Frustrated (long)

After not feeling well for the last two weeks and barely making 200-300 cals a day, I finally gave in and went the hospital per the orders of my bariatric clinic. The ER doc and the general surgeon were great and attentive and took all my symptoms into consideration. I got hooked up and was admitted again for nausea and pain. The surgeon who performed my surgery is on vacation, another bariatric surgeon covering for him was assigned to me. Mind you, he didn't come to see me until two days after my admission. They had me on a continuos pantoprazol drip (it's a ppi) along with morphine and gravol and I was still feeling crappy. When the covering bariatric surgeon finally showed up, he was abrupt and bordering on being rude. He barely examined me and was very dismissive on everything I asked. There was no reason I would go from feeling good and exercising to barely eating, sharp abdominal pain and not feeling well. I asked him if there was a possibility that I had a hernia. He told me it was impossible since it didn't show up on the CT plus, they  only see hernias in people who've lost 84+ lbs(mind you I've lost 114lbs) if he bothered to check my chart. I don't know if he thought I was in the hospital for the drugs or attention but, that's the feeling I got from him. Seriously, who'd want to get cooped up in a stuffy room with an old lady for a roomy who coughs, farts and poops all day? He then went on to say he didn't think another scope was necessary as I'd already had two. That in his 8yrs as a bariatric surgeon it was unheard of to have two scopes within four months after surgery. Well obviously einstein, those were necessary as the first one showed ulcers and the second one was a follow up and it still showed micro ulcers. Besides I never wanted to get scoped the first time nor the second time, why would I want the third especially when I didn't request it. He totally dismissed my concerns and the fact I wasn't passing gas or pooping for the last 5 days despite me trying to tell him that this was not the norm for me and I haven't had any BR troubles since my surgery. My tummy was grumbling and air was just floating in there, not matter how much I tried no gas or poop was getting out. He told me that the pain, I have to live with and tummy's grumble all the time. I had to force myself through the pain and eat more, WTF!!!. Once I saw I wasn't going anywhere with this guy, I just shut down and didn't pay attention to what else he had to say. I almost walked out but, I was in so much pain plus, I didn't want to be seen as non compliant and leaving against medical advise.

I just felt my whole ordeal was not treated well and I do intend to write a letter to the hospital complaining about how I was treated, just need to find the right wording without getting too emotional. My centre always tells us if something feels wrong, better safe than sorry and get it checked out as there was a young lady who ignored her pain and she died. But if I'm going to be dismissed when i have concerns, whats the point? I just got discharged today and I feel the same way as the day I went in. I don't ever exaggerate my symptoms and it really puzzled me the way he responded to me. On discharge he wanted to be buddy buddy and asked me if i had concerns and if i wanted any pain meds. I just said no to both as i was ready to get out of there. any suggestions on how to handle this situation?

Well, one thing I've done in a situation where I felt I was treated really poorly in a hospital setting was to first write a letter just expressing all my feelings about it.  That was not a letter to send.  It was just to get my thoughts and feelings out.  THEN I wrote a second letter, which was a letter to send, where I kept my emotions out of it and just factually stated what happened.  Try not to make that letter too long, even if you feel you have a lot to say, because a five page letter probably won't be read all the way through.  Put in the most important points.

Call the hospital to ask who to send the letter to.  You can also send a copy to your surgeon's office, so your surgeon knows how the doctor covering for him treated his patient.

Also, call your surgeon's office first thing Monday morning, explain briefly what's going on and that you went to the hospital and the surgeon you saw didn't do anything for you and you are still having the same problems.  Ask if you can get an appointment with your surgeon and if he's still not available, ask if you can get an appointment with someone else that will actually look at your chart and attempt to diagnose and treat you.

I use the two letter approach in 'hot' situations and agree that is very helpful...both to me and to the recipient of the second letter. :)

LOL. At least the second letters a bit professional

Thanks Kelly. Sound advise. I will definatly do that. I've already called and left a message with the director of the floor I was on and I'm sure she will call tomorrow. I will call the centre in the morning as well. At this point, it has come to the point that I don't want to deal with the centre either because the covering surgeon came out of the same bariatric clinic but, i'll sure say something. I'm the best advocate for my health and I know my body more than anyone including those *****arranged it. If I feel pain, what am I supposed to do, ignore it. What it if turns out to be fatal?

No, of course you're not supposed to ignore it.  Ask your bariatric center what you are supposed to do.  You do have the option of going to a different ER, but of course there's no guarantee you'll get a good doctor there.  If you're in a lot of pain tonight, though, that's what I'd do.

Otherwise, I'd follow up in the  morning.  And even if the director of the floor you were on does call tomorrow, I would still send something in writing to the hospital.

If your experience other than this with your bariatric center has been good, then I'd assume this surgeon was the exception, not the rule, and give them the chance to address the problem.

The nearest hospital to me is the big city hospital and always busy, although it's only a two minute drive compared to the bariatric hospital which is 30 mins in good weather and no traffic. The local ER have no bariatric experience and I don't like taking that chance incase there is something wrong.

I'm in pain but, it's not that bad that it can't wait till tomorrow. What got me going is how the doc thought I'd get out of my house in the snow in the freezing cold(it's cold here in Canada) drive all that way, get poked by 5 different nurses, each taking two turns trying to find a vein because i was starting to get dehydrated and to make matters worse, I hate needles and they don't even give me the good drugs. I'm an introvert and I hate being the centre of attention but, the vibe i got from him was the opposite. An attention seeking hypochondriac whose sabotaging her weight loss.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this.  I, too, have had similar horrible hospital stays and I can totally relate.

Kelly has really good advice.  The only thing I might add is that most hospitals now have "Patient Advocates".  You may want to call the hospital and get the name of one of theirs (if they have them).  That person can really help you get the attention of those you need to reach.

I hope you're feeling better soon and don't have to go back in.  Not being able to have a BM or pass gas is really not a great sign, so if the pain gets worse make sure you go back and get it attended to no matter how much you may have to complain. 

I wish I could say i'm feeling better but  i'm not. I told the nurses all day yesterday that i couldn't pass gas or have a BM but it all fell on deaf ears. They actually complimented at how my tummy was very active. I will find out who the patient advocate is and I'll see what he/she says. Thanks for the support and advise.

First, I am so sorry.  That kind of experience is totally unacceptable and can be really traumatizing.  It sounds like you did the best you could. 

I had an internal hernia at 10 months.  I had lost something like 80 pounds at the time.  I had similar symptoms.  Apparently they can be very difficult to detect on a CAT scan.  The radiologist *****ad mine missed it and said I was fine but the surgeon came in later ad looked and saw it.  My surgeon said that sometimes when people have hernias if they lay on their sides and pull their legs up their chests the pain will subside or get a little better.  Can you experiment with that and see if that helps with the stomach pain?  You will still be in pain but it might get better and if you experience that it might help determine whether it is a hernia or not. 

Again I am so sorry.  I hope your center helps you figure it out.  Your symptoms are not normal at all in my opinion.  Good luck!