Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

A costly anomaly on a brain MRI

Kevin Davis
Patient
December 14, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share

It started with a mild case of nausea and got progressively worse. I became dizzy and shaky, but tried to ignore it. There was work to be done that afternoon. We were moving boxes into storage at my in-laws’ house in Michigan, and I needed to be strong. I carried boxes on unsteady feet, catching myself before bumping into walls. By early evening my legs were wobbly, and I felt like I was horribly seasick.

The room was spinning and I had to lie down. I vomited. I laid back down. I vomited again, violently. I kept vomiting until there was nothing left. I had severe vertigo and couldn’t sit up without my head spinning, my stomach in spasms. My family called an ambulance. That’s when the meter started running on a medical bill that never seemed to end and when I got a diagnosis that marked me as someone sicker than I really was. I was a self-employed husband and father of a 1-year-old boy. We had a private health insurance plan that carried a $7,500 deductible. The bills would be crushing.

The medics came, checked my vitals, hoisted me onto a gurney, gave me an EKG and rushed me to the ER. The good news: It wasn’t a heart attack. At the hospital, they gave me IV fluids and rolled me into an MRI machine to scan my brain and neck. They found nothing unusual. A resident physician said it was probably labyrinthitis, an inner ear disorder that causes vertigo. They gave me anti-nausea medicine and sent me home with a script. By time I left the hospital five hours later, I owed $11,648.05. About three hours later, as we were driving home to Chicago, someone from the ER called my cell phone. A radiologist saw something on the MRI that another overlooked. Tiny spots of light, foci, indicated a tiny brain infarction. Then came the dreaded word: stroke. I needed to see a neurologist right away.

Stroke? How could that be? I was in my mid 40s and healthy. I exercised 3 to 4 days a week. Quit smoking years ago. They wanted lots of tests: TEE, CTA of the head and neck, with and without contrast, Holter monitor and recording, echocardiogram-doppler, hypercoagulation panels and more. It would cost $9,000. My expenses were pushing $20,000 now. A radiologist reported I have severe arterial plaque. I might be at risk for another stroke.

The neurologist ordered me to take blood thinners, cholesterol and high blood pressure meds. A week later, I learned a test was misread. I didn’t have severe arterial plaque or blockage. I was normal, not at high risk for stroke, but they kept me on the meds anyway as a precaution. I had to pay more than $300 a month for Lipitor for my moderately high cholesterol (188), the blood thinner Plavix and lisinopril for high blood pressure. My primary care doctor thought this was excessive. He believed I had labyrinthitis that caused such severe vomiting I may have dislodged a small blood clot during a violent bout of retching. My neurological tests showed no damage from this alleged stroke. But insurance claim forms and bills marked me as a stroke victim. I couldn’t get a decent life insurance policy.

A year later I got dizzy at the playground with my 2-year-old son. I felt seasick and wobbly. I rushed home to lie down. My doctor ordered another MRI. It would cost $3,000 out of pocket. He recommended a place that discounted if you pay cash or credit. I paid $1,200 on a credit card. My brain was clean. No sign of stroke. It must have been labyrinthitis again. My primary care doc had another radiologist take a look. He confirmed there was no stroke. I probably didn’t have one the first time, either. Whatever showed up on that initial bran scan was an anomaly. A costly one. Was all that testing and drug therapy necessary?

Bills from the hospital, physicians, specialists and diagnostic services totaled more than $20,000. I’d had to shell out $7,500 to make the deductible, plus 20 percent for out of network costs because I was at an out of state hospital. In one year I paid $14,700 (including monthly premiums) before I could see a dollar in coverage for a diagnosis that grew more dubious each day.

Four years later, I’m still paying, and have become well aware of the cost of care. It’s dizzying.

Kevin Davis is a participant, Costs of Care essay contest.

costs_of_care_logo_small

This post originally appeared on the Costs of Care Blog. Costs of Care is a 501c3 nonprofit that is transforming American health care delivery by empowering patients and their caregivers to deflate medical bills. Follow us on Twitter @costsofcare.

Prev

Medical scribes are a solution to click overload

December 14, 2014 Kevin 79
…
Next

Physicians and medical students stage a die-in

December 14, 2014 Kevin 36
…

Tagged as: Emergency Medicine, Neurology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Medical scribes are a solution to click overload
Next Post >
Physicians and medical students stage a die-in

ADVERTISEMENT

More in Patient

  • AI’s role in streamlining colorectal cancer screening [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • There’s no one to drive your patient home

    Denise Reich
  • Dying is a selfish business

    Nancie Wiseman Attwater
  • A story of a good death

    Carol Ewig
  • We are warriors: doctors and patients

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Patient care is not a spectator sport

    Jim Sholler
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the heart of medicine is more than science

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • How Ukrainian doctors kept diabetes care alive during the war

      Dr. Daryna Bahriy | Physician
    • Why Grok 4 could be the next leap for HIPAA-compliant clinical AI

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How women physicians can go from burnout to thriving

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What a childhood stroke taught me about the future of neurosurgery and the promise of vagus nerve stimulation

      William J. Bannon IV | Conditions
    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the heart of medicine is more than science

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • How Ukrainian doctors kept diabetes care alive during the war

      Dr. Daryna Bahriy | Physician
    • Why Grok 4 could be the next leap for HIPAA-compliant clinical AI

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How women physicians can go from burnout to thriving

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What a childhood stroke taught me about the future of neurosurgery and the promise of vagus nerve stimulation

      William J. Bannon IV | Conditions
    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...