"Poor professionalism and treatment"

A couple of weeks ago I presented to the ED department due to the intense amount of pain I was in on the left side of my face, head and neck. My jaw was also numb to the touch. I had been unable to lessen it with my own pain relief at home. I was seen to. Administered an anti inflammatory injection. Given oxycodone and then sent home with a couple more oxycodone to use overnight if needed. 

In the early hours of the next morning I called for an ambulance as the pain was still so intense and none of the pain relief was helping. It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. The ambulance picked me up and took me to emergency where we were greeted by the same nurse as earlier. I recall they bluntly just asked me, we gave you pain relief earlier, what have you done with it.

I told them that I used it an hour and a half ago and it hasn’t helped. 

They took me to a bed in the ED and turned to the ambulance officers and asked them if they had any sleep yet as they had transferred a patient from ED earlier in the evening. They replied that they hadn’t. I recall the nurse then apologised to the ambulance team for having to pick me up and that I had been given pain relief earlier and wasn’t sure why I’d be needing to come back. 

This upset me a lot. As I was in pain. I didn’t want to be back at emergency. I wanted the pain to be gone as much as anybody. I felt unwanted. I felt like a burden. I felt lesser as a human being. 

I have presented multiple times in the past for my mental health and in some ways I felt more comfortable reaching out for something physical instead. I wanted to just run. Run away from the hospital as they clearly didn’t want me there. I felt like I’d be better off just disappearing from earth. 

They gave my buprenorphine, tramadol, pregabalin, diazepam, more oxycodone. Nothing was helping. I just sat crying all night in agony. In the early hours in the morning at shift change I mentioned a possible cause that a friend and clinical nurse suggested as they have experience in it. I felt this suggestion from me was dismissed quickly by the new staff on. That day I got a tooth extracted as the health staff thought that was the cause. It wasn’t. 

The following day I presented to another hospital's emergency where my friend was working. To get reassessed. I was unwell, exhausted and still in pain. I saw doctors and consultants who concluded it was what I had tried to communicate at Margaret river. And I was treated for this there. 

Overall I have found this experience traumatic and worried about future occasions that I may need to present, for my mental or physical health.