How to get quick help in the ER

[News]

The average total wait time in an emergency room in the United States is four hours and three minutes, but experts say there are ways you can cut down your wait.

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[Jackie07]

My trip to ER today:

Perhaps it was the fear of catching H1N1 and/or the regular flu (there are articles on newspapers and magazines urging people not to crowd out the ER), I got a room within 10 minutes after talking to the ladies at the ER desk. (Was a little bit concerned that I might not look sick enough. But I was following the Oncall Nurse's advice.) Not untill we were at the ER entrance did I recall that they always told me to go to ER whenever I called about my ailments - probably becaue of my medical history - and this was the first time I took the advice and decided I needed to get things checked out - now.

And I walked up to the desk all by myself after Hubby dropped me off at the front entrance.

Staff hooked me up for vital signs and all kinds of monitoring devices. This was probably the first time that I did not get a 'panic' feeling while inside ER. We had tried to get an apointment with the Weekend Clinic, but they were already all booked up for the day by the time I called (at 8:10am - we really should have tried to call at 7:30am when the lines open - according to their recommendation.)

I've been having irritable bowel problem since beginning of the year. Several CTs have been done and all they were concerned about was the liver hemangioma that had grown a little bit. Nobody ever asked about my irritable bowel problems except in January I got a prescription to 'calm the digestive tract nerves'. My head does not respond well to anything that manipulates the central nervous system. And since those pills were not treating anything, I promptly stopped it after experiencing some side effects.

A young doctor talked to me for quite a while before an older doctor stopped by. He must have stayed for exactly one minute. At the end (after getting some lab work and a CT scan) I was given a discharge form at 5 pm and told to be sure let my own doctors know about my abdominal pain and the discharge instructions.

ABDOMINAL PAIN UNKNOWN (UNCERTAIN)CAUSE
Your condition does not seem serious now; however, the signs of a serious problem may take more time to appear. Therefore, it is important for you to watch for any new symptoms or worsening of your condiition.

HOME CARE:
1) Rest until you are feeling better.
2) Eat a light diet with foods that are easy to digest. Avoid fried or fatty foods, meat, alcohol and spicy foods, until you are feeling better.
3)Watch for the warning signs below:
[NOTE: If you had an X-ray, CT scan, ultrasound, or EKG (cardiogram), it will be reviewed by a specialist. You will be notified of any new findings that may affect your care.]
RRETURN PROMPTLY or contact your doctor if any of the following symptoms occur:
- Pain gets worse or moves to the right lower abdomen
- Vominting or diarrhea
- Fever over 100 (oral)
- Blood in vomit or bowel movements (dark red or black color)
- Jaundice (yellow color of eyes and skin)
- Weakness, dizziness or fainting
- painful urination or blood in urine
- Chest, arm, back, neck or jaw pain
- Cough, trouble breathing, colored or bloody sputum
- Vaginal discharge