2+ hour wait at walk-in care!

[leebee]

I've been sick for 3 weeks now, and covid test keeps coming up negative. I have a whole bunch of symptoms and while it's probably "just" a cold, I'm still sick and it's taking too long to get over, and I don't want it to become bronchitis or something, so here I am at walk-in-care (at my doc's suggestion... they can't see me until Saturday). It was over 2 hours wait when I got here, and people are still coming in; in fact, they just changed the wait time to ~3 hours. Everyone's sick, it seems! I have my laptop and my Nook with me and I'll wait, but jeez... I can see how people get discouraged and just leave!

 

[slo]

Oh no….I’m sorry to hear you’re not feeling well . Sending lots of PD your way to feel better soon and to get seen by a doctor soon

 

[Micca]

Sorry you're still having problems leebee. When we got back from WDW in early May I had some sort of bronchial/upper respiratory thing that went on for two months. It was about as miserable as I've ever been, I hope you can beat this asap.

 

[barkley]

i've not tried it but a few of our local walk-in care facilities have set up electronic 'waits'. you can look on-line to see what the current estimated wait time is running, get in line electronically and then get text updates for delays and when you should show up to check in.

we are to a point where we just make an appointment with our regular doctor and wait it out if it's not a major medical issue b/c i don't want to catch something while sitting for hours in a waiting room but i totally sympathize, i do everything i can to avoid bronchitis!

hope they provide something that makes you feel better soon!

 

[CynBeth]

I would just go to your pcp if you can. You might be lucky but the urgent care places in my area are awful. A few members of my family plus friends have been misdiagnosed we have tried several of them.

 

[Magical2017]

Very frustrating! When the schools opened and my kids got sick we had "appointments" but had long waits for COVID testing. We also brought books and sat in our car until called in. Whenever something like that happens I try to think about people in countries where healthcare is not readily available, and how they would gladly wait if only to see a doctor. That doesn't make it easier, but it puts things in perspective. It still stinks to not feel well and have to sit around waiting. Hope you feel better soon!

 

[Pooh2]

In the past 2 1/2 years, our area Primary care docs will not see you in the office if you have any cold/respiratory/flu symptoms (I think it is state wide).
They automatically refer you to a walk-in or ER.
So the walk-ins and ERs have had ridiculous waits!
I have had 3 ER visits with my elderly mother in the past year, the shortest wait was 8 hours.

 

[tvguy]

We have Urgent Care Centers here, and Walk-In Clinics. Urgent Care Clinics here have Doctors and take care of people with health issues and the one time I took my mom to one it was about a 3 hour wait.
Walk-In Clinics here don't have Doctors, only nurses, and will evaluate sick people but their primary function is giving vaccinations. Never waited there more than a few minutes

 

[Dan Murphy]

Wishing you well, leebee. Hoping the wait is not much longer.

 

[focusondisney]

If you’ve already been sick for 3 weeks & you’re not getting worse, just make the appointment with your PCP. People going to urgent care for non urgent issues are part of the problem. And of course the PCP will say go to the urgent care if you think you need to be seen immediately. To do otherwise would be malpractice. But if you’re sick for 3 weeks & not getting worse, is it really urgent? Or just convenient to go today?

 

[RamblingMad]

Something is going around. Lots of sick people at work.

Any other walk-in clinics with shorter wait times?

 

[anniemae]

So scary. Many healthcare professionals are leaving the profession and I fear a shortage. This time of year it seems everyone is sick. We have a walk in clinic near us and you can sign in online at home. It tells you how long the wait is and they text you when you are about a half hour from being called. It eliminates everyone waiting for hours together in the waiting room and potentially spreading more germs.

You were smart to bring your nook! Please let us know how it turned out. Hope you feel well soon.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Hope you are doing ok and that you get an answer & help.

I have been fighting a strange chest thing that comes and goes for a few weeks too, no other symptoms other than something moving around in my chest every so often and a random coughing fit every few days that pops up and goes away, took 2 home Covid tests which were negative.

 

[mjkacmom]

There is a company here that makes house calls, dispatch health.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Being sick for 3 weeks seems unlikely to just be a cold. I often have a lingering cough when I'm sick from a sinus infection, bronchitis, cold and I had it for the flu but I don't feel sick for 3 weeks. None the less sorry you're not feeling well.

At least in our area there are some urgent cares that you can check the wait before you go. A few of them also do reservations online sorta like giving yourself priority over walk-ins (well I would assume that's the point of making a reservation). As an example a location about 10-15mins away from me I could make a reservation for 5pm (5 mins from now) today if I wanted to.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Ragweed allergy is really bad right now...lots of colds too. It's insane that reasonable access to health care continues to worsen. Premiums are sky high but it takes weeks or months to get an appointment.

Hope you feel better soon OP!

 

[anjuan]

My daughter has a really bad chest cold that was first just a cough for a couple of weeks and now has progressed where she is miserable. I took her to urgent care because I couldn't even get through to her pediatrician's office. (Thankfully the wait wasn't bad for us.) The Nurse Practitioner said that since most people haven't gotten colds the past few years our bodies are having a hard time fighting them off so it's going to be a bad season for them.

 

[leebee]

I was at walk-in care for about 4 hours, all told. Good news is they took chest x-rays and my lungs are clear; no pneumonia! Apparently the docs are seeing a covid-related pneumonia in the 65+ age group, that starts up about 3 months after having covid, which I had in early June, so the folks at walk-in care were concerned. I've been swabbed, looked at, prodded, listened to, and x-rayed. Turns out I have bronchitis and a sinus infection, so it's a good thing I didn't wait until Monday, which is the soonest my PCP could see me. I have a prescription for amoxicillin for the sinus infection and, unfortunately, prednisone to see if they can get my lungs to settle down. I've had lung issues like this before and while prednisone has worked pretty well, it makes me a tad anxious/paranoid, but I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, so I'll do it. I also took the rest of the week off from work. I have one of those jobs that has no back-up so there is often pressure to NOT take sick days, but I have really good TAs (teaching assistants) working with me this semester, so I'm not really worried about issues in the labs while I am out.

I have to say, they were crazy-busy at walk in care. The NP who saw me says it's been like this for about two weeks, basically about 2 weeks after the public schools opened and the colleges/University was back in session. (like THAT wasn't predictable!)
ETA: DD knew I was at walk-in care and was feeling lousy, so there was a surprise kettle of homemade chicken soup waiting when I got home!

 

[Mrs.Milo]

rest this week off work and have that chicken soup!

 

[leebee]

Soup was great, both for supper last night and lunch today. Update from WIC is that my covid test is negative but the PCR for flu-A came up positive. They aren't giving me an antiviral as those need to be started within 48 hours of symptoms and I've been sick for... 19 days? Anyhow, the flu "treatment" is basically the same as everything else: Rest, drink, take Tylenol/Advil, REST. Oh and keep taking the prednisone!