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[8-Bit Sunset]

Basically same as the OP...Go to Emergency Room, hope they treat you for the right thing before you die, declare bankruptcy (if your lucky), and then spend almost a decade rebuilding your credit.

If you got to the ER they have to treat you. They tend not to treat you well. Then they will hound you for the rest of your life for the 100,000 dollars you racked up on your two night stay and shove you out the door to see specialists...who won't see you unless you have insurance or pay up front, so you wait until your dying again and go to the ER...rinse repeat.

Thanks for the replys.
I had no idea it was like that. Shocking really!

I apologize and didn't mean to take the attention away from the OP.
Keep us updated on your condition.

 

[n00bsauce87]

I hope you get better OP.

I had a stroke when I just turned 13 around MLK day.

Sinusitis (Sinus that doesn't drain properly in the ears, noses, throat area in layman's terms) was the official diagnosis and it caused me to get a stroke. I'm actually surprised you choose to drive by yourself mid-stroke (it doesn't have to be obvious, people can have mini strokes and not even know and that's what it sounds like happened with OP when his feelings didn't feel right with the temps) but luckily you made it.

It's gonna be a long process I'm sure. At least you are gonna hit your deductibles easy. I hope you get better soon. Just know that you are more susceptible for a stroke since you already have one. Not like right now, but something to look out for in your older years.

 

[Icefire1424]

Holy hell, really sorry to hear about all of this OP. Wishing for a full recovery mate. Scary stuff.

Please don't take this as insensitive, but just as something to hopefully get a chuckle out of you. But until you do fully recover, your superpower to not really feel pain on one side of your body pretty much classifies you as a James Bond villain!

Yes, that was from one of the crappier Bond movies, but still.

Either way, get better - we're all pulling for you man.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Jesus fucking Christ mineshaft that is terrifying. I'm so glad you're recovering.

I can't believe how incompetent some hospitals can be

 

[E-Cat]

It's so, so wrong that "what will this cost?" was even something that you had to contemplate through all this.

Fascinating and terrifying story, OP.

 

[nailbombxx]

Wow OP I hope you recover well now that you've been able to go to a hospital that isn't shit.

I'm from a small town and I'm frightened to go to the ER because of their incompetence. You made the smart decision of going to a better ER.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

That story infuriated me.

Bush league quack doctor ushers you in and out despite a clearly serious problem and you still have to pay his Goddamn bill for the privilege. Ugh.

I want to hear how this ends OP. Update soon.

 

[Danneee]

"One last thing. You can find my gofundme by googling "Just kidding!""

What?

 

[RumblingRosco]

"One last thing. You can find my gofundme by googling "Just kidding!""

What?

Yeah, I don't understand this either. Is it a joke or what?

Also, good luck with everything OP. Gonna be a long road to recovery I bet, both physically and financially.

 

[Laevateinn]

"One last thing. You can find my gofundme by googling "Just kidding!""

What?

Yeah, I don't understand this either. Is it a joke or what?

Also, good luck with everything OP. Gonna be a long road to recovery I bet, both physically and financially.

I think it's a reference to another thread last night that was long, dramatic, and included detailed instructions on how to get to a Gofundme page.

 

[E92 M3]

You're a great writer - waiting for the next part.

 

[Noobcraft]

Write the hospital and ask them to forgive the charges. I knew a young guy without health insurance that had a heart problem crop up unexpectedly and he ended up with a huge bill. He wrote the hospital explaining that he couldn't pay it and they just forgave all the debt on the spot. Definitely worth a shot for you. It's definitely YMMV depending on the hospital you went to but I'd try it.

 

[Kusagari]

Write the hospital and ask them to forgive the charges. I knew a young guy without health insurance that had a heart problem crop up unexpectedly and he ended up with a huge bill. He wrote the hospital explaining that he couldn't pay it and they just forgave all the debt on the spot. Definitely worth a shot for you. It's definitely YMMV depending on the hospital you went to but I'd try it.

When I was in college I had a hospital connected to the school do this for me. But I was also a student going to the school so I'm not sure if they would have done it otherwise.

 

[marrec]

You're a great writer - waiting for the next part.

Right? Selfishly I'm just like, waiting for the next part :lol

But uh, glad you're alright. Reading the Wiki page on your type of stroke was interesting as well.

