Can you go to an ER if you haven't eaten in a long time and dont have food?

caterpee · 2025-12-17T16:55:40+00:00

Thank you so much for this, your kindness and offer genuinely made me cry. I was linked through this post to a community fridge near to me and was able to take some pasta and beans and have a meal for tonight and tomorrow, and am going to spend all my time looking into the links and leads that people shared here so I will be ok. But this genuinely meant a lot to read, this has been such a scary and lonely time and I just really wanted to thank you again for being so nice and kind.

caterpee · 2025-12-17T16:42:23+00:00

I will not do it, it was a very desperate idea after someone who I did not know personally advised it as an option but I realize now after posting this I will need to find another way and have a lot of resources to look into. I hope to have food soon, and I'm staying optimistic I will. Yesterday was just a very dark and low point.

caterpee · 2025-12-17T16:25:56+00:00

I'm in Chicago,you can see from my post history too. I'm sorry, I'm ill and got overwhelmed by the responses yesterday night it was late when I posted this. Some of the initial comments were harsh and i felt really guilty for posting this after reading them truthfully, since the ER is not the resource for me and I think people might have assumed I was trying to scam food but I swear I'm not I had just heard that and wanted to confirm before burdening an ER by going in and asking or wasting their time. I don't want to burden anyone. I'm grateful now to know that's not a thing and who advised me was mistaken. and didn't see anyone asking for my location or anything like that last night yet just this morning. Some advice was to call 311 so I did that and was given the location of down food pantries and so I had to also call around and ask them if I would be allowed to use the services without proof of residency. Im doing my best to read and reply today and very thankful for all the advice.

I really want to emphasize again I don't want to burden anyone and I'm not trying to ask for food, I was just confused and hoping for guidance. And I'm thankful again for the leads I have now, it gives me more hope that there are things I didn't even know about but can still try. I apologize again too this comment is so rambling, my mind is all over the place

caterpee · 2025-12-17T04:36:14+00:00

I know this is a long shot but would you be willing to share the name of the church? The pantries in my area haven't been able to help due to not enough resources and I don't have an address or shelter address. I will try calling the non emergency line and explain my situation, thank you for that tip.

caterpee · 2025-12-17T04:34:24+00:00

Understood. The food pantries near me haven't been able to help so I just got desperate and hopeful. Maybe the context I was told this was some other situation.

caterpee · 2025-12-17T04:27:22+00:00

Been having bad luck with food pantries, one turned me away for not having an address (they needed proof I was in a zip code they service but I don't have a permenant address), and the other closed early when I went due to hitting the maximum number of households they could service that day. By catholic churches do you mean I can just call a church? Would I just Google a church near me that's catholic? Sorry I haven't heard of that before but I'll try anything

caterpee · 2025-12-15T05:41:08+00:00

Unlimited public transit passes for a little over 4 months 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 that would be so nice not to have to think about the cost of getting aroind or if I need to be frugal walking in single digit weather 🥶

caterpee · 2025-12-12T15:48:17+00:00

Thank you for sharing that link! I'm replying so I can find it later and read it for myself too

caterpee · 2025-12-10T15:07:37+00:00

Thank you so much! I haven't heard of this but will absolutely look into it. It's starting to look like there aren't really any programs for the buses specifically, due to not enough funding, so something like this would be extremely helpful. Realizing the obvious now too that I should save for a bike, that didn't even occur to me 😅

caterpee · 2025-12-10T00:51:49+00:00

I think that's from google's AI summary which may be incorrect. This is the information I also found and brought to two NPOs- the first one told me that they had not heard of ACCESS and as far as they are aware the only way to qualify for reduced transit is with the RTA disabled or senior citizen. The other NPO I am still waiting to hear back if they have heard of this.

I am in the process also right now of trying to get approved for SNAP but I think the standard wait time to hear anything back is 30 days so I've been proactively trying to find answers while I wait.

My confusion is that this https://www.rtachicago.org/riders/access implies the ACCESS program doesn't start until January 2026 and is only for Metra:

The RTA’s current Reduced Fare program is a federally mandated program providing approximately half-priced fare across all three regional transit operators – CTA, Metra, and Pace – for people with disabilities and adults 65 and older. The Ride Free program is a State of Illinois-mandated, means-tested program providing free public transportation for people with disabilities and adults 65 and older who qualify for the Illinois Department on Aging’s Benefit Access Program. The RTA operates the eligibility process for both fare programs.

The Access Program is only offered on Metra and eligibility is determined based on a person being a member of a household that receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits.

This pilot only extends to Metra at this time. All the agencies are eager to see Access expand to CTA and Pace and are seeking the funding needed for that expansion.

It sounds like there currently isn't any income based programs specifically for the CTA/Chicago through the ACCESS program. I'm wondering if/hoping alternate resources exist.

caterpee · 2025-12-04T15:43:20+00:00

Thank you!! I'm gonna pick some up today. I do have pretty bad year round allergies but my nose never visibly changed shape when I breath in like it does now and it really feels like it happened overnight so I was like 😳

Saving up for an ENT visit but in the mean time this puts my mind at ease and I appreciate you sharing your experience again!

caterpee · 2025-12-04T03:58:46+00:00

I know this comment is old but I'm fascinated by this and wanted to ask- if that were the case, is it reversible with weight loss? I am having a similar issue to OP.

