# I am the patient ER doctors make fun of... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339 "2009-01-21T19:01:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/41 "2009-01-22T07:48:41Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > I think almost all medical people would tell you to go to the ER with chest pain. > > My 37 yr. old husband sat in the ER for 6 hours after an EKG test did not indicate a heart attack, waiting for blood test results (the enzymes show if heart damage did in fact occur) which, surprise surprise, indicated he DID have a heart attack. EKGs don’t show heart attacks that occur on the back of the heart (or something like that) EKGs can show posterior wall MIs, but it’s a more subtle diagnosis and/or you need to do extra leads. It sounds more like he had a non-ST elevation MI, basically a heart attack without EKG changes. It’s not uncommon, but I can’t remember the numbers of the top of my head. Also, the cardiac enzymes generally don’t rise to detectable levels until 2-3 hours after the event starts. > [@BiblioCat](#): > > Heartburn is usually more like a burning feeling, but can also feel like there’s something stuck in your esophagus. It’s usually more centered, and a little lower. > With a heart attack, you’ll have intense crushing chest pain, like an elephant is sitting on you. The pain will (usually, but not always) radiate down the left arm. Some people say they feel it radiating to their armpit but no further. Also, you’ll be sweating. While this is generally true, if it’s something you haven’t had before or it’s different from what you’re used to, call 911. > [@](#): > > Please don’t go to the walk-in clinic if you think it might be a heart attack. They’ll just have to call me to come pick your sorry ass up and run you to the ER. You’d be amazed at how often that happens. Yup. And the clinic doctors aren’t always real nice to us, either. St. Urho Paramedic ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/42 "2009-01-22T08:00:09Z")
No, they’re not making fun of you or people like you. They make fun of the crazy people… seriously. Like the one lady who called for an ambulance (normal, right?)…wait! and demanded some important gvt officials (I dont recall which ones but she was specific in their titles)… wait! BECAUSE!.. she was impregnated by an alien species! I poo-poo-you not! those, are the ones they make fun of. Take care of yourself and dont worry about what others say - do what you have to do! I was persistant with my situation and FINALLY got a doc who did the proper tests, diagnosed, treated, and all is better. (I ended up going to the ER a couple of times because my treating original doc was on vacation and his stand in would not see me). ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/43 "2009-01-22T09:18:44Z")
I once had a spontaneous pnueomothorax(SP?) (partial lung collapse) that convinced me I had only moments to live; it was first diagnosed as pleurisy. If it mattered to the diagnosis, the collapse was minor since it involved only a very small portion of the top of the lung and in fact was self healing. Hurt to beat hell, though. Would that be a possibility, \*\*Mighty\_Girl \*\*? PS: Have you ever read _Lonesome Dove_? Might make you think harder about the use of the word ‘poke’-------- ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/44 "2009-01-22T10:58:02Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > Heartburn is usually more like a burning feeling, but can also feel like there’s something stuck in your esophagus. It’s usually more centered, and a little lower. > With a heart attack, you’ll have intense crushing chest pain, like an elephant is sitting on you. The pain will (usually, but not always) radiate down the left arm. Some people say they feel it radiating to their armpit but no further. Also, you’ll be sweating. I had some pains on my chest recently; since they did start on the left of my sternum and move left, I figured I better ask my doc. She said that, since I could point out clearly to a superficial spot on the edge of the sternum (a bone joint between the sternum and a rib), it’s “bone pain.” Heart problems would be deeper and more difuse, she said. Spend less time sitting on yer ass, she said… My doc is not your doc. I am not your doc either. I can’t picture **Mighty\_Girl** being part of a gerbil tale, she seems way too intelligent for that amount of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/45 "2009-01-22T11:33:32Z")
I had the same pain last night after I had a watery veggie soup for dinner. I felt like I had eaten a turkey, or two. I already did my pedicure, packed my bag and took off my wedding band. Just in case they wheel me off to surgery on Friday when I see the doctor. Thanks for sharing your tales of ER woe. Misery loves company. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/46 "2009-01-22T14:00:59Z")
Two years ago I had symptoms of a heart attack (I was 39) and went to the ER. While I didn’t have a heart attack (Dr. diagnosed as massive panic attack), they did find a heart murmur – Mitral Valve Prolapse – that has never been diagnosed. MVP isn’t that big of a deal, nowadays, but it’s a good thing to know. I ended up staying in the ICU overnight b/c they wanted to make sure the MVP wasn’t something else. I think you’re female, yes? Heart problems in women sometimes do not follow the same pattern as male indicators. If _you_ think something is wrong and/or different with your body, keep pursuing it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/47 "2009-01-22T14:50:12Z")