 

[zer0das]

It is pretty messed up about the physical therapy. My dad had a stroke and it nearly killed him, but he got back up to like 80-90% function with a lot of physical therapy (and a bit of luck). It's ridiculous we have a system where something so vital to future quality of life and productivity is discouraged due to dollar bills.

 

[The Lamp]

That's great that it dropped so much, but it brings back to mind the question that will forever haunt me: why is Medical Care so expensive? It's freaking stupid. This is care for HUMAN LIFE.

LIFE.
OF PEOPLE.
WHO MAY LOSE LIFE.

And a Doctor who could save your life would easily turn you away because they can't get that green paper-fabric mix.

It's disgusting.

It's expensive because it's extremely skilled and complicated.

But the government should foot the bill, not people

OP when you get the bill just call their billing department and request it to be written off as charity. I had that done as a college student WITH insurance because my appendectomy cost thousands of dollars and I had none because I was living off student loans.

One of the most infuriating things about your ER story is that they gave you amoxicillin. They gave you fucking antibiotics when you had no diagnostic tests showing infection. Fuck that doctor and his overprescription of antibiotics.

 

[Horns]

I had an appendicitis in my mid-20s with no insurance a month after losing my job. It cost me $10k and I was only there for 12 hours. That was more than a decade ago. I couldn't image the costs now.

 

[Cth]

My girlfriend just had one about 2 weeks ago.. thankfully she caught it in time as there was very minor damage done, but it's a scary situation.

The doctors are stumped as to why it happened, she's completely healthy.

Out of the blue, she just started losing her voice.

 

[Zoe]

Write the hospital and ask them to forgive the charges. I knew a young guy without health insurance that had a heart problem crop up unexpectedly and he ended up with a huge bill. He wrote the hospital explaining that he couldn't pay it and they just forgave all the debt on the spot. Definitely worth a shot for you. It's definitely YMMV depending on the hospital you went to but I'd try it.

Definitely. Don't resign yourself to bankruptcy just yet.

 

[Onemic]

Wow, hope you get better soon OP

Im really, really, really, glad I live in Canada. $3K for a single MRI is ridiculous. Paying upfront for healthcare in general is ridiculous.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

Sorry to read that OP. I hope you recover swiftly.

 

[Pagusas]

Thanks for the replys.
I had no idea it was like that. Shocking really!

I apologize and didn't mean to take the attention away from the OP.
Keep us updated on your condition.

It's like that only if you don't have money or insurance. The us is a great country for the upper middle class and rich, not so much for anyone else. I feel anyone born here needs a cheat sheet of 1. Get insurce, 2. Go to college, 3. Pick a career you can make money in or god help you your life will suck. Trump is set to make this even worse for those who can't truely afford to live in this country.

When you have money specialist treat you great, hell we have special doctors offices setup here that only advertise to the well off, basically giving you a spa day with your doctors visit.

It's an insane economic devide that I don't see getting better. The rich look at the poor with disdain, they are "lazy, idiots, have too many children, don't care about anything, won't follow rules", and these people run the country.

My advice to anyone, no matter what your economic situation is, if you are new to a job, in a grace period before benefits, than at least get the cheapest 3 month medical plan you can find, even if the deductible and out of pocket is insane. It's what my wife and I do when we change jobs and have a 3 month gap in coverage. Yes the coverage is horrible, you'll be paying 10 grand out of pocket if anything bad happens, but 10 grand is survivable in anyones fiscal life, $100,000+ in medical bills isn't. The last time I got 3 months coverage it was $220 and more than worth the peace of mind that I wouldn't ruin my wife and I's fiscal lives if something bad happen to me. She was harder to convience we should "waste" the money on such coverage, next time we need it I'll point her to this thread.

 

[mjc]

Jesus, I'm glad you're somewhat ok OP. Best of luck to you on the recovery trail.

 

[Tigress]

Write the hospital and ask them to forgive the charges. I knew a young guy without health insurance that had a heart problem crop up unexpectedly and he ended up with a huge bill. He wrote the hospital explaining that he couldn't pay it and they just forgave all the debt on the spot. Definitely worth a shot for you. It's definitely YMMV depending on the hospital you went to but I'd try it.

