I am in the US, so financial calculations need to be factored in.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe, felt like I was going to die, then vomitted.

Now heart beating slightly off, not feeling great but not terrible, had mild chest pain earlier in evening…

Kinda feel off. Have medical insurance with large deductible.

Ignore it? Taxi to ER? Call 911? Genuinely don’t know and don’t like 911 since police are involved.

Also I feel hot, feel burning around my neck.

  • zkfcfbzr@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    > Makes thread asking if you should go to the ER

    > Literally everyone says to go to the ER

    > Doesn’t go to the ER

    ok

  • Fondots@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    Genuinely don’t know and don’t like 911 since police are involved.

    911 dispatcher in the US here

    This will vary a lot from one jurisdiction to another, I can really only speak to county I work in

    But while in theory every EMS call also gets a police response, probably more than half of them the only action the police take is to tell us “not responding unless requested”

    And if they do respond, a lot of time they don’t do much besides sit at the end of the driveway with their lights flashing so the ambulance can find the house easier.

    Things like overdoses, assaults, shootings/stabbings, psych emergencies, cardiac arrests, etc. they do of course show up to because they may actually need to do something.

    And if you live in a bigger city or rougher part of the suburbs, sometimes they may even take their sweet-ass time getting to those.

    And if you live in a rural area, there’s a decent chance you’re covered by some part time or regional police department, or state police/county sheriffs who are stretched way too thin covering a huge area with maybe 2 or 3 officers on duty at any one time, they’re probably not gonna show up in a hurry if at all either.

    Like I said, it varies a lot, some towns in my county I can count on police being there before the ambulance (whether or not they actually do anything once they’re there in a different story) and in others the cops don’t give half a fuck unless someone is actively dying.

    If you do find yourself calling 911 though, for the love of God, don’t tell them you don’t want police on your medical call, I swear that might be the most surefire way to make sure they do actually show up in a hurry. If that ends up in the notes of the call it makes the cops think you’re hiding something or I don’t know, planning to jump the EMS squad or something, some cops can be pretty panicky, paranoid weirdos like that, or sometimes just spiteful.

    • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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      25 days ago

      some cops can be pretty panicky, paranoid weirdos like that, or sometimes just spiteful.

      And this is why we never want the police involved.

    • troglodytis@lemmy.world
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      25 days ago

      Hope ya didn’t die.

      For those in a similar situation the correct answer is Uber to a hospital ER. Do not use stand alone ERs. Chest pain gets ya to the front of the line.

      • lennybird@lemmy.world
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        25 days ago

        This. They’ll hook you up immediately to an ECG to see the state of your heart in the moment and draw blood for labs to check for signs of a recent heart attack or clot issue (trops, d-dimer, etc.). If ischemic heart attack, you’ll be rushed to cath lab. Urgent Care doesn’t have the resources to do this and will likely re-route to a hospital anyway, charging you separately in addition.

    • secretlyaddictedtolinux@lemmy.worldOP
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      25 days ago

      I live in the US

      We have to weigh the cost of a medical visit versus the likelihood it’s nothing

      If it’s food poisoning and I overreact, that’s a 20K overreaction in the US

        • mmmac@lemmy.zip
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          25 days ago

          If you don’t have insurance, you would get hit with this.

          However, in most states I’ve lived in, if you don’t have insurance, you get off with less than I’d end up paying in copay after subsidies/negotiations.

  • kamills@sh.itjust.works
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    25 days ago

    Seek medical attention now!

    Your life is worth much more than the price for emergency care <3

    Seek medical attention now!

    • Mearuu@kbin.melroy.org
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      25 days ago

      If they ask for social just refuse to give it. You don’t even need to give them your real name. They still must treat you.

      The last time I was in an American ER they asked for my social before starting to work on me. I told them, very angrily, that I will never give them that info because the last time I did, and paid my bill, it still showed up on my credit report as a collection. It took months to remove. The nurse asking me said okay with no further problems. They began treatment immediately.

  • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    This sounds like GERD/acid reflux, which I am unfortunately far too familiar with. Go see a doctor.

    If it takes too long to see a GI specialist, there are OTC acid reducers like omeprazole you can start in the interim. They take a while to see results, especially if the reflux has injured your esophagus.

  • LucidiaDiamond@lemm.ee
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    24 days ago

    I always ask myself, “is this worth driving across town and waiting in a gross lobby for 4 hours?”

  • LadyButterflyshe/her@lazysoci.al
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    24 days ago

    Really sorry you don’t have healthcare! Have you tried the NHS symptoms checker?. You don’t need to be eligible for NHS treatment to use it, you don’t even register. IME they are a bit trigger happy with saying you need to get checked out but it will hopefully give you a steer. Good luck

  • Dorkyd68@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    Sounds almost identical to my panic attacks. But im no dr, go see one if you don’t feel better