Sunday, March 1, 2009

My Hatzollah and Maimonides Experience

First off I feel bad for my dentist, I keep having “emergencies” by him, and I don’t want him to feel responsible for it. It puts pressure on him and might make him look bad. So I’d feel less guilty if no one blames the dentist.

So I went to get a cavity filled. I made sure to eat breakfast in the morning, cause I thought I was getting another wisdom tooth pulled. My dentist said something about a wisdom tooth, later I found out that he meant he had to fill it. So the dentist gave me the Novocain and waited the amount of time and then got to work. While he was drilling I felt pain, so I let him know, and he said “almost done”, he finished up, it hurt once more and that was the end of that.

Then I waited in the chair while they prepared a thing of mush to put in my mouth to make an impression. While I was waiting I started to feel nauseous. I had my mother waiting in the waiting room, if she would have been in the room with me, I would have spoken up then. But since she wasn’t there, I figured I’d let the lady do the impression, and I’ll manage the way I was. I started to feel really nauseous and was going to speak up. I was debating within myself if I should say anything, I was waiting for the lady who cleans teeth to come in, cause I like her, so I wanted to tell her that I didn’t feel well. I was going to ask the lady if she can wait a little bit more before she takes the impressions.

I didn’t say anything though, so the lady sticks the thing in my mouth, and I’m waiting for her to take it out already. She comments that I don’t look so well. So then I pointed to my head and I started to make noises. So she took the thing out, then I said I feel faint. Then all of a sudden my head goes blank, I can’t feel anything, and I feel as though I’m swimming and seeing stars. So they start leaning the seat back. But while they are doing this, I have the urge to throw up, so I shoot right up and spit out into the sink. Then they lay me down again, and keep me like that for like 10 minutes.

I start to feel better, and I start crying for making a fool of myself like that. So everyone comes into the room, the dentist, the lady who cleans teeth, and the helper lady, and my mother. They all start talking. My dentist jokes around that I keep falling for dentists, that if I were to go on a date with a dentist I’d start falling in the middle. Then the lady who cleans teeth was telling over a story about her daughter who was 15 and got an asthma attack which turned to an anxiety attack. Then she was saying how it was such a good thing the other lady was there to catch me.

Then they decide to pick up the chair slowly to see if I’ll be okay. But then as they pick it up to a sitting position I start to feel nauseous again. They ask me how I’m feeling and I said “so so”. So they keep me like that for a while. Meanwhile they were trying to get a hold of my doctor so that I could be checked out. But he wasn’t available. So my dentist decided to call hatzollah.

Within seconds Hatzallah came, and I started crying all over. I felt like a baby, but in my mind hatzallah is there for big things, so then this must be a big thing so it got me scared. They took my vital signs and blood pressure and all that, and I was fine. They decided I should go to the hospital to get checked out just in case. Better safe than sorry. So they brought a stretcher in, and as they put me on the stretcher, I recognize one of the Hatzallah guys, a neighbor of mine.

Then they were deciding which hospital to send me to. They asked me how old I am, I said 20. One guy asked if I want to go to a place with stars and pictures on the wall. I said “no”. Meanwhile my mother was on the phone with my father, and she asked him which hospital I should go to, my father said Maimonides. Then the dentist asked the hatzollah guy I know what hospital he would send his kids to, he said Maimonides. So then the dentist said “it’s settled”. But a different hatzollah guy said “that’s not a fair question”. So Maimonides was the one I went to.

Then when they brought me into the ambulance, I was so embarrassed. Now I know for sure that people don’t like when you look to see them go in an ambulance. So if you ever see a person being wheeled in, don’t look! Then one of the hatzallah guys came into the ambulance with me and my mother and he was talking to me. As my mother was climbing up into the ambulance to be with me she said “Now you have something to write about in your blog”. The Hatzollah guy overheard, but he didn’t say anything. But it was embarrassing. So now here I am writing about it.

