Home from the so called "castle too"

Hi,

I have to say like princess raye I had an awful castle experiance...Nurse rachett to say the least, Lets see, no pain meds "oh sorry I forgot" as I vomit all night "opps sorry I forgot the anti nausea meds" no food.."well miss you can not eat if your sick", well miss nurse I might not be sick if I had food in 3 days!!! I also never saw the hall way until I was leaving, she ripped the cath out in front of my family...Oh beautiful on the ego...Oh I could go on and on about "cathy the witch in the castle" but I will do that to the hospital board and I will.

Now the surgery...well to the ladies in waiting I was pleastenly surprised the anthesolgiost (sorry not a speller) was the greatest, when I woke up was the only time the pain was bad that was bladder spasms and I had my blader sling done so may not be for everyone, now if I had known this pain was normal or what it was It would have been easier knowing it would pass, but Nurse crappy didn't tell me, anyway it passed and the morphine worked I slept alot. Unfortunatly I had a few problems one of my ovaries looked "funky" so they took it, I think the right but my left side hurts? I should ask huh? I had polyp removed Oh no one has said cancer to me but I wonder I might start to get worried ???? I guess a wait and see huh?... and my blood was very low and had a temp, so I got transfusions, my mom said it made a big differance in my apperance for the better. I had migraines which I do get and honestly that was the worst pain for me. Now at home I can sorta sleep on my side, I have an interest in reading today and am a bit sore from sitting up. Not drinking water as I should, I know I know.... bathroom breaks are frequent, not sure if my bladder is still freaked or not.

The first time I got up day 2, my tummy felt like a bowl full of jello, an odd sensation, not painful, and I tend to lean forward and hold it? Hum...I really expected a lot a pain, and it wasn't there, I am taking meds, but have been able to skip a few, I am a whimp so I am surprised, the hardest adjustment is getting in and out of bed or a chair so far, it's slow going. I notice changes in how I feel every 12 hours or so.

The ideas the ladies had on what to pack was great, especially the earplugs, and hindsight maybe your own food!!! NO kidding and lip balm, Oh I too got no bath shower anything I stunk!!!

Enough for now I wish I could sit and read some posts...maybe later huh?
I could not have done this without my sisters here, THANK YOU
Mary

Mary,
Sorry your time in the castle was awful. Hopefully now that you are home you can rest and relax. Fortunately I had wonderful nursing staff but nothing beats home (except for the dust bunnies - LOL).

Rest and recuperate and let us know how you are doing as you feel up to it. I had a LAVH with the bladder sling on 4/13/04 and other than doing too much ( hope my DH isn't listening) feel pretty good. I have sneezed and not peed for the first time in I can't remember when - whoohoo.

Take care,
Mary Ellen

OH gosh!
oh, I am so sorry When you get your hospital bill, cross out, food, care, compassion and manners!!

And to take out your catheter in front of someone else... You need to report that woman!

It is good manners for anybody to speak to you, to ask visitors, to leave a second, and draw curtains/close door.
Sorry you had a hospital nightmare, hope your recovery is a lot less stressful. When you are feeling a little stronger, make a complaint.

Hi Mary,
I'm sorry to hear you had such a difficult time in the hospital. Some nurses just don't get it ....

You may be feeling more pain on the left, even though they took the ovary on the right because the dr may have been working from your left side and "pulled" the tissues more on that side while doing your surgery. MANY women complain of pain on the left side.

Polyps are often non-cancerous. Try not to stew about that (easier said than done, I know).. but try.

I hope you are able to rest well and heal beautifully!

Mary, Sorry you had a bad visit. Mine was a good visit. I lucked out and recieved a private room in the post pardem maternity ward. Very quiet paart of the hospital, I got to look at a few newborns on my walks, and got to know the staff well. I took a walk to the nursery every time my bladder mo9ved (1-2 hrs). It wasn't far but kept me going. I had problems on my left arm, but it was during surgery, I was losing blood and my IV went in really high up and tight. It caused swelling but the nurse noticed it and got a second opinion and the removed it to another location. They brought me my medicine every 4 hours without my asking. Helped me take a shower the 2nd day and checked on me frequently to see if I had enough water. I wrote thanks on the marker board to them all before I left.
Hang tough it's over and think positive. The worst is over and e are on the upside of a better life now.

