Just wanted to say hello.....

Like many of you, I live with chronic pain, and have for over 20 years. I have Degenerative Disc Disease (mostly in the neck/cervical region) and Pelvic Adhesive Disease/Adhesion Related Disorder. DDD runs throughout my family and the ARD is the result of 5 c-sections and 2 exploratories. It actually began affecting me after my first (botched) c-section, but was misdiagnosed/ignored for several years. I am sure some of you know what I am talking about: the pain is just "in your head", "we can't find anything wrong with you", "I'm referring you to a Psychiatrist", etc, etc. I was in and out of emergency rooms and the last time I went, the doctor flat-out accused me of "pill-seeking" and was REALLY rude about it. about a month later, I went under the knife and my surgeon was amazed (for lack of a better word) at what he saw; several of my organs were literally stuck together - bladder and uterus were the worst. Anyhoo, long story short, they cleaned up the best they could, I "recovered" and when I felt better I went back to that emergency room, found the doctor who accused me of pill-seeking and (literally) threw my surgical records at him. He remembered me and he apologized. I told him that he needed to listen more to his patients and stop looking at them as a part on an assembly line. Unfortunately, new adhesions formed and there really is no "cure" except for more cutting, which gets more dangerous each time. So, between these two conditions, I am stuck with pain medication for the rest of my life - oh joy.

Ok, enough babbling from me. I usually don't talk about my health with anyone, so it felt good to vent a bit!

Have a peaceful day!

After the meeting, I got an email from my supervisor and he titled it to "Splashdancer".

Sorry if that was totally off-topic, but hopefully it made someone laugh.

Post Edited (Splashdancer) : 8/2/2009 2:25:27 AM (GMT-6)

PAlady: you are right - I did feel validated when I got in the doctor's face. Although I had been to the emergency room a few times prior to the night of the "incident", it was obvious each time I went that I was in pain - very elevated blood pressure (kinda hard to fake), increased pulse rate, rigid abdomen, sensitivity to touch, writhing in agony, and tears streaming down my face. That last doctor also told me: "Oh, just relax and stop crying, it can 't be that bad!". Now, I am not a violent person, but I really wanted to shove the vaginal speculum (sp) I saw nearby somewhere that would make him a soprano and then tell HIM to relax! And kttn251977: yes, the look on his face when I threw my records at him (and told him what I thought of his bedside manner) was priceless. I don't know if his apology was genuine, or if he was just trying to placate me, but it didn't even matter - I felt like I had stood up for myself, and every other patient he had treated so badly. It felt gooood . Smoochie: I'm sorry for how you were treated. I hope you get that apology - go gettum! You deserve respect and compassion any time you go to an emergency room (or any medical facility).

Post Edited (Splashdancer) : 8/2/2009 9:41:34 AM (GMT-6)

PAlady said...
 
I love your idea about the use of the speculum (guys here may not know what that is, but suffice it to say it's bigger than a proctologist's finger!).

My beloved and I had a discussion the other day about physicals for men and women. He told me how lucky women are that we don't have to go through the "bend and cough" exam that men have to do. I almost rolled on the floor laughing! I proceeded to tell him about having a very large pair of salad tongs inserted, then having the doctor tell us to "hold on a minute" while he leaves the room, while said salad tongs are exposing us to the world. And of course there is the ever popular, "You might feel a little bit of 'pressure'" .

Post Edited (Splashdancer) : 8/2/2009 4:23:48 PM (GMT-6)