Ask Lemmy

**tl;dr ** Probably severe acid reflux but hard to say, use your insurance to get checked out, cops are a non-issue for this kind of call. To the Europeans, yes we know our health system sucks.

First off, I am not a health professional. However, based on somewhat common knowledge, If you're barfing blood or pooping what looks like coffee grinds, immediate 911 call you've got less than 24 hours left. If your chest pain continues, that's highly likely a trip to at least urgent care, don't ignore chest pains. If you woke up choking on your barf, but it settled down and able to catch your breath, and your chest pain is going away it's highly likely acid reflux which can be caused by a lot of different things. Either way you need to get looked at by a doctor soon and not consult the Internet. Your copay is shown on your insurance card for a dr's visit so you can do your financial calculations. 50 to 100 bucks now is better than 500 to 10,000 bucks later.

Don't wait either since you have insurance. Urgent care's usually covered at a more affordable rate. If you get admitted to an ER from the urgent care, MOST halfway decent insurances will cover you so you're not out hundred's of thousands of dollars for a Tylonal. Before the Europeans chime in, yes, health insurance in the US sucks. It's not free. You can talk the hospital down on your bill and you can absolutely renegotiate your minimum payment. Sometimes, if you're nice in talking to both the insurance and the hospital, a grant can be found and you owe nothing. It's a lot of work and time so don't panic when you see the first bill.

So everyone in the US knows, cops are never involved in a 911 call unless there's a crime in progress or there is an immediate threat to the responding EMS team. Don't call 911 with some kind of threat. Obviously you'll be in a panic and the 911 operator will only send what is needed.