Dr. Madeline Regal

Severe Medical Misdiagnosis & Violation of Rights I was brought to this ER in the middle of a life-threatening medical crisis caused by a toxic interaction between my daily snri meds and a standard dose of cough dxm. My med is a known potent inhibitor that can cause cough medicine levels to spike to toxic, dissociative levels. Instead of identifying this pharmacological emergency (Serotonin Syndrome Toxidrome), the staff dismissed my involuntary physical thrashing and confusion as "behavioral issues." I was denied a medical bed and involuntarily committed to a psych ward for over a week. While there, I was coerced into taking anti psych meds under the threat of a 2-week extension if I refused. This was a documented substance-induced episode, not a psychiatric one. The hospital’s failure to screen for this well-known drug interaction led to medical trauma and a total violation of my rights. I am sharing this so others on maintenance medications know this facility may prioritize a… psychiatric label over actual toxicological care.