I want/need some immediate results on chest x-ray, lungs, etc. - Should I go to ER?

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TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
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So I've been having lung/chest/sternum/rib pain for maybe 2 weeks. Just thought it was heartburn or infection or something. I'm not coughing or anything though. I just tired with a sore/heavy/itchy chest. Now it's gotten quite a bit worse.

Anywho, I leave on vacation in 3 days and don't have a primary care doctor b/c I switched insurance. I have a $150 co-pay for ER. Can/Should I go into the ER and they'll take my blood tests and chest xray, EKG, etc.? I feel like by the time I find a doctor, they order tests, x-rays, results, etc. it's going to take forever and it's still going to cost the same b/c I have a $20 co-pay for every appointment I go to.

Should I just go to the ER? I mean if they can do it all in a few hours with the $150 then it's not a bad deal.
 
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waggy

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
meh. i wouldn't go to ER it clogs it up for real emergancy's. go to Urgent care.
 
techs

techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
28,559
4
0
Many (most) insurance plans won't cover ER without it being a real emergency and/or preapproval.

So you might have to pay the whole ER bill yourself.
 
Triumph

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
the emergency room is for EMERGENCIES. it isn't a 24 hour no appointment necessary doctor's office. i volunteer in the ER and i see it all the time, people come in and ask, "How long is the wait?" like it's a restaurant. if you have to ask that question, you don't belong here. go to the urgent care.
 
Uppsala9496

Uppsala9496

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 2001
5,272
19
81
If you are having chest pains, go to the ER.
Call any doc or urgent care center and they are going to tell you the same thing. Not something to mess around with.
 
Dirigible

Dirigible

Diamond Member
Apr 26, 2006
5,961
32
91
Triumph said:
the emergency room is for EMERGENCIES. it isn't a 24 hour no appointment necessary doctor's office. i volunteer in the ER and i see it all the time, people come in and ask, "How long is the wait?" like it's a restaurant. if you have to ask that question, you don't belong here. go to the urgent care.
Click to expand...

I hear this advice frequently. But I have no idea where this "the urgent care" is or how to find it or if it even exists.

Closest I get is calling my doctor early and trying to get a same day appt.
 
T

TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
0
Well the urgent care is not going to be setup with specialists and x-ray and CT (if needed) and all that stuff. A hospital ER will. The urgent care is there to help you if you don't have a doc or get hurt/sick after hours and need someone to write you a prescription IMO. I'm sure if I went to urgent care with my desribed symptons they'd send me to ER for chest x-ray.
I have a feeling it will cost me more than $150 though. Apparently that's just my co-pay to get in. After that I cover 10% until I reach my out of pocket max for the year. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I've had other family costs this year and am probably near my max anyway.
 
OverVolt

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
I get the same thing, its due to posture or how I sleep. If I straighten my back out and sit up straight for a day or two it feels better.

Its like my lung is getting pushed on wrong and it hurts when I breathe in, sometimes even a sharp pain.

Go lay down 30min with a straight back, breath properly with your stomach, etc. Sheesh. First time I ever felt the sharp pain as a teenager I thought it was a heart attack or something LOL. I've had MRI's and X-rays since then and nothing ever shows up. I'm fine. Its just the posture/muscles.

Anyway if its getting worse definitely get it checked out. How fast is up to you. But try laying out flat and breathing with your belly, see if it helps.

The pain makes you want to do the opposite and kind if curl up. If you keep a good posture and breathe right, it should help. Takes 30min-1hr to begin feeling better.
 
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Rockinacoustic

Platinum Member
Aug 19, 2006
2,460
0
76
A primary care or urgent care physician isn't going to be able order labs on the spot, and may just refer you to a specialist. If your symptoms are worsening to the point it's hampering your daily activities, go to the ER.
 
Jeff7

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
Uppsala9496 said:
If you are having chest pains, go to the ER.
Call any doc or urgent care center and they are going to tell you the same thing. Not something to mess around with.
Click to expand...
These bodies are a damned pain in the ass. I had some odd chest pain awhile back, like a golf ball was somewhere under my rib cage - quite unlike anything I'd felt before. An ambulance ride and a night in the hospital later, and about $1000, no one had any idea what it was. I did find out that nitro severely drops my blood pressure. I was lying down, fortunately, and I lost feeling in my limbs, was nearly unable to move, and almost passed out.
Results of it all: Heart was fine, nothing odd on the x-rays...:\
It just eventually stopped on its own, and hasn't come back since. Really weird muscle pain or something, I guess.

