Hey guys, I'm home. First, thank you so much for your prayers and love. Its nice to come home from horrible nurses, doctors and hospital to people that care about me. Thank you.
I'm sorry I didn't stay totally in touch consistantly. I spoke with Tonya last night, Gini in the day time, Staci the night before and Karen in there somewhere.I'm sorry, I try to call people when I know they'll be home, depending on what time I'm calling.
Rundown of my really, horrid stay:
Tuesday at 7:30 I was eating dinner. Got up and my pain (directly under my sternum...in the mooshy part. Its above my gall bladder and pancreas. This pain is what I've been getting for 5 years now. What they took out is right at my bikini line...12 cm of small intestine where it meets the colon.) hit hard and fast. I got 2 norcos and 2 phenergan, swallowed them and went to take a hot bath. (heat helps meds work and eases the pain a tiny bit) I sat in there for at least an hour. At 10:30, I still had the same pain, a little worse. I took 1 more phenergan and 2 more norcos. By 12:30, the pain was worse.
I drove myself to the ER. I was taken back at about 1:45 a.m. I had a really nice doctor and nurses. I was given dilauted (its a hydro morphine, stronger than morphine by a lot) and it took my pain away for about 20 minutes...then it returned. I was given more dilauted and then had an xray and a CT scan done. By this time, it was about 7:00 a.m. My GI (local doctor) showed up, admitted me, and ordered more tests. I was given dilauted every few hours with anti-nausea meds.
I had to have 2 ultrasounds because CT thought they detected an abcess where I had my surgery. The ultrasounds proved that it was just healing tissue...nothing wrong.
I slept on and off in my ER room and they gave me a PCA (pain med button) that would continually give me dilauted and then I could press the button when I needed extra. I was then taken to my room upstairs.
After about 10 minutes, I realized what happened. I had a migrane from the dilauted. The first time I was given that medication, I went home and had a migrane. At home, I can deal with that. But I was in a room with a dementia patient who screamed non-stop. The nurses where in there flicking on the lights, being noisy.
When I tried to tell my nurse, she said, "do you want Tylonol??" I said, no, I"m nauseas, I'm getting my pain in my abdoman back and I have a MIGRANE! I can't swallow pills if I have a migrane (besides the fact I hadn't eaten sinse dinner the evening before)...all this was around 5:00 p.m.
I asked repeatedly for new medication. I was given Tylonol, which made me even more nauseas. I sat on my bed, with an eye mask on to protect me from the light, I had stopped pressing my pain button, although I was still getting meds to increase my migrane...etc. I had to hide in the bathroom with the light out just so I could talk to Staci. I was sobbing, poor thing. Must have freaked her out.
Finally, at 9:05 p.m. I called my GI and explained the situation on his voicemail. He called me at 9:15 p.m. and asked what meds I wanted. I told him...he told me to have the charge nurse call him...I told him that was who had been ignoring me for the last 5 hours, so he called her. It was 10:40 p.m. before my meds got brought upstairs. My stupid nurse didn't know how to use/change/work the PCA, so I had to wait for the charge nurse to come to relieve me of my pain.
The next morning, I had my endoscopy with my GI. Right before the procedure, as I was going to sleep, he tells me he thinks that the reason I have this pain is because of the pain meds.
When I woke up, he gave me pictures of what I look like inside, told me all they found was gastritis and that he feels again, its the pain meds that cause my pain. (He feels they constipate me....although, I'm NEVER, nor have I EVER been constipated...does he know what Crohn's IS???...thus causing a pain in my upper abdoman. Whatever.
I returned to bed and thought about it. It didn't sit right with me. I've had this pain for 5 years. I've only been taking medicine for it for 3....the three years I've known him.
He says I'm "constipated"...but I go at least 5 times a day normally. When I have this pain, it triggers me and I go twice that amount. When I have the pain and when I start going to the potty, it accelorates the pain!!
Meanwhile, my roommate was getting more and more vocal. She was pulling the curtain between us and yelling at me to help her go to the bathroom. She's 92 and can't hear...on top of it. So, they moved me...
I called my internist and relayed this to him. He told me that he agreed with me, this isn't caused by pain medicines. He wanted me to do a specialized type of MRI that looks in that area. He thinks it may be a gall bladder duct issue.
When I saw my GI this morning, he said, "When you get home, call the office and one of the girls will call you in a prescription for Darvocet...you can't take any more norco or vicodin. Its causing your pain."
I said, "Dr. first, Darvocet doesn't work. And, I've had this pain for 2 years before I met you, you were the only one that gave me pain meds for it. So that's two years I didn't have meds that I DID have pain." I think I told him about how when I go to the bathroom when I have pain, that it makes it worse too.
He said, "Well, I don't know what it is then, just take the Darvocet"
He was mad, I could tell. I decided that he's no longer my doctor. While he has a lot of good qualities, but he's treating me like this. If you can't figure out the pain, be an adult and say it to me. Don't get all snippy!!!
So, at 7:45 a.m. I called my Cedars Specialist's office and left a message with the center. A receptionist or nurse called me around 8:00 a.m. and I told my story, crying the whole time.
I was discharged and I got home at 9:30 a.m.
I left out the other horrid nurses I had to deal with.I complained to the charge nurse about my migrane night and then stuff happened with that SAME nurse and my new roomate. Long story short, my little old lady roommate was freezing...she was by the window with only one blankie. She was there with pnemonia (spelling??)!!! So, at 4:00 a.m. I got her two warm blankets and a glass of water (she was coughing a lot). Her stupid nurse came in at 5:30 a.m. to reposition her and she kept saying, "Honey, I'm so cold, can you cover me??" The nurse IGNORED her. I got up and turned on the heater...it was set to 60!! So, I upped it to 85 and as soon as that evil nurse was gone, I got her two more blankets for her. She was soooo cold, poor thing!!!
Think she came???
After I press Submit here, I'm going to call and speak with the charge nurse...and higher. That is uncalled for!!!
Anyway, that was my experience. I demanded to be released this morning because I need to have my physical at my new job today at 1:30 and I can't miss that. I'm having a hard time finding a ride there. I still have the morphine in me....and I can't drive all the way to Simi...my mom can't leave work because she's almost by herself...David's not answering his phone. Ugh!!!
I'll update you all when I know more...and when my specialist calls.
Thanks again for all your support.
((((Hugs)))))
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