Meanwhile my mouth was still numb from the shot, and I had white stuff on part of my mouth from the mush of the impression. So when he tried asking me questions, I couldn’t really speak. So then he asked if I’m always this spaced out. I didn’t say anything. But before we started driving, he told the driver to try to do one in every 3 bumps. Then when we were driving I realized what I meant, the ride was really bumpy, I think he went over every bump there was.

So meanwhile I got to see the back view of how it looks to be driving backwards, I recognized different buildings, it was cool. The Hatzollah man asked me a bunch of questions and kept smiling and making conversation, he was a really nice guy, and helped take care of everything. He asked if I ever fainted before, I told him that I did once a while ago, when I was in 7th grade. Happened to be it was at the same dentist office, after I got my braces tightened. There I had no shot, so it helped the dentist feel a bit better that it wasn’t his fault. I forgot to tell him that there were other times when I felt faint, one time in school, and another time when I was babysitting.

Then he asked me if I’ve ever been to a emergency room before, I told him that I had, but I hadn’t been conscience at that time, so then he went over the routine of what their going to do, so I should feel prepared. Then they wheeled me into this area where we were like “waiting on line”. Then this other guy sees me smiling, and he said “People who come in here shouldn’t be smiling”, so that made me laugh, so then he said “after your here long enough, you won’t be smiling anymore”. He was joking around, but that’s the sarcastic kind, where I never know what to say back.

Then this mean lady comes over with a thing and sticks me to take a blood sugar level. She asked me what I was eating, I said nothing. I told her I was at the dentist. Then she put something under my mouth, a thermometer maybe, and told me to bite down on it. Meanwhile this other lady was asking my mother questions, and my mother answered the wrong thing, so I wanted to correct her, so I tried to speak up, and this mean lady said to close my mouth and bite down. So I listened to her. Then after that the Hatzollah people left, afterwards my mother told me that the nice hatzollah guy knew me. I asked her how, and she said he was on call a different time when I had to go to the hospital, so he remembered me. I thought that was nice, then they all wished me “get well” and left.

Meanwhile, my father was coming over, and then he saw the hatzollah guy that lives in our neighborhood, so my father asked him since when is he a hatzollah, and he said that he joined a month ago.

Then I get wheeled into this section where there are beds with curtains between and no room for anyone to move, and the curtains kept moving back and forth. I didn’t want to see any of the patients, since I get queasy from these things, so I made sure not to look till the curtain was put in place. Then a different mean nurse comes over with bags and tells me to put my clothes in there. So I take off some clothes and put on the hospital gown. Then while we wait for the doctor to come in, I got to hear the patient next to me speak to her doctor about her problem, and what the doctor had to say about it.

It got me thinking that all doctors tend to talk to same way, in a informative way, that’s soothing that makes you think they know what they’re talking about, and in a way it sounds like how a parent talks to a child. So then this lady doctor comes in, asks questions about what happened and told me they’re going to do some tests.

So they take this KEG test, I think that’s what it’s called, I already forgot, where they put these snap looking things on you, and then it monitors the heart. Then she asked me to go to the bathroom for a test, then as I’m walking in the hallway, I see someone I know. A guy from college, that was in my Jewish class, he sees me and says hello and waves. So I said hello back, but I felt so embarrassed for him to see me that way, so helpless looking in a hospital gown. He was wearing some badge or something, so maybe he does bikur cholim, I’m not sure.

So all the tests came back good, and after a while they said I could go, and gave me discharge papers. So I got back dressed and left. My brother drove us all back home, and now here I am at my computer. They said I should go for a follow up appointment at the doctor in 72 hours, and that I shouldn’t fast tannis esther. So they don’t know why I fainted, but it could be because of Shots and dentists in general. So the doctor said that in the future when I go to the dentist they should know that I’m prone to this and will be patient with me. That I shouldn’t rush to get up after they do work.

My father suggested I drink more, that it could be I got dehydrated. I know last time I fainted, I hadn’t eaten breakfast. But this time I ate, so it can’t be because of that. But I probably needed more water in me.

