At what point do you go to the ER?

W

Wtf

Guest
It's kind of an awkward situation. My health care provider doesn't have a "sick call" where you walk in with a problem that isn't a 911 emergency yet it's urgent enough that you probably shouldn't wait several days for the next available physician to see you by appointment. So you either wait several days or report to the ER.

I was on a bike ride. I've been huffing and puffing and getting dizzy on flat roads, which is highly abnormal. I'm not out of shape. Last weekend a similar episode happened, but it was a little different, there was a sharp pain in my lower back that caused my breathing to spaz out. I had to call for a ride home. I did see a doctor. He said it was a muscle spasm in the back. I chalked it up to that. He ruled out kidney or gall bladder.

Fast forward to today. No back spasms, I made it home but otherwise same thing, no energy, like my body can't get enough oxygen. Could be something bad, just don't know.
 
Is there an advice nurse (Kaiser has that)? If so, call them. If not, it sounds like your gut is telling you to get in there and get it checked. Why screw around with your health?
 
Isn't there an urgent care facility around you? I agree that if it happens repeatedly and is abnormal for you it's something you should probably get checked right away, maybe even at the ER.
 
There is an "in between" alternative in a lot of areas. Everskyward mentioned urgent care facilities. This seems to be what they are for. You would like to get in to see your regular doctor but they can't schedule you in a timely fashion and you don't think that you need the emergency room. We have had two of these facilities open in the last couple of years in a service area with about 70K to 80K people.
 
Get to your local urgent care right now, as in the second you read this. If you haven't one hit the emergency room. You do NOT want to treat this with kid gloves.
 
Sounds like your ticker is not ticking right, ER NOW!

Once you start killing your heart, it doesn't get better, see morbidity and mortality.

If there isn't a huge distance difference, get to one with a cardio/cath lab, some of the yokal local ERs will hang on to you far too long just to get more money from your insurance, before transferring you to higher level of care that can actually get you fixed properly.
 
Last edited:
When in doubt, ER NOW. Had a coworker that nearly killed himself and a bunch of others when he elected to try and go to his Dr. Got tunnel vision and nearly lost it while doing 60 on a crowded highway. He had been feeling really raunchy and light headed at work. Turned down having the paramedics at work come check him out and he decided to drive to his own doctor's office. When he went tunnel vision, that convinced him that he had a real problem. Hit the nearest emergency room and was in CCU 15 minutes later.
 
You need to go to an Urgent Care or the ED. Breathing issues are not to be taken lightly. If you are having difficulty breathing - if it has come on suddenly - you say this has repeated itself under the same situation - exertion- enough to call for a ride home - then you need to be checked out.

If you can't breathe - nothing else matters.
 
You'll be fine. Sounds like a few mild heart attacks. Shake it off.

Or live to tell about it by getting medical treatment NOW!!!
 
Did someone mention already that you should go to the ER?

If you have a choice, go to a hospital with a good cardiac service. If it's nothing, all you'll have to show for it is a stupid t-shirt.
 
Agree with everyone's opinion get to the Er that is not something to play with
 
Get to the ER but first sign up for a flight program so you don't have to pay for the flight to a trauma center...seriously.
 
Ultimately I went to the ER. Could I have waited a couple days? Probably. Did I go home that day? No. I don't really want to get in to the details but suffice to say I have an uphill battle on several fronts.
 
good luck with your medical issues.

ref flghts to trauma centers; few insurances cover them, or only cover part. in rural areas like mine, it is common to receive a $60,000.00 bill for a flight to the city medical facility.... and they have sent broken arms, dislocated hips, other non-lethal conditions that route, without telling patients about choices.
(it does help maintain the service by encouraging its use). Some of us buy flight insurance, and I also buy it for visiting family.
Just another issue with rural living.
 
wtf said:
Ultimately I went to the ER. Could I have waited a couple days? Probably. Did I go home that day? No. I don't really want to get in to the details but suffice to say I have an uphill battle on several fronts.
Click to expand...

Good luck.

Atrial fibrillation ?
 
wtf said:
Ultimately I went to the ER. Could I have waited a couple days? Probably. Did I go home that day? No. I don't really want to get in to the details but suffice to say I have an uphill battle on several fronts.
Click to expand...

Much better to catch whatever it is as early as possible and definitely while still on the ground. Might be a long road back to the cockpit, but that's much better than a short ride into a permanent box...
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
good luck with your medical issues.

ref flghts to trauma centers; few insurances cover them, or only cover part. in rural areas like mine, it is common to receive a $60,000.00 bill for a flight to the city medical facility.... and they have sent broken arms, dislocated hips, other non-lethal conditions that route, without telling patients about choices.
Click to expand...
That should be illegal.
 
paflyer said:
That should be illegal.
Click to expand...

Flight costs aren't known before hand and both the transferring and receiving physicians are going to have their ducks in a row prior to selecting air vs ground.

