Two weeks post-op and feel awful

Hi all, I've been reading posts and most everyone seems to have had a fairly good operative experience with many of you going home on minimal meds. I feel like I had the hyst from HELL! The op was done at 6PM and ended at 9:30 PM - their usual operative time, after a full day of work in the office for the surgeon. I was supposed to have a PCA for pain, but when I woke up in recovery I was in screaming pain and told there was nothing they could do for me and I had no PCA and wasn't told why not. Six hours later, after repeatedly begging for meds, a nice night nurse gave me some Digesic to take some of the edge off the pain. I also had been given compression boots, but there wasn't any machinery available to hook them up to so they stayed on without any air to compress my legs! I wasn't offered any pain meds the entire time I was there except once when I was crying from the pain, I had to beg to get anything the rest of the time. The night before I was supposed to go home, I hadn't had a BM and was given a "laxative" which caused my bowel to go spastic and I had 24 hours of diarrhea so bad I couldn't leave the toilet and ended up on the floor when my legs went numb, huddled over a waste basket trying not to vomit. I ended up with a prolonged stay due to my "unusual response" to the laxative. I was then released with 2 days worth of pain meds and told I needed to take the pain medication for 2 WEEKS! I was supposed to apportion the 10 doses I had over 14 days. Needless to say I still have bowel problems (it's not working very well) and bladder pain, and a heavy smelly discharge, luckily with no fever. I lost 7 kilos in a week and a half (2.2 pounds to the kilo - about 15 pounds total weight lost). Additionally I am having hot flashes, night sweats so bad I have to change my nightgown, mood swings and I'm a normally happy person! The doctor said that she left my ovaries so I couldn't possibly be having any hormone fluctuations. I've had a C-section and a laminectomy before in the States and had no problems, no pain, and recovered in record time. It's been 2 1/2 weeks for this op and I feel awful, and am really upset with the treatment I received from what was supposed to be one of the best private hospitals in my area. Am I nuts to feel upset about all of this or do I just need to get a grip and get on with it? Thanks for letting me vent.

Hi Katie
I am so sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time.
It's good that you found this site where you can vent to us about how you're feeling.

You may be experiencing hormonal fluctuations while your ovaries wake up from your surgery.
Everyone had different tolerances to pain and the desire for meds so don't judge your pain levels with anyone else's. Do you know if your surgeon put pain meds into your chart? Did you get a reason for why you didn't get a PCA?
If they gave you 2 days worth of meds, did they also give you a prescription when told you were to take them for 2 weeks?
If you are experiencing a heavy smelly discharge and bladder pain, you should immediately present yourself at ER or at least call your surgeon. You may have an infection of some sort. UTI's are very common post-op

You mentioned that you had no problem in the states, where are you now? Did you let the hospital know you were not at all satisfied with the level of care you received? Did you tell your surgeon/doctor about the level of care you received? Are you still taking pain meds? Any at all (Tylenol, Advil)?
Such drastic weight loss, no return to regular bowel activity and the hormonal issues are real reasons to seek medical advise from your health practitioner.

I hope you are feeling better soon. Please keep us posted on your recovery.

Autumn

Hi KatieUSA

What you seem to be going through does not seem normal to me at all and I feel so sorry for you.

Take the advice given above and get yourself to a DR or ER to get this sorted out quickly.

Hugs

Katy

Hi,
Thanks for your kind reply. There was no excuse given as to why the promised PCA was not provided. I am an American living in Australia where we have socialized medicine, and thus the level of care is very poor.
No additional prescriptions for pain meds were given at discharge. After rationing pills for a week, I called the surgeon who was not very impressed with my need for addtional pain relief (and she was the one who said I'd need it for 2 weeks!). She also didn't feel that the additional discharge and pain was a concern - not that she did an exam or anything. She said that they'd have to do a CAT scan to see if anything was wrong, but she didn't want to do that. No reason given. I have to change pads 2 - 3 times during the day. Before I had the laxative in the hospital the discharge was minimal. I told the nurse at the time that I felt I popped something with all the straining, but she said that everything is sewn up so tightly that it was impossible to have a problem, but what I'm reading on the website seems to indicate that isn't so. Is this amount of discharge a lot compared to what other people experience at this point?
Looking back I think I probably should have listened to my instinct and found another surgeon before the hyst as I had asked her how long she'd been doing laparoscopic surgery and she was so insulted she invited me to leave her office. My docs in the US never hesitated to answer that question. Live and learn!