I once had the same symptoms and went to the ER; after many hours it was diagnosed as [costochondritis](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/costochondritis/DS00626). ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/48 "2009-01-22T16:14:18Z")
Just letting you all know that I made it through the night… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/49 "2009-01-22T18:41:08Z")
Every doctor I’ve ever heard express an opinion on this has said that they’d much rather have you come into the ER and discover it was nothing serious that to have you come in later in cardiac arrest and know they could have done something had you only come in earlier. My dad’s cardiologist gave him holy hell for delaying; her specific words were on the order of “How DARE you delay going to the hospital! I might have NEEDED those two hours to save your life!” ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/50 "2009-01-22T23:38:24Z")
To add to what **MLS** said, call 911. You’ll be much better off than if you drove yourself. Most of the treatments you’d get in the ER can be started in your house or the ambulance. In addition, we’ll make sure you get to the right hospital for cardiac problems. Also, around here, if we see the EKG signs of an MI, we can activate the cardiac cath lab right then and there, which significantly decreases the time to treatment. St. Urho Paramedic ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/51 "2009-01-22T23:45:02Z")
I forgot to mention this earlier… Another potential cause of chest pain is a [pulmonary embolism](http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/759765-overview). These are bad. > [@](#): > > Pulmonary embolism (PE) is an extremely common and highly lethal condition that is a leading cause of death in all age groups. > [@](#): > > The spontaneous onset of chest wall tenderness without a good history of trauma is always worrisome, because patients with PE may have chest wall tenderness as the only physical finding. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/52 "2009-01-23T02:39:26Z")
> [@St.Urho](#): > > To add to what **MLS** said, call 911. You’ll be much better off than if you drove yourself. Most of the treatments you’d get in the ER can be started in your house or the ambulance. In addition, we’ll make sure you get to the right hospital for cardiac problems. Also, around here, if we see the EKG signs of an MI, we can activate the cardiac cath lab right then and there, which significantly decreases the time to treatment. > > St. Urho > Paramedic What he said. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/53 "2009-01-23T03:23:52Z")
Definitely don’t fool around with chest pain. My mother has some heart problems, and last time they acted up she was at the grocery store but persuaded my sister to take her to her doctor’s office instead of calling 911. Needless to say, the first thing the doctor did was call 911. I’m hoping she learned her lesson. I will never forget the time I took my 3-year-old daughter, whose fever had risen from normal at dinnertime to nearly 106° by 8 pm, to the ER on a busy Saturday evening (where, needless to say, she was taken back instantly and treated – turned out she had pneumonia), only to overhear another would-be patient, a young man in his 20s being brought in by his mother. What was his complaint? Nonspecific back pain. How long had it been going on? Oh, a couple of weeks. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/54 "2009-01-23T17:23:40Z")
They took my 48 YO husband’s “heart attack” very seriously. Fortunately it turned out not to be one…mostly likely the costochondritis mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/55 "2009-01-23T19:43:35Z")
My wife took me to the ER on a very busy Saturday night (why is it always the weekend?); the place was packed. My advice for anyone wanting to make the ER staff drop everything and see you: be a 49 year old man clutching his chest, panting and sweating. Luckily, it only turned out to be my first and only asthma attack. Not great, but not a heart attack. On the positive side, it was the final straw that made me finally quit smoking. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/56 "2009-01-23T22:30:38Z")
My brother says his heart attack felt like heartburn that didn’t go away all day. He ended up calling an ambulance even though he was only a few blocks from the hospital. He was coherent after it and was ready to go home in a day or two and then had an acute heart failure. (He’s OK.) ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339/57 "2009-01-24T14:37:34Z")
> [@dre2xl](#): > > Obviously, that’s not tractable with heartburn. What is the difference between chest pain and heartburn? sometimes not much. I was on a ship in the Atlantic many years ago (early 80s) and a crewmember complained of chest pain. The medical aide (another crewman with extra training) went through the checklist and called for advice. The air force sent out a long-range heliocopter with a paramedic and advanced (for the time) equipment. Obviously with a helio hovering a couple of hundred miles out in the ocean there wasn’t a lot of time, but the paramedic did a quick exam and pulled the crewmember up to the chopper. Turned out to be heartburn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-patient-er-doctors-make-fun-of/482339.md?page=2)