I have AIP and had an attack yesterday, the first in over a year and a half. When gutloading carbs, potassium, sodium and glucose didn’t stop the pain, I went to the ER today. It’s well documented in my history at that ER, which basically reads ‘If she shows up, give her dextrose and demerol and if that doesn’t stop the pain, give her Hematin.’ I had a poor intern who didn’t know what to do refer me to the worst attending I’ve ever met in my life. If it hadn’t been for the intercession of another attending who’s treated me before, it might have made the news, because I was very close to strangling Attending Asshole.

Being treated like a drug seeking hypochondriac did nothing to improve my already crappy day. So I had to go find the blogs to remind myself that there’s a reason a doctor unfamiliar with my case would be suspicious of someone presenting with very bad abdominal pain that has no apparent cause whatsoever, requesting narcotics and antinausea drugs – especially when I learned oxycontin is now prescribed for nausea. I had to specify that I wanted my happy, non-addictive Zofran.

Anyway. Thank you for writing this blog. I’m going to be stuck in bed for the next couple days, so it’s given me new reading material as well as another reminder that doctors have to deal with crappy people and I shouldn’t take it personally this time.
-T