O you poor thing! I think a lot of us have had bad experiences, but yours just might take the prize.

I agree with the other sisters that you need to get a current evaluation, preferably from a different doctor. Going to the ER is a good idea, even though they will probably contact your surgeon. At least you would get medical attention, bloodwork, urinalysis, and so on. You need a second opinion. You also need sympathetic doctor, not someone who is defensive and hostile and seems to have stopped listening.

You were traumatized so of course you need to process your experiences. But I also think your gut instinct is trying to tell you something, and that's why you can't "get a grip."

Good luck and God bless. Please keep us posted - you have lots of sisters here.

oh katie!!!

I'm an American who has lived overseas most of my life... socialized healthcare is not always bad. You've had one doozy of an experience.

Please, PLEASE go to the ER!! All of the previous advise here is dead on. You need to be seen as soon as possible. The way you were treated is inexcusable. Even with socialized healthcare, you have options. Go to the ER, explain exactly what has happened and request (demand) to see someone who is willing to help you.

The doctor that operated on you is not the only one in existence (thank the stars!). If everything is normal and your pain is just higher than you are used to, then you will know, feel better and get some more pain meds. If everything is out of whack, then you will know, get some help and more pain meds and start up the road to feeling better. No matter the outcome of the visit, you will have more REALISTIC information then you have now and will have something to start the process of true healing.

Don't let one doctor ruin your chances of feeling well again. You have done nothing wrong and the way you have been treated is abysmal. Advocate for yourself. Get yourself a new provider. When you start to feel better, begin filing complaints against her, if you are up to it. Don't let this happen to someone else. (Remember to write all of your experiences down as you have them... this will help you stay on track and realistic down the line.)

Honey, I am so sorry... we all are... that you feel so yucky and that you haven't had a better experience. This is all difficult in the best of circumstances. Please help yourself. Don't suffer!! Go get yourself some help and a new doctor and PLEASE let us know how you get on. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and hoping every moment for the best outcome.

I can so relate to your experience. Unfortunately the Australian health system is struggling....

I know that so many of you from the US advocate going to the ER, however going to the Emergency Department here often means at least a 4-6hr wait in the waiting room, that's even before you get seen by anyone, then further waiting, waiting, waiting, so a simple ER trip can turn into a 12-24hr event...our ER's are VERY under resourced!

katieusa, just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in your bad experience. I was a public patient in a public hospital and I too was appalled at what happened to me.
I found the service very impersonal, and when problems surfaced deviating from the 'norm' - no one was interested in sorting them out. It was as if the whole hospital stay was centred around a predetermined plan of care that ALL patients MUST fit ie on day 1 post op PCA & catherter get removed, pt walks, voids and walks out of the hospital eating and drinking AND pain free on day3, and if you didn't correspond, they just didn't want to know about it!

I didn't correspond and my care became appalling. My blood pressure was so low (87/50) I was loosing consciousness lying in bed - no one did anything, my kidneys didn't produce any urine for 8hrs (that's very bad) no one did anything about that either.
I had horrific nausea that the standard anti-nausea drugs didn't work on and they wouldn't give me other drugs (that were available) They stated varies convoluted reasons for not giving them to me, however knowing that they are very expensive, I'm convinced it was all about money saving. I was in TERRIBLE pain on day 3 post op but because the predetermined plan of care was such that all narcotic pain relief was stopped in preparation for discharge, only simple pain relief like voltaren and paracetamol was made available to me - and ONLY if I asked for it otherwise they wouldn't offer. I begged them saying that my pain was far beyond paracetamol and Voltaren but they said - "well, that's all you can have ".

