The Energon Pub

A couple of days ago I went to the doctor for some symptoms I had been experiencing: light-headedness, fatigue, numbness in my feet, etc. I had high blood pressure and a high pulse, so I got a betablocker to help with that. I also had an irregular pulse. Numb feet still a mystery.

Well, since then the numbness has moved to all four extremeties, and it shoots through my legs and arms, with tingling and some pain. Today I became short of breath, disoriented, and felt numb in one entire arm, and my heart was racing and beating out of my chest. My friend calls an ambulance. But when they got there, they actually attempted to talk me out of going to the hospital. Their attitude is "what do you want us to do about it???". Also, both the EMTs and the ER doctor questioned my betablocker prescription, thinking it was a bit much for my condition. In reality, dramatically slowed down the entire episode.

I was treated like a complete idiot. Guess if you're a young woman you have to be full of it and treated like you are stupid. I am still feeling the numbness all the time now, and still no answer for it. But I doubt I'll be calling that hospital again should something happen. They also treated other patients horribly....this is a military hospital, treating war veterans and their families. Sorry for the negativity, but I have to get it off my chest.

Have you tried going to another hospital? The EMT's and doctors sound like complete jerks that don't care about your problems, which doesn't sound good.

Sue the douchebags for all they're worth.

Shadowman wrote:Sue the douchebags for all they're worth.

For once someone will be suing for a good reason !

As mad as I was, I felt so much worse for the patients around me. The doctor was speaking very loudly about personal things, and was completely insensitive to the obviously painful situation the guy next to me was in.

This particular hospital is somewhat notorious for its poor quality. If you need anything more than very basic care, you have to go to a different hospital. Luckily for me, I have a referral for an echocardiogram elsewhere. I'm also waiting on a heart monitor whenever this army hospital gets one in. I'm not one for hysterics, and I would've NEVER called an ambulance had the situation not been like one I was in years ago, where I ended up in the ICU and nearly died. It was a huge embarrassment. Even moreso when the EMT basically said she intervenes when a person is in cardiac arrest, which ha! I wasn't. Oh well.

Yeah, you said military hospital. That clinches it.

I wouldn't go to one if my life depended on it.

To many military hospitals have been getting well deserved bad reps.

Hey girl.....I was wonderin why I didnt hear from you.You might have to start seeing Docyor's/Hospital/s in the privete sector.Let me know how you feeling.

You have to go to a real hospital. Sell a family heirloom to pay for it if you have to.

I should start by pointing out that I have worked in pre-hospital care for around fifteen years.
I will also point out that without knowing a full medical history, or being on site, I can only offer the roughest of opinions.

It sounds to me like you were having a panic attack, these are very scary, but very rarely dangerous. If you were hyperventilating then priority one is to get you breathing at a normal rate, this is acheived by talking to you, calming you down, not by rushing you into hospital and hooking you up to a huge array of beeping machines.

It's easy to knock the people who helped you (note I said 'helped', not 'tried to help') but you have to remember this is what they do for a living. If they do something you don't like it's not being done with the sole intent of p!ssing you off, it's being done to help you.

I'm sorry that you feel that you were mistreated, but please remember that whereas you have had days to think about and digest what's been happening to you, the chaps who tipped up to you had minutes to decide WTF was happening.

Again, I'd like to point out that I'm speaking from opinion only, I have no knowledge of you or your case, and I mean no offence.

Any questions, feel free to PM me.


Gaaar,
Doug

Heh, yeah that's what a socialized healthcare hospital will get you. I'm not saying the military doesn't deserve free healthcare, far from it. But a voucher system will probably do wonders for this situation.

In this particular case, I don't know if there is a process to file complaints, but I would definately do it. And there is such a thing as doctor/patient confidentiality, it was completely unprofessional for that doctor to be calling out private information, regardless of a shared room. But then, he probably has job security and doesn't much care about his ethics anymore.

I'm sorry that you feel that you were mistreated, but please remember that whereas you have had days to think about and digest what's been happening to you, the chaps who tipped up to you had minutes to decide WTF was happening.

