(See a chronology of pain, part 1 for the beginning of this.)
I was uncomfortable when I drove into work. I hobbled to my 9 a.m. meeting and sat, in pain, for the three hours of the monthly administrative meeting. Then I hobbled to my office.
An hour later I was laying down on the floor of my office, in pain, in serious pain, cursing that quack doctor my HMO had assigned me.
I left work and drove myself to the urgent care center. I was in a lot of pain, but not so much that I was afraid I would pass out. More like enough that I thought I might throw up. Which is what I told the urgent care physician.
Did I mention that the reason I had to go to urgent car is that the quack doctor doesn’t take patients on Mondays?
He poked and proded and asked questions and gave me a prescription for Vicodin, which I filled immediately. I took one in the pharmacy itself. After a while, the pain calmed… a little.
The next day I went to the quack doctor to see what the results of my x-rays turned up. Again, I made a mistake. I drove myself. Halfway there my right leg was spasming so badly I had to pull over and crawl into the back seat of my car. When that didn’t help, I took an extra dose of Vicodin. That did work.
My doctor informed me that the x-rays showed nothing. Then he scolded me for going to urgent care for pain medication. He said that it was a narcotic and he had been trying to avoid giving me a nartcotic.
I just told him that I’d been in pain. Then I asked him if it was OK to take other pain relief medicine, such as Tylenol, if the Vicodin alone wasn’t working (to which he said “yes”).
He then directed his nurse to set me up with a referral to an orthopedist and sent me home.
The next day I was in the emergency room.
UPDATE: see a chronology of pain, part 3.
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