Also check if the hospital has a charity program. I got really lucky in my motorcycle accident than mine did. They had me go to their section that deals with how they give out charity to fill out forms and see if I qualified (I did otherwise I'd be bankrupt and that is from the stuff the health insurance didn't cover). They actually covered everything they did that my insurance didn't cover (which I'm poor enough I'd be bankrupt if I had to pay that part. I work retail so I don't get paid much and the insurance I had was all out of my own pocket so it was the minimal plan I could get away with).

But that hospital I went to was also know as the most charitable in the region. Also, the only non religious hospital and only public hospital in the region... go figure. They only make about 1% profit, the next most charitable makes about 17%. And republicans think the answer is to capitalize everything... gee, which hospital is worried about covering everyone and just being able to cover its own bills and which ones are the ones more worried about profit and turning away non profitable clients (was also reading a book from some one who worked at the hospital and they tried to ahve an always open door policy and had to really work to convince the other hospitals to foot some of the traffic when it was really busy rather than turning away all non insurance people to them as they had a hard time having enough beds for everyone sometimes)? Oh, and before they bitch I'd get better care at a private hospital, no, I wouldn't. For my problem (a crushed foot), that hospital is well known (royalty from Saudi Arabia comes to my hospital for foot problems due to the really good podiatrists here). It's known I think for being a good trauma hospital overall.

 

[JB1981]

You're a great writer - waiting for the next part.

Agreed! The stroke did not affect your writing skills! Very scary scenario and you had me gripped by your experience. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery. Take it easy and get answers for what caused this to happen! It is not common for a man at your age to have a stroke

 

[SummitAve]

I had no idea a stroke could be like that. If I or anybody I'm with ever experiences something similar I will likely think back to this story, and hopefully will be able to get help ASAP. Thanks for sharing and I wish you all the best!

 

[DiamondDog74]

I'll be thinking of you and hoping for things to return to normal for you

 

[Forerunner]

That's unfortunate, glad you're doing better though. But yeah you pretty much have to have health insurance in America or you're fucked. It doesn't matter how healthy you are and nothing ever happens to you. Get it anyways. I haven't been to the hospital in years, but I still have it.

 

[Onemic]

It's like that only if you don't have money or insurance. The us is a great country for the upper middle class and rich, not so much for anyone else. I feel anyone born here needs a cheat sheet of 1. Get insurce, 2. Go to college, 3. Pick a career you can make money in or god help you your life will suck. Trump is set to make this even worse for those who can't truely afford to live in this country.

When you have money specialist treat you great, hell we have special doctors offices setup here that only advertise to the well off, basically giving you a spa day with your doctors visit.

It's an insane economic devide that I don't see getting better. The rich look at the poor with disdain, they are "lazy, idiots, have too many children, don't care about anything, won't follow rules", and these people run the country.

My advice to anyone, no matter what your economic situation is, if you are new to a job, in a grace period before benefits, than at least get the cheapest 3 month medical plan you can find, even if the deductible and out of pocket is insane. It's what my wife and I do when we change jobs and have a 3 month gap in coverage. Yes the coverage is horrible, you'll be paying 10 grand out of pocket if anything bad happens, but 10 grand is survivable in anyones fiscal life, $100,000+ in medical bills isn't. The last time I got 3 months coverage it was $220 and more than worth the peace of mind that I wouldn't ruin my wife and I's fiscal lives if something bad happen to me. She was harder to convience we should "waste" the money on such coverage, next time we need it I'll point her to this thread.

Holy shit, even being insured sounds absolutely terrible.

 

[daveo42]

I just bit both my fingers to make sure I was fine OP. Reading that article on what the issue was is scary, even if it's still pretty rare.

Glad to see you're still alive and kicking at this point, though the hospital might just come for your soul based on the amount of money just a day and a few tests in a hospital costs. I got a bill for $18k for a single overnight stay when I thought I was having a heart attack a few years ago. I don't even want to think about a month. Good news, they might write it off due to the shear amount of money it costs and your lack of insurance. Bad news is they make you pay for it, though you can usually work with the hospital on a low payment plan for the rest of your life (joking, but really not joking).

Hope things improve on mending and healing from that and keep kicking. Besides, you might be able to sue the other hospital for negligence over ignoring your symptoms, but I'm not a lawyer, so it's just a guess.

Holy shit, even being insured sounds absolutely terrible.