23 comments:

Dude with hat (aka BTS) said...

Refua Shleima again! Hope it doens't happen to you anymore!

I used to faint a bit when doctors took blood from veins. That was happening if I didn't eat well or just because of scariness. May be you also got scared somewhere down in your mind without realizing it?

Anonymous said...

Maybe you reacted to the drugs they gave you? Sometimes people cry when given certain meds.

Mikeinmidwood said...

And I thought I had the worst dentist experience.

Originally From Brooklyn said...

Hope you feel better.

G6 said...

Refuah Sheleimah.
It's a good thing your mother was with you at the time.
Please update us 'codependant types' and let us know when you're all better :)

frum single female said...

i hope you feel better.

Bas~Melech said...

OMG
Hope you're well now!
I had a similar dentist experience, though not quite as dramatic... started to feel faint when I got out of the chair, so they put me in the x-ray room lying down (those chairs are comfy!) with some oxygen, and I chilled there until I felt better. They said it happens occasionally that the anaesthetic goes into the bloodstream or something by mistake and it's not a big deal because eventually it just dissipates. B"H it didn't happen more often then, because I always ask for tons of anaesthetic! (i have a low threshold of pain, what can I say...)

Anonymous said...

Sorry you got stuck at Maimonides... not the ideal hospital for anyone, in my opinion. Hope you feel better.

Anonymous said...

i hate going to the dentist . . . but not this much

"he said that he joined a month ago."

it's good he told you that *after* you got to the hospital

Shorty said...

Hope you are well!

Anonymous said...

It's EKG; but it would be cool to get a keg test, no? Refuah Shelaymah, Jewish Side - excellent post!

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

Update: I went for a followup appointment to a doctor this morning, and just came back. Now I haven't gone to a doctor in a long time, because I've been still using my pediatric doctor, and I went to him when I needed forms filled out for school and camp. Then once I stopped going to camp, and stopped needing healthy check ups, I stopped going, unless something bothered me.

So now my mother decided I should go to a grown up doctor. So I went to a real doctor, it was in a hospital building, but its not part of the hospital. So we went in, I filled out forms, good thing I didn't graduate yet, so I still have health insurance.

Then the nurse brings me to the scale and says I should stand on it, meanwhile since it was snowing I was wearing boots, and the place is close by so we walked over. So my boots have high heels, so then I asked her if I should take them off first, so she said "nahh". Then she looked down at them, and she's like "you know what, take them off, those would give you a couple of inches".

Then after that we went to a room with an examining table, and I saw a cool thing, she rolled out the paper and tore off the old one and put on a new one. For some reason I never noticed that before, I always thought that you had to rip it off and lay out a new one, I didn't realize that its attached to the table so that it rolls right out.

Anyways, as we were there and waiting around I noticed they had a lot of water colors on the wall. I commented that to my mother and she said that water color is the hardest type to paint, on top of oil paint, so Leora you are really talented for all your beautiful water colors.

Then the doctor comes in, he has the doctor voice. He looks at me and asks me how old I am, I said 20, then he said I make him look old. I didn't understand what he meant, then he said I look like I'm 14 or 15. So I start thinking to myself "not again". He asked me if I like hearing it, I said "no". So then he said when you get older you'll appreciate it, but it'll take you a long time to look old. Anyways, he was a really nice guy.

He asks what happened, and I told him that I felt faint after I get a cavity filled at the dentist, so then he said its "Vasovagal", something about a 10th nerve, and that it gets triggered and causes lightheadedness. He also said I had low blood sugar level, so those things combined can cause it. Also, he said the low blood sugar level is what could be making me look so young, he said it causes you to live longer.

My mother asked him what it was called again, and he repeated it and then wrote it down, so that's how I know what its called. Also, what they say about doctors hand writings is true, its hard to read!

He said that there are certain tables that would help, forgot what its called, it starts with a "T", he mentioned it, so I asked him what it was. So he said its a type that elevates the feet and keeps the head low, so that the blood can flow to the head, so it would prevent the fainting.

