Calls to learn from...

medicnick83

medicnick83

Paramedic
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Okay, so this thread I want to start is my way of warning you guys out there... maybe even if it helps in some form or another.

Basically, when on duty, I deal with situations where things make you realise that X symptom might cause Y problem - obviously! Sometimes, it's not so easy, but sometimes it is.

So if I post something in this thread, it doesn't mean RUSH OFF TO THE DR! It just means; Look, this happened with this patient - keep in in your mind.
This is very much like that thread back in the day with regards to FIRES in Cape Town (I'm sure many of you remember those!)

I'm not going to give anymore details than I have too.

So...

1st call from today

I had to go to a patient to declare him dead (basically so the mortuary can take the body)
What happened was, he had a burning sensation on his chest for a week, "HE" thought it was reflux, went and got himself GAVISCON and anyways, took it, apparently it didn't help much but so he went on.
This gentleman by the way was 58.
That entire week he sat with that burning chest pain sensation - sometimes not to bad (the pain) and other times, it was.
This morning him and his wife were watching TV, he got the pain again, apparently same as always, he took his GAVISCON, wife went to make coffee or something - she left the room - then she heard "OH SHYTE!" coming from the lounge - didn't think much of it, went into the lounge and he was in the chair - unresponsive.
She called the ambulance, and the initial crew found him to be DOA (Dead on Arrival)

Assumption is (I'll never say something DID happen, I'll always say QUERY or ASSUMPTION IS) that he had a MI ("Myocardial Infarction" or "Heart attack" to the lay person)

Please don't self diagnose yourself!!!

If there is pain in your chest and it radiates or is just generally not NORMAL for you - go get yourself checked out!

2nd call for the day

Transport a patient from 1 hospital to another (for a scan and further management)
She has no medical history, just out of the blue got a headache, it was severe! And it didn't go away, even with a couple of painkillers.

She had a sub-arachnoid bleed in the brain (albeit it minor luckily!).

Remember, headaches can be caused from many things, sitting infront of the PC for hours, wearing the wrong glasses etc so don't just assume - but it helps to hear about these things and keep them in mind.

Hopefully, as I post more and more, this thread might just sorta help in some way or another.

Tip!

If you're a bit on the chubby side or dizzy often or have headache (especially pulsating headaches behind the eyes that occur early in the morning) or have blurred vision sometimes or a mixture of the mentioned symptoms - you might have HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE and that can lead to many other problems such as STROKES etc.
If you're doing nothing, go to a dischem and go have them check your blood pressure or if you see an ambulance, ask them if they don't mind doing your blood pressure - they honestly shouldn't say no at all.

Please also, don't take medications unless a DR has told you to take them - many people like to take disprins and such - remember, if you are having pains in your body - there is a reason for that, don't try and muffle the pains (even if they work) because you're not actually solving the problem.
 
Now that i think of it, the same thing happened to my late husband. He walked around for a couple of weeks with what he thought was indigestion. When he went to the doctor it turned out to be a mild heart attack.

The problem about posts like these is it's like reading a medical book where you suddenly have all the symptoms of at least one fatal disease.
 
self diagnosis & medication are not a good idea, too many people attempt this - far varying reasons.

my father was having indigestion / reflux "issues" for some time - didn't want to go to the doctor, and chose to self medicate.
this went on for some time, deputes my & my mother's protests he continued for some time.

the parents were on holiday in monaco, father suddenly went into pain spasms, was taken to hospital.
doctors told him to leave immediately for home & once there have his doctor contact the hospital (apparently, they did not want to say too much without conducting a full and extensive examination.
doctor contacted the hospital, sent my father for some tests - cancer of the transverse colon.
was referred to an oncologist, further tests revealed urgent surgery was required.

father admitted to hospital ( he always had a phobia about surgery & dying in theatre) underwent surgery - that should have taken around 90 minutes.
surgeon appeared after about half an hour, to tell me there was nothing at all he could do, attempting to continue with surgery carried too high a risk.

had a chat to the surgeon as to his estimation of time left for my father.
"i would estimate, in my experience, about 2 weeks" was the answer.

father comes out of anaesthesia, asks if everything is good now.

he was dead 12 days later
 
Last edited:
grantza said:
self diagnosis & medication are not a good idea, too many people attempt this - far varying reasons.

my father was having indigestion / reflux "issues" for some time - didn't want to go to the doctor, and chose to self medicate.
this went on for some time, deputes my & my mother's protests he continued for some time.