Having insurance for some in this country is kind of like shitty bankruptcy protection. I pay $25 a week for an HSA and a $3000/$6000 deductible plan. I get next to no benefits from my insurance until I $3k, where they finally start picking up 75% of the bill. The first $3k are completely out of pocket, but don't worry...you at least get certain prescriptions free and a "negotiated" rate on some visits It's saving me tens of dollars every year!

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

Write the hospital and ask them to forgive the charges. I knew a young guy without health insurance that had a heart problem crop up unexpectedly and he ended up with a huge bill. He wrote the hospital explaining that he couldn't pay it and they just forgave all the debt on the spot. Definitely worth a shot for you. It's definitely YMMV depending on the hospital you went to but I'd try it.

Damn, good on that Hospital. People shouldn't have to worry about this shit.

 

[GregLombardi]

Or: I had a stroke in my mid-20's and it can happen to you. Also PSA: for the love of fuck sign up for Health Insurance.

Be warned: My story is a long one with many twists and turns. The above could be considered the condensed TL/DR version though I encourage you to read about the whole fucked up affair. I'll try to break it up and make it easy to follow so that it isn't just a wall of text. Apologies in advance for spelling, punctuation, grammatical, and all other mistakes I make with the English language. I'm going to blame this on the fact that I had a stroke (and just took a Vicodin) and not on the real reason which is that I'm a shit writer who has a hard time retaining the fundamentals.

The Initial Event: Work

It all started while I was work the day before Thanksgiving. I was sitting at my desk looking at my phone and I felt a twinge of pain in the back of my neck. I thought maybe I just twisted it wrong or craned it in an odd way since the pain didn't start out too intense. That would change as my shift progressed. The pain in the back of my neck went from dull ache to intense, somewhat terrifying ache over the course of the next few hours. I took some a couple Midol because it's basically just naproxen (Aleve) and that's what I happened to have on me at the time. At any rate, it didn't put a dent in my pain.

I went on lunch and sat reclined in my car with a pillow under my head. I could not find any position that would alleviate the pain. This started to make me worry that maybe it wasn't just a muscle spasm or similar benign random ache or pain. I started to think maybe I had meningitis. I didn't think this likely because I could touch my chin to my chest and I didn't have any other symptoms at the time (most common of which for meningitis would be fever). After a few hours the pain got so intense that I had to leave work early. I made the ~45 minute or so drive home and got into bed.

Spoiler Alert: The event that took place inside my noggin/neck turned out to be something called a vertebral artery dissection. It would be many days before I would find out that's what it was but there's no reason to keep you waiting, right? We'll get back to this.

The Aftermath: Home

So I got home and crawled into bed and slept for a couple hours. The neck pain had more or less subsided at this point, especially once I was in my actual bed. When I woke up I felt kind of... I don't know -- out of it. I felt feverish but I checked didn't have a fever. I went to pee and felt a certain lack of coordination but chalked it up to having just woke up from a nap. I crawled back in bed.

I sleep for a couple more hours and I wake up again. My neck doesn't hurt at all now but I still feel woozy and not quite right, I'm also very hungry. I went downstairs and poured myself a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. I chewed them up real good like, turned them into a nice saliva and cheerio goo, see? I swallowed and you won't believe what happened next!

They got stuck in my throat. They made it passed by tongue but not quite down my esophagus. They stuck in the bottom of my throat. I panicked and tried swallowing again to no avail. I went over to the sink and coughed. My cough was weak, weaker than it normally would/should be but chewed up cheerio paste came flying out nevertheless. At this point I'm pretty well freaked out but have no idea what could actually be happening to me. I tried taking another bite and the same thing happened. I tried drinking water and began coughing uncontrollably. At this point it became clear to me that I could not swallow food without it getting stuck, and i could not drink liquids without aspirating. That should be the main take-away from this section of the story.

Emergency Room: Part 1 - The Bush League | Possible Lawsuit Area?

I'm not someone who rushes to seek medical attention or the emergency room at any little thing. I posted once about one of the most painful experiences I've ever had and even this did not prompt a visit to the Emergency Room. This though, this whole thing that was happening right now I could tell was different. I needed to go to an Emergency Room and get checked out because my shit was clearly fucked up in some sort of serious way. So I did what any uninsured mid-20's person freaked out over a health condition would do: I drove to an urgent care because it would be considerably less expensive.

