06.21.04
Kristen Lxxxx
Where I Live
Chicago, IL 60660
Account # XXXXXXXX-X
Advocate Illinois Masonic
Medical Center
22393 Network Place
Chicago, IL 60673-1223
I am writing in regards to a bill that I received for services rendered last month.
I apologize in advance for the length of this letter, but I feel that all of the included information is important to why I am concerned about charges on my bill.
I visited your hospital’s emergency ward on Wednesday, May 12, 2004, partially because of the proximity of the hospital to where I work, and partially because I have seen your doctors before for an related problem in the past -- in September I visited your ER because of prolonged bouts of vomiting and severe dehydration. At that time, I had x-rays and bloodwork done, as well as other testing, and was eventually diagnosed with gastritis, then released after being rehydrated and given anti-nausea medication.
On Monday, May 10, after having similar symptoms to the September incident that spawned my initial visit to your hospital’s ER , I visited a physician practicing in my doctor’s medical group, and was given a prescription for Compazine to stop the vomiting. The prescription directed that I was to take three pills daily as needed, up to ten days.
When I filled the prescription, I noted a long string of potential side effects to the drug, ranging from insomnia and constipation, to extreme swelling, the appearance of which indicatied the need to seek immediate medical attention. However, after taking one pill that day, the nausea went away, and I felt a great deal better.
Tuesday, I took one pill in the morning, and later noted that I felt sort of medicine-headed all day, but figured that it was the price of not throwing up all of the time. That evening, I experienced strange muscular contractions in my feet while I was walking home from the train, but chalked it up to muscular fatigue from having stood up all day at work, and being paranoid about weird Compazine reactions.
Wednesday, I took one pill in the morning, and also noticed that I felt a little disconnected all day long, but shrugged it off as being another day of medicine-head. However, that evening at work, my tongue mysteriously swelled up in my mouth, freaking me out, and my hands curled up like claws and started twitching. Fearing that my throat would swell shut or something equally frightening would occur, I decided to walk to the emergency room a few blocks away, certain that I was having an adverse reaction to the Compazine I had taken the last three days. While I was walking, my feet started contracting and flexing like they had the previous evening, and I was absolutely certain that I needed immediate medical attention.
At your hospital, I told the triage nurse exactly what my symptoms were, and that I was certain I was having an adverse reaction to Compazine. However, after sitting in the waiting area for several hours, the symptoms had subsided completely by the time I saw a medical professional in the actual treatment ward.
I explained to the nurse, and again to the doctor I saw, that I had been suffering from nausea and vomiting, and had been given Compazine, but was convinced that the strange symptoms that I was experiencing had to be some sort of reaction to the drug. I told the doctor and nurse that I had felt medicine-headed and disconnected for several days, and that I had involuntary muscular contractions in my extremities, and that my tongue had swelled up large enough to fill my entire mouth.
Both the doctor and nurse professed ignorance about the possible reactions to Compazine, but I was told that they would look it up.
I was asked if I felt faint or light-headed, and I said I might have felt a little light-headed, but that was probably from the medication. I was told that they’d like to collect a urine sample, and also run a blood-sugar test just in case, and I told them that I was sure my blood sugar was fine, but consented to the test because they seemed to think it was important.
I was asked if I could possibly be pregnant, which would explain the nausea and vomiting, to which I replied I could not possibly be pregnant due to the fact that I am celibate and have not had any sort of sexual relations with anyone for over three years.
After the blood sugar test came out normal, and they whisked away my urine, someone came back five minutes or so after taking the sample and told me that my urine looked fine.
A little while after that, the doctors came back and told me that they’d looked up Compazine in some medical index or other, and that because they couldn’t find anything wrong with me, and that my symptoms were a textbook adverse reaction to Compazine, they were diagnosing me with Dystonia and told me to get dressed, go home, stop taking the Compazine, and get some Benadryl to take in case I suffered further symptoms over the next day or two while the drug left my system. One of the nurses came over to tell me that a different doctor, upon hearing my diagnosis, related that he had taken Compazine for something and had had a psychotic incident, and that it was a lesser prescribed drug because of all of the adverse reactions people frequently had to it.
From the Dystonia-Foundation.org website, and NCMEMI.org (National Center for Emergency Medical Information):
Dystonia is defined as abnormal tonicity of muscle, characterized by prolonged, repetitive muscle contractions that may cause twisting or jerking movements of the body or a body part.
Acute dystonias usually present with one or more of the following symptoms: protruding or pulling sensation of the tongue, twisted neck or facial muscle spasms, roving or deviated gaze, abdominal rigidity and pain, or muscular spasms in the body.
Dyskinesia is defined as an impairment in the ability to control movements, characterized by spasmodic or repetitive motions or lack of coordination.
Dyskinesias are usually characterized by quick jerking movements, tongue protrusion, lip smacking, puckering, and eye blinking. These movement can also effect the arms legs and trunk. Movement of the fingers may appear as though the individual is playing an invisible musical instrument.
I define these terms for you to because I believe that I was treated improperly, and had unnecessary testing done.
Had the doctors first looked up Compazine and the possible adverse reactions associated with it, they would have seen that I had the textbook symptoms listed above, and would have been able to diagnose me with Dystonia and/or Dyskinesia.
After diagnosing me with Dystonia/Duskiness (which is more likely to be what I was suffering from based on everything I’ve read on the topic), they could have perhaps given me a dose of Benadryl, and told me to take it easy for a few days.
Instead, they tested my blood sugar and gave me a pregnancy test, after I had explicitly told them that I was not pregnant, nor could I be pregnant. Besides, Compazine can cause false-positive pregnancy tests, and is also not normally prescribed to pregnant women.
So, what it comes down to is that I would like to have the pregnancy test removed from my bill, as it was completely unnecessary, several times over.
Sincerely,
Kristen Lxxxx
What's in your head?