Paying $50-$65 a year is a small price to pay to ensure a free flight with the increased speed and higher quality of care that comes with it.
 
Velocity173 said:
Flight costs aren't known before hand and both the transferring and receiving physicians are going to have their ducks in a row prior to selecting air vs ground.

Paying $50-$65 a year is a small price to pay to ensure a free flight with the increased speed and higher quality of care that comes with it.
Click to expand...

Great, so you're handing someone a blank check....50 to 65 bucks? What kind of insurance is that 'free'?

BTW, I thought EMTs made the drive/fly decision. I'm sure neither doctors not emergency folk considers the cost to the consumer-patient nor their ability to pay. I would never cast the aspersion that there is any collusion between responders and the owners of the helo companies....
 
paflyer said:
Great, so you're handing someone a blank check....50 to 65 bucks? What kind of insurance is that 'free'?


BTW, I thought EMTs made the drive/fly decision. I'm sure neither doctors not emergency folk considers the cost to the consumer-patient nor their ability to pay. I would never cast the aspersion that there is any collusion between responders and the owners of the helo companies....
Click to expand...

Technically it's not health insurance. It's a flight program. Some of your larger air ambulance companies offer them. A lot of people are under the assumption that their health insurance covers a flight when in reality most do not. Some programs match what your insurance doesn't cover. The one that my company offers, the entire flight is covered at no cost. We don't provide complimentary food and beverage service on those flights though. :D

As for as the responder thing, you're talking two different situations. A scene site (first responder) vs an inter facility transfer (physician). They have their own criteria for selecting air vs ground. I don't know what that is and even if I did, wouldn't be something I could discuss on a public forum. Myself and the med crew are not involved in that decision.

I can tell you this, having seen my med crew at work and knowing their experience vs ground experience, you want to be in the back of my aircraft. When I retire, I'm gonna make darn sure I'm covered on a flight program.
 
Last edited:
There are a couple of reasons for the over-use of IHT by air.

- the sending ER physican wants to have the best and fastest service for a patient that he is still responsible for. He is often ignorant to the true cost of the flight and the fact that it may be the patient who pays the fare.
- the receiving hospitals facilitate the use of their air-ambulance by making it easy and painless for the referring provider. They have nurses and coordinators who take care of the details. 'One Call' and a faxed transfer form attesting that the patient needs transfer is all they need and the plane/helo is rolling. The discharging hospital gets the bulk of the charges for a hospitalization, so hospitals compete for transfers. A 'scooper' service is part of that. At times, the hospital (or its captive medevac provider) ends up eating the cost for the transfer itself, but in the mix of things the hospital still comes out ahead.
- patient families want 'the best' for their family member. Insisting on a 2hr ground transport if the family knows that a plane is already sitting at the airport is a no-win for the ER doc.

If you live in a rural community with a small hospital. Find out who provides medevac / IHT for that hospital and buy their flight program. The system I work for charges $59/year. Or tatoo on your chest that you don't want air-ambulance services.
 
My oldest nearly had to make a flight 8 days after his tonsils were removed. We were within 15 minutes of calling for air transport when he finally quit bleeding. Ended up making the trip by ground unit as he had stabilized well enough to make the hour drive over to the surgical specialist.
 
wtf said:
Ultimately I went to the ER. Could I have waited a couple days? Probably. Did I go home that day? No. I don't really want to get in to the details but suffice to say I have an uphill battle on several fronts.
Click to expand...
I'm hoping for the best.
 
Matthew said:
I'm hoping for the best.
Click to expand...
Hang in there, if it's Afib you can work through it.
I've been doing that since November and with Dr. Bruce's guidance am now waiting for my medical to come in the mail.
Lots of hoops to jump through but it's very doable especially with Dr. Bruce's help

Dave
 
weilke said:
If you live in a rural community with a small hospital. Find out who provides medevac / IHT for that hospital and buy their flight program. The system I work for charges $59/year.
Click to expand...
Didn't know that existed. Of course if you're on the road you have to buy policies for every conceivable possible hospital/service you might be transferred to following an accident.
 
paflyer said:
Didn't know that existed. Of course if you're on the road you have to buy policies for every conceivable possible hospital/service you might be transferred to following an accident.
Click to expand...

There aren't all that many flight programs out there. You have 3 major players in the HAA arena; Air Methods Air Medical Group Holdings and PHI. If you buy one of their programs, it covers where they serve in the entire US. If you're an inter facility transfer, simply tell them you want XYZ service and that's who they'll call. Oh yeah, that annual cost ($65) covers your entire family as well. You can buy 5 yr and 10 yr plans and even spend less.

Now if you're in a motor vehicle accident or some other trauma event where you're unconscious, then yeah, you don't know what company is coming to pick you up. Most likely it'll be the closest but MAY not be the one you have a plan for. My advice is to look at your area, find who serves it and buy their program. My parents bought two programs just to ensure they're covered because they're on a border of providers.
 