Once I arrived at my local Urgent Care I told them my symptoms (the neck pain, inability to swallow). After listening, the Urgent Care people said that I needed to go to an actual emergency room and refused to see me. It was clear they probably already had an idea as to what happened and knew they weren't equipped to run the sorts of tests needed to confirm what had happened.

The closest ER was located in a city that many area natives refer to as *place-name*-tucky. Kind of like Kentucky. This practice might not be nice, but it's not wrong. It's kind of a shit town and the hospital was also shit as I would soon find out. I say all this now but I didn't know it at the time. Plus, it was only about a 5 minute drive.

I arrive at the hospital and go to the emergency room area. I tell the receptionist what's happening and I get a bed within 10 minutes. Not a long wait, lucky me they weren't very busy. I see a doctor within about a half hour or so and explain EVERYTHING. All my symptoms up to this point. I'm not one to leave out details. I stressed the pain in my neck and how I thought it might be related to my swallow and I mentioned the overall wooziness I was experiencing. Their first course of action: put me on an IV steroid to see if that improves my ability to swallow. (It didn't.) After a certain amount of time I can't remember I become physically ill and throw up. I'm really not feeling so great.

Some time goes by and the doctor returns to ask me about the pneumonia I had earlier in the year (February). He mentions that I had X-Rays done which I confirm. He wants to give me more chest X-Rays in addition to a Barium Swallow Test. At this point, I'm pretty sure whatever is going on is related to my head/neck ache. I mentioned this to the doctor but felt he was thoroughly dismissive of this line of thinking. Quite frankly, I thought he was dismissive overall and not particularly interested in my case. For what focus he had, it was strictly on the GI aspect of my condition.

My chest X-Ray is normal and I "pass" the barium swallow test with some difficulty (having to swallow several times to get the shit down my throat). I should note at this point that the barium is extremely heavy and one sip will force its way down your throat through sheer force of gravity. If someone would just watch me try to eat or drink they would see -- it's not happening. I can't fake something physically not going down my throat.

I get sick again and it looks like there might be some blood in my vomit which is near my bed in a pink bucket/tray. The doctor comes in and observes this detail in passing before suggesting that I be admitted so that I can be seen by a gastroenterologist. I think "well that makes sense but it still doesn't really address the concerns I have about the neck pain and how it might be connected along with everything else." I express that to the doctor and he brushes it off. It's the day before Thanksgiving and this is a bush-league hospital so he tells me a GI probably won't be in for a couple of days. I decline being admitted to the hospital because something just doesn't feel right, plus, why pay for staying in the hospital for a couple of days when the doctor you're there to see won't be in. All the while, what's happening to me is NOT treated as an emergency. The doctor nods and walks away.

I need to use the bathroom at one point while at the ER. When I go to wash my hands I notice something rather odd. My left hand can feel the hot water but my right hand cannot. What I feel in my right hand can only be described as strange electrical-type sensations. RED FUCKING FLAG. I'll elaborate on this symptom later because it's fucking bananas. I don't know if I had this symptom prior to rolling in to the ER or whether it's onset took place while I was there. The more I think about it, the more likely it seems to have been a thing that happened while I was being treated in the ER. In other words, I had a minor stroke while in their care and they did not notice.

I told the doctor exactly what I felt but I told him I wasn't sure when the onset of this symptom began. He did NOT seem interested and this information did not change the course of action he was taking. In retrospect, this is FUCKED. At this point the neck pain, inability to swallow, and left/right sensory differential are telltale signs of brain damage. Here is where I feel an enormous amount of resentment towards the ER, the doctor, and the bill I would receive from them.

I was discharged with instructions to return to the ER if I could not eat or drink. Based on these instructions I should have walked right back in as soon as I got to the parking lot because I STILL couldn't swallow anything. I was given IV antibiotics before leaving in addition to a prescription for amoxicillin. I did NOT have an infection that would warrant such treatment and was given no real explanation it. My release notes don't mention anything related to the left side/right side sensory differential or the severe neck pain. They only mention the dysphagia and nothing else. The doctor wouldn't even give me a note that got me off the hook for work the next day.

I drove home.

Home Again: The scene where Peter Parker discovers his powers.