So he asked if I wanted him to do blood work on me, I didn't think he was serious. So I said "no". Meanwhile, my mother said "yea". So then he said to me "we'll test to see if you anemic and other stuff, you mother agrees to it". So I said "ok".

So we go into another room and he puts me on this chair table thing and elevates my feet and lays my head down. Then the nurse comes in, the doctor tells her that I'm gonna pass out on her, to be prepared. So she tells me not to look and to put my hand in a fist. She also ties this thing around my arm. Then I turn away, I feel alcohol wipes on me, and then a pinch, then she said the hard part is over. So she takes the blood. Then she asks how I am, and I was fine. So I told her that. So no passing out this time, so she said "I cured you!" She said it must be the dentist. Then they let me lay like that a few minutes. Then I got up.

Then as we were leaving my mother overheard this guy talking to the doctor about being in pictures with Eddie Murphie and a bunch of other actors, who I don't know. So then my mother asked if he also has a picture with Bill Cosby, and he said yea. Then my mother asked the doctor who that man was, and he said that the man is a sound man.

Then when we were leaving, the sound man starts talking to us, and tells us about how he got started and everything, about all the shows he's worked for. He said the fringe was the worst cause you have to work 16 hours there, by other sets its only 12 or 14.

Then he said some other stories, and of how you have to be nice to the actors and actresses, even if they do something wrong. Like one of them went to the bathroom and forgot they were wearing a transmitter, so he told her "no problem" then he went over to a different tech guy and told him she lost it, that he should take care of it.

Then we walked back home, not far away. That was a little while ago, time passed with me getting interrupted from writing this. Also, I got an e-mail in the morning that my first class was canceled so that worked out good. My second class is 2:15, which I'm obviously not going to. My next class at 6:30, not sure if I'll go or not, probably not.

And typing doesn't hurt so much, cause my arms are relaxed, since I'm higher than the laptop. But every once a while I feel the pinch when I move my arm that had the blood work on.

Anonymous said...

BS"D

Great to know all is well! Low blood sugar is not much of a cause for concern.

Ookamikun said...

Never, ever, ever go to Maimo ER or maternity.

Anonymous said...

that's really funny that your mother made you go to an adult doctor. i continued using my pediatrician up until about the time i had my son.

smb said...

glad you are okay BH

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

BTS: Thanx, so yea I think it may be related to that too.

Leora: I didn't think of that, I don't think I cried because of the medication though. I think it was just because I was acting like a "baby".

MikeInMidwood: lol, now I'm curious to hear about yours...

Childish: Thanx

G6:Thanx, yea I'm glad I asked her to come with me this time. I'm also glad my little sister didn't come along. She was going to come for the ride, then decided to stay home and watch videos instead. We didn't tell her what happened. So she still doesn't know, no reason to get her worried for nothing I suppose.

Also, something I hadn't realized is that my mother didn't feel so good among all the activity with me. She was worried, but because she was the mother she acted like a mature adult, so you wouldn't have known. So yesterday she was telling me that her heart was pounding too for me.

So now I'm really scared for when I'll be a mother. Because beforehand when I thought of having to bring a baby to a doctor for a shot, and holding the baby down, and seeing the baby cry, I just wouldn't be able to do it, I'd want to look away, so that it shouldn't pain me. But then that's a very selfish thing to do, because I really should be there for the baby. So I'm thinking if something would chas v'shalom happen to one of my children, I don't know if I would have the strength to deal with it, and that makes me feel guilty.

FrumSingleFemale: Thanx!

Bas Melach: Thanx!
That's good they were able to deal with it there, and that they had oxygen to calm you. That just reminded me of the last time I fainted, I remember them putting oxygen on me in the ambulance, but I'm not sure if that made me feel better or not.

And yea, the dentist thought it might have been that, that it went in the blood stream, but then he ruled that out because it happened like 15 minutes after the shot, so he said that was too much time for that to have such an effect.

