I've been having sharp sometimes burning pain in and around my ankle bone for about 4 months now. A soft brace helps some with walking, but the pain never really goes away completely and sometimes makes it near impossible to walk. Mom won't let me see the doctor since she says they'll just have me get xrays and we can't afford it, so I should go to the ER that doesn't send bill collectors against 'poor people' (parkland er in dallas). Is it worth going to the ER even though since I'm 230 lbs they will most likely tell me I'm fat, loose weight, and send me off? I'm autistic, with anxiety issues and I'm also worried if I melt down or freak out I'll be put in the mental ward.
i was going to suggest you call your local equivalent of my province's Telehealth which is basically for asking a nurse "hey what should I do about this issue" but I googled and I'm not sure if that exists in the dallas area? and i guess, if it's certain that the ER will basically be useless at you then its not worth going. but if you make it clear its impacting your ability to walk i would hope they would take a serious look at it? D:
Definitely worth getting medical treatment. Is there swelling the times it hurts more? Are there certain positions that are worse? Does elevating it help? Are there parts that are tender to the touch? If the answer to any of those is yes, then I can almost guarantee that they will take it seriously and treat it appropriately. As to dealing with anxiety there: they are very unlikely to involuntarily commit you. Vanishingly unlikely. If stays a concern, one way to have ER staff work with you is to say (in a soft, level tone) when you check in that ERs make you really anxious. If a stim helps with anxiety, or you'll be listening to something, tell the staff that you'll be doing [x] while you wait, and if they can recommend a quieter corner for you to wait in you'd appreciate it. Then take their advice, if they have it. This will engender positive feelings in the admissions nurse, and that is a thing you want, always.
i think it is really worth it to try to get it checked out because something is definitely wrong with your ankle. if they try to tell you to lose weight, bring up that you cannot walk on your ankle. no guarantee this will help, but i don't think it would hurt to bring up. i recomend trying to go in the morning. going in the afternoon or night basically guarantees a long wait whereas ER's are less likely to be busy in the morning. also, if they ask you about pain levels do not downplay it. im not really saying over exaggeration is the way to go but in my experience anything under a 4/10 is "just take a tylenol" level pain. also i agree with @Chiomi that they are unlikely to commit you. of course there are no guarantees, but here is a personal anecdote: once i was in an ER from about 12am - 9am while having a very bad manic episode (like, auditory hallucinations + screaming at the nurses level bad) that was unrelated to the reason why i went to the ER and i was not committed. they actually didn't do anything to address it at all. no mental health evaluation or anything, they really just cared about the physical. i was however not alone at the time. if you can bring a friend or something i recomend it, also companionship makes the hideously long wait times less boring.
I'll go later this week after my disability doctor appointment. @meowtini on the rocks (my roommate) is going to go with me.