I got home. I tried to drink a McDonald's Milk Shake but could not get it down my throat. I just kept coughing up anything I tried to swallow except for thin liquids that would make a B-line straight for my lungs. I spent some time becoming familiar with my new symptoms: nauseousness and the fact that my ability to sense certain things is cut in half in a straight line down the center of my body. I take an ice cube and roll it from my left shoulder, across my chest, to my right shoulder. In the middle of my rib cage I cease to feel the "cold" once it passes over to the right side of my body. I can feel things on my right side, but the feelings just aren't right. I can sense soft touches just fine but pain (like being poked by a toothpick) feels like a finger poking me - not a sharp toothpick. When I pick up a can of soda straight out of the fridge it feels like it's room temperature, like I just took it out of the box at the supermarket. In my left hand I can feel that it's ice cold.

I think "This is fucked" and get in my car. I drive to what's supposed to be the best hospital in the state.

Emergency Room 2: Electromagnetic Imaging Machine Boogaloo

I drive an hour or so to the state's top hospital. Best in GI, best in Neurology. I think these people will probably know what's up. By the way, it's Thanksgiving now. I arrive sometime around 5 or 6 AM. And when I arrive, literally feet from my car... I vomit violently. VIOLENTLY. Someone inside sees me and ushers me inside. I go through the initial process of describing my symptoms again. I get a bed right away and speak to an ER doctor, she takes notes and before long.... a neurologist comes to visit. Unlike Podunk shit tier ER Part 1 that doesn't staff a GI on the day BEFORE Thanksgiving, this place has a neurologist the DAY OF Thanksgiving. He has me do what turns out to be some fairly standard, simple brain damage tests.

"Squeeze my fingers as hard as you can. Good. Lift your left leg. Good. Lift your right leg. Good. Lift both arms. Good. Pull me towards you, push me away from you. Good. Follow my finger with your eyes. How many fingers am I holding up? Touch your nose and touch my finger. Good. All good. One last thing..." he pulls out a small finger full of spark wooden sticks (toothpicks?) He pokes me with all over my body. On the left side they feel spark and I can feel each individual stick, on he right side it doesn't feel sharp and it doesn't feel like several individual small objects/sticks. He takes note of this and orders that I get a CT scan right away.

Fast forward about 20 minutes. This place is really not busy... I get right in to have my CT scan. The procedure doesn't bother me but I'm worried about what they might find. The CT scan wraps up and I get back to my bed in the ER. A little while later the doctor returns to tell me that I have a paralyzed vocal cord. Something done fucked up inside my noodle and he admits me to the hospital. Things seem to be on the right track. Next stop? MRI.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to finish this later because I'm tired of typing for now and despite trying to make it fun and easy to follow, it makes me pretty emotional talking/thinking about it. There's still quite a lot more bullshit that takes place between the CT scan and me getting the diagnosis that I had a stroke. I get two MRIs, an MRA, a spinal tap, and several other tests. It takes about a week. In the span of that week I do not eat ANY food of ANY kind despite trying desperately. Turns out Hospital 2 has a bit of a listening problem as well.

Rest assured, the story will conclude shortly if you're interested. For now, in conclusion: I had a stroke, I'm in my 20's, I was in the hospital for close to a month and I just got released the other day. I don't have insurance. All of this can happen to you and in some cases (like my case) there's nothing you can do about it. Except sign up for health insurance. BTW, sign up for health insurance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One last thing. You can find my gofundme by googling "Just kidding!"

This is an absolutely harrowing and terrifying tale, you have done a service just by recording it before your memory of it fades, believe me. Thank you so much for typing this all out. In response, I will voice my support of your frustrations with my own short tale below.

I could not be more in agreement that in an emergency situation, it is important that people with the ability to logically assess their own symptoms in concert with their doctors. Doctors are sometimes completely disconnected from the patient in a way that can have horrifying consequences, and when a patient knows what they have going on is an emergency, they can sometimes defer to the doctor even though they should do everything in their power to change the trajectory of their diagnosis.

When I lived in Spain, I lost most of the hearing in one of my ears due to a sickness that developed there. Basically I had yellow phlegm that was an evidence of some kind of infection, but everyone said it was simply an infection that would go away with a treatment of antibiotics. To me, however, it felt very different than just a simple infection. That said, I used the Spanish healthcare system (a free one) to try and diagnose my issue. I also used the internet. It simply would not go away. They put me on steroids / an antibiotic which helped the symptom but didn't fix the issue long term. After every bout of medication, the hearing loss returned. Basically after leaving steroids, my ear lost its hearing again. 1 month went by bouncing between Spanish doctors, another month went by talking to doctors in the U.S. Still not much hearing in my right ear. And if you can imagine how this felt being a non-native Spanish speaker and still trying to hear and speak fluently in my second language.

