Complaint Review: Center For Nicotine Dependency

I paid to go to this clinic to rid myself of tobacco addiction. I was told it involved an injection, some pills and a patch like you would wear behind your ear on a cruise. I was informed that before I was given the shot I would have to undergo an EKG, a PFT (Pulmonary function test) and a blood pressure exam. (My blood pressure is always low, so this was important.) My first EKG came back abnormal and was run again. It came back with the same results "abnormal: causes could be myocardial infarction or cerebral vascular accident".

The PFT and blood pressure were never done. I underwent a PFT at the hospital two weeks prior to visiting the clinic, and they accepted those results. The Doctor came in the room, injected my arm so fast it was unreal, and as he was whizzing by I asked about the EKG. His reply was "its no big deal. You want it?" With that, he tossed the results in my lap and walked out of the room. Within 2 days of the treatment, I was so sick, and over the next 6 days literally did not know where I was at.

My former mother in law is a retired nurse and tried to get me to consent to be hospitalized because my heart rate had dropped to 38 beats per minute. Reason being, the medications I was sent home with were (1) high blood pressure medication and (2) and antidepressant. Now I have low blood pressure and was being treated with an antidepressent. It was listed on my patient history. The doctor simply did not look at it. I finally ended up in the emergency room because poison control said I needed to go (I called them to see if there was something I could take to get the 4 drugs he had given me out of my system because I was so dizzy and out of it). The emergency room doctor said that I should have NEVER been given that mix of medications, and that the problem with the EKG was that a lead had been left off. The doctor said it was understandable that I spent a week worried about my heart, that the procedure should not have been performed until the reason for my bad EKG and been addressed. I want to impress that there is a lot left out of this complaint because there are 8 days that I DO NOT REMEMBER. My respirations had slowed so much due to my blood pressure being so low that I slept constantly until the medication worked itself out of my system. My ex husband and his mother were here around the clock and have other information - I am still piecing it all together. I paid $500.00 to stop smoking, and it nearly killed me. As I said, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is much I simply cannot recall.

Pamela
Calhoun, Georgia
U.S.A.