Apparently even doctors are tired of health insurance bull...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

Another evening in the ER. Tried to get them to keep me and take out my gallbladder to just rid of the pain. Instead, I get to keep it for now, get more drugs and then get it taken out later. This is the sadistic system we live in. He said he had very little he could do unless the blood work shows infection, and it doesn't, so the health insurance would probably deny the claim..
Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors. I'm on Dilaudid and high has a kite.

[Honeycombe8]

1. That sucks! Grrrrrrrrrrr. I'm so SICK of our healthcare system. nt

[CatWoman]

2. I need to have mine removed as well

I'm going to try to get the VA to do it...

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. In our country only the rich and corporations matter. I'm sorry you're going through this nt

[Spacemom]

4. i feel your pain

My gallbladder was literally gangreous before they took it out. The surgeon said he didn't know how I was living with the pain.

I hope they treat you soon. It will be total
cessation of pain for you.

[lynne]

5. My insurance paid to remove my gallbladder -

- and there was no infection. Same for my aunt and no infection for her, either. I'd suggest contacting your insurance yourself to find out what is required to have it removed.

"Probably deny" isn't an appropriate statement from a physician. Hospital administration has an idea what is and isn't covered as they work with these companies all the time. They should contact the carrier to find out what is required to have it removed.

You sure he didn't have a golf date pending?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

12. They will pay to remove it.....

But they wouldn't admit me to do it last night, is what I meant. I have to wait, schedule the surgery and wait a little more to get it done, most likely as an outpatient.

[Mojorabbit]

6. I am having an attack tonight also

and trying to avoid the ER. I just do not want to remove any body parts unless totally necessary but it is very painful.

[Historic NY]

7. Please don't fool around with the gall bladder get it out as soon as practical...

I had mine out when I was 30...and it was hot (infected) it happened in the 2 mons they waited around. Laproscopic is the method of choice mostly because its in and out of the hosptial quickly. They will get you up on your feet that day. Gall-bladder attacks suck.... It can kill you.

[Warpy]

8. Just keep tabs on the whites of your eyes.

If they start to turn yellow, go back in fast. Bile backing up in your liver and into your bloodstream can kill pretty quickly.

I don't know why they stall taking hot gallbladders out. The fact that they do most of them laparoscopically cuts down on cost by getting people out of the hospital the next day after bloodwork says they're fine. Repeated visits to the ER get really expensive. Waiting until it's infected can result in needing an open cholecystectomy and increases the risk of peritonitis.

This is more penny wise and pound foolish medicine and it's extremely poor medical practice. I can see waiting after the first couple of attacks because that's all some lucky people ever have and keeping the gall bladder means fewer GI problems down the line. I can't see waiting after the third, that puppy should just come out.

At least they're giving dilaudid these days instead of just demerol and a boot out the door.

[Hoyt]

9. One problem under our current insurance system is people change insurers so often

that the insurer doesn't see the return on "investment." Without a return, the assholes look for ways to avoid costs. Current system sux.

Wish OP well.

[KT2000]

11. good point

the same goes for consumers. Insurance can be lost at any time. For those who paid in for 20 or 30 years and did not use it do not have an investment at all. Sickening.

[KT2000]

10. Do not fool around with this

This killed my father. One day he was putting in a new lawn and the next day he is septic and gone. His hospital doctor almost lost her father - also a doctor - to a gallbladder that got infected quickly.

Please push your doctor to have this taken care.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

14. I am calling the surgeon this morning.

The surgeon is expecting my call, and I will push to get it done soon. He agrees it needs to come out or I won't get rid of the pain. They gave me a pill to relax the gallbladder. That with the percaset, the dilauded that was wearing off when I got home and that pill I slept amazing last night. Of course, I couldn't walk by that time either.
My husband is a saint by the way. He has taken care of me through all of this. I would have been screwed without him.

[Snake Alchemist]

13. Uh, you would probably have the same result under any healthcare system.

They're not going to just remove organs without the proper bloodwork and indicators.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

16. I have them all...

...it's working at 13%. It needs out. The ER Doc said so. But since it isn't infected, I have to schedule surgery instead of being kept overnight and getting it done in the morning (which would have this morning).

[Snake Alchemist]

23. I'm not sure there is any healthcare system that would not require you to schedule surgery. nt

[a la izquierda]

15. I just don't understand this ridiculous system...

I need to have orthotics for a nagging foot injury. The cost? $300. My insurance will not cover them. However, they will cover the $10K surgery to fix my foot.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

21. We have a system? To me it's more like utter chaos

hundreds of forms for billing depending on the company and never knowing for sure what will be covered or not.

[a la izquierda]

22. Chaos is a system...

right???