This issue significantly cut short my study abroad experience in Spain. I finished the schooling, but I immediately returned to the United States after 2-3 months of this issue, assuming doctors would quickly diagnose and address the issue. I was wrong. When presented with my issues, I went through the same exact fucking dumbassery as I had in Spain. And they did the same things. And those same things led to a failure in my hearing returning. It would once again go away.

I was in my last semester of school and I returned to school with 1/2 my hearing by the time September rolled around. I continued to feel as though doctors werent' helping me, but that I couldn't figure out the issue myself. I decided to turn to a specialist doctor that I had heard was very good at what he did. I decided to construct a running list of 15 changes / steps I had gone through in order to fix the problem, and review it with him in detail. And somehow, after 6 months of no hearing and me losing my mind, I got lucky.

The Doctor I went to turned out to be an old school doctor that regularly reads different conditions from around the world and tries to keep up to date on strange things going on. He happened to read about a weird air borne chlamydia like infection running around in army circles in the UK that gave the same exact symptoms and problems as I had had. Basically, the phlegm i described actually becomes entrenched in the head, nasal cavity, eustacian tubes, and everywhere above the neck. Unless the STD like infection is treated with precision, it returns over and over again. He put me on a steroid again, but he also put me 2 different powerful drugs aimed directly at this sspecific infection out of the UK.

After 4 days, my hearing returned, and I have had basically 100% perfect hearing since. I literally cried when I realized my hearing wasn't going to go away again. 6 months with no hearing is an eye opening experience. And if doctors had listened to my emergency situation differently, or if I had trusted them less to come up with the solution, I might have had a less harrowing or painful experience.

More than anything, I wanted to voice support for your situation and for your frustrations. I've been there. I know how it feels. It just so happens, your medical issue was way worse and with way more dangerous consequences. Keep fighting the fight.

 

[meow]

This is terrifying. I'm glad you got through it and you seem like a strong person. Hoping for your full recovery and definitely try to get the hospital to write off your bill. I'll be watching for the rest of your story, too!

 

[Norris1020]

I just visited the doctor for the first time in 6 years because I had a gap in that time without insurance. I was nervous as hell being 34 and not knowing if anything had developed in that amount of time. Also, very lucky nothing had happened to me and I've ended up needing treatment for high blood pressure which could have led to obvious things. Medical worries had also been on my mind because my childhood friend died 2 Novembers ago and autopsy revealed he died of a heat attack from coronary artery disease at the age of 32.

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

Man I'm sorry for your troubles OP. Reminds me of when I went to a trash tier ER when I was in college. I had meningitis of the brain and spine........they told me I had a stomach bug.

 

[Schryver]

Fuck me.The fact that things like this can happen to anyone at any age is always a scary reminder. Glad you're doing better and good luck with everything OP

 

[thechristoph]

Holy shit, even being insured sounds absolutely terrible.

Even if you have insurance, you're still on the hook for staggering amounts of costs. And the insurance company actively tries to fuck you every step of the way.

I pay about $500 a month to insure myself and my wife. My medical plan has a $1000 deductible. That means that I'm on the hook to pay $1000 of medical expenses on my own until insurance kicks in. And then they only pay 75% of the fees. So if you have to have an operation followed by a hospital stay which costs $200,000... good luck. Now there is an out-of-pocket maximum but it seems to reset at the whims of the winds.

Other things like prescriptions, office visits co-pays, specialist co-pays, facility fees (insurance pays the doctor...and you pay the facility where the doctor does his doctoring. Not covered!) physical therapy...none of that is covered and it doesn't count against your deductible.

It's a goddamn nightmare.

 

[GreenMonkey]

I feel for ya OP. I had a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage (technically also a stroke) 2 years ago, right after I turned 35.

The hospital staff kept asking me if I had ever done cocaine or was a smoker. Apparently I was quite the statistical outlier without a history of either, and no family history of aneurisms. They kept asking my family / friends too. (As a side note, don't do cocaine).

Normally the hemorrhage is caused by an aneurism but they never did find one in there.

