6 ms·

I went to one of those urgent care places once. I had food poisoning, but I'd never had it before and thought I was dying. Here's what happened: - I had to si

by _bxg1 7y ago

I went to one of those urgent care places once. I had food poisoning, but I'd never had it before and thought I was dying. Here's what happened: - I had to sit and fill out paperwork for 20 minutes before being admitted - They put an IV in me and gave me something "for nausea" - The nausea medication had an extreme anxiety-inducing effect (and I was of course already anxious), which they didn't explain until it was happening. I physically couldn't relax my muscles because of the meds. It was nightmarish. And only after I mentioned this did they add some Benadryl in there to offset it. - The doctor had no idea what could be wrong (again, I realized later it was food poisoning; they couldn't figure this out) but offered me an MRI (??). Luckily, even in my extremely anxious state (which had been increased since I arrived), I knew that was a ridiculous course of action. - They sent me home. I received a bill in the mail for $3,500, of which my insurance paid about half. I will never, ever go to one of those again. You shouldn't either unless you're bleeding out on the floor.

ihattendorf 7y ago
> You shouldn't either unless you're bleeding out on the floor. That's the thing though, they aren't for life threatening emergencies.
TheAdamAndChe 7y ago
Here's my anecdote: I twisted my ankle while running a 5K and thought I broke something. I hobbled in, signed some paperwork, and waited a few minutes because my injury wasn't life-threatening. My leg was examined by a nurse practitioner and it was determined that it was most likely sprained. Told to rest, take Tylenol for pain, and return if things got worse and they would do an x-ray. My ankle healed and I was fine. Bill after insurance? $200, which isn't bad here. This is what an urgent care is for in the US: non-life threatening care that isn't an emergency but can't wait until your next visit with your primary care physician. If you think you're dying, go to the ER.
- ThePowerOfFuet 7y ago
  Here's my anecdote: I've lived in three different countries in my life and, despite seeing a doctor when needed, I have never even so much as seen a medical bill in any of them, let alone had to pay one.

by _bxg1 7y ago

ihattendorf 7y ago

> You shouldn't either unless you're bleeding out on the floor. That's the thing though, they aren't for life threatening emergencies.

TheAdamAndChe 7y ago

Here's my anecdote: I twisted my ankle while running a 5K and thought I broke something. I hobbled in, signed some paperwork, and waited a few minutes because my injury wasn't life-threatening. My leg was examined by a nurse practitioner and it was determined that it was most likely sprained. Told to rest, take Tylenol for pain, and return if things got worse and they would do an x-ray. My ankle healed and I was fine. Bill after insurance? $200, which isn't bad here. This is what an urgent care is for in the US: non-life threatening care that isn't an emergency but can't wait until your next visit with your primary care physician. If you think you're dying, go to the ER.

ThePowerOfFuet 7y ago
Here's my anecdote: I've lived in three different countries in my life and, despite seeing a doctor when needed, I have never even so much as seen a medical bill in any of them, let alone had to pay one.