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Went to surgeon today

went to surgeon today

Well, I am so frustrated today.. I went in for my doctors appointment today to see this Dr Edmond for a 2nd opinion, about what to do about my FIstulas. apparently this guy has been in practice for 100 years (according to my doctor) so I made an appt to see him today.. I took off work at 9am so that I could arrange for transportation up to Ft Wayne, got there, and the nurses said the doctor had an emergency surgery and rescheduled me for Monday at 10pm..

I am so upset about this, because I made the appt 3 weeks ago, and they never called to tell me or anything, and I had to pay someone to take me there and back, and had to miss work and everything, when the nurse just didn't take the time to call me when they said they knew in advanced 24 hrs prior.. they had just not called but instead sent out a letter that I haven't even recieved in the mail yet... like geez they could have valled :(

in the meantime, I am in so much pain its unreal, and they wouldn't give me anything for it in the meantime without a doctors ok, so if things don't improve tonight I may end up having to go into ER tonight or tomorrow, I am in alot of rectal pain, frustrated, just not in a good mood at all today over this..

I didn't say anything to anyone of course, I mean, I am not like most guys in that situation and fly off the handle at the nurses or anything like that. I am always a gentleman even when things get on my nerves on the inside. :) I'm just aggrivated that they didn't call me is all when they knew ahead of time about it.. They knew I had to drive from Warsaw, a 45 minute drive out of town, when I can't drive a car meaning I had to arrange for transportation and everything, yet they still didn't feel the need to call me when they found out instead of just writing me a letter.. takes a week to get anything in snail mail I thought everyone knew that.. (shrugs) oh well.. I just hope he is there Monday now.. but in the meantime, I got a note from them that says the doctor had amergency surgery today and rescheduled for Monday. I had them write out such a note for me, so I wouldn't get in trouble at work for missing both Thurs and Mon.. my work tends to write you up and get mad if you miss work without a doctors note... THey already give me a hard time as it is, because the insurance they pay for for me costs them more for the Remicade I am on, they already give me a hard time for that as it is...
 
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punky_liz

Guest
Doctors I think just don't understand. And the people at work, as if you don't feel sick enough they make you feel bad for getting medication that is supposed to make you feel better, that's just wrong. I think some people don't have hearts.
 
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Kate

Guest
That really sucks they should understand that if they know 24 hours in advance that you should know to, if you didnt call them to tell them you cant make it they get anoyed so i think that the curtiousy should be showen to us as well since we are the client
 
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ElaineH

Guest
Sorry to hear you had the runaround! Why can't people be more considerate? Grrr! I really hope you get this all sorted on Monday, and I know you say you aren't the type to complain, but you can still have your say and put it in such a way that you will still be a gentleman! Good luck for Monday :thumleft:

Elaine x
 
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Valentina

Guest
sorry you got messed around with your appointment. stuff like that drives me crazy! hope it all goes well on Monday, and good luck.
 
thanks guys,

I guess what annoys me the most, is not so much getting the runaround, but that I have to sit in extreme pain the rest of the weekend until Monday...

Normally, I take either Darvocet for pain, or an antibiotic which seems to take the infection away, but I talked to the doctors nurse, and they won't give me anything for pain, tylenol, advil, none of those medications are strong enough, the pain is way too strong for those, normally Darvocet takes the pain away and makes me a little "high" afterwards, well talkative, but gives me constipation which I believe is what there most concerned about.. and they've never allowed me anything other then that, and when they do allow it (like after surgeries) they only allow me 10 pills to last me a month, or something like that, so the majority of the time I have to lay in a bath of water to get the pain to go away, otherwise its a throbbing cronic pain that doesn't go away no matter what I do, only way they can get to to stop until they figure out what to do for me, is to poke it from the outside with a 13 inch long needle with a ball on the end of it that blows air up inside there forcing the infection out..

for those who don't know what I mean, I have a Fistula that is right around the spincter muscle, they have tried everything but a Fistulotomy to close it up, but nothing seems to be working, not even Remicade, and they won't perform a Fistulotomy because it would involve cutting the spincter muscle, which would mean adult diapers rest of my life.... I told my doctor once I said...."I would rather be given a temporary colostomy bag then to wear paper diapers rest of my life" and he agreed, but won't do the ostomy for me either at this point because he doesn't want to put me thru all that... I am thinking to myself...what, cronic pain is less intense then that?? give me a break, I had a tube stuck down my nose without novacaine and that wasn't nearly as painful and discomforting as this, I can't immagine an ostomy being worse then that.....I can't immagine nothing worse then what I've been thru with this thing these last 3 years to be honest, the pain is so bad that the only thing that is settling it down is sitting in bath water, so that is what i did all of lastnight sat in the tub all night, then had to get up for work this morning, luckily we only had to work a half day today, now this evening is going to be more baths until Monday probably...:(

take care guys
 

Kev

Senior Member
I'm a newbie here, but this helped me deal with pain..

My story, short & sweet. diagnosed with polycystitus (sp?), pancreatitus, pancreatic cysts, diverticulitis and colitis. (dr's never figured out which came
first, but think 1 snowballed and caused all of the rest)... At the worst of it,
pain was the most intense I've ever felt (over the years I've been stabbed, shot, even had kidney stones - none of them compared to this) Only relief I got was meds, 3 times a day, made all but the pancreatitis pain go away for approx 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Rest of the time I just had to deal with it. At height of worst of it, I grabbed onto headboard of bed, and snapped it like a twig..
(they'd put me on antibiotics for colitis/diverticulitis, and it caused ulcers in the stomach). Needless to say, it wasn't pleasant. Now, I had stopped using
drugs years ago, but a friend persuaded me to try toking... and it helped (bit)
I also removed all caffeine from my system... and that helped too. (pain meds
had codiene, caused constipation, which was sort of a win/lose propostion, so
I eventually tried weaning myself off them... but the absolute best thing that
helped me (and i'm no expert, only been ill with this 1 & 1/2 years, everybody
is different) was going to a chiropractor... Think the pain causes the body to
tense up, sustained tension only increases pain duration/severity. After some
sessions with chiro, I noticed significant improvement in pain levels, but not in
symptoms... I also stopped being so much of a gentleman whenever doctors,
specialists, etc., would screw me over too... Not to say I became an asshole
(no pun intended)... I didn't get irate, no tantrums, what have you. Instead I
became my own health advocate... In nice. calm mannerly fashion I'd detail
to receptionist, nurse, intake worker, etc., what any cancellations, delays or
postponements meant to me... then I'd repeat the process with everyone in
the circle... Unless they want a lawsuit, they have to listen, even note what
you're telling them... and bear in mind they are conscious of the fact that you
could turn this into a lawsuit down the road... It serves two purposes. First,
you are less likely to be overlooked (not worth the aggravation/liability to them UNLESS it's absolutely necessary - next time they have to reschedule
they will damned sure call) Second, you aren't swallowing the bitter pill they're
dishing out - all of the pent up anger/hostility isn't doing you/your condition any good... let it out in a 'politically correct' AND positive manner. You aren't
merely speaking up (albeit politely) for just yourself, but all other patients. My
method worked for me (stopped internalizing all of that crap -again no pun),
simply because I was forced into it.. I'm 6' 3", and built like (or was before I
got ill) a linebacker... Staff see me throw a tantrum, they just call the cops.

Anyway, removing stressors in my life helped with pain. Some have suggested
I also try accupuncture, accupressure, herbal teas, holistic or substitute aids,
etc.. Haven't tried those (yet)... Still pursuing more orthodox treatment for
a cure. But I keep an open mind. This time it seems to be working, so far...
 
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