I too drove myself to the ER (10 miles or so) although I had to stop and throw up once, and again when I arrived at the ER, hurling myself out of the car. The folks at U of M were amazed I made it on my own when I told them.

I was lucky to have good health insurance and work at a company with indefinite sick leave. Hospital for 11 days, 2 weeks off work, and then halftime work from home for a couple of weeks after that.

Still, Aetna tried to argue with the hospital that I didn't need to be in the NICU, and wanted like $20k or something, but they apparently worked it out with UofM (where I was sent via ambulance after the first night) because it went away without me having to deal with it.

Good luck on recovery, OP, take it easy. I still get headaches when I'm tired, and your average headache hurts worse now (even a brain freeze moment hurts like hell now).

 

[xxracerxx]

My wife is a stroke nurse, I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[smisk]

Jesus christ, this thread is gonna turn me into a hypochondriac.
What happened to your job OP, were you let go, or are you getting any kind of disability? If you get insurance now will it pay for anything?

 

[rSpooky]

The whole story sounds fucked , especially the ER doc and the way US healthcare system is.

I have seen the corrupt system many times myself but in reverse. I have a really good insurance (for now) and as soon as they see the coverage ( I never tell but they find out) it is like a goldmine for them to dig into as much as they can.. end result .. a lot of unneeded stuff and the following year my premiums go up.


I hope you get better and recover financially.

 

[Head of Vengarl]

Wow that was a painful read. Best of luck on your recovery path Mineshaft_Gap.

I had an appendicitis in my mid-20s with no insurance a month after losing my job. It cost me $10k and I was only there for 12 hours. That was more than a decade ago. I couldn't image the costs now.

I had appendicitis 8 years ago and it cost 25k if I remember correctly.

 

[bidguy]

sorry you had to go through that shit op

any more infos ? how did this happen to a mid 20s person ? is it just dumb luck or what ? i wanna know how to avoid this ever happening lol

 

[SoldierOfLight]

My goodness I feel so freaking bad for your experience and what happened a shitty-Tucky ER #1

This year I had a normal visit to the Dr. For a check up (greedy corporate Kaiser who rush you without care)

Had to get blood drawn, lady inserts the needle too far that my right hand shoots open and twitches in pain. I even said Ouch out loud. The nurse just continues after saying sorry.
Not to high jack this thread but I had to revisit to make sure everything was fine and pay each time about 4 times. They only compensated me 1 visit. So pissed that a place can screw you over like that

 

[Goldrush]

Or: I had a stroke in my mid-20's and it can happen to you. Also PSA: for the love of fuck sign up for Health Insurance.

Yep. Had a heart attack and a stroke at the same time in my mid-20s. Absolutely no warning. One minute I was taking out the trash. The next minute, I was waking up in the hospital after an induced coma. Here's the kicker, despite a bunch of tests, the doctors have absolutely no clue why it happen. Thank god I had insurance, because, otherwise, I would have had hundred of thousands in hospital bills to start and many more thousands later due to the many specialists I regularly visit just to monitor my health because they have no clue what happened.

 

[Linkura]

Thank you for sharing your story, OP. So glad you came away ALIVE and relatively unscathed despite the incompetence in the care you received. Could have been so much worse.

 

[xxracerxx]

Had to get blood drawn, lady inserts the needle too far that my right hand shoots open and twitches in pain. I even said Ouch out loud. The nurse just continues after saying sorry.

I mean what is she supposed to do besides apologize and get the blood?

 

[Briarios]

If you think you might possibly be having a stroke, move fast. Limiting the damage is based on the amount of time it takes to get care.

My wife had one in her 30s. The doctor's believe a flu virus attacked her arteries and a piece came loose that made its way to the brain.

 

[X-TREME GAFFER]

Really sorry to hear all this, OP. Pretty terrifying stuff. Thank you for sharing and I seriously hope things run smoother for you here on out.

 

[exmachina64]

That's great that it dropped so much, but it brings back to mind the question that will forever haunt me: why is Medical Care so expensive? It's freaking stupid. This is care for HUMAN LIFE.

LIFE.
OF PEOPLE.
WHO MAY LOSE LIFE.

And a Doctor who could save your life would easily turn you away because they can't get that green paper-fabric mix.

It's disgusting.

I'll try to summarize it for you, it can be hard to grasp.

*ahem*

"Fuck the poor. It's their own fault for being poor."

I hope that helps.