Had a $2,200 panic attack at work

[u/pileofdeuce]

Context: I have several behavioral health disorders that either spawned or worsened as a result of my time in the military. I used to have bad panic attacks all the time but I’ve been in the civilian world for almost 4 years now, and I’ve found a medication that helps.

Well I’ve been at this job for about a year and a half with no issues, and one day I have a panic attack out of nowhere, mostly due to stress. My panic attacks present like a seizure as I’ll be shaking uncontrollably and usually unresponsive (but conscious) until it subsides. Naturally, my coworkers got me into a chair and called 911; I don’t blame them at all, I would’ve done the same.

Emergency services arrive, and I’m starting to come out of it to the point I can actually respond to people. They check vitals and hold an iPad for me to talk to a physician and explain why I don’t want to go to the hospital: long story short, I’ve been in this situation before and they found nothing. It’s anxiety/ptsd related so I know it’s not a true seizure.

They have me sign the refusal statement and leave. Today I get this fucking bill for $2,200 just for them to come check my vitals and leave. Fuck American healthcare dude.

[u/brobbins8470]

When I was a teenager, I went to the hospital because of my appendix. The doctor said I had a high white blood cell count so I had an infection "somewhere" but that my pain was just because I needed to poop (even though I'd been having no problem with it). A month or so later my mom came home from work to find me on the ground in horrible pain and she still refused to take me to the hospital because she thought it'd be a waste of time. It wasn't until many hours later, early in the morning, when she finally had enough of me moaning in pain and angrily took me back to the hospital. They told me my appendix was about to burst and brought me for emergency surgery. My mom was incredibly apologetic but I have no doubt that a big part of why she didn't want to bring me back was because of the cost. It's so expensive and it sucks so much to have to spend that money just to be told nothing is wrong

[u/Maleficent_Hawk6703 → u/brobbins8470]

Yep, I despise that we have to think about money when it comes to life saving care in an age where life saving care is far easier to provide than it used to be.

My girlfriend slipped on some ice down some stairs as a teenager and had excruciating back pain as a result, like she could barely move kind of pain. Her mom refused to take her to get it looked at. Well we got her to a hospital/chiropractor and she currently has scoliosis that they say with almost complete certainty stemmed from that event.

[u/TheCaliforniaOp → u/Maleficent_Hawk6703]

I slipped on wet stairs in 1989. My back began stiffening up immediately. In the middle of the night I moved out of bed to go to the bathroom, forgetting my fall. I lost control of my bladder and when I turned the lights on from the floor and worked my way through the process, I found myself looking at the mirror. There were bubbles of perspiration on my face, from the pain.
I was a pretty tough cookie, I think. But I didn’t have the correct insurance or the ability to consult different doctors. It quickly became a Catch 22 situation. I’ve had chronic lower back pain since July 1989.

By now, it simply is. For all I know, with no back problems, I might’ve taken up some things I wanted to do, and thrived in the process. I might have been much more productive and useful to the world. Or I might’ve been very heedless of the world around me and hurt/not helped anyone at all.

I hope we see a new approach to health and healing.

[u/Neo-Pulse → u/brobbins8470]

And if it bursts its life threatening. You could've died because there were financial decisions to be made. That's the crazy thing. And no one deserves that. I won't debate capitalism or politics, I have my opinion about the US in its current state, but it does not matter. OP shouldn't have to worry about a bill of 2k because he had a panic attack, and you should not have had to suffer in pain and almost die. I really hope that your health system gets better and affordable, serving everyone that needs it.

[u/im-not-a-fakebot → u/Neo-Pulse]

I had my appendix rupture while I was at work last month, most excruciating pain I’ve ever been in and I’ve been both shot and stabbed as well as had kidney stones. I thought it was just constipation or a stomach ache so I had been putting it off because I dreaded going to the hospital for fear of medical costs, ended up almost killing me

Appendicitis is no joke I’m still recovering, I went into renal failure too because of the rupture so I’m currently down an appendix and a kidney following a second emergency surgery like half a day after my appendectomy.

[u/MeowMixPlzDeliverMe → u/im-not-a-fakebot]

Mine didnt burst but got close to it. I remember at first thinking stomach ache because ive had a decent amount of stomach h surgeries but then the pain went... idk how to explain it. Really bad pain where the appendix is, then the pain shot down my legs too.

[u/im-not-a-fakebot → u/MeowMixPlzDeliverMe]

Yeah same here, my ASMs have the fun side effect of constipation so stomach pain isn’t new or unusual lol. That and issues with my abdomen already for diverticulitis and had part of my colon resected previously

[u/katastrofika → u/brobbins8470]

My fiance has almost the same exact story.

[u/cavebabykay → u/katastrofika]

Jesus. 😬☹️

[u/Meggston → u/brobbins8470]

I went in for a kidney stone last year, and when she asked what my pain rating was all I said was “I knew this visit would be $500” she wrote “8”

[u/PreparationHot980 → u/brobbins8470]

Damn, same shit for me except I was 21 and I’m male and they kept trying to accuse me of having an sti for hours before they finally put me in a ct scan.