Medical Tag Game

If you read my last memoir regarding my ER ordeal, then you know where this story began. If not, please take a moment to read it as this will make more sense then. In a nutshell, my trip to the ER for a serious pain was only acknowledged with a lukewarm doctor sending me home with prescription for painkillers. No test, no care!

Now, after I left the ER, I went straight to the pharmacy to get the medicine. Couple of hours after I took it, I became drowsy and the pain never wavered. Within the next couple of days, I found myself in what I call a "medical tag" game.

Since September 3^rd had been Labor Day, I could not follow up with my doctor so I endured the pain for that day. The next morning, I called my doctor's office to ask for a follow-up appointment. I was informed by the receptionist that my doctor had been booked for the day and could not see me. I explained to her that I had been discharged from the ER the day before and was observing the doctor's order to follow up. She still refused and instead suggested that I go to the urgent care nearby. She stated that the urgent care was just like going to my own doctor (the same co-pay), but for me I really would have preferred to see my doctor.

Fine! I finally agreed. I felt I had no other choice. I went to the urgent care and received a pretty good care except that my condition was still there and worsening. By this time, the left side of my face was feeling weird. My left eye was droopy and twitching, as if I was getting electric shock on-and-off. I also seemed to be drooling from the left side of my mouth. The urgent care doctor examined me-ear, tongue, teeth. Then, she confirmed that I had no ear infection. She concluded that it was my wisdom tooth that was putting pressure on my nerves and then causing me intense pain. Although I still had the pain, I felt some relief that at least something had been pinpointed as being the cause of my misery. She prescribed an antibiotic due to my tongue, and urged me to follow up with my dentist if no improvement in ten days. I felt a little relief from knowing where my illness might be coming from, but I had some doubt due to the fact that I had no toothache.

Anxious to get started on the antibiotic, I left the urgent care and headed straight to the pharmacist. I got the meds and took the first dose immediately. I took it for two days but seeing no change whatsoever, I called my dentist and went in the same day. My dentist was not in, so I saw her colleague. After examining and running some x-ray, he concluded that it was indeed my wisdom tooth. I asked to have it extracted immediately as I could no longer bear the ear ache. They booked me for surgery the next day with an oral surgeon in another clinic. I was in extreme pain, but I was feeling some hope that the answer is near

The next morning, I headed straight to the surgeon's office. His nurse conducted an in-depth panoramic x-ray of my teeth. She took notes of my health history as routinely done before surgery, and then informed me that the doctor would be right with me. Within a short time, the doctor was there, and I was eager to have him yank the misery out of my mouth. Not so fast!

The surgeon examined me after I had told him my week's ordeal including the ER experience. He showed me the panoramic x-ray of my teeth and stated that he could certainly extract my molars, but that they were the least of my problems. What? What was he talking about? By now, dear reader, I was in tears. I had gone through a lot in the five days since I first went to the ER and now that I thought I had come to the end, this man was telling me a new tale. I held my breath as he began to explain. He said that what he saw on the left side of my face was not consistent with wisdom tooth problem. He asked me to smile and I did. He said to squeeze both eyes and again I did. He took me to the mirror and had me repeat these exercises. What I saw was a most horrifying visage which was now appearing to be "dead" on one side. The left side of my face was not responding to any of the commands-smile, squint, or frown. I busted into tears. My hope of ending the pain had not only evaporated, but now I had a new something to worry about. I had gone through three different doctors who misdiagnosed me. This fourth doctor, who was supposed to just pull out my molars, was the one to thoroughly look at me and diagnose my condition. I was disturbed, angry, and then scared.

Why hadn't the other doctors seen my condition earlier? If that ER doctor had taken some time, could he have caught it? How about the urgent care doctor? The dentist? These people were sending me from doctor to doctor, I felt, because they did not know what they were doing. Anyway, the surgeon advised me to go straight to my doctor and demand that she sees me immediately. Here I go, to my fifth doctor in one week.