Jap, it's like they're a different species altogether. 😁
The worst part is, they’re usually your first point of contact at the clinic or the outpatient departments, and more often than not, you run into people there who are just completely miserable and cranky. Look, I get it, not everyone has a perfect day every single day. We all have our issues, and they deal with all kinds of people too (not saying there aren't idiots among the patients), but when someone actually treats you with basic decency, how can you possibly be rude back? Most of the time, people are just lost. They have no clue where to go because every department and every clinic seems to have its own weird little schedule and set of rules, so it’s no wonder people are confused. You walk up and dare to ask a question, and they act like you've committed a federal crime just for speaking to them.
It’s the exact same story with the people handling the scheduling. Listen, folks, every department has its own specific way of booking appointments, and since you guys change the rules constantly, please don't snap at patients when they call at the wrong time. Not even Jesus could keep track of all your shifting protocols. Why don't you guys just agree on which numbers to call and what times work, instead of putting one number on the outpatient sheet and having me dial it like a maniac only to be told to call a different number because "they don't handle that here"? Then, once I finally get the right number, they rip into me for calling now when I should have called two days ago during the intake window. Or maybe I call on the exact right day (hooray, I managed to hit the right date and number!) and then they brush me off because orders are only taken between certain hours.
Seriously, give us a break. It's not enough that our health issues are already screwing us over; we really need this extra bit of "excitement" to spice up our lives. 😁
Oh, and by the way, I actually missed my follow-up appointment recently because I called on Wednesday (I've been calling during the last week of the month for the past year, so I thought I knew the drill), and they told me: "Ma'am, appointments are only booked on the last Monday of the month." So, nothing. I guess I'll wait until next month and pray they haven't invented a new rule by then. 😬 I have no idea how new patients are supposed to navigate this mess; I've been going to the same clinic for years and I'm still totally lost.
I fixed the title to lowercase and added a warning because I already know exactly where this thread is heading.
84737, I don't know about "subjective." Sometimes it’s not even an opinion when the same thing keeps happening and multiple people confirm it. For instance, at my local hospital, the staff at the thyroid desk are a complete nightmare. Look, I’m always polite to everyone, even though I could easily be rude or act out given how much pain I’m in sometimes—but I don't. When you experience the same crew being blunt and disrespectful over and over again, regardless of the day or week, and regardless of how you act toward them... when they sit there trashing their own colleagues right in front of you 🤮 and you aren't the only one dealing with this crap, then yeah, I can objectively say they are a disaster. They need immediate training on how to deal with patients, not just "people." You are working with sick individuals. Even if someone is being difficult, you have to give them a pass sometimes because certain illnesses actually change your personality. Or maybe you're just having one of those days where you hate yourself and the whole world. If they don't get that, they shouldn't be working in a hospital.
And speaking of the facility itself, the Rheumatology Department at the Hospital is a total mess. Maybe I'm being biased since it was my first time being admitted, but cramming three different departments—Rheumatology, Hematology, and Endocrinology—into one unit with completely different patient needs is insane. You can't just shove people with such vastly different issues onto the same floor. It was glaringly obvious that the Endocrinology crowd, aside from dealing with blood sugar issues, were just messing around—laughing and chatting in the hallway (mostly at night). Some were even wheeling themselves around in chairs in the hall. Honestly, I almost walked out there to ask if they were mentally challenged and how old they thought they were (these two idiots looked to be about 30 or 40) and if they realized that in the last two rooms, the Hematology patients are likely fighting leukemia or lymphoma. I noticed a few of them were bald, so they need peace and quiet above all else. As for the bathrooms and showers? Don't even get me started. That setup looks like it's 50 years old. I could barely turn the water on in the shower, and my joints aren't even that bad yet. Imagine someone in the advanced stages of rheumatoid arthritis having to call a nurse just to help them turn a faucet on and off. I tip my hat to the staff, truly. Every single one of them. They are working in subhuman conditions; there aren't enough of them, and they are constantly overwhelmed. The infrastructure is garbage, but the most important part—the actual people doing the work—are excellent and kind. I really hope they don't leave the US because they aren't appreciated or respected enough. There are some of us who actually notice how hard they work and what they're up against. When a nurse walks into your room singing in the morning after finishing their second consecutive 12-hour night shift, you know they actually love what they do. 👍
You can just call them and ask them to send over the referral; you don't necessarily have to show up in person. I always go myself, though, because if I don't explicitly tell them exactly what I want, they forget half of it. And for me, getting everything done at once is pretty important. Otherwise, I’d just give her a call, say I need referrals for urine and blood work, and swing by during their morning hours.
