Emergency Room Nightmare
Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2020 2:11 pm
Some of you may have noticed that I have not posted anything on the board for almost two weeks. The reason is because an Emergency Room doctor decided that I was suicidal and a danger to myself, so he had me involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. The commitment was supposed to only be for a 72hr "observation", but the psych hospital did everything they could to keep me there and it eventually was extended to almost 8 days (including Christmas and a weekend).
On the Monday evening before Christmas, my RLS decided to kick into high gear. There was no way that I my legs were going to let me fall asleep that night, the weather was freezing cold so I could not go out for a walk and my mood was somewhat down as a result of the after effects of an experiment with Wellbutrin over Thanksgiving that had been a total disaster. I asked my wife to call my psychiatrist's after hours phone number thinking that she might be able to provide something that would help me fall asleep. After all, she was the one that had prescribed the Wellbutrin that started my journey down this path and she was familiar with my situation. As it turned out, the after hours number that I asked my wife to call was the local hospital's Emergency Room. My wife was told to bring me to the ER for help. I agreed to go (big mistake on my part) thinking that the ER would be able to contact my psychiatrist to get advice on what needed to be done to help me.
In the ER, I was asked very vague questions about suicide, which I answered honestly. I was never directly asked if I intended to commit suicide or had suicidal intent. But based upon my answers, the ER doctor decided that I was suicidal and issued the 72 hr hold. I was put into a vehicle similar to a police car (bars on windows and very little leg room in the back seat) and was sent to a hospital that was about 180 miles away). I arrived there at about 5A.
When I got to the hospital, when I got my first round of RLS meds, I found out that Tramadol was not on the hospital's formulary, so they simply decided not to give it to me. Several hours later, my hands started to shake and my legs started to become restless. Over the next several hours, the shaking continued to get worse and worse. Toward the end, I was sweating and shaking so bad that I could not walk. I could only curl up in a ball and shake, much like the classic videos of an addict coming off of heroin. All the hospital staff did was tell me to "hang in there" and you will get the other half of your RLS meds in a few hours.
My shaking finally ended about an hour before I was supposed to get the other half of my RLS meds (methadone). I declined the methadone when offered because I have opioid-induced insomnia and taking methadone at 8P would prevent me from getting any sleep until 6A. Since I only had the few meds in my system that I had been given at lunchtime, I ended up walking around the psych ward for hours and hours most of Christmas Eve.
There were other nightmarish issues that occurred before I finally returned home late on New Years Eve. But they are not relevant to my warning:
If you are a severe or very severe RLS patient and need to go to the ER for any reason, be very careful how you respond to any questions about suicide or mood and make it very clear that you are not a suicide risk (unless your are there because you do feel like a suicide risk). Keep in mind that may areas have laws that allow a physician to place a 72 hr hold on you, which essentially means that you are being placed under what feels like a "medical arrest", you will not be allowed to go home or leave the facility where you will be sent and you will feel like you have essentially no rights.
I am still emotionally recovering from this experience and am trying to put my life back together after this "experience". Therefore, for a while, I will not be posting as often as usual.
On the Monday evening before Christmas, my RLS decided to kick into high gear. There was no way that I my legs were going to let me fall asleep that night, the weather was freezing cold so I could not go out for a walk and my mood was somewhat down as a result of the after effects of an experiment with Wellbutrin over Thanksgiving that had been a total disaster. I asked my wife to call my psychiatrist's after hours phone number thinking that she might be able to provide something that would help me fall asleep. After all, she was the one that had prescribed the Wellbutrin that started my journey down this path and she was familiar with my situation. As it turned out, the after hours number that I asked my wife to call was the local hospital's Emergency Room. My wife was told to bring me to the ER for help. I agreed to go (big mistake on my part) thinking that the ER would be able to contact my psychiatrist to get advice on what needed to be done to help me.
In the ER, I was asked very vague questions about suicide, which I answered honestly. I was never directly asked if I intended to commit suicide or had suicidal intent. But based upon my answers, the ER doctor decided that I was suicidal and issued the 72 hr hold. I was put into a vehicle similar to a police car (bars on windows and very little leg room in the back seat) and was sent to a hospital that was about 180 miles away). I arrived there at about 5A.
When I got to the hospital, when I got my first round of RLS meds, I found out that Tramadol was not on the hospital's formulary, so they simply decided not to give it to me. Several hours later, my hands started to shake and my legs started to become restless. Over the next several hours, the shaking continued to get worse and worse. Toward the end, I was sweating and shaking so bad that I could not walk. I could only curl up in a ball and shake, much like the classic videos of an addict coming off of heroin. All the hospital staff did was tell me to "hang in there" and you will get the other half of your RLS meds in a few hours.
My shaking finally ended about an hour before I was supposed to get the other half of my RLS meds (methadone). I declined the methadone when offered because I have opioid-induced insomnia and taking methadone at 8P would prevent me from getting any sleep until 6A. Since I only had the few meds in my system that I had been given at lunchtime, I ended up walking around the psych ward for hours and hours most of Christmas Eve.
There were other nightmarish issues that occurred before I finally returned home late on New Years Eve. But they are not relevant to my warning:
If you are a severe or very severe RLS patient and need to go to the ER for any reason, be very careful how you respond to any questions about suicide or mood and make it very clear that you are not a suicide risk (unless your are there because you do feel like a suicide risk). Keep in mind that may areas have laws that allow a physician to place a 72 hr hold on you, which essentially means that you are being placed under what feels like a "medical arrest", you will not be allowed to go home or leave the facility where you will be sent and you will feel like you have essentially no rights.
I am still emotionally recovering from this experience and am trying to put my life back together after this "experience". Therefore, for a while, I will not be posting as often as usual.