Mad as hell and can't take it anymore!

[Highway61]

I really need to get this off my chest.... I returned from a stay in Maine on July 8. I fell ill on July the 9th with what appeared to be flu-like symptoms. By July 10th I was in terrific pain and couldn't stop shaking. On the morning of July 11th the pain was so intense I knew it wasn’t influenza that I was suffering with. It was then I noticed a four-inch raised round rash on my upper left back. It was hot to the touch and perfectly round and very red. I suspected that a tick had bit me, so my husband took me to the emergency room (family doctor was away). A doctor saw me and immediately told me a brown recluse spider had bitten me; not a tick. I told her that we just came back from a few weeks in Maine (I am in New Jersey)and I had never heard of brown recluse existing in Maine. I also told her I suspected Lyme disease and perhaps she should put me on prophylactic doxycycline, just in case. I have been a nurse for twenty-three years and I know what the symptoms are for Lyme disease. She said she was certain it was a recluse spider bite. I had a CBC, blood cultures and a Lyme Test drawn. I knew the Lyme would be negative, as the bands won’t show until at least three weeks after the tick bite and told them that and they did it anyway. I also know doxycycline is the necessary drug of choice and if the patient isn’t on it within three to four weeks after the tick bite the chances of Lyme disease having adverse effects later on is very high. I was given Keflex IV (another antibiotic that is NOT prescribed for Lyme) and sent home with a prescription for Keflex.
By the next morning, July 12th, the rash had greatly increased in size and the pain was even more intense; so I went back to the emergency room and was seen by yet another doctor. He also agreed that it was a brown recluse spider bite, not Lyme. He suggested that perhaps I get admitted and they would do an incision (cut) and drainage to the area!!! I opted not to do so. He told me to continue with the Keflex until it was gone.
I finished taking the Keflex prescription on July 26th. On Sunday July 29th I noticed my rash had not only come back but it came back three times the size and was spreading down my left arm! I called the hospital back and the doctor suggested I have it looked at by my family doctor. I went to see my "family doctor" and I suggested I had Lyme disease and requested doxycycline. He looked at me and wrote a prescription for Keflex....the SAME Rx I was on that DIDN'T work! He knew that and wrote it anyway.
I contacted my dermatologist as soon as I got home and the soonest I could see her was August 2nd. She took one look and said it looked like a typical bull’s eye rash from a tick bite and immediately put me on doxyclycline and ordered a Lyme test. I took the doxyclycline for three weeks THEN had the Lyme Test. The results were as follows:
IGG Western Blots, which have 5 or more of the 10 significant bands, are considered positive. I have 8 Reactive
The IGM Western Blots, which have 2 or more of the 3 significant bands, are considered positive. I have 2 Reactive. I had the results sent to the hospital and my "family doctor".
The results got to my "family doctor" over Labor Day weekend. He called and said my results came back very STRONG for Lyme disease and he wanted to START me on doxycycline.....(7 weeks AFTER the initial bite...remember you have to be on it ASAP after the tick bite).

The first three physicians should have treated me for Lyme disease, which is much more prevalent in both Maine and NJ than Brown Recluse Spider bites. Also, I did not have any necrosis; which should have been a red flag that I was not suffering from a spider bite. I can only hope I caught this in its early stages, only time will tell.
We have incurred substantial medical bills that would not have been necessary had I been diagnosed correctly. Now, we are getting bills totaling over 4K and counting. I sent a letter to the CEO of the hospital and have called...NO RESPONSE! Thankfully, my husband’s health insurance paid a part of these charges. Our co-pay for these bills total over $1200 and we have additional bills coming still.

WHY IS IT WHEN YOU ORDER A PART FOR YOUR CAR OR AN APPLIANCE FOR YOUR HOME ETC...IF IT IS NOT RIGHT OR BROKEN YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK. IN MEDICINE THEY GET PAID PRIMO $$$$ WHEN THEY ARE WRONG???

I have been a nurse all my life and have NEVER seen the system this bad...the wheels have fallen off folks and there is too much $$$ to be made by the guys at the top to fix it.
I love Dennis and will vote for him, but now do you understand why they ALWAYS keep him out of reach and on the back burner??

Thanks, I really needed to vent.

[redqueen]

1. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

I think many people just do not realize how bad things are, because they haven't PERSONALLY been impacted in this way.

Sorry you had to endure all that... hope it was caught early enough to avoid complications later.

:pals:

[Highway61]

4. Thank you

Glad to see you support DK!

[ananda]

2. Pharm kickbacks or bribes for Keflex?

Sounds like it to me.

[catnhatnh]

3. As a ex- EMT I am constantly horrified...

by the tendency of medical personnel to totally disregard all forms of patient input....Little brother had a motorcycle accident that shattered his right hip...on the ambulance ride he told an EMT three times "I'm cold.",only to be told the temperature in the ambulance was "fine".He had to ASK "Do you think maybe I'm going into shock?". At the hospital, he informed everyone who even pretended to listen that his primary pain was in his hip. In X-ray the tech shot his leg and told him it didn't look like anything was broken....Then, for the first time that night, someone (the X-ray tech) actually listened...he called down to the ER and stated he thought he saw something at the very top of the shots and they authorized a hip series that showed what the patient knew before the ambulance arrived...
I wish they would listen to the patients and accept that they are equally invested in a proper diagnosis and possibly more aware of how they are sickened/damaged/broken.....

[Highway61]

5. In the "old" days (Not that long ago)

We did listen to the patients...they were a wealth of information of what was wrong. As I said, the system as a whole has spiraled downward so quickly that the quality is simply gone...it's all about profits....which is why I am no longer a part of the nursing profession.

[catnhatnh]

6. "the quality is simply gone"...

Have you read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" or do you need to? A very interesting look into the characteristics of "quality"...

[Booster]

9. Same here. During the Sars scare, I caught "something" and

ended up with a tempature of 104 - went to the hospital and on the second day I suggested they use an ice blanket. When your temp is 104 an ice blanket feels really really nice. I was shocked though that I had to suggest it. I swear I had Sars,and on my last day the doctor said "I don't have a clue what you have but I'm going to call it typhoid". I had every kind of test you can imagine in machine I ain't never seen before. My own doctor got pissed and said you didn't have typhoid - if you had everybody you know would have it. He was on vacation when I got sick and his assistant took over. After they reported I had typhoid, the State of California called me VERY concerned. I know that damn ice blanket saved my life.

[shadowknows69]

7. Don 't get me started

..........

[Suich]

8. Yikes! Your experience sounds awful.

Did you suffer any adverse effects because of the delay in diagnosing Lyme?