to detoxify my system and try to break down the stone(s) that was making it so my kidney(s) were not functioning properly. After serious research on the symptoms I had over the past 5 months had we not caught it in time my kidney or kidneys were likely to fail and it would have been lights out.

I told the hospital I had been to the ER at, about how bad I got due to their negligence yet they still harass me to pay a bill for something they didn’t even catch that could have potentially killed me?! All it would have taken was to admit me, do an MRI and we would have known what the problem was/is, however that seems to be too much work for them and yet they still want me to pay close to $5000 total for NOTHING?!

The greediness of it all boggles the mind!

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