the parents were on holiday in monaco, father suddenly went into pain spasms, was taken to hospital.
doctors told him to leave immediately for home & once there have his doctor contact the hospital (apparently, they did not want to say too much without conducting a full and extensive examination.
doctor contacted the hospital, sent my father for some tests - cancer of the transverse colon.
was referred to an oncologist, further tests revealed urgent surgery was required.

father admitted to hospital ( he always had a phobia about surgery & dying in theatre) underwent surgery - that should have taken around 90 minutes.
surgeon appeared after about half an hour, to tell me there was nothing at all he could do, attempting to continue with surgery carried to high a risk.

had a chat to the surgeon as to his estimation of time left for my father.
"i would estimate, in my experience, about 2 weeks" was the answer.

father comes out of anaesthesia, asks if everything is good now.

he was dead 12 days later
Click to expand...

:( My condolences.

Having had a similar experience last year with my own father last year I can relate to the mindset somewhat.. Luckily he made it and is still with us, but logically should not have made it past July.
 
What Are the Symptoms of Appendicitis?

The classic symptoms of appendicitis include:

Dull pain near the navel or the upper abdomen that becomes sharp as it moves to the lower right abdomen. This is usually the first sign.
Loss of appetite
Nausea and/or vomiting soon after abdominal pain begins
Abdominal swelling
Fever of 99-102 degrees Fahrenheit
Inability to pass gas
Click to expand...
If the above applies...hospital fast. Heard of too many cases that were really close shaves on this.
 
I had terrible chest pain this morning so bad that I couldn't even lift my chest or turn around. Couldn't use my left arm and still its damn sore.

Went to the closest private hospital they took a Bp test and it was 140 / 79 and that was it. Told me everything is fine and I can go home.

Will go to my gp tomorrow as I am still having chest pains.
 
DigitalSoldier said:
I had terrible chest pain this morning so bad that I couldn't even lift my chest or turn around. Couldn't use my left arm and still its damn sore.

Went to the closest private hospital they took a Bp test and it was 140 / 79 and that was it. Told me everything is fine and I can go home.

Will go to my gp tomorrow as I am still having chest pains.
Click to expand...

Ask them to do a ECG (12 lead) - but the best way to get the best results is to do the ECG while you having the chest pains - when the chest pains are not there - nothing will show on the ECG unless there is 'damage'
I don't think a GP (or in general) has a 12 lead ECG machine readily available.
Did the private hospital do a ECG?
 
ADVISE!

ECG!

This is a very important tool, especially when it comes to CHEST PAINS.
But in most cases - it's best to have a ECG done WHILE you having chest pains for the best results.
3 lead ECG's are ok, but not the best way (they look at the heart from 3 directions)
12 lead ECG's are the best because they look at the heart from 12 different angles and thus can tell you much more.

Once you have had a 12 lead ECG, request a copy and keep it, show other DR's if you are able... I've seen many DR's look at ECG print outs and not see anything where others have.

DR's are like car mechanics... that's honestly how I look at them, some are brilliant and others are ... NOT!
 
I used to get moderate chest pain after my afternoon 5km runs, didn't think much of it as it usually went away. One day it didnt, but I still ignored it. After a week of constant pain (not too severe mind you) I went to the GP. She gave me some pain meds and put it down to intercostal (sp?) muscle swelling, or at worst a bruised rib. A week later it was still there, now a bit worse. I went back to the GP who sent me for an xray to see what was up, since ECG appeared totally normal.

Turns out I had a collapsed lung (Pneumothorax). Spontaneous, out of the blue, just sommer happened. I've since dealt with many more, but at the first sign of serious chest pain I'm off to casualty, just in case.

Same thing happened to my father, also chest pain but not too bad. Long and the short of it, one night it got to the point where he called me asking to be taken to hospital at 10pm on a Saturday evening, that's when we knew it was serious. After many hours in different machines, it was a blood clots in the lungs. He told us he'd been ignoring the pain for quite a while before it got severe, he was very lucky that it was something treatable.
 
gdiza said:
Ask them to do a ECG (12 lead) - but the best way to get the best results is to do the ECG while you having the chest pains - when the chest pains are not there - nothing will show on the ECG unless there is 'damage'
I don't think a GP (or in general) has a 12 lead ECG machine readily available.
Did the private hospital do a ECG?
Click to expand...

Hospital only did a Bp test.

My gp did do an ECG and then they asked me to climb stairs and did an ECG again.