[mainer]

17. It's now done as an outpatient, so you got the standard response

With laparoscopic surgery, you can go home the same day. The only reason they'd admit you as an inpatient is for infection requiring IV antibiotics.

It sucks, but that's how it goes these days.

[elias7]

18. It's not a sadistic system, it's pretty straightforward, actually

Your gall bladder will be removed emergently if it is infected. If not infected, then it can be taken out electively by a surgeon that you consult with per referral by your PCP or the ER.

Tell me this. How long have you been getting gall bladder attacks, and have you consulted a surgeon for elective removal? You say, "another evening in the ER" so I assume you've had ample opportunity to consult a surgeon. Why have you not?

I understand your frustration that no one will take out the gall bladder when you're having an attack, but I see people like that all the time in the ER, and more often than not, they have had ample opportunity to deal with the issue (usually months to years) but procrastinate until they once more become symptomatic. Then they get angry and blame the system for not doing what they want when they want it, when they only need to look in the mirror.

And....insurance will cover elective removal.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

19. The pain started last week.

They did a HIDA Scan Friday. The day of hell, as I've been referring to it. I went back to the ER yesterday because the pain was so bad. I just feel it was sadistic not to read the HIDA scan immediately and allow me to consult a surgeon. Instead they originally wanted me to wait until Wednesday to talk to my Gastroenterologist, then consult the surgeon. I've been in horrific pain and it was just lalala give her a pill and let her deal with it. I can't take the pills and work. I have to work in order to live. I'm hoping I'll be able to get some short term disability for this mess or I'm screwn.
It just seems sadistic because we could have done all of this Friday. I was entirely NPO, so reading the HIDA, seeing it was 13.9%, and going, how about we do this now? Should have been the course of action, but no. If I hadn't gone back yesterday I would have had to have waited until Wednesday. I don't have my appointment until Thursday with the surgeon now, but the ER doc gave me Actigall that stops the spasms in the gallbladder and has offered me a bit of relief.
The sadistic part is that this wasn't taken care of in one day. Instead I have to stay unconscious and miss work for another week. It IS a ridiculous system.

[magical thyme]

20. the problem is that the ER is intended for life and death emergencies

With an infection, your life would have been at risk. As it is, they can only do what they can do.

Sunday seemed to be a major emergency day, at least where I work. I know I entered the lab at 6:50 am and was greeted with an ER draw. The 6am tech was also greeted with an ER draw. Between the ER and the in-patients we ran all freakin' morning....I was still finding morning routine reviews that had slipped by the wayside right before it was time for me to go home.

We just had a phlebotomist recover from pancreatitis w/surgery to install a shunt. Now she's working 12 hour shifts, running up and down stairs and to the ER and back and bending over patients while in severe pain while waiting for surgery...for 2 herniated lumbar discs!

Something has got to give. The way things are going, it looks like us ...

[elias7]

26. Not sure how to respond

Your HIDA scan is very abnormal and cholecystectomy will very likely be of great benefit (caveat being that if your pain is not GB related, it won't help).

The problem is you want everything done yesterday and that's not how this or any other medical system works. If this was Canada or Britain, you'd probably be pushed out much further, both in testing and referrals.

I know I don't sound too sympathetic, but when you say, "The sadistic part is that this wasn't taken care of in one day", I see someone wanting something more than is realistic. Most people wouldn't have gotten an ultrasound (I assume you got one), a CT scan (you may have gotten that) and a HIDA scan all in the matter of a few days of new onset abdominal pain. But then, you say you have a Gastroenterologist, so I'm still not clear if this bout of abdominal pain is the first time you've had pain or not.

I send people home in pain all the time: gallstones, kidney stones, broken bones, bad backs, headaches, sprains, bumps, bruises, dental problems, etc. Some need follow-up for more definitive management, some just need to heal. There is just no way to accomodate everyone's needs immediately, despite the impact a medical problem has on their life, level of pain, or ability to work, function or raise a child.

That's why the whole system is triaged to deal with the emergent first, the urgent next, the chronic last. It is realistic, not sadistic, and recognizes that health care workers are people with lives also. I did my stint working 90-120 hours per week for 4 years; I have no desire to make a career out of that kind of schedule to accomodate everybody's immediate gratification needs.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

27. You know how it is when you are in pain.

You want it gone. I'm just bitching, drugged and want my life back.
You don't really have to respond, it's just what I'm going through right now. You could just do what my husband does. He hugs me and gets me a glass of juice.

[elias7]

28. Well why didn't you say so (you probably did)

Some guys take a while to figure things out....

[Egalitarian Thug]

24. K&R. n/t

[Marrah_G]

25. My Dr and her husband, also a Dr. are both proponents of single payer.