And yea, I also have a low threshold for pain, my dentist knows to give me 2 or 3 shots already. Although this time he only gave me 1.

But I really feel bad for what I did to him, I'm afraid he won't want to work on me anymore. Last time when he did a root canal on me, it killed so much that he just didn't want to see me hurt like that, so he sent me off to someone else to finish it up.

Although now all the hard work is done, unless a crown hurts?

Jessica: Thanx, yea I didn't think it was a good hospital either. I remember my mother talking bad about it, with stories that happened to my little sister. My mother always liked Columbia better.

As I was there in the hospital, I told my parents that I don't want to come here when I have a baby. So then my father reassured me that everyone goes there, so it must be good. And that this was the ER so its different, that there are actual rooms in the maternity ward.

But I said that I remembered hearing that you have to share a room at miamo and I wouldn't want to do that. So my father said that there's not enough rooms for everyone to have their own room. Maybe its asking too much...

Lion Of Zion: lol you don't know the half of it! When I was younger, after I switched from my pediatric dentist, I didn't like the new dentist, so every time I went, I refused to open my mouth for him, so for a bunch of years they didn't take care of my teeth. Then when we switched to this guy I liked him better, cause he used to daven in our old shul, so I knew him. He would use this cream on a cue tip first to numb you before he did the shot, so psychologically it would make it less painful. But yea dentists isn't my thing.

yea...but he's got 7 kids, and he's a good guy, so even if he just joined, I'm sure he has experience with his own kids in choosing a hospital. Actually his wife was telling me one shabbos about their kid that has to use a nebulizer sometimes or something, so I know they've been to a hospital before.

Shorty: Thanx!

Talmudist: lol, your right, that's what its called, I knew it had something to do with those 3 letters, just mixed it up.

What would a KEG test be? a drinking test? I don't think that would be fun, maybe for guys who like to drink...lol

Thanx and Thanx!

Ischier: Thanx and yea, nothing to worry about.

Moshe: yea, that's what I was thinking, I didn't like how the nurses were mean. I was also surprised at what one of them said to do. My mother found a blue piece of plastic or something on the bed, so she asked the nurse what to do with it. The nurse just said you can throw it on the floor. My mother couldn't believe it, then the nurse said they come to sweep later, they'll clean it up.

I also didn't like how there were no rooms, but rather just curtains separating everyone, it was so gross...

I've had to go a few times to a hospital to see a doctor about something, it was in the city, forgot what it was called, but they were nice there.

Lion Of Zion: lol, well she didn't make me go to an adult doctor, she just figured its about time. Plus the other day when we tried to get a hold of the pediatrician he wasn't available. So here this guy is near us so it comes in handy. Plus its good in a way, cause by the pediatrician I would be the oldest, and here I'm the "baby" so they treat me better.

But that's funny that you used your pediatrician the whole time till you had your own son. Does that mean that your son now uses him?

Lvnsm27: Thanx!

Ookamikun said...

Wanna take Nochum to doctor for shots? ;-)

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

Moshe: lol, not exactly :-p

Der Shygetz said...

BS"D

Maimonides has its drawbacks and it seems very chaotic at times (I used to donate blood and platelets there and I saw far too many foreign trained doctors and other medical personnel there whom I would never trust) but if you are where I think you are it is the best in your area.

Besides, the food is 100% kosher, and bikur cholim/frum Jewish chaplaincy is active so if a patient or relative need something there is always a Yid around to help etc.

But in the end BH everything went well and that is all that counts.

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

Der Shygetz: yea the frum part is a pro.

And yea, thats what counts.

Anonymous said...

Oops (this is a bit late!), I hope you're better now! That sounds like quite an ordeal...

It's so cool that there's a Jewish paramedics group.

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

Katie: it's never too late :-)
Thanks I'm B"H better and was even able to fast the whole day Monday.

yea, I felt much more comfortable knowing that, there's an automatic trust that comes with knowing their Jewish.

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