gr@sshopper

So, I went down on my mtn bike today. took the bar in the gut, left side, top of the obliques/abs.

its a couple hours later, I'm still nauseated, not too bad though. Can't afford to go to the ER and be told that I'm fine, but I'm a little concerned. Anybody want to offer a go to the hospital cut off time on the nausea, or am I just a baby?

Enthalpic

Note the location of the organ; damage to the spleen is one of the more serious impact injuries. Medical aid is cheap in the grand scheme of things. Go.

gr@sshopper

Right, there's a very good answer. Sounds like a trip to the doc's is in order.

valygrl

+1 - my friend ruptured her spleen in exactly that way. Don't save $ and lose your life.

jpatkinson

You don't have to drop the serious coin associated with the ED -- you can go see a doctor in a clinic, and get a thorough exam and see what they think. A clinic doc can still order diagnostic tests to see how your spleen is doing! Definitely worth a visit!!

unbelievably

https://www.videosift.com/video/SiCKO-Full-Documentary

DrPete 

And what diagnostic tests are those? Last I checked the only reliable way to evaluate splenic injuries was a CT scan, or admission and serial hematocrits/abdominal exams. And what diagnostic tests will the clinic order to exclude the rectus sheath hematoma, the pancreatic pseudocyst, the blunt small bowel injury, and the liver hematoma? The best way to expeditiously evaluate blunt abdominal trauma is in an ER.

At any rate, persistent nausea/abdominal pain following blunt trauma to the abdomen is NOT a good thing. There are several possibilities that can/should be checked out.

It might just be nothing, but it's really not worth taking the chance. Get evaluated and be sure.

DrPete 

Next time you need medical attention, try going to Michael Moore and let us know how that works out for ya.

dr. nate

Not being able to pay the medical bill is nothing new to the hospital, if the tax payers can spring for every crack head that OD's and knocks up his girlfriend for the 100th time, then I'm sure your problem will be welcomed (since you actually work).

Dr_Robert

unbelievably

To me, it seems inherently wrong that this is a concern of the OP's.
He needs medical treatment and is concerned he might not be able to pay for it...

The American medical system(business) has failed it's people...bottom line.

kensuf

I can see the t-shirt now.

"I called Michael Moore to take me to the doctor, and I wound up in Gitmo."

indygreg

This has the potential of being a really BS blanket statement.

If you know your co-pay for a visit to the ER is XX or your out of pocket is YY and you do not keep that much saved somewhere, some of that has to fall on you. Too many people in this country that cannot afford health care (or make choices like this) have flat screen TV's, spend $100 on beer or starbucks or cigs or whatever, have a cool camera phone, . . . list goes on and on.

I know so many people that are in debt and have cut various health/dental/vision insurance to the bare bones . . . but spend like they are a pro sports star.

This may not be the OP's situation, but you and I both do not know all the facts.


To OP - my brother in law was a college baseball player and took a railing (dugout) to the midsection. He had many of the same symptoms as you. Being a hard ***** athlete, he tried to do nothing about it. He was on the floor of his bathroom when his roommate called 911. Ruptured spleen. He is lucky he had a roommate.

unbelievably

I know this is not the place let alone the forum to be advocating socialized medicine.
However, I do believe that those who discredit SiCKO as a one sided avenue will loose in the end.
The American agenda of war and corporate globalization is the disintegration of western society.

gr@sshopper

We're all good, and no CT thankfully.

I usually do keep a "bike accident" fund, but blue cross is giving me **** about the CT and Xrays from endoing last month, so that's empty till I get reimbursed (which I hope is soon).

Lesson? Stick to my road bike. I don't fall off so much!

valygrl

Glad to hear you are OK.

oilman_15106

But Michael Moore did stay in a Holiday Inn Express.

DrPete 

Uh, there's nothing two-sided about anything Michael Moore has created in recent memory. While there's some truth and validity to some of the statements, they're made in the classic slight-bending-of-the-real-facts style that Moore is so famous for. And on the other side are the insurance companies. Logic, reason, and the best treatment of the patient lie somewhere between the two poles.

Bottom line is that ER's will see patients for free. The reimbursement rate for trauma sits right around 20-25%, so the hospitals are used to eating a good portion of the cost.

DrPete 

Glad you're feeling OK. If in the next couple days your pain comes back and/or gets worse, get to an ER ASAP.

Scorer75

I hate to say this and thankfully have never resorted to this, but I have always said that if I was in the position where I needed an Emergency Room and could not afford it, I would simply give a false name, address, and whatever other info was required.

I made this decision after volunteering in an ER and watching all the people on government support use the ER (and the 911 system) as a taxicab and clinic. They would come into the ER with the simplest medical issues. The ambulance had to take them once they showed up, and the ER cannot turn them away. It didn't matter to them since they would never see the bills anyways.

Again, I have never done this, but would as a last resort.

superslomo

I think that might count as fraud.

Bobby Lex

There ain't no free lunch (or free medical care, either).

Bob

ri_us

Gr@sshopper, it's this simple. If you put it off it will cost you a lot more (both money and pain) than if you don't. You have a bike and an internet account, and computer so you're not broke. You're probably just a bad budgeter. What better could you spend your money on than health care?

MONGO!

There is in almost every other developed country in the world...

It's about time the US government got it's priorities straight.

DrPete 

Uh, taxes, anyone? I'm sure a socialized health care system would be the political death of whoever raised taxes to pay for it.