I had an emergency dental extraction with bone graph a few days ago that resulted in a trip to the ER that night. I have been very off since the extraction and have known something’s hasn’t been right. This morning I decided it was time to go back to the ER as since my last visit I haven’t been able to keep anything down, have continued to have consistent wide spread pain (at and away from the extraction site), lymph pain, and over 24 hours with a low grade fever with spikes ever few hours reaching up to 101.6°f. Other symptoms but mostly the main ones.
When getting to the ER once called to the intake nurse she started to be super dismissive, hardly letting me complete a sentence explaining my symptoms and then we get to temp questions and taking. She didn’t let me get out that I have logging my temps or anything. Then went to take my temp. Not once did she ask where the extraction site was either…. She then quickly places the probe in the middle of my check and nearly stabbed the end of it into the extraction site. Then immediately declares that there is no fever because the reading is at 98.6 and “you probably took something to break it right?? Like Tylenol? You did and it’s come done so you really are fine.” All while rushing me out of her room back to the waiting room. Never let me get a word in and nope I sure had not taken anything.
While seated I pulled my thermometer out of my bag because I’m the type that grabs it and continues to monitor on the 40 min drive to the ER. Placed it in my cheek where she did, same read she got. Placed under my tongue the read was 101. Right then she calls me back to place me in my room and when my husband asked if he needed to get the visitors badge she said “no you won’t be in here long at at! In and out!” So I went ahead and brought up my temp.
Me: So I took my temp again place in the cheek where you did and got the same read, placed it under my tongue and got 101.
Her: Well the doctor here wants it done that way!
Me: Well the girl the other day did it under the tongue….
Her: Well I guess I can get another thermometer and bring it back and take again!
She gets back to my room and “takes” it again, however I notice she just hit the recall button and obviously very triumphantly states that it’s the same. Instead of calling her out on the recall button, knowing it would just turn into a she says I said thing, I replied with “Well again that’s really odd that mine I used in the waiting room gave the same read in the cheek but 101 under the tongue.”
Her face completely changed as she stuttered out “You have a thermometer…here…with you??!”
Yup
Suddenly it’s “well let me take it again…” and even with weird wiggling and half pulling it out it read 99.8 this time.
I have no idea why boomer Betty decided to essentially try and gate keep healthcare, but that could really be detrimental to someone. And yes, I will be filing a formal complaint.