Rooster story for laughs...

I'm glad he called