Don't The Medical People Get It ??

Hi ~ I am still pretty new to this site & am still just "surfing" though the many posts, trying to gather as much information as I can. I went to my gyn doctor this past week & she has suggested a hysterectomy. I am in ABSOLUTE agreement with her!! I am almost 45 (in a few weeks) and I have 3 children. I had a tubal back in 1997. I have often wondered if having the tubal has contributed to some of the "issues" that I deal with, pain wise. ??? I have suffered tremendously, for years and years, with horrible monthly pain... which goes on ALL month, not just during my period. I have the typical situation.... very very heavy periods, passing huge clots each month, and feeling ALL sorts and kinds of "unexplained pelvic pains" throughout the month. I have felt almost as if I were in labor at times... the pain has been so bad. Needless to say, I am sick to death of living like this!! Well, the doc had a pelvic sonogram done on me & it revealed fibroid tumors in the uterus... NO surprise, huh?? She said my ovaries looked to be healthy & showed no signs of cysts or anything. She wants to do a laproscopic-vaginal hysterectomy & is giving me the option to keep my ovaries, as long as they look okay when she gets in there. I am SO ready to have this surgery & get this over with.... the problem now is the WAITING GAME to get a surgery date set up!! Yesterday, I was given 3 different dates in January.... and each time, the nurse called back to say they had to move it again!! Grrrrr!!!! It seems that it is almost impossible to coordinate a date that works for the gyn doc, the urologist, AND the hospital.... all at one time!! I am SOOO frustrated & depressed about this today!! I was really hoping to get this done soon..... the pain is almost unbearable anymore. I keep telling the woman that, at my doc's office... who does the scheduling of surgeries. It's like my words fall on totally deaf ears!! It doesn't seem to matter a bit whether I am in serious pain or not..... the date keeps getting pushed farther and farther out!! I was literally sobbing by the time this woman called me back yesterday... to tell me that Jan. 16th wouldn't work... and now it may be Jan. 23rd..... It got too late in the day for her to call me back to confirm that day.... so I am STILL waiting around to find out WHEN this nightmare can come to an end. The medical people seem SO cold and uncaring.... don't they get it?? Waiting another month for this surgery seems like an eternity to me!! Has anyone else had this problem... getting a date set up... and living in horrible pain in the meantime... that the medical people seem to simply ignore?? Any ideas on HOW to get them to listen ???

Hi KimberlyK,

I can appreciate what you are saying. I did not have problems scheduling my hyst for fibroids and, I was sure surprised how my 1st Dr. handled the news of a hyst.

When she told me I needed a hyst, she acted like she was ordering a hamburger and fries at take-out...her voice was so monotone and manner of fact. No caring. I know gyneo Drs. probably talk to patients about a hyst on a daily basis. But, the patient - me - was not ready for the way she told me..."This is what you need. A TAH due to the size of your fibroids and a bladder sling. And, oh by the way...your bladder may never work the same again in post-op."

Then I remembered being whisked into her office manager's office to talk about scheduling the surgery and my payment plan. It was so surreal. Like I was buying a car instead. I was waiting for the "closing" on the deal.

Needless to say, I cried for 3 days and dropped that Dr. like a hot potato and found my 2nd Dr. - my Dr. today -who did my hyst. What a difference a change in Drs can make sometimes.

Best wishes. You will work out your scheduling I am sure. Thanks for letting me vent. I had my hyst over 18 months ago and my terrible experience with my 1st Dr. still haunts me. To think, ladies right now, are going through similar experiences like mine with their no-bed-side-manner Drs.

Mary

First I'm so sorry you are having all this pain & then the agony of incompetence . I have first hand knowledge of how this works so I aam goig to make some suggestions. 1. Tell the scheduler you will take the first available date that she just needs to leave you a MSG. what Date, Time & Hospital. If you have the type of insurance that will require your primary Dr.'s approval-set an appt now, get a chest-x-ray & ekg. You can't do the blood work for a week before the surgery, x-ray & EKG can be a month out. Make copies of the results and letter from primary Dr. These things will put all your paperwork in order. Hand them to your Gyn. NOT the scheduler & explain why.
2. If this doesn't get you a date or she keeps changing dates on you-call & leave a MSG. for the GYN.--NO ONE ELSE . explain the problem you have been having. When He/she calls or when you speak to the GYN ask how far out is his/her schedule is and that you are willing to take a cancellation if one comes up. I have found you need to be aggressive They are so overbooked (By GYn's Choice):rolleyes that you may be able to get a second opinion even if it is to get an earlier surgery date.

Good Luck & God Bless
Lori

	Quote:
Originally Posted by KimberlyK Waiting another month for this surgery seems like an eternity to me!! Has anyone else had this problem... getting a date set up... and living in horrible pain in the meantime... that the medical people seem to simply ignore?? Any ideas on HOW to get them to listen ???

I had to wait six weeks to get my surgery, and I was in pain, too. I asked my family physician if he thought I should seek another gyn (who maybe had a less-busy schedule) to do the procedure, and he said that I might be lucky to find another one who books four or five weeks out, but...with the time I would have to spend making an appointment to be seen by someone new, in the long run it would still likely be six weeks.

I asked the surgery scheduler to be put on a cancellation list, and she explained that they don't have one. Their reason, she explained to me, is because most cancellations occur "at the last minute" and so a "replacement" patient would not have time to get the pre-op exam which they require to take place less than 48-hours pre-op.

I told my doctor about the pain and he prescribed a strong narcotic pain reliever, which helped.