Hi gothair2dye, I can related to your story. I had a lot of forgetful nurses also, 1st trip to the bathroom, she left, had to make my way back by myself, when she finally came back ( I called to refill my water bottle) she said I should have pulled the string for the nurse (well nice to know that now), 2nd day Shower ....again put me in there and forgot about me.Had to make my way again , so I got dressed and started walking the halls, to hurry up and get out of there. Day 3 I went home, regrets that I got a 3rd day. The Hospital called at about 2 weeks post-op to see how I was doing and to ask me some ???'s about my stay, they didn't get the anwsers they were wanting , lol

I also did not have a very good experience at "the castle." The nurse my first afternoon after surgery was apparently very good(I don't remember too much about that time except for the fact that I was in ALOT of pain & nothing seemed to be working.) My db & family tell me that she was very good & kept trying different things until the pain was finally under control. After that it was all down hill. They took my I.V. out by noon the day after surgery so that I could move around better & shower. Of course this meant bye bye to the morphine pump. I don't think that I was ready to be off of the pump yet. They gave me percocet but by that aftrenoon I was in really bad shape. My doctor came by early evening because I was having so much pain & at that point I found out that I was suppose to be getting 600mg Ibuprofin every 6 hours, which I had not received once. They finally gave me that along with a shot & things were somewhat under control after that. I say somewhat because unless I kept track of the time & called every 4 & 6 hours for pain meds & Ibuprofin they just wouldn't give it to me. I had an argument with the night nurse at 4:00 a.m. because she insisted I was to only get Ibuprofin "as needed" & I kept insisting that was wrong & it was every 6 hours not matter what. She finally apologized & told me I was right after I demanded that she double check the orders. I also had trouble getting food. My first night, the day of surgery, they tried to bring me solid food. I had to tell them that I was not suppose to be getting anything. The next morning when I was allowed a liquid diet they didn't bring me anything. By lunch time I was suppose to get solid food for first time in like 36 hours. Of course they brought me a liquid lunch! I did finally get the right thing at dinner but the next morning I got a liquid breakfast again! I could not wait to get home! I am much better & doing well since home. Am eating like crazy-afraid I'm going to gain all kinds of weight but I am SO hungry!

Hello Sisters, You have confirmed my suspicions. Nurse Rachett is definitely making her rounds all over the place. She was in my room, as well. First, in order to drain my cath. it seemed necessary for her to bump, jar, and push my bed all over the place, and as fellow princesses, you know we are in too much pain to have our beds tapped, much less bumped, etc...Next Evil Rachett runs straight into my I.V. which was inserted into my left hand, therefore causing the I'V. needle to be pushed up to my elbow. ( I exagerate a bit, but really did feel that way). Then, I was told on second day that I would not be getting any food. I kid you not, within five minutes after Evil Rachett left the room, someone from the cafateria brought in a tray. She called me by my name, so I know I was suppose to have it. I ate it all. I wanted to hug that . Evil Rachett also put me into the bathroom for the first time and forgot about me. Also, no water/ice for the next six hours. Finally, around 5:30 that evening she told me I would not be going home until day 3. Tried to explain that DR. had said that morning that I could go home that day. Once again, she told me I was wrong. Well.....went home at 9:00 that night of my second day, thanks to nice night nurse who knew how to do her job.

s to all

I'm so sorry to hear all these tales of horror! There is no reason anyone should be treated like that. Any bad experiences should definitely be reported to the administration of the facility. The big word in healthcare or at least hospitals is "patient satisfaction". They want feedback, good or bad.

I work in a hospital. I would like to put out some information in case there are some reading this that haven't gone to the castle yet. On every unit there is a charge nurse who is supervising that shift. Do not hesitate to ask to speak to him/her. Over that person is a nurse manager and posibly one or two assistant managers. Feel free to ask to speak to them. In some hospitals, the managers make rounds each day and check in with each patient. If a nurse is that bad, you could certainly request to any of these people to assign you a different nurse.

When all else fails, dial 0 and ask for administration. (That always gets action!) You would not believe how many people skip all the unit based personel and call administration. Some poeple are on the phone all the time for every little thing.

Hopefully if you are too sick to deal with this, you have your DH or someone who can be an advocate for you. You should discuss this with your family before hand.

The squeaky wheel always gets attention! So speak up.

Reading these posts makes me furious!!! Those of your who were treated so inhumanely should definitely report your concerns to the CEO of the hospital. I chose to have my LAVH BSO in a physician owned surgery center 80 miles from my home town and could not have been treated more like a princess, felt like I was attending a spa. I chose this facility because a friend of mine had her surgery in our local hospital and received the same type of treatment that you ladies are describing. I told my internist the reasons why I would never have elective surgery in our local facility. Only by expressing our displeasure will these circumstances change.