my friend came to me a while ago, he said he needs help. he is one of my best friends. he said when he was about 16 or so, he was taking meth alot, and he thinks he had a mild heart attack back then, and he drinks alot to keep his blood thinned. we went to the hospital, they did an EKG, and didnt show any proof of heart problems. we went to his doctors office, and they just said he was an alcaholic...i dont know how else to help him cuz a cardiologist wont just take a walk in patient. you have to be refered from a doctor, and none of them believe him. i want to believe him...i dont know what to do. any ideas? please?
-
Help?
-
In reply to: and he drinks alot to keep his blood thinned. That's a great excuse! never heard that one before!
-
First of all they can't deny him from seeing a cardiologist. I think the doctor's didn't refer him because his EKG was normal. If he had a heart attack previously the EKG can pick up on old heart attacks. If it had been abnormal, they might have done a stress test. Why is he trying to thin his blood? If anything, the alcohol will lead to heart problems in the future. If he really does think he has heart problems then by all means get a second opinion. But I would suggest he just needs to get sober. I'm afraid the only you can really do is be supportive if he truely wants help. Search the internet for some local treatment centers or AA groups. Good luck.
-
Not to mention, if he really wants to keep his blood thin, all he needs to do is take an asprin a day. That is much safer, unless he is allergic to it.
-
well, he does take asprin. he takes about..i dunno, maybe 6 a day. he also thinks that if he stops drinking then his heart will stop. i big part of me thinks that he is just an alcaholic...but he really wants help. he said he doesnt like to drink at all, he just does it to save his heart. and he refuses to go to an AA or anything. but thank you anyway.
-
In reply to: well, he does take asprin. he takes about..i dunno, maybe 6 a day People who have suffered heart attacks n stuff are only told to take 1 asprin a day, why does he take 6??????I think he does need help hon, but he has to want to help himself first!
-
Holy crap! Tell him to STOP taking 6 asprins! Heart patients take 1 81mg or 325mg a day. Most are on 81mg.(often called 'baby asprin') He sounds like he is still taking meth. Seriously. Like he's hallucinating about his heart stopping. Drinking is NOT saving his heart. It causes heart disease. And if he's not willing to go to AA, he does not want help. If he continues with this lifestyle, I'm sure he'll end up on the operating table for his heart...and liver, and stomache and....
-
HelmsmaN is right, you can't help your friend unless they want to be helped. I have a friend who is involved with some heavy shit and I've spend years trying to help her but nothing worked because she doesn't see how much harm these drugs are doing to both her body and mind. It hurts to see her go through that, as I'm sure it hurts to see your friend go through what he is. All you can do is talk to your friend and tell him you don't like seeing him do drugs, tell him that these drugs aren't worth fucking his life up over. Good luck my friend ^_^
-
he isnt doing meth anymore. he hasnt done it in about 6 years...and he does want help, but he thinks that if we go to an AA then they will just assume that he is an alcoholic (which im sure it is, and the heart pain feeling is just withdrawals...but i cant tell him that, i really dont want to hurt him). and all the asprin...ive told him that is alot. i just wnat to help him do something. so he feels safe again. thank you for everyones input.
-
In reply to:
but he thinks that if we go to an AA then they will just assume that he is an alcoholic (which im sure it is...
Well, one of the main parts of AA is to admit that you are an alcoholic. To go to AA will be helping himself, but he can't do that if he denies that he has a problem.
-
If he's in some managed care thing, like an HMO, insurance won't pay unless he gets a referral to the specialist. He always has the option of paying out-of-pocket, and if something shows up, the primary care physician will do a back-dated referral, and insurance will pay.I don't know about the heart thing, but if your friend is washing down six aspirins a day with a bottle of vodka, he will probably die from gastric bleeding. I've heard of self-medication, but in this case he might as well take rat poison...it'd be more humane.He needs to see a specialist to find the problem (if there is one) and get it fixed. If there is not a heart problem, then he should feel free to deal with his real problem, which is substance abuse. If he won't do that, then you may have the privilege of watching him die.
-
Steve, I meant you can never be denied healthcare. Yes, you need a referral for certain insurance companies, but even if you have NO insurance, you still have the right to be seen. There are many hospitals that will 'Rate' you on your income and you pay the differance.I didn't want to say anything, but I work in the cardiology department. No, I'm not a nurse. Everyone I work with is a nurse. I make the call everyday on whether a patient has had a heart attack/stroke. I know the tests and steps patients go through before they are ever put on an operating table. From the info Slinkin Stars gave, it seems as though his tests were normal and the fact that he is a drug addict/ alcoholic, are the reasons why he wasn't referred. On the other hand, if he is having chest pain, and shortness of breath, then he most certainly can see a cardiologist. People come to my hospital all the time for second opinions. I personally think this poor guy is still using drugs. He needs some rehab, but it won't help unless he really wants to be sober.
-
Yup, they theoretically can't deny you health care, but if you have no insurance, the hospital can totally nail you to the wall and destroy you financially. At least, that's how it works in the U.S. (And congress just passed a bill that Bush will sign, making it much harder to declare bankruptcy.)
But if I were a chronic drug and alcohol abuser who was worried about the functioning of his heart, I would not worry about the financial issues.
-
"A recent study by bankruptcy and medical experts at Harvard University found that more than half of the 1,771 personal bankruptcy filers in five federal courts cited medical bills as a primary reason they filed." -- NYT, 9 March 2005