I am truly sorry for your suffering. I don't believe that doctors, surgery schedulers, and hospital personnel are cold and uncaring. I just think that, in most locales, there is a wait for most every non-emergency surgery.

s to you,

Thanks for all of your input & thoughts ~ I guess I was just really down yesterday...... for not only did I NOT get a surgery date set..... I had been to my regular family doc's office and was diagnosed with a lovely case of walking pneumonia. So, I wasn't feeling too great, as it was. Then, when I got home, I had a message to call the gyn's office. She had ordered a lot of lab work done, the same day I went in for my sono. The lab work came back showing that my LDL cholesterol was too high AND she is suspecting diabetes, or prediabetes. The gyn doc is now insisting that I go my my family doc for more in depth diabetes testing before the hysterectomy. I had JUST left my family physician's office yesterday morning.... and a few hours later, I was calling them back to make another appt. for this coming Monday, to talk to him about diabetes screening and the high cholesterol thing. So, when this nurse, at my gyn office, kept calling me back and pushing the surgery date farther and farther out... and then STILL did not set a date, by 5pm yesterday..... I just bawled!! I guess it just wasn't my day, huh?

My gyn doc has prescribed some strong pain pills too... to help me cope before I can have the surgery. Her scheduling nurse said that she had put me on a cancellation list though. Guess we'll just have to see what happens come this Monday. Thanks again for ALL of your kind posts and caring words. I truely appreciate them!!

Kim in Kansas City

Kim, I'm sorry to hear you've been having such a rough time with all this. The silver lining, though, may be that you found out NOW that you have pneumonia. Trust me, you don't want to have the hyst until you're over the pneumonia and you're not coughing anymore. In fact, the surgery probably would have been cancelled.

Sending good thoughts that you are feeling much better with everything and that your surgery is scheduled ASAP.

Hang in there Kim...your surgery date will eventually get here. I chose to wait 3 months vesus 2 months due to the holidays. It seemed like such a long time but now it is just 6 weeks away. Actually, my pain and bleeding has not been as bad as usuall during the wait. I take it as a blessing from God and the time is going by quickly. If a Dr. could get you in within a week or two I would wonder about his reputation...the good one's are usually booked way ahead. I am sure this is not true in all cases but we are looking for the positives. So, keep the faith and you have made it this long and you can and will make it a few more weeks. Let us know when you get your date so we can celebrate with you.
Karen

I am sorry you are having a tough time getting a surgery date. As you are needing coordination between yourself, your GYN, a URO, and the hospital, that is probably complicating things--a lot of schedules to work with. The wait can be frustrating, esp if you are in pain and not feeling well.

I wish you the best for your health and your wait. And do follow up with your GP about the diabetic issues. I had many complications after my hyst partially due to undiagnosed Hypoglycemia, possible perdiabetis. So this can affect your recovery and surgery, and needs to be addressed before surgery.

As bad as things may seem, you have your light at the end of the tunnel. The waiting is always the worst part.

I hope it goes quickly and that your recovery is uneventful.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by KimberlyK. Hi ~ I am still pretty new to this site & am still just "surfing" though the many posts, trying to gather as much information as I can. I went to my gyn doctor this past week & she has suggested a hysterectomy. I am in ABSOLUTE agreement with her!! I am almost 45 (in a few weeks) and I have 3 children. I had a tubal back in 1997. I have often wondered if having the tubal has contributed to some of the "issues" that I deal with, pain wise. ??? I have suffered tremendously, for years and years, with horrible monthly pain... which goes on ALL month, not just during my period. I have the typical situation.... very very heavy periods, passing huge clots each month, and feeling ALL sorts and kinds of "unexplained pelvic pains" throughout the month. I have felt almost as if I were in labor at times... the pain has been so bad. Needless to say, I am sick to death of living like this!! Well, the doc had a pelvic sonogram done on me & it revealed fibroid tumors in the uterus... NO surprise, huh?? She said my ovaries looked to be healthy & showed no signs of cysts or anything. She wants to do a laproscopic-vaginal hysterectomy & is giving me the option to keep my ovaries, as long as they look okay when she gets in there. I am SO ready to have this surgery & get this over with.... the problem now is the WAITING GAME to get a surgery date set up!! Yesterday, I was given 3 different dates in January.... and each time, the nurse called back to say they had to move it again!! Grrrrr!!!! It seems that it is almost impossible to coordinate a date that works for the gyn doc, the urologist, AND the hospital.... all at one time!! I am SOOO frustrated & depressed about this today!! I was really hoping to get this done soon..... the pain is almost unbearable anymore. I keep telling the woman that, at my doc's office... who does the scheduling of surgeries. It's like my words fall on totally deaf ears!! It doesn't seem to matter a bit whether I am in serious pain or not..... the date keeps getting pushed farther and farther out!! I was literally sobbing by the time this woman called me back yesterday... to tell me that Jan. 16th wouldn't work... and now it may be Jan. 23rd..... It got too late in the day for her to call me back to confirm that day.... so I am STILL waiting around to find out WHEN this nightmare can come to an end. The medical people seem SO cold and uncaring.... don't they get it?? Waiting another month for this surgery seems like an eternity to me!! Has anyone else had this problem... getting a date set up... and living in horrible pain in the meantime... that the medical people seem to simply ignore?? Any ideas on HOW to get them to listen ???

I so feel for you. I have to wait until Feb 23rd. I didnt even get an option for Jan. Not even to have it cancled. If you get any ideas on how to move it up let me know. I know its like they dont believe in just getting it done. Ending the pain and illness. I dont know how many women got extra infections do to their problems, but I did. Im on my second round of treatments of it. Ive had a severe allergic reaction to this. I itch so bad Im starting to tear my skin off. They wont let me take anything to help. My back hurts so bad I cant even lay down. Walking hahaha. They wont give me anything for pain. Lets not even start on the NANA. So please help me move this up as well.