Anyway to complicate matters she's also a quadriplegic. I got her signed in and through triage and she was taken to an exam room. After about an hour the attending doc calls me back and says he's calling the state she needs to be transferred to a mental facility. I asked about blood work. He did none. I asked about CT Scan due to her history. He didn't order one. I asked about bloodwork he didn't order any.
Now what happened next should have set off bells and whistles in a doctors WTH is going on portion of their brain. I went to the exam room and she was unconscious. I could not get her to respond. I yelled get some help in here STAT out the door. In walks the doctor and I said what's going on no mental issue does this that I know of. He shrugged his shoulder and started to walk out. I said listen you stupid &&&& and he said I called the state and walked off. I got my dad and said pull the van around I'm taking her out of here.
We went to a Level One ER. It supposedly had the best of the best there. She arrived unconscious. They managed to get her conscious but she could not answer appropriately. I made the mistake of being honest and that doctor said well I'm calling the state.
Me and state had a chat when they arrived and state agreed this was not mental illness related but a neurological issue and she was admitted and a contracted doctor assigned. At no point was our primary care doctor notified even at my request.
The first thing they did was right sorta anyway. They put her on Ativan and discontinued the other medications. Lo and behold about 36 hours later she was alert, oriented for the most part just a little foggy as to what had happened, and in her normal mind. In walks contracted Shrink who also never saw her a day in his life. He says yes the other Shrink was correct we need to up the Zoloft. Next day at noon Nurse walks in and gives her Zoloft. One hour later she was hallucinating again, BP and Pulse through the roof and thrashing so hard she had to be restrained. I was at my wits end. During this time the third day into it still not one diagnostic test done even blood work.
Ever hear that prayer helps?I said some and I went home because I was wore out. I got home and something said go on line and look up her meds. I typed in Zoloft +Trazodone to a search engine and Yeap there it was. Something a PDR Book is also for BTW. Serotonin Syndrome.
Whew that was a fast answer. I called dad who was staying with my wife and I told him I think I have the answer don't let them give her any meds till I get there I'm on my way now. I got there and figured we can get a protocol started and get her out of danger and yes her life was in danger at that point. I talked to the floor supervisor nurse. I showed her the papers. She said the doctor comes in tomorrow morning and is not to be disturbed before then. I said OK then as her husband you will follow my orders. You are to give her only Ativan and nothing else. No Zoloft no Trazodone or anything without my expressed permission as of this minute.
Next morning contrator doc walks in madder than hell and says why did you rescind my orders for. I said Doc please read this I think this is the problem. He saw the title and said that is pure rubbish his exact words. I said well Doc who wrote it do you know him by chance? He looked against was the hospitals Pharmacology Professors work. He backed down then. But he had the gall to say OK now lets transfer her. I said you best not say that in front of me ever again.
Next morning she was back to normal as normal was going to be for a while. She had partial Amnesia. They took her down for a MRI of her brain on Day 5. Two Bleeders one recent one old. Two Attending ER docs at two hospitals, two Shrinks, and two Contracted doctors did not have the curiosity required to do their job. A PDR look up should have been among the first things to happen. This was about 14 years ago BTW. Today doctors know about it or should if they are writing scrips for antidepressants.
We didn't sue. But the first ER's Chief of Staff got a letter and that doctor knew my wife as he had treated her before himself. That doctor was relieved of employment. We simply stated if this happened to any one else we would testify on their behalf. BTW her PTSD? It mainly was triggered by an adverse reaction to medication. A dentist {General Dentist} gave her Mepraghan for a simple non complicate extraction. It put her in Hypothermia. A couple years later he killed a girl in his exam room doing unauthorized {for his license level and training} anesthesia on her.
Yeap we've seen bad doctors but we've seen far many more who went the extra mile for the best care they could give her. Many mistakes happen because patients primary care doctors have been taken out of the hospital treatment decision process because due to pressures of time constrains they can no longer do rounds that and people often go to hospitals where the doctor doesn't have privileges. No privileges? Then as far as the hospital is concerned no notification is done unless the family does it by going over their heads.
Ping to post 71 strictly for educational purposes in case you ever see it. This happened just about the time AD’s started being passed out like candy by Shrinks.
Wow....sorry to hear this. Without getting into my case in depth I will mention one incident of the three that happened. I too finally figured out what happened on my own. The hospital was giving my family member insulin cause they thought she was diabetic, which she was not. They overdosed her on insulin one evening & she was rushed to the ER from a rehab facility she was in.
They told the ER they thought she was having a heart attack. They covered up the insulin overdose. so the doctors in the ER had no idea what was really happening. I got there in time to inform them of what I thought was going on.
Very frustrating.