From Misty to all
From: Misty Hoffman (misty.hoffman@gte.net)
Sun Jun 18 21:31:28 2000
Hello everybody!! Wow I feel so comfortable with this group, you guys
really know how to comfort someobdy and make them feel welcome. Thank
you all for your wonderful support. My general surgeon (bless his heart
I love him to death) is a great person and does good jobs at
surgery's...actually I have worked with him in the OR with me being a
Trauma RN, but I refuse to let a doctor perform this type of surgery on
me that he has done only a "hand full of times" and basically he told me
under no certain terms that they all FAILED. I just looked at Dr.
Fuller and told him, that I thought the world of him to "admit" to me
that the procdure failed on these patients he has done surgery on. That
takes alot of courage to out right admit that when most surgeons just
want your money, basically their strategy is "if you want the surgery I
can do it"..Dr. Fuller is not that way, he actually discouraged me from
having the surgery because of the failure rate...he left the final
choice up to me to have the surgery and I turned it down. I just wanted
to make that clear to everyone. I didn't want everyone to think that he
WANTS and I SHOULD have the surgery, he did discourage me from having
it..but the choice was mine to make, and I said NO. See I had a lysis
of adhesion surgery with my first OB/GYN in 1999 with the application of
seprafilm...that surgery failed horribly and the adhesions came back
worse that I started off with which lead to the hysterectomy. Now since
the hysterectomy the adhesions are back and worse than before...it is
just a cycle and i'm not going to put myself in a position to have
another major surgery and feel worse off than I do now.
I was in the ER last night with horrible abd. pain...I got two shots of
morphine and sent home with vicodin, and I'm taking the vicodin as
prescribed for the PAIN but i'm also running out of vicodin as they only
prescribed 12 of them I believe. My PCP does not like to give out pain
meds and neither does my OB/GYN nor does my general surgeon. They say
too many docs hand them out like candy. Which is disapointing to me
because some people really do need them to get on with their daily lives
instead of being in pain and can hardly move or do activities with their
children ( I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old). So I need to seek
help elsewhere to get the proper mixture of meds to help control this
pain. I'm not saying narcotics are the answer but right now that is the
only thing that seems to help me. I'm on Trazadone 150mgs for sleep at
night, and I was once prescribed neurotin as well but I couldn't take
that stuff, it gave me serious headaches. I'm so tired of having to
goto the ER every two to three weeks to get injected with pain meds and
then sent home with a hand full to get me by for the next 4 days. That
is such an expensive route to go when your in pain. With me being an
RN, I do know the dangers and cautions that come along with narcotics, I
have worked with hundreds that are dependant and addicted to them with
the withdraw, that is an ugly site. Also when I goto the ER I feel as
if everyone is talking about me "oh here is Misty again, just wanting
narcotics for her pain." Has anyone ever felt that way?? Even though
they have never said that about me but that is just how I feel when I go
in there...
I just wanted to thank everybody for their support, this group is great
and i'm so glad that I found it. Actually one of my girlfriends from
hystercity ( a support group for women who had or is having
hysterectomy's) sent this to me.
Any advice on what to do for pain meds?? besides going to the ER every
two weeks??
Misty
Helen Dynda wrote:
> NEVER choose a surgeon, who says that he has "only performed the
> surgery a few times!!!" This warning is not only for Misty - this
> warning is for EVERYONE who suffers from adhesions, endometriosis,
> etc!!! One of the three options Misty was given by her doctors is: "
> He can do the surgery which he has only performed a few times. He has
>
> done this surgery a few times with Interceed and seprafilm." You may
> be experiencing very severe pain and you may be really anxious to have
> a surgery - which you hope will take away your pain; but if you
> choose to have surgery done by a surgeon, who has done a surgical
> procedure "only a few times", you are asking for serious problems.
> What kind of problems? Problems with adhesions re-forming, ( de nova
> ( new ) adhesions developing away from the site of the surgery. With
> increased adhesion formation, you can expect to experience more severe
> chronic pain. If that isn't enough, there is always the risk of
> injury and possible loss of your reproductive organs. There is also
> the possible risk of injury to your intestines, your bladder,
> etc. NEVER choose a surgeon before you know that the surgeon is very
> experienced and very skilled in doing the specific surgical procedure,
> which you have been told that you need!! It is also very wise for you
> to seek a second opinion! Perhaps Bev will read this - and hopefully
> she will share with all of us - how she chose Dr. Harry Reich to be
> her surgeon for her April 1999 adhesiolysis. The International
> Adhesions Society Message Board archives contains alot of evidence
> that many of you, who post messages here, have had far too many
> surgeries done, have lost reproductive organs unnecessarily, and have
> suffered from peritonitis as a result of injury to your bowel or blood
> left in your pelvic cavitiy. It is in your best interest to choose a
> surgeon who: 1.) has had advanced training in microsurgical
> procedures. 2.) is very skillful and experienced with the use of the
> laparoscope. 3.) is very meticulous and does whatever is necessary to
> make sure that no blood is left in the pelvic cavity. I am not a
> medical professional...and I do not know it all; but with Bev's
> experience as a former RN and as a result of having selected Dr. Reich
> to be her surgeon, I am sure that Bev can offer additional information
> as to how to choose a surgeon.