When are you planning to head in for those referrals?
I get my blood and urine tested pretty regularly, so I can tell you how it works with my doctor.
I usually just swing by a CVS or Walgreens and pick up a few collection cups to keep at home—you don't need a prescription or anything for that, they’re just sitting there on the shelf in any pharmacy. I make sure to see my doctor the day before to have her write the referrals for the blood work and urine test. Then, I show up at the clinic during her morning hours, usually between 7 and 8 AM, because that's when they draw blood and collect samples. I always coordinate it so I catch her in the afternoon to get the paperwork ready, then come back the next morning to get everything done. The nurse draws my blood, and I just hand over the cup I filled at home. I told her straight up that I can't wait around at the clinic; once I wake up, I have to go, and trying to hold it that long would make the sample totally unreliable. She told me it didn't matter—as long as I put my last name and ID number on the cup, we're good.
The rule is either use your first pee of the morning or don't urinate for at least 4 hours beforehand (the longer, the better). They say that first morning pee is the most accurate since it's the most concentrated.
I mean, maybe you don't really need to worry about it yet if you aren't having actual symptoms, but you still want to rule out any issues. What you actually need is a Pap smear. You’ll have to see a gynecologist for that and basically beg them to do it. If you go to a private clinic and pay out of pocket, expect it to cost you around $333. That’s why people try to squeeze every bit of value out of their insurance referrals—it adds up fast.
If there’s anything actually going on in your urine, the lab results will show it. Just make sure that when you go in for a culture, you use your very first pee after waking up—the midstream kind. My advice? Give yourself a quick wash before you collect the sample. Ever since I started doing that, my results come back sterile every single time. Before that, I used to get those annoying false positives even when I was doing the midstream thing correctly. They’d send me off for an antibiogram just to identify the bacteria, only for the antibiogram to come back totally clean because there wasn't actually anything in the urine to begin with. You can pick up sterile specimen cups at any pharmacy, so just grab some. It costs next to nothing, and you can just take care of business properly at home instead of dealing with those disgusting public restrooms. Honestly, my stomach turns every time I have to use one of those places; people are animals, and they leave their bloody cotton balls from blood draws scattered everywhere.🤮.
steelwalker26 said:Right, because there's a clear cause-and-effect chain here: sex -> immune system crash -> passing out with convulsions.
Bravo, man. Real smooth, acting like girls just drop unconscious.
If this were my sister or my daughter, I’d hunt you down myself.
Seriously, there is zero reason to talk like this. A guy came here asking for advice, and he got it. What he and his girlfriend decide to actually do is their business.
Watch your tone on this forum. We have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior.
Angela Wright said:I'm with melloworca6 on this one. Get to the ER right now. If they discharge you, then you go through the standard Medicare waitlist, but if they admit you for processing immediately, even better. You’ll bypass a queue that could easily drag on for weeks or even months.
People honestly don't realize how long the wait times are for certain tests and scans. Your options are basically pay out of pocket—and yeah, a CT scan isn't cheap—or spend months wandering hospital corridors waiting for your number to be called.
Good luck to anyone who hasn't dealt with the mess that is our healthcare system. You could practically die five times over before you finally get your turn for an appointment. 😢
Kyle Martin67 said:I think this happened yesterday evening. Maybe I should take her to the ER... In my opinion, it’s nothing major. She was drinking for three days and barely eating, so her immune system crashed and her body just gave out. But you never know. Maybe it’s better to just drive her over to Medica for a neurology consult or whatever they have there... I don't know what the options are...
She collapsed, lost consciousness, and started seizing, and you're telling me that's "nothing major"?
Look, it hasn't even been 24 hours. Of course, you can take her to the ER (and I doubt they'd turn her away). If you want to pay out of pocket at Medica, go ahead, but why bother when the ER handles this for free under Medicare?
