I had my surgery Friday, July 16.
I was told to be at the hospital at 7, and got there at 6:55. They said they weren't ready for me and told me it would be about 30 minutes and to go wait in the waiting area. It was almost an hour before they finally called me back.
They put the compression hose on me and a nurse anesthetist came to start my IV. I told him what a hard stick I was, and he said he'd do his best. He looked around on both arms with the tourniquet on and told me he was going to give me some numbing medicine with a very small needle. I barely felt it, and he started my IV on the first try, and I was very impressed. It didn't hurt at all, and I am going to ask for the numbing medication for all IV's from now on.
The anesthesiologist came and asked me some questions and looked at my throat and told me we were ready to go -- oh, the doctor and NP came in too, and asked if I was ready, and I said I guess so and that I was scared.
Anesthesiologist gave me some Versaid in the hallway on the way to the OR and said you won't remember anything after this, but I do -- I remember going into the OR and seeing the da Vinci robot and talking to the other anesthesiologist, and she told me to think about a beautiful place I'd like to go and to relax, and that's all I remember.
I don't remember being in the recovery room at all, but I remember them wheeling me into my room and the catheter hurting a lot -- felt like I needed to pee and had a urinary tract infection, and I was cramping pretty bad. They had a morphine pump, and I kept pushing the button and would go to sleep each time. But I would wake up in just a few minutes from the pain.
I asked them for the Toradol, which the NP said I could have, and they wouldn't give it to me -- they said they had no orders for it and I couldn't have it anyway because of previous blood clots. I started screaming and cursing and asked my sister to call the doctor and she wouldn't do it. Then I started crying, and the nurses finally gave me the Toradol, and it helped a lot.
But I am so angry about the communication breakdown -- that is just what I was afraid was going to happen, and I expressed that fear to the NP, who handled all my pre-op stuff because the surgeon was on vacation, and she kept reassuring me they would control my pain and she would write an order for Toradol in addition to the morphine, but apparently nobody did. I felt very angry, hurt and betrayed, and am sitting here at home today crying because of it, and the other experiences after the surgery.
I am home after having to stay an extra day to get the pain and tremors under control -- I had jaw tremors and body tremors from the anesthesia and morphine -- the nurses kept asking if I was cold and I kept saying "NO" -- I couldn't keep my jaw and body from shaking; it was like I was a Parkinson's patient.
I will write more later, but I am very upset about the lack of communication or communication breakdown or whatever it was, and plan to let my surgeon know about it at my followup visit on Thursday.
I'm glad it's over, but I am feeling very upset about the way things went afterward with the pain. Also, the NP told me she wanted me up and walking Friday night, and if the nurses didn't get me up, to tell them to get me up. I did tell the nurse I needed to walk, and she acted like I was crazy. She told me no, I was on bed rest for 12 hours -- that was the doctor's orders -- and I said "I've had DVT's & PE's in the past -- please call him -- his NP told me I need to walk tonight!" but they wouldn't.
Thanks,
Dana B. in Houston, TX
1992 - Endometriosis & D & C
2005 - Novasure endometrial ablation
2010 - da Vinci supracervical hysterectomy (kept ovaries and think he had to take tubes; not sure; will find out at post-op visit) due to severe abdominal pain and nausea (also had fibroids)
Had my surgery Friday and am home...
