[Banned-ZoesMom]

Yesterday morning, around 3am, I woke up with really bad cramps and took half a Tylenol 3, but I couldn't get back to sleep because I was having chest pains that radiated around to my back. Some where between then and 7am, I did fall asleep again, but when Zoe got up at 8:00am, I started having them again. I also felt dizzy and was falling in and out of consciousness. I kept blacking in and out. I also felt nauseous and vomitted. So I called Telehealth who wanted to call an ambulance for me. The ambulance refused to take me because I didn't have a proper restraint system for my daughter and of course, none of them could stay with her here. So they left, and I stuck her in her high chair with a bunch of cheerios and called her dad. By the time he got home 20 minutes later, he said I was passed out and it took him a good 10 minutes to wake me, so he took me to the hospital. It took them 20 minutes to even triage me. Now, keep in mind that I'm having chest pains, passing out, vomitting, etc. They told me to sit down and wait. SIT DOWN AND FRIGGIN WAIT?!! I'm like, Are you serious? I was having a hard time breathing. It HURT to breathe. So, right after I registered, a girl came in who had a miscarriage a week ago and was still bleeding. They took her right away. I had the same problem with my second miscarriage and they made me wait 5 hours in the waiting room. WHAT THE HELL??!!! A girl came in after me with a rash and went ahead of me. A guy came in after me with chest pains and he was still in the waiting room when I was leaving.

So, let me get this straight...I come in with heavy bleeding after a miscarriage I had a week ago and have to wait 5 hours..a girl comes in with the same and gets in right away. The day I come in for my miscarriage, a man comes in with chest pains and get taken right away, I come in with chest pains and don't even get a room for 4 hours?!! Tell me, anyone, does this make ANY sense at all. I swear, our hospital sucks. They're very disorganized and they need a redo their triage system.

Anyway, I had arrived there at 12:55pm, didn't get triaged until 1:15pm, and was still sitting in the waiting room at 4:00pm. I guess around then, after vomitting 3 times and finally passing out and slumping off my chair, they finally took me seriously. People in the waiting room yelled at them to find me a bed. Funny how quickly they can find beds in cases like that when all afternoon they've been claiming they don't have any.

They laid me down and gave me oxygen, but refused to give me anything for the pain. The nurse came in to see me again at 6pm, redo my vitals, etc and about half an hour later, someone drew my blood. At 7pm, I was told that there was still 4 people ahead of me, and it would be another hour. 9pm, a medical student came in to check on me, told me all my blood work looked okay, the blood test they did for pregnancy was negative (uh, DUH!!) and there was lots of blood cells in my urine (Yeah, I'm on my period, thanks). She said the doctor would be in soon. 10pm, doctor finally comes in and tells me he doesn't know what's wrong with me, but he thinks, yes, THINKS, it's acid reflux. He gave me a prescription for Zantac for the next two weeks and told me to followup with my family doctor. He says it could also be my gallbladder, but they want to rule out acid reflux first. (Gallbladder problems run in my family, but apparently I'm too young to have gallbladder problems...my mom, my aunt and my grandmother all had theirs removed by the time they hit 30).

So instead of figuring out what's wrong with me, he just guessed and is getting money for writing a prescription. I friggin hate Canadian doctors.

I finally got home at 11pm.

I feel better today, still nauseous, but not dizzy, but Mike's on call to come home if I need him.

[Mum2three]

I know what you mean about hospitals. i went tho the same thing as you. it finally took the hospitals 6 months to figure out what was wrong with me. It was my Gallbladder!!! It felt like i was having a heart attack!
You can be ANY age when your gallbladder goes on you! I was 24 when mine went and i just had the surgery Dec 14 06!

I would find another doctor. I live in Canada as well, and the health system SUCKS!

Im sorry you were in the hospital!

[Banned-ZoesMom]

That's exactly what it felt like. Like a heart attack! But when you're 21 and tell a doctor you feel like you're having a heart attack, they're not going to believe you. So, I told them it felt like really really bad sharp, stabbing gas pains in my chest. I swear, I couldn't breathe, it hurt so bad. It still hurts to breathe, but it's manageable right now. I want to avoid calling Mike home if I can, but if it gets worse, I'll call him home, drive straight pass that hospital, and go the extra 45 minutes out to Hamilton's McMaster.

[keekopeeko]

man thats awful! i think you should get a second opinion too.. or at least go somewhere that they're gonna take you seriously!