Or it could have been a collapsing lung, tumor, or artery about to blow up. Thank you, body. Your diagnostics and reporting capabilities are astonishing.
 
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OverVolt

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
Jeff7 said:
These bodies are a damned pain in the ass. I had some odd chest pain awhile back, like a golf ball was somewhere under my rib cage. An ambulance ride and a night in the hospital later, and about $1000, no one had any idea what it was. I did find out that nitro severely drops my blood pressure. Heart was fine, nothing odd on the x-rays...:\
It just eventually stopped. Really weird muscle pain or something.

Or it could be a collapsing lung, tumor, or artery about to blow up. Thank you, body. Your diagnostics and reporting capabilities are astonishing.
Click to expand...

Yea, thats exactly the pain, yep.

When I was a kid, I borderline needed a back brace for scoliosis. Turns out I didn't, but a slightly curved spine + bad posture can make it hard to breath. Put your arms above your head, breath as deep as you can without pain, breathe with your stomach, yadda yadda.

Its probably curved around the thoracic area. No one can tell, it just causes random shit like that from time to time.
 
C

CottonRabbit

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,026
0
0
TheNinja said:
Well the urgent care is not going to be setup with specialists and x-ray and CT (if needed) and all that stuff. A hospital ER will. The urgent care is there to help you if you don't have a doc or get hurt/sick after hours and need someone to write you a prescription IMO. I'm sure if I went to urgent care with my desribed symptons they'd send me to ER for chest x-ray.
I have a feeling it will cost me more than $150 though. Apparently that's just my co-pay to get in. After that I cover 10% until I reach my out of pocket max for the year. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I've had other family costs this year and am probably near my max anyway.
Click to expand...

You've already realized that urgent care won't be able to provide the services you want or might need. Why are you still asking here? Go to an ER.
 
SandEagle

SandEagle

Lifer
Aug 4, 2007
16,809
13
0
ER is for everybody. if there are emergencies, they make you wait until the serious ones are done first. ignore these armchair advisors. try this: call your doctor and see what he recommends
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,780
13,870
126
www.anyf.ca
Sadly ER is definitely the fastest way to get results. If you see a family doctor it will be a couple months till you can see him, and he'll only refer you to get an X ray which will probably be another couple months. Same idea with the clinic. ER they'll do it right there and then. You may have to wait hours but it will be done THAT day.

All doctors are overbooked so it's hard to get appointments that are actually within a reasonable time.

To me in addition to the ER they should have a clinic where they have at least one doctor who can do stuff right there and then. Lot of the things people go to the ER for arn't actual life threatening emergencies, but they're still things that can't wait for months.
 
T

TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
0
SandEagle said:
ER is for everybody. if there are emergencies, they make you wait until the serious ones are done first. ignore these armchair advisors. try this: call your doctor and see what he recommends
Click to expand...

Well my biggest problem is that I've been lazy and haven't found a new doctor since switching insurance. It was stupid I know. Now I don't know what to do. I don't think I can call up a doc and say "Hey, I want you as my new Primary Care Physician......now can you order up some chest x-ray/CT and blood results for me real quick? It feels like I'm dying" ;) It's my own fault for not getting into a PCP right away and getting a quick physical though.
 
I

ichy

Diamond Member
Oct 5, 2006
6,940
8
81
OutHouse said:
ummm urgent care sets broken bones, so they have xray equipment.
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Yes, and some of them have labs as well.

Going to the ER isn't magically going to get you access to a specialist. Chances are they'll refer you to a specialist as an outpatient in a few days. That's the same thing that urgent care doctors will do, only urgent care is cheaper and faster. The ER is for emergencies.
 
C

Corporate Thug

Lifer
Apr 17, 2003
37,622
0
76
techs said:
Many (most) insurance plans won't cover ER without it being a real emergency and/or preapproval.

So you might have to pay the whole ER bill yourself.
Click to expand...

What the F*** is a per-approval for an ER visit? Should I call the insurance company if I am having a heart attack so they can approve my ER visit?
 
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