I have begun the runaround and I want to scream
From: Icequeen_in_ak (icequeen66@gci.net)
Fri Jan 11 06:53:40 2008
After yesterdays 14 hours in the emergency room, I am left bewildered,
lost, and unsure of what to do now.
In November, I was diagnosed with Diverticulitis. After a week or so on
antibiotics, the pain started to subside a bit. 4 days after my
antibiotics were finished, the pain came back (lower left quadrant,
lower right quadrant). I then went to a GI specialist, who did another
catscan. This catscan showed the inflammation from the infection was
gone and it was safe to go forward with a colonoscopy to see if there
was IBS, or something causing the abdominal pain. The colonoscopy
showed that my intestines look great (aside from a few diverticula) and
he felt that my pain was caused by adhesion's, from my MULTIPLE
abdominal surgeries in the past (several laps for ovary cysts, an ovary
removal, a c-section (through the same incision as the ovary removal) a
hysterectomy through the c-section incision, gall bladder removal, etc.
He referred me to an OB/GYN, but my pain level was too intense to wait
out the appointment (late January) so I went to the ER yesterday because
I couldn't tolerate the pain anymore.
They called a general surgeon, who felt it was IBS. The GI doctor told
him, no... it was in fact NOT anything GI related, to which the surgeon
then said "call an OB/GYN". They called her in, they did an ultrasound
on my remaining ovary, which is fine. She told me she saw no reason to
remove my ovary.... EXCUSE ME??? DID YOU READ MY CHART? WE AREN'T
TALKING ABOUT MY OVARY (which IS fine) We are talking about suspected
adhesion's causing massive abdominal pain. She then tells me she only
deals with adhesion's when they are blocking your colon and storms out
of the room. They then call another general surgeon who says "of the OB
doesn't want to touch it, I don't either".
So... long story short. I'm in debilitating pain, I have a 2 day
supply of pain medication and I'm on my own. The ER/hospital refuse to
do anything else, as "they've done all they can do".
I seriously don't know what to do, where to start, how to move forward.
I feel completely defeated and if it wasn't for the beautiful miracle of
a 4 year old that I have, I probably would have given up the fight and
done something horrible to myself :(
My short term list is to get started on my disability paperwork for
work, and take a leave of absence so I can focus on getting treatment or
at least pain management treatment, but I don't know what else to do, or
where to start.
Any enlightenment would be so greatly appreciated.
--
Karen, in Alaska
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