Re: Thank God......Hellooooooo

From: Wally (wallamara@hotmail.com)
Sat Feb 17 18:28:11 2001


Hi Deb!

I read your posting & shivered, your story is very similar to mine, however I have had 4 c-sections which helped to really glue everything together. My Ob/gyn retired & the new guy didn't read my notes, so when he went in to perform my hystorectomy, he got quite a shock. My Abdomen, uterus & bladder just one big mass.......five & a half hours later he had "completed" my surgery. What he failed to tell my husband or myself was that I had hemoraged during surgery & lost almost half of my blood. (please excuse my spelling)

I didn't actually see him after my surgery for over 48 hours. When I did he ordered a blood test. An hour later he bustled back into my room to tell me that I wasn't doing very well, and that "women like me" sometimes benefit from a "pick-me-up" from a blood transfusion!!! I wasn't keen on the idea, but he convinced me that it was for the best. Other traumatic events followed to make this transfusion happen (I don't talk about it, I still get upset 12 mnths later). I did not improve, the nurses were dreadful & had no patience for me, one or two even made out that I was "putting it on a bit". I got into trouble (the nurse actually yelled at me) for wanting a pan as often as I did. (I still was on a drip......you know what that means....). I continued to go down hill, to the point that the slightest movement became incredibly painful. My "Ob/gyn" had returned to Sydney (I live in the country & this man visited our town three times a week). So a young intern was in charge of my case!! He finally called in help & another local ob/gyn came to see me and ordered tests. By this time I had been in unbelievable pain for 4 days. My so called pain relief not working. He authorised an increase in pain meds (which still didn't help much). To cut a very long & complex story short, after many tests & a considerable amount of pain, they decided I had a small hernia. He called in a general surgeon to consult, and he was undecided whether to operate soon, or wait until I had been discharged from hospital, and then have me re-admitted.

While he was talking to me I had another surge of pain, and he decided that perhaps he should operate, first thing the following morning. The next morning my husband arrived to wait with me until I went into surgery, by 11am I was still waiting. In the mean time I had another test & then another nurse arrived & hung an additional bag to my drip.

The next time she was in the room I asked her why I hadn't gone into surgery yet, and she told me that it wasn't her place to tell me. Eventually the young intern came in to say that I had to be "stabalised", my potassium levels were too low. News to me!

At 6pm, five days after my hystorectomy I went back into surgery. By this time I thought I was dying, it was not a pleasant experience.

The next day I was told by the surgeon that my bowel had pushed through the muscle wall, and that the internal stitching had come undone. (I forgot to mention that the wound had been leaking considerably for 2 days).

So I was in hospital for 15 days, and then spent another week there just prior to easter last year (due to pain). I have been complaining ever since. Three weeks ago a new ob/gyn did a laperoscopy (the rest of that story is in a previous posting)

I too cried a shook when I found this web site Deb, it is an amazing feeling to discover you are not alone. I consider myself lucky, even though I live with this pain. I have a wonderful family, including 4 beautiful daughters, an unbelievable husband and dear and special friends (just a few). If you look around at all the good things in your life, I believe it will help. There is always someone worse off than you, and I believe you take what you get in this world and make the most of it.

I am still involved heavily in my childrens schools, I run a small business with my husband and I do volunteer work for a cancer patient program called "Look good-Feel Better".

This program is for women who are going through treatent, we offer them advice on skin care (we show them how to give themselves a facial) and we talk about some of the changes that may occur to their skin & hair. We show them how to put on make-up and we try on wigs and hats and have a great morning. These ladies put on a brave face every day, by wearing make-up, they look GREAT and FEEL MUCH BETTER. I have followed this philosophy. In fact I was down town yesterday, in full make-up and wearing some dressy casual clothes. I felt aweful, and had taken strong pain meds, but people I knew stopped me to tell me how great I looked, and how glad they were that I must be getting better. *smile* I did feel better, I wasn't talking about my illness & I was getting compliments, sometimes it can be powerful medicine indeed.

Take heart Deb, don't give up.....keep searching for ways to improve how you feel. If you read my previous messages, you will see that I have started on chinese herbal therapy. This is a long term strategy, but I have had less "bad days" since I started.

So best wishes, God Bless. I would be happy to hear from you via email if you want to know anything else. Email me at: wallamara@hotmail.com

At Thu, 15 Feb 2001, Debbie J. Smith wrote: >
>Oh my Gosh I am so thrilled to have found this web site and all of you!!
>Please know that this is the first time in 4 years of terrible suffering
>that I truly (crying hard)know
>my diagnosis. So many doctors have told me such hurtful and ridiculous
>nonsense!(even that I was suffering from a "birth
>defect" the MRI's "proved it" can you believe that???)
>My third ob/gyn claimed endometiosis and scheduled a total
>hysterectomy.....this took place only three weeks ago on the
>26th of January. A procedure that normally took only one hour....it
>took my doctor almost four hours to cut my uterus away from my bladder
>because he said they were "meshed together like superglue" from
>adhesions from
>my previous C-sections. Of course he poked holes in my bladder and had
>to suture that up as well (I just got the catheter out) By the
>way....pathology showed not one cell
>of endometiosis.....but I'm sterile now anyway....thanks doc
>Please help me.... because now that I know what my trouble was I am so
>scared that my symptoms will return tenfold due to this
>hysterectomy.....I have two fantastic kids that are depending on me
>(crying really hard now)....
>I thank each and every one of you who have taken the time to read this
>.....it felt really good to write....
>
> God Bless,
> Debbie Smith

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You will never never know.......if you don't give it a go :)

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