I don't accept that. It's not the paramedics job to try and talk people out of an emergency situation. It's their job to stabilize and bring you to the hospital, not diagnose and dismiss - that the doctor's job at the hospital. Imagine if she actually were having heart problems, and the damage that could have been caused because of this type of delay. Quite frankly, they only had the symptoms to go on, they didn't have the equipment to check and see if it was anything more serious. They actually endangered her well being. This is totally unacceptable.

Loki120 wrote:Heh, yeah that's what a socialized healthcare hospital will get you. I'm not saying the military doesn't deserve free healthcare, far from it. But a voucher system will probably do wonders for this situation.

In this particular case, I don't know if there is a process to file complaints, but I would definately do it. And there is such a thing as doctor/patient confidentiality, it was completely unprofessional for that doctor to be calling out private information, regardless of a shared room. But then, he probably has job security and doesn't much care about his ethics anymore.

I'm sorry that you feel that you were mistreated, but please remember that whereas you have had days to think about and digest what's been happening to you, the chaps who tipped up to you had minutes to decide WTF was happening.

I don't accept that. It's not the paramedics job to try and talk people out of an emergency situation. It's their job to stabilize and bring you to the hospital, not diagnose and dismiss - that the doctor's job at the hospital. Imagine if she actually were having heart problems, and the damage that could have been caused because of this type of delay. Quite frankly, they only had the symptoms to go on, they didn't have the equipment to check and see if it was anything more serious. They actually endangered her well being. This is totally unacceptable.

And exactly how long have you been at the sharp end of medicine, scraping people off the pavement?

The thing is, I had just gone in the other day and was told I had possible heart problems. I didn't get a definitive answer at that time. But I did get that betablocker. When the EMTs came and I told them that information, they should NOT have been so dismissive. The doctor that prescribed the medication was called up, because the nurses and ER doctor thought the betablocker was unnecessary. Well, he overrode them. And I'm still being checked for heart problems. My father wants to lodge a complaint, but I'm not having it. I honestly don't know if I'd ever call them again should something else happen. My confidence in that hospital is shaken.

I don't know much about panic attacks. Maybe it was one, but I've never had one before. I still get the numbing sensations all the time now, without the pounding heart and shortness of breath. If anyone has ANY idea what that is, please let me know!

That sounds like a hospital full of exdoctors, if it was in Germany!

Hope you'll get better soon, and that it's nothing life-thretnening (OMBG, how the hell do I spell that )

HugeBadWolf wrote:And exactly how long have you been at the sharp end of medicine, scraping people off the pavement?

And what does that have to do with the price of milk?

I don't have to be a paramedic to know what they're responsible for. And road-side diagnoses and dismissals are not on their resumes. They have one job, to stabilize the patient and then get them to an emergency room. That's it. Any delay because they feel they "know" otherwise can cause irreversible harm and even death. If she stubbed her toe, yeah, they could get away with that. Indications of a heart problem...no. ESPECIALLY if they've been informed of a preexisting condition.

Now before I'm blasted for putting a hate down on paramedics, nothing could be further from the truth. They have a VERY hard job, and I respect the hell out of them...when they do their job. When they go beyond their perview (as some of them do), that's when I have the problem.

HugeBadWolf wrote:It sounds to me like you were having a panic attack, these are very scary, but very rarely dangerous. If you were hyperventilating then priority one is to get you breathing at a normal rate, this is acheived by talking to you, calming you down, not by rushing you into hospital and hooking you up to a huge array of beeping machines.

Actually, it sounded to me like symptoms of severe dehydration. I've never heard of limbs going numb due to a panic attack.

Edit:

DSM-IV-TR wrote:The essential feature of a Panic Attack is a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort in the absence of real danger that is accompanied by at least 4 of 13 somatic or cognitive symptoms. Symptoms can be somatic or cognitive in nature and include palpitations, sweating, trembling or shaking, sensations of shortness of breath or smothering, feeling of choking, chest pain or discomfort, nausea or abdominal distress, dizziness or lightheadedness, derealization or depersonalization, fear of losing control or "going crazy," fear of dying, paresthesias, and chills or hot flashes.

So, no, numbness is not associated with Panic Attacks.

I'll grant that it's possible that she did in fact panic, but I argue that it is also possible that she panicked due to a very real and serious problem (which would be the cause of the numbness). The book also states that such attacks are associated with "some general medical conditions (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, vestibular, gastrointestinal)..." as well as various mental disorders.

