Hospitals

[herbs]

Well, I'm back folks. I came home on Monday evening but have been in a lot of pain and today is the first dday I can sit here at my computer. Had i know the amount of pain involved in this surgery i never would have had it.
The doctor told me that I would be laid up about three weeks but never mention the excrutiating pain. I advise all of youy, get that information don't go in blindly like i didi. You should also be aware that doctors and nurses for the most part don't care about your pain. They want you up on your feet walking around regardless of the fact that you writhing in pain.
What they do is they give you morphine, then no more for 6 hours. Unfortunately the pain comes back 1/2 hour after you get the shot which means you must spend 5 adn 1/2 hours in excruciating pain until your next shot. I had scream and go abosolute bulistic before they called for a PA who dealt with my pain issue. I even had a nurse tell me to stop screaming because I would disturb the other patients. Just what I needed to hear when my whole body is as stiff as a board and I'm realing in pain. They sure have lots of compasssion.
I'm telling you, don't let this happen to you. There is no reason to be in so much pain when you are in a hospital. It's hit and miss with the nurses. They all seem to know what they are doing however, some are much more helpful than others. Don't accept pain. Get relief!! At all cost.

[Deleted]

Herb what kind of surgery did you have? I had no idea you were going for this or maybe I forgot. Hope you have some pain meds. to take at home. Fell better.

[herbs]

I had a hernia repaired. The hernia happened because of what started out as an appendectamy. Then that operation caused an intestinal block so another operation and then a final operation to releive a staph infection that developed. I was in the hospital for a month. This was two years ago. The hernia developed 4 months after getting out of the hospital. It kept getting larger and had to be fixed. My big complaint was that they did a poor job of managing the pain.

[Deleted]

Herb, sorry to hear about your medical nightmare. Did you get a script for pain meds for home?

[Barry]

Herb hang in there your on the path to better health

[Fran Gyomory]

Joe had abdominal surgery back in 1997 and found out he was allergic to morphine. When he told the resident (it was at UVA Hospital, a teaching hospital) she took him off ALL pain meds. I nearly went for her throat!!!!! I got the surgeon on the phone and told him what happened and they immedately ordered another pain med. I will NO LONGER consider a teaching hospital. This particular resident was from India and didn't give a rats' behind about Joe's pain level.

[herbs]

They gave me a pain med for home. It's call Lasic but it's the generic. One of the intersting things that happened to me when I spent a month in the hospital two years ago was that all the food tasted horrible. I couldn't stand the taste of anything I ate and therefore couldn't swallow it. They sent the dietician up everyday to tell mne the two weeks of just wter wasn't good for. Then Someone said, maybe it's the medication you are taking that is causign the problem. So, I decide to try one med at a time and stop taking it. I had to beg for my meds and they didn't give them to me unless i asked so the first thing I tried was the lasic. Wouldn't you know that within two days i could tolerate food again. There are just too many people handling the different aspects of your care so the associatioin was not made. But what i'm trying to tell everyone is, DON"T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. Open your mouth and scream on top of your lungs like I did. Sometimes, it's the only way to get these short sighted people to understand what is going on. How you could suggest that someone who is suffering from severe pain spasms that is causing his whole body to tighten up he stop screaming because he might disturb the other patients is totally heartless. Who thew hell cares about everyone else? They weren't experiencing my pain. If you ever have the misfortune of being in Smalbany and need to go to a hospital, don't go to St. Peter's. He might be the next one you meet.

[Deleted]

I am so sorry to hear about your terrible problems with pain, Herb. Basically there is no reason for a person to be left hanging like that. The best time to discuss pain management is before the surgery, with the surgeon and/or anesthesiologist. There are little machines that can be used for pain relief that allow you to pump out tiny doses of morphine up to every 6 minutes or so. Over the years my daughter, who is frequently on pain management in the hospital, uses much less morphine over a 24 hour period and experiences a lot less pain. Good luck with your continued recovery, Herb, and may you be pain-free.

[carjoh5]

Herb,
Sorry to hear about your problems with the hospital, and also hope things are getting better each day.
Herb, what Liz was saying is true, I has that machine, and you can hit the drops on your own, I was afraid that I would over do it, but the nurses said you cannot over doze yourself, it will stop giving you if you go over the set amount. But really it does help..
Hope you will be feeling much better in a few days.. Take care my friend and one day at a time.. Remember this:
[glow=red,2,300]THE BRONX, N.Y Only The Strong Survive[/glow]