I have many many other examples - but I think you get the point.
I discharged myself (with medical approval, I think they were happy to see me go frankly, a little too much out of the 'norm' for them to have to deal with!) I went immediately to my own doctor who promptly addressed my pain with narcotics without hesitation. I needed the Oxycodone regularly for 2 weeks post surgery. He promptly wrote a script for the non standard anti nausea medication which was over $11 a tablet, but worth EVERY dollar because it made life more bearable. He addressed lots of other issues like my low Hb 8.3 post op and my oral and vaginal thrush from the antibiotics I was taking, but most of all he took my concerns and issues seriously.

Anyway, to cut a long story short katieusa, I feel your pain and disappointment, it was a rude awakening to me too. However, I urge you to find another health care provider either another private surgeon or like me, your own doctor to walk the rest of this journey with you?

Iwona

Thank you all so much. I was beginning to think that I was just being hysterical. I feel much better just knowing that there are folks I can just vent to. I went to a GP in my town - and will be making her my primary care doctor - who agreed that I was treated horribly and am traumatized. She had me get vitamin B1 and B6 for the stress and trauma, and said that yes, my ovaries need to revascularize (grow new blood vessels) and may begin to work in their own in time. She didn't want to prescribe anything for at least 8 weeks post surgery!? In the mean time she told me to take evening primrose oil to block the estrogen flood during the intermittant times my ovaries do work so I shouldn't have the sweats, flushes, and mood swings as badly. I would have liked a low dose estrogen patch to get me over the hump, but as Iwona says, it's all a matter of resources and cost and what you're "allowed". I didn't ask about the bowel and bladder hoping these things will sort out in time - I still have 3 1/2 weeks before the 6 week check up. Reading Iwona's post makes me think that a lot of what I experienced was probably due to lack of hospital resources and failure to meet the expected timelines, but the Dr. also has issues. I will explore the possibility of finding someone else.
Again, thank you all. My mind is certainly in a better place and hopefully the body will follow on shortly.
Interesting note - last night I felt particularly awful and my legs ached terribly. DH, who is into running, swimming, biking competitively said it sounded like I was low on electrolytes from sweating so much. He made me a large, strong glass of Gatorade and a little while later I was feeling much better.
Hugs to all for the help you've given me.
Katie

Hi Katie,
I live with socialized health care also, and our system at the moment is broken - but luckily I had a wonderful doctor, and my work covers all my meds etc so I was given what I needed.

I feel sooooo bad for what you went through and are going through. You are NOT crazy, and you are NOT a whiner!!!! Remember that, and go in to your next appointment with your head up, and start screaming bloody murder if you must!

I went through 5 months of hell here with a dr here telling me my gallbladder was healthy, and that if I INSISTED, he'd reluctantly take it our for me when he could 'fit' me in the following year! We have the same wait times here as you do in ER - 6 to 8 hours and you may get sent home before seeing a dr. I finally LOST it, and was crying like a baby in ER, telling him I couldn't function with the pain, couldn't take care of my kids, that I'd take it out myself if I could..... Guess what? He took my gallbladder out within 3 weeks, and had to peel the poor thing off my liver because it was covered with scar tissue........ Sigh.

My TAH was much better than that. But start screaming if you must. You deserve better care than you seem to be getting. I know we pay enough taxes here that I don't feel the least bit guilty complaining when it's due.

You go girl!

OMGEE,
I am so sorry to hear what you poor women have gone through!!!I 2 have had complications since my op that have had me sent to the castle 2x's each ending in a 48hr stay and CAT scans and though was not impressed at all w/ the ER My Dr. and nurses once I got to my room were great, and after each discharge I was sent home w/ 40 pain meds and a script for Zofram wich is a 257.00 med, luckly my ins covered.And My Dr has personally called me 3 times and I will see him Tues. I will never complain again about my ER experience after hereing your stories and I am definaly going to pray for you tonight that you start to feel better and that ur second opinion Doc gets you out of your misery.
I am just shocked that any DR. would let anyone suffer the way you have. May God Bless you and Big Hugs from me