I think I need to go to the hospital

I think you'll get mixed reviews of hospitals here. I refuse to go to LICH due to serious problems I've had with them but Methodist isn't much better. You'll wait forever in the ER there. Those are the only 2 I'm familiar with, sorry I couldn't be of any help. Hope you feel better!

Do not go to the hospital on Dekalb near Ft Greene

Do you have a doc you can call to discuss your symptoms/possible solutions before heading to an ER?

She could look that up on WEBMD. She could go, but she'll probably just be waiting in line at the emergency room like everyone else, then the doctor will tell her, "You need to take a crap."

Oiseau wrote: She could look that up on WEBMD. She could go, but she'll probably just be waiting in line at the emergency room like everyone else, then the doctor will tell her, "You need to take a crap."

If you click on just about any condition on webmd associated with abdominal pain, it will tell you to go to the doctor.

Oiseau wrote: The doctor isn't the same as the hospital.

That's true, but most people can't get an appointment on short notice, and the ER becomes the default fro going to the doctor. And if someone goes to their primary doctor for abdominal pain and they're remotely sick, they're going to get sent to the ER anyway.

I went to the ER at Methodist on 7th Avenue for a dog bite. It wasn't bad. Not as nice a hospital as NYU, but nicer than LICH. My PCP used to be at LICH. I had a beef with that place. Some of the people were ok, but some of them were horrible, bureaucratic drones. Those people drove me insane. If I had to go to an ER now, I guess I'd go to Methodist.

Just to be clear, I've only been to ER at Methodist and not at LICH. After reading the posts above (including the link), I think I might try LICH's ER afterall.

And, I just remembered I had a billing problem after my visit to Methodist. It was resolved fairly easily but it was still a drag.

Your best bet is to call your doctor and tell him/her your symptoms, even after hours. They will tell you if you should go to the ER or not. That's what the doctor is for.

sweet tea wrote: everyone knows that the emergency room is no fun. i'm prepared to believe that a person who decides to go anyway has more than indigestion. not that it's any of my business or the question posed here.

I've always believed that the ER was for life or death situations- broken bones, things that a doctor needs to fix. Stomach stuff is funny- it's not necessarily life or death (at least to me). Which leads me to my story!

My X had an attack of sorts- barfing, shitting, you name it, terrible pain. He couldn't get himself to the doctor (and in fact, was SUCH a pussy) he couldn't even get off the floor, and because his momma was a wiff of a thing, had to go to the hospital via an AMBULANCE.
Come. on.

oh yea, it was nothing, they gave him fluids and anti-nausea meds.

brooklynpotter wrote: [quote=doublediamond]Your best bet is to call your doctor and tell him/her your symptoms, even after hours. They will tell you if you should go to the ER or not. That's what the doctor is for.

absolutely disagree. if you feel like hell and the doctor says you don't need the ER, you need to decide if you want to follow that advice. following blindly the advice of any doctor is, as they say, bad medicine.

Did I say to blindly follow advice?

It is worthwhile to talk to your primary care physician who knows you and your medical history and get his/her opinion. The real bad advice is coming from a bunch of internet folks without medical degrees telling the OP to go or not go to the ER.

I got my doorman to buy me some popsicles the next day to rehydrate and get some sugar.

you are sooooo lucky! I had a housemate who made me goldenseal tea.
Do you know how nasty goldenseal tea is? It's hard to know which thing is what incapacitates you for three days . . .

doublediamond wrote:

Did I say to blindly follow advice?

It is worthwhile to talk to your primary care physician who knows you and your medical history and get his/her opinion. The real bad advice is coming from a bunch of internet folks without medical degrees telling the OP to go or not go to the ER.

what i meant was that even if your doctor doesn't think you need to go to the ER, but you do, follow your instincts.

i have accompanied someone to the ER under circumstances of mysterious abdominal pain. believe me, no one there questioned the decision to come in. they took it very seriously and said that coming in was the right thing to do.

brooklynpotter wrote: my last trip to the ER for abdominal pain found me checked in for 6 days with a raging infection in my colon. it was fun... ;-)

Exactly. I had a similar unexpected experience (though with different diagnosis and longer stay).

You could have had a spot of gas or not enough fiber, something you ate, a nasty virus, a campylobacter infection, appendicitis, acute pancreatitis, etc. etc. Anything from short- or medium-term discomfort to seriously life-threatening. If it hurts, and the doctor's not available, then I say queuing in ER is the way to go -- if you recover while waiting, no harm done. If you're about to require a week or two in hospital, best be getting there while you're still on your feet, and already standing in line (or writhing on waiting room floor) before the symptoms are overwhelming.

doctorj wrote:
Exactly. I had a similar unexpected experience (though with different diagnosis and longer stay).

actually, i think we talked about this once and it was the same nastiness. while it's surely not the healthiest way to lose weight, it is the easiest. i dropped 12 pounds and spent a week on IV opiates