Then they did a blood test one of the things on the list was for an SST test. According to the gp my heart is not getting enough oxygen or something like that. Waiting for all the blood tests but they want me to come back on Friday for another ECG in the meantime not allowed to do any exercise. Not allowed to go run or play squash.
 
Okay, so the last cycle saw some things I want to mention to you guys;

1. Medical Aids

These are frackers! You need to check on your medical and and see what they cover, don't cover depending on your situation.
For example; You have a wife or daughter or some that is suffering from depression - long term issue, and bam, they try to commit suicide.
One minute you think YOU covered but then the MA said NO you not.
Or you think you covered with this, but you not covered with THAT, but you covered with THAT other thing you never use.
If you have been with your medical aid for years, check up on what is covered and what is not covered - get them to confirm it in a e-mail or paper or something.
If you have a new medical aid, double check, don't assume.
What hospitals can you goto if you have X problem or Y problem.

2. High blood pressures

Too many patients taken to hospital with very high BP's - query strokes!

3. Diabetics

Life gets away with you and you forget your medications - for the love of GOD, TAKE YOUR MEDICATIONS!
If you running out, don't wait to the last few pills, go a week or 2 in advance.
If you going on holiday, speak to your DR about getting 'extra' meds for the duration.

4. Siezures (Epileptics)

Haven't had one in a while? You damn well take your medication! Do not stop unless directed to do so by a doctor!
So many people, especially kids (or young adults) stop taking their meds because they haven't had a seizure in a while and think they don't need the meds... yasus kid... I can klap you! :mad:

5. Know your blood type

If possible, try find out your blood type - this is good for if a family needs emergency blood.

I'd like to mention something - not sure if it's still valid, still waiting for feed back BUT

If you donate blood, and are in hospital and need blood, you don't pay for blood.
BLOOD IS *** EXPENSIVE PEOPLE!!! So, go and donate, even if you scared of needles, I don't care - because when YOU need it, it's not going to cost you a fortune!
 
Oh, another one

NUMBERS ON YOUR HOUSE !!!!

So many houses don't have numbers, or it's not visible at all.
Please go and look, try see it from my side.
I come into your road and am looking for your house number, if it's hidden by a bush or not on at all, the ambulance you waiting for is going to take longer to get to you.
We have to request a call back or whatever and that's a delay of 5 minutes!
If you a private person, you also don't want us to revert to making the siren noise to get your attention to come outside and meet us because if you hear the siren, the neighbors do too and we all know what BISS people are like.
 
My neighbour died of a heart attack 20 min after the doc sent him home and told him to come back on Monday if he didn't feel better (it was a Saturday morning). He was in his 70's with the burning sensation you spoke of in your first post.

Some people just don't give a shiz, so it can be understood why people choose to self-medicate or avoid unnecessary expensive visits to a doc, especially the way medical aid is being abused by some and why medical aids keep giving less and less for your money's worth
 
envo said:
My neighbour died of a heart attack 20 min after the doc sent him home and told him to come back on Monday if he didn't feel better (it was a Saturday morning). He was in his 70's with the burning sensation you spoke of in your first post.
Click to expand...

In state hospitals, this happens alot because they need to make space - the idea here is, if they are not symptomatic, they can go home.
Obviously, I can't speak for DR's and the way they do things, but I have asked why some patients are just sent home and many times it's because they are 'fine' and not showing any 'symptoms' and are sent home to make 'space' for those coming in.

State hospitals get such bad names, but man oh man, they are insanely busy - where a private hospital sees (generally on average I'm guessing) about 20 people a day - government hospitals see 100 to 200 (even more) so maybe you can understand... it's rough! So I do feel for them.

But, I bet you, if those patients happened to be a DR's family member, they would fight tooth and nail for them to stay in hospital and get treated properly - sadly, we are all not that lucky - if a DR discharges you, go home and see what happens.
 
/subscribes

Thanks for the tips.

My general rules towards any condition are:
1) if you feel pain that you don't normally feel (and it isn't self induced e.g. gym, bumping your body against it, hangover etc.), have it checked out.
2) Do it earlier than later, especially us South Africans that have the hardegat attitude.
3) If you don't feel well, don't go and exercise. I've known too many people that have heart damage due to exercising when having flu.
4) You are not a doctor( unless you are one ). Google will only tell you what you are 'dying' from if you google your symptoms. Doctors study and practice to be able to make a diagnosis.
5) Know your family medical history.
 
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