Do whatever you want, but get her to a doctor immediately. Any doctor. Anywhere.
Did this happen last night? If so, I’d be rushing her to the ER regardless. Even if you take her to her primary care doctor—assuming she actually has one—they’re just going to send her straight to the emergency room anyway. Honestly, when it comes to neurological issues, there’s no such thing as "wait and see" in my book. If someone in my family started acting like that, I’d be at the hospital immediately, even if it was a day later.
It’s better to let them run tests there and coordinate with her doctor than to try and handle it yourself and end up with a disaster on your hands.
I wouldn't say we're looking at Raynaud's here. The pain and that grating sensation stop the second the affected areas warm up and blood flow returns to normal. Besides, I don't think it hits the major arteries first without the small vessels—like in your hands, feet, nose, or ears—getting hit first. It’s usually triggered by cold or stress, not some constant state that drags on for days on end. I've dealt with Raynaud's for years, so I know how the cycle works. For example, if I'm out in the cold for an hour, the pain gets so intense it's unbearable. That pain vanishes the moment I warm up and my circulation stabilizes, though that tingling sensation lingers for a bit, along with some numbness, until things finally settle back to normal.
She’s asking for a swab and a urine culture. Tell her you feel better now and you aren't about to start guessing which antibiotic to take. Mention the pain too—since you already told her it hurt during the exam—and don't let them brush you off.
I went to see my OB three months in a row. I refused to let them sweet-talk me into thinking it was "normal" for an ovary to ache occasionally (mine was killing me, and it definitely wasn't normal), and thank God I stood my ground because it turned out I had an ovarian infection. Untreated infections can lead to infertility, so don't mess around with this.
So, did you actually get a swab or a urine culture done? If you haven't, you really shouldn't be guessing with this—self-medicating like this can honestly just make things worse. When you were on those antibiotics, did you take a probiotic? Antibiotics kill off the good bacteria too, which throws everything out of whack, and they love to mess with your balance. Especially vaginally, where *Candida* tends to really settle in and take over.
I feel the exact same way about using headphones on my laptop. Most built-in speakers just aren't up to par anyway. I used to blast my audio pretty loud, but then I realized it was leaving me with this annoying ringing in my ears afterward. Now, I make sure not to overdo it.
Finally stumbled upon a thread that actually fits this question. silentraven9, my bad for moving things around, but just scroll through the previous posts—I'm pretty sure what you're looking for is already in there. 🙂
Roger Hill36 said:Hey everyone!!! I was wondering if anyone here knows anything about treating brain trauma in a Baroque Chamber? Has anyone actually gone through this or had any experience with it? I’m honestly feeling a bit lost on where to even start. Does Medicare cover those kinds of costs, or am I looking at paying out of pocket? Any advice would seriously mean the world to me right now—I'm just totally stuck on the first step. It's for a case involving triparesis and an epidural hematoma. Thanks a million in advance!
Where are you located?
Here’s some info copied from a clinic website near me that has a Baroque Chamber on-site:
Group 1 Indications Decompression sickness Gas gangrene Poisoning from carbon monoxide (CO), cyanide, pesticides, or nitrites Gas (air) embolism Acute traumatic ischemia (extensive injuries involving tissue crushing and necrosis) Sudden deafness or blindness (due to blocked or spasming arteries supplying nerves) Bell's palsy Chronic refractory osteomyelitis
Group 2 Indications Diabetic foot and diabetic gangrene (Wagner grade II), monitored via TCpO2; other slow-healing wounds, trophic, and ischemic ulcers Fresh tissue injuries (compromised skin flaps, frostbite, burns, crush, compartment, reperfusion syndrome, or other subacute ischemias) Necrotizing and anaerobic infections Radiation-induced tissue damage Anemia caused by acute severe bleeding, if blood transfusions aren't an option
Group 3 Indications Ulcerative colitis and mb Chron mb Buerger Mb Buerger and Sy Raynaud Cerebral abscess Postoperative paralytic ileus
The conditions listed under Groups 1, 2, and 3 are covered under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidelines.
I don't know if your specific situation qualifies for Medicare coverage. You should check with a primary care doctor. Which specialist are you seeing? For stuff like this, it's best to just talk to a specialist.