Last edited:
Yes, wishing the best for the OP and hope you can get back to flying soon.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
good luck with your medical issues.

ref flghts to trauma centers; few insurances cover them, or only cover part. in rural areas like mine, it is common to receive a $60,000.00 bill for a flight to the city medical facility.... and they have sent broken arms, dislocated hips, other non-lethal conditions that route, without telling patients about choices.
(it does help maintain the service by encouraging its use). Some of us buy flight insurance, and I also buy it for visiting family.
Just another issue with rural living.
Click to expand...


Sounds like someone needs to put a size 12 up the insurance industries arse and make them pay up.

Telling the pt. about their choice LMAO!

Ok so as they are cutting you out of your car, your abdomin is solid to the touch, your pressure is dropping, you really want to play who's the lowest bidder game?

This is why you have insurance. If they don't pay out, despite you paying in every month, that's on the insurance company, not the medevac that just saved your bacon.
 
Telling the pt. about their choice LMAO!

Ok so as they are cutting you out of your car, your abdomin is solid to the touch, your pressure is dropping, you really want to play who's the lowest bidder game?
Click to expand...

that is not what Im talking about or what I said.
Major trauma, of course, get in the airplane.
A stabile pt with a broken arm or other ow-ey's is what I have seen get a $60,000.00 flight, and to which I take issue.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
that is not what Im talking about or what I said.
Major trauma, of course, get in the airplane.
A stabile pt with a broken arm or other ow-ey's is what I have seen get a $60,000.00 flight, and to which I take issue.
Click to expand...

Odds of that happening, slim. If they're pressing for a flight that you don't think you need, then refuse the flight. Some common sense has to be used here as well.

This isn't Angel Flight. We aren't flying ambulatory patients. These people are in serious condition and need life saving treatment like yesterday. Do first responders screw up the request on occasion? Sure, they're human but it doesn't happen often.
 
Odds of that happening, slim.
snip
This isn't Angel Flight. We aren't flying ambulatory patients.
Click to expand...

Your experience is discordant with my observations in my part of the world. Understandable there will be regional differences.
I personally know two busted arms that were transported. One I drove to the hospital and walked her -maybe I'm wrong, but I call that 'ambulatory' - into emergency; talking and joking - I call that 'not particularly critical'- then followed her across the road to the airport where the Pilatus took her to the city for surgery 3 days later (it took a while to find a free surgeon and there was no rush) on her arm.
Another is a woman I know in the same situation (broken arm from a clumsy trip) who was also completely stable, no complicating conditions, (probably could have driven herself to any hospital, as the pain was not terrible) - she also got the $60K flight to the city. There are many other such stories, here is one is from 6 years ago; a dislocated artificial hip they could not replace locally (by all local accounts she was not at all critical) and unfortunately (but completely unrelated to the discussion - however it may help someone believe the veracity of my stories as it can be searched) the 421 crashed on takeoff sometime after midnight, all fatal. Reminds me of another artificial hip dislocation I personally know (robust, 70s, adult male) they were preparing to fly out, but they were finally able to replace it.
Very tiny communities; many such stories like these ones abound so we get to hear them and they are easily verified.
BTW the two air ambulance services we subscribe to out here (you need both to get full coverage) are LifeShield and AirMedCare.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Your experience is discordant with my observations in my part of the world. Understandable there will be regional differences.
I personally know two busted arms that were transported. One I drove to the hospital and walked her -maybe I'm wrong, but I call that 'ambulatory' - into emergency; talking and joking - I call that 'not particularly critical'- then followed her across the road to the airport where the Pilatus took her to the city for surgery 3 days later (it took a while to find a free surgeon and there was no rush) on her arm.
Another is a woman I know in the same situation (broken arm from a clumsy trip) who was also completely stable, no complicating conditions, (probably could have driven herself to any hospital, as the pain was not terrible) - she also got the $60K flight to the city. There are many other such stories, here is one is from 6 years ago; a dislocated artificial hip they could not replace locally (by all local accounts she was not at all critical) and unfortunately (but completely unrelated to the discussion - however it may help someone believe the veracity of my stories as it can be searched) the 421 crashed on takeoff sometime after midnight, all fatal. Reminds me of another artificial hip dislocation I personally know (robust, 70s, adult male) they were preparing to fly out, but they were finally able to replace it.
Very tiny communities; many such stories like these ones abound so we get to hear them and they are easily verified.
BTW the two air ambulance services we subscribe to out here (you need both to get full coverage) are LifeShield and AirMedCare.
Click to expand...

That is regional. We don't have enough time to fly that sort of thing. It also sounds like you're extremely far (PC-12) from a major hospital and your local hospital is completely inept. Once again, refuse transport and have a family member drive. Happens all the time even for ground transport.
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Am I grounded right now or am I good to go until my next medical?
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top