I did NOT panic. I wasn't scared or panicky or anything. In fact, I insisted on cleaning my house instead. I know that sounds weird, but I was extremely revved up and couldn't sit still. It happened a few years back, when I had preeclampsia and paced my house for about three hours because I simply could not sit still. It was a long time before I got any medication and ended up very sick. This time I took the betablocker very soon and felt better within a shorter period of time. I'm not saying the two were related, because I was pregnant before, but they felt very much alike and are caused by high blood pressure.

I have a friend that has had several panic attacks and what happened to me was nothing like that. She is also an emotional nutbag, while I'm very stable and mellow. I'm not prone to freak out without warning. I am still feeling many of these symptoms, including extreme fatigue and that dang blasted numbness. I honestly wouldn't care, as I've been dealing with fatigue for years now, but everything together is starting to interfere with my ability to care for my children.

It sounds to me like you were experiencing some of the common and uncommon side effects of beta blockers.


If you don't mind me asking, what was the specific beta blocker that you were prescribed? (PM if necessary)

Shadowman wrote:Sue the douchebags for all they're worth.

This comment was not needed.

A formal complaint would suffice as no physical harm was done. There are no grounds for a lawsuit and EMT's are not douchebags.

Moonbase2 wrote:Well, since then the numbness has moved to all four extremeties, and it shoots through my legs and arms, with tingling and some pain. Today I became short of breath, disoriented, and felt numb in one entire arm, and my heart was racing and beating out of my chest. My friend calls an ambulance. But when they got there, they actually attempted to talk me out of going to the hospital. Their attitude is "what do you want us to do about it???". Also, both the EMTs and the ER doctor questioned my betablocker prescription, thinking it was a bit much for my condition. In reality, dramatically slowed down the entire episode.

If that had have happened to me, I'd probably have thought it was a heart attack. Then the **** really would have hit the fan. How're you doing now? Have a Kirby hug, that thing tickles me up every time. (>")>
Take the time out to get a second, third or even fourth opinion on things, because the first attempt seems to have been handled by a child in a white coat.

The medication is Propranolol (Inderal). I was prescribed it on Tuesday, the first day I went to the doctor, and I picked it up yesterday morning. I wasn't going to take it until last night, since it can make you drowsy, but I took one yesterday during the little episode. Within half an hour I felt MUCH better. So far that is the only one I have taken. Numbness and tingling of the hands and feet are an "unlikey but serious" side effect of the drug, but considering it's been happening longer than I've been taking the drug, it is not the cause of the problem. It's like a little medical mystery.

Moonbase2 wrote:The medication is Propranolol (Inderal). I was prescribed it on Tuesday, the first day I went to the doctor, and I picked it up yesterday morning. I wasn't going to take it until last night, since it can make you drowsy, but I took one yesterday during the little episode. Within half an hour I felt MUCH better. So far that is the only one I have taken. Numbness and tingling of the hands and feet are an "unlikey but serious" side effect of the drug, but considering it's been happening longer than I've been taking the drug, it is not the cause of the problem. It's like a little medical mystery.

Have you been back to see your doctor since the episode?

I would strongly suggest that you go over this episode with him.

No, I haven't been back. But I'll have that monitor soon and that echocardiogram, so if it's not heart related they'll rule it out.

Thanks guys, for your well wishes!

Moonbase2 wrote:No, I haven't been back. But I'll have that monitor soon and that echocardiogram, so if it's not heart related they'll rule it out.

Thanks guys, for your well wishes!

I just hope your doctor will be able to get to the bottom of this and that you'll feel better soon.

The Mad Asshatter wrote:

Moonbase2 wrote:No, I haven't been back. But I'll have that monitor soon and that echocardiogram, so if it's not heart related they'll rule it out.

Thanks guys, for your well wishes!

I just hope your doctor will be able to get to the bottom of this and that you'll feel better soon.

Ditto.

Thanks, guys. I've been doing a little research to see what the tingling/numbing could be. I have to say that I don't like the results so far, but I'm not going to jump to conclusions. It'll just make my life miserable. I'll see if the condition improves and go from there.

Best of luck with it. Hope it's nothing serious or persistant.