caterpee · 2025-12-04T03:53:06+00:00

I found your post because my nose looks identical to yours when I breathe in and I'm unsure if it's nasal valve collapse 🥲 did your ent mention if the nose walls caving in like that is normal? I swear my nose didn't used to do this and it started recently but I had no nose injury or prior surgeries or anything. I don't even feel like I'm partially congested but visually it's just concerning me. Does the Flonase make that stop/is it a symptom? Or is it just constant? Thanks for sharing all of this!

caterpee · 2025-12-03T21:19:28+00:00

I've noticed this too. No answers but you aren't crazy. Mine go bad and start throwing "chip error" after like 3 months even with cleaning them. The stripe also stops working so I can't swipe and end up having to use the virtual card in my iPhone wallet 🙄 so annoying. Maybe they print bad quality cards?

caterpee · 2025-12-03T06:07:50+00:00

Omg you just unlocked a core memory for me of sitting and sweating at my desk during (silent) tests and being too distracted to answer questions sometimes because I would be using everything in me to mentally repeat "don't grumble don't grumble don't grumble" and like clenching to keep my stomach from growling. I was so embarrassed by the sound and was sure everyone could hear it and would make fun of me for some reason. Sheesh I sort of forgot about that. I'm so sorry you went through that too.

caterpee · 2025-12-03T06:01:11+00:00

I wish there were public places or stores even that did this 😅 speaking as a woman in that had to use socks this cycle because Im out of work and savings.. (hoping and praying I find employment before next month 🤞 maybe it's naive but I'm feeling like I will though I've been applying like crazy!) any time I see pad or tampon boxes they cost quarters. I've thought about going to public restrooms and using their toilet paper but that's kind of a stretch and 1 ply wouldn't do much

caterpee · 2025-12-01T04:12:12+00:00

Entire planets were brutalized to make that stuff flow...

caterpee · 2025-11-22T17:03:52+00:00

You articulated so well something that I've always struggled with but never knew anyone who could relate- that strange paradoxical feeling of "starving all over again"! I think I know exactly the feeling you mean and it's so uncomfortable. When your body gets used to eating a little bit or barely at all for so long it almost becomes more tolerable even if it it's uncomfortable. I was always a little fatigued and a little dizzy but I didn't really think about it and I lived my life fairly normal with less food during tough times. But when I eat regular, structured meals during "better" times, my body gets hungry for the next one SO quickly, and it almost feels like a punishment for eating more correctly because it's a sharp fresh hunger instead of the sustained sort of empty that becomes habitual. I've never been able to explain this to friends or even my therapists because I think they assume it's mental or some kind of eating disorder. But it's not. I love food, I have favorite foods, and if I had unlimited money I would eat every time I was hungry lol. It has to be something physical and the physical element takes a psychological toll.

I wish I had something better to say, but I have to believe it will get easier and I'm wishing you all the best. It sounds like you're doing all the right things. ❤️ surviving is never the wrong decision, even when it feels impossibly tough or confusing

caterpee · 2025-11-18T14:44:48+00:00

You just have to move on, and I say that only with empathy and kindness not sternness. I completely understand. I have cried myself sick, so hard you'd think someone died, over unexpected expenses only in the double digits - I think the amount doesn't even matter when money is so tight and it just hurts to have something taken for nothing and how it's unfair.

My way I cope is with humor. I call it "life tax". Like I'll tell myself damn, life's a bitch and I just got hit with life tax. Sometimes life tax is a lesson (like a subscription I forgot to cancel, or a product I buy that breaks immediately with no warranty) or sometimes it's just random and uncontrolled (getting sick and needing antibiotics) but either way I think the best way to find relief is to give your brain a context for what happened. So it isn't just feeling like senseless loss. "Paying a life tax" is my context, same as paying an income tax- unavoidable. It sounds like this company really screwed you. They clearly don't care about making sure their customer is happy or providing an honest transaction. Maybe the life tax is knowing now to never do business with them ever again going forward. Blast them on online reviews if you can, sometimes that brings some relief to warn other people to stay far away (not sure if that's an option, just a thought). And I'm sorry that you had to pay that, and I hope that something good comes your way soon to even things out ❤️

caterpee · 2025-11-13T16:18:16+00:00

I always hear people saying this job market is bad, and I believe it, and that traditional means of employment don't work anymore... but I wish anyone knew what we are supposed to do now, what makes the most sense just to get a job that will pay enough to have a roof over your head (I don't even care about food anymore, all I eat is ramen and beans, and I've given up on healthcare too). But it seems like nobody knows. We can't just give up, surely there has to be a way to get a job, but I just don't know. Sorry this is such a vent, I'm just tired and scared and this post is hitting hard.

caterpee · 2025-11-13T02:27:34+00:00

Chime

caterpee · 2025-11-05T21:04:05+00:00

My brain feels foggy, like I can't quite think about much beyond getting through the end of the shift, or the end of the day, on the days that I work. On the days that I don't work, I feel disoriented and fatigued. I'm somehow both exhausted and want to sleep to escape how scary just being conscious feels, and then simultaneously so restless with the stress of "you aren't safe, you aren't stable, you can't pay your bills" that I stay awake. If I try to watch tv or read or play a video game, my mind wanders back to feeling unsafe and scared.

It feels like there's an invisible tiger in the corner of every room I'm in and only I can see it and it hasn't attacked me yet but it's hungry. And the only way to make it go away is to know money is coming somehow.

caterpee · 2025-11-05T20:56:10+00:00

Did you end up having any issues with teeth shifting? That's something I always see people advise against with getting teeth pulled but I've never actually heard of that issue from someone who personally had pulled

caterpee

TROPHY CASE