~Em

[mmgre703]

Aw Brandi, thats really stinks. I cant believe they made you wait so long. It sounds like the hospitals there really suck. I hope you get better soon. I agree you should try to get a second opinion or see what your doctor thinks. Feel better soon!!!!!!

[Banned-ZoesMom]

Thanks.

[MaMaTuTu]

I'm sorry!! When I first started reading I thought "gallbladder". Stupid doctor saying your too young! I was 21.5 when I had mine removed, and I was 15 weeks pg with DD.

[katiegirl]

I'm sorry yesterday was such a horrible and painful day

Hopefully you will feel much better soon

[mommy jenn]

Ok im no expert but i can tell you i had exactly the same thing a few years ago.... well ages ago really but it was horrible, everytime i had my period i had that, passing out falling over dizziness oh and the vomiting was sooooo bad!!! In the end they found that i was anaemic and that was when i was put on serious iron tablets and forced onto the pill... i eventually came off the iron but i was on the pill for years, only came off it in December last year... it was bad though!! Have they checked you for anaemia???

[Banned-ZoesMom]

No, but I'm going to follow up with my family doctor. The ER doctor said I had an ultrasound done in June 07 that showed a cyst on my left ovary and that my gallbladder was clear. He says it couldn't have been my gallbladder because I'm too young and the scan showed it was clear a year ago and gallstones don't form that quickly.

[jademyst13]

What a horrible day! I'm glad that you are feeling better today though

[Melanie0507]

Sorry you had such a bad day at the hospital!

I hope your regular doctor can figure out what's going on!

[Lv2Mommy]

Wow - that stinks. I hope your regular doctor can help figure out what's going on. Good Luck!

[LindsLuvsSi]

Awww I'm sorry!!! Hospitals do suck. Hope you're feeling better.

[steph&dam]

That really stinks. I, for one, am happy that we don't have the same health care system in the US. It is good for preventative but not for acute medical needs. As for gallbladder issues, there are certain attributes that contribute to gallbladder disease. Before fast food became the mainstay of many peoples diets, the typical gallbladder person would be over 40, overweight, and I think there were 2 more attributes that I can't remember (I take care of kids). However, since our diets are based on more "ready to eat, processed, fast food, high fat" diets today it affects women much earlier. I have had several teenage girls who have had their gallbladders removed, and am hearing about women in their 20's and early 30's having issues. My cousin is one. She was pregnant with twins, has a horrible diet, was overweight, and had horrible gallbladder attacks while pregnant. She had it removed 6wks after her kids were born. It was no fun for her. I thought I was having gallbladder issues because I was having this stabbing pain right where my gallbladder is located. My doctor told me that I did not fit the attributes. Well, I did eat a lot of processed fast foods. I cut out ALL fast foods except the occassional slice of pizza (once a month) started eating veggies and protein, and now I have no pain or issues. So, if you think its you gallbladder, change your diet and see if it helps. It might not be too late to turn it around!

[tparum]

that does stink ours here i allways say u might as well be dead b4 they see u. please get a 2cd opionion and kup please

[..Jessica..]

Oh Brandi, that is so horrible!! I can't believe they made you WAIT!!!

My mom had a heart attack last year, and we were waiting in the waiting room for a good 6 hours before she got a bed, then, had to wait another 4 hours for the doctor to come in, and he wasn't even a real doctor. Just some med student, who made my mom feel like crap, so I told him off and told him to get a REAL doctor!

I hope you're feeling better soon!!!! I still can't get over the fact that they made you wait!!!

[Banned-ZoesMom]

Doctors don't take things seriously anymore. They just go to med school to barely pass, write scripts and get paid for doing just enough as they have to and not anymore. It's absolutely pathetic. Honestly, I think the immigrant doctors that they keep denying to work here would do a much better job, and they would treat patients better if they were allowed to work.

I couldn't believe it!! A rash went ahead of two chest pains. A week's past miscarriage went before chest pains..when I went in for heavy bleeding and pain after my second miscarriage, they made me wait 5 hours, but they took this girl right away. It's outrageous. Hospitals are so disorganized. They really need to redo and reorganize and reassess their triage system.

[cam & sami's mom]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I'm glad you are feeling better today. Hopefully your family doctor will be able to give you some answers/relief.

[Madison.N.Hailey'sMom]

Reading how they treated you pissed me off really bad. I was telling DH what you wrote and he said that was a lawsuit waiting to happen about the ambulance. I am truely sorry for everything you had to go through. I would soooo be filing a complaint. I really hope someone is able to figure out what is going on and you get some answers soon. You will be in my T&P.