What a fucking day yesterday!

[EstimatedProphet]

OK, so TheProphetess has been making progress in recovering from surgery pretty well. That is, until yesterday morning...

The muscles in her leg seized up really bad, and she went into extreme pain. Like, as in twice-what=-the-original-pain-was pain. We had to go to the emergency room. The doctor put her on Valuim because apparently the Flexeril wasn't doing its job in reducing the swelling and relaxing the muscles. It helped a little, so that was a good sign.

So, when we got back home she called the surgeon to let them know, because they still haven't done a post-op visit. Well, the surgeon HAD to see her yesterday. He simply couldn't accept not seeing her. I asked if there were any other options, because her surgeon's office is an hour's drive and she can't sit in the car for more than a few minutes in this condition. The only other option is to pull off at the nearest hospital if she can't make it, and then her surgeon can talk to the doctor there. I was already convinced this was a dumb idea, but they were convinced she had to come in, so she took another percocet and we tried to make the drive. We didn't even make it out of town. Back to the emergency room we go.

So, this is the part of the story where I really get pissed off. The ER doctor who saw her in the morning was still around, and did call the surgeon, and cleared things up with no problem. No further diagnostic tests either. She got a different prescription for painkillers that have helped. Everything is now back to normal. So, what I don't get is WHY THE FUCKING HELL HER SURGEON SAW FIT TO TRY AND ORDER HER INTO 2 HOURS IN THE CAR WHEN IT IS CLEARLY AGONIZING TO DO SO? And, on top of that, since all he did was talk to the ER doctor, WHY THE HELL COULDN'T HE HAVE DONE THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?

I am absolutely stunned and disgusted by the arrogance of this doctor, that he was so clearly unconcerned as to the physical and emotional pain he would cause to his patient, WHEN HE COULD HAVE DONE THE EXACT SAME THING HE ENDED UP DOING ANYWAY, minus the 2 hours in a car!

[XemaSab]

1. That's really lame.

I'm sorry to hear that the Prophetess is going through all this.

(ps I thought this was going to be a sex thread ;) )

[TheProphetess]

2. LOL! I wish it was about sex!

I'd much rather have sex stories to report than excruciating pain stories! That was funny. :)

I'm in much better shape now. Thanks. :hug:

I have a big ol' list of complaints for the neurosurgeon when I go back for my post-op visit Friday. One of the new complaints is that, when I called them to say I had been in the ER, the condescending receptionist said, "Why didn't you call us first instead of going to the Emergency Room?" I was damn pissed at her fucking tone! I said, "First of all, I did call you but it was 8:00 in the morning and your office was CLOSED! Second, if I had called you and said that I was in excruciating pain, you would have said, 'Why did you call us? Go to the ER!'" I've had it up to my ears with that woman. Every time I talk to her she treats me like I'm 2 years old. I literally am going to say to the surgeon, "You must have a lot of 2-year-old patients, don't you? Because your receptionist talks to me like I'm 2!" I don't even talk to my 9-year-old nephew with the tone she uses. Oy!

[johnnie]

3. Man,that sucks...

Get better soon Prophetess :hug:

[TheProphetess]

5. Thanks

The new meds are making a HUGE difference. I'm in much less pain now. Yesterday, I thought I might die from pain (if that is possible). It was bad, bad, bad. EP and I were both really scared.

Thankfully, they've given me some serious meds - not the baby drugs they sent me home with. Get this, I came home from surgery with Motrin for inflammation. Freaking Motrin. And I got Vicodin for pain after SPINAL SURGERY. I was given Vicodin when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I ended up taking the Percocet I had left over from the pre-surgery pain. Plus, I was taking Flexeril as a muscle relaxer - now I'm on Valium which is much better. They gave me a steroid pack for the inflammation and a pain patch that lasts 3 days so that I don't keep having rebound pain. Life is a happier place now. :)

[EstimatedProphet]

7. I can't even put into words how disgusted I am

And this fucker is going to hear every word I can't say right now, once I get to see him in person!

[XemaSab]

15. It's amazing how stupid doctors can be.

Trust me, I know. :(

[dogday]

4. Some Dr.'s can be very arrogant

I am sorry she is having so much pain, I had something similar and it just about killed me... I hope she feels better soon....

[TheProphetess]

6. It's getting better now but I'm going to be very proactive in making sure

it stays this way. I am going to demand the good drugs to keep me from the tremendous pain. Isn't that what narcotics are for? :shrug:

[dogday]

9. Sometimes you have to get mean, especially

when it comes to the pain-killers.... I had a charlie horse that lasted 35 minutes and I was calling God to take me home it hurt so bad... I feel for you... Take care of yourself....

[EstimatedProphet]

8. Arrogant doesn't begin to describe it

worst of all is his receptionist, who talks to everyone like they are 2 years old. Every time we have to talk to her, her attitude is that she obviously knows so much more about everything than anyone else could possibly know. I'm fed up with her.

[khashka]

10. Surgeon and arrogance

are essentially the same word.

I hate to hear this about your good lady wife. The surgery should have reduced her pain, not increased it. But healing takes time and it ain't always easy. Still, seeing someone you love hurting and not being able to stop it..... it's awful.

You might want to look into her medication, though. Flexeril is a muscle relaxant. Valium is a tranquilizer. Both can help with certain types of pain. But surgical pain? I don't think so. I'm no doctor but I can't beleive either were prescribed for post surgical pain.

Her doctor's behavior is unacceptable. It could have been handled over the phone. If he was worried about complications.... then he should have seen her himself.

I'm sorry to hear this. I was thinking about The Prophetess today. I was gonna ask you how she was doing. A little ironic, huh?

Now quit posting and go take care of her! Make her a cup of tea, hold her hand, whatever. I'm sure the experience was much worse for her than you. And she could probably use a little TLC.

Khash.

[EstimatedProphet]

11. I agree about the surgeons

That's one of the things that really always pisses me off-these guys always talk down to me like I just fell off the turnip wagon. I have a doctorate in biology, and it really bugs me to have people talk to me like there's no possible way I could understand what they are talking about unless they treat me like a child.

One thing though:
You might want to look into her medication, though. Flexeril is a muscle relaxant. Valium is a tranquilizer. Both can help with certain types of pain. But surgical pain? I don't think so. I'm no doctor but I can't beleive either were prescribed for post surgical pain.
They were actually prescribed for the nerve pain. Her sciatic nerve has been compressed for so long, now it's going berserk. The surgery actually isn't much of a problem anymore.

Her doctor's behavior is unacceptable. It could have been handled over the phone. If he was worried about complications.... then he should have seen her himself.
Exactly, and making someone spend an hour on the road, and then back too, just to ask the same damned questions that were asked by someone else earlier that day is completely unacceptable. Hell, this asshole can drive. He should have come to us, not the other way around! The whole point of the problem was that she was in so much pain that a car trip was out of the question

Now quit posting and go take care of her! Make her a cup of tea, hold her hand, whatever. I'm sure the experience was much worse for her than you. And she could probably use a little TLC.
Already been doing that. I'll let her say so.

[TheProphetess]

12. You're too kind

I appreciate your concern. :hug: It's very sweet that you were just wondering about me.

You're right about how hard it is to watch someone you love in pain. It's been such a roller coaster ride that I keep telling EP to take some time to himself (but he won't listen to me). I don't want him to get over stressed. I've been sleeping on and off most of the day today (and yesterday after we finished with the ER visits). He's been such an amazing support for me - I honestly am in awe of his caregiving nature. I am a very lucky woman to have him as my partner.

By the way, hot tea is my drink of choice when I need to relax. You're really on my wavelength today! :pals:

Now I'm back off to the bed. I feel so exhausted after these last couple of days.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

17. Did your headache go away? I guess one of the big concerns about

you having such severe leg pain postoperatively, particularly if it involved the calf, would be concern over clot formation in the big veins of the leg (deep venous thrombosis, or DVT) which can be a potentially lethal complication if it breaks loose and goes to the lung (pulmonary embolus or PE). So there is some urgency for you to get seen.

Clearly you needed to be seen, and since the surgeons know you and your situation they usually prefer to have you come to the controlled environment of their office, which is a reasonable thought, but obviously in your situation with all the pain you were in and the distance to get there, it was just not feasible.

[TheProphetess]

21. Yes, the headache lasted for 6 days and finally went away

And I have been worried about blood clots, so I've been super careful to be sure to move around as much as I can and move my legs when I am laying in bed.

On Tuesday, I told the EMTs that I was worried about blood clots b/c my left foot looked a little swollen and they checked me, as did the ER doc, and they said it doesn't sound like a clot. I'm still worried, though, but then again I'm a bit of a worrier. I'll tell the surgeon tomorrow as well.

[asthmaticeog]

13. Good lord, what a DRAG.

An understatement, I realize, but yikes, I had hoped the surgery would be more or less the end of it. I'm sorry this shit's keeping up.

Want me kick the doc a good swift one in the 'nads for y'all?

:hug:

[EstimatedProphet]

14. Hey, maybe I can raise gang to go after his office!

Actually, I expect that some of the pain will last for a while yet. Her sciatic nerve has been pinched for a long time, and now it's flexing its muscles. Things should eventually settle down in that respect, anyway.

[KitchenWitch]

16. I believe all doctors could use a week of physically debilitating pain

as part of their training, so they could understand what their patients encounter. Teach them a little compassion, it would.

[Susang]

18. I am so sorry she had to go through that!

:hug:

The only thing I can think of is that he was worried that she had developed a very severe complication called cauda equina syndrome or an Abdominal aortic aneurysm, both of which require immediate surgery. After my surgery, they were very specific about calling them immediately if I had any sudden severe pain and they gave me lot of information about why it was so important.

Either way, don't let the surgeon's office push you around. There is no reason for your wife to suffer like that. My doctors actually get mad at me because I don't take enough pain medication. There's no reason for her's to undermedicate her.

[WCGreen]

19. Anerican Health Care at it's best......

I had a pulminary "expert" as my doctor, best on the West Side I was told....

He never diagnosed me correctly....

My GP, a meek guy from India, he figured out what was wrong....

[leftofthedial]

20. surgeons don't give a shit

[Heidi]

22. EP, I'm so sorry TheProphetess had to go through that.

Did she give the surgeon a piece of her mind? Do ya'll have any recourse to make sure nothing like this happens again?

:hug:

[TheProphetess]

23. Hi, Heidi!

That's moderator, Heidi. :)

I've got an appointment in the morning with the surgeon and I've got a LONG list of things I want to discuss with him. I am going to be sure he understands that I will not leave without the kind of meds that will allow me to be in the least amount of pain possible. I should not have to suffer!

Thanks for your concern and your good vibes. I'm sure EP will give an update after our appointment tomorrow. Wish me luck...:)

I'm off to bed now. It's good to talk to you. :pals:

[Heidi]

24. I'm ramping up the good vibes for you, gf.

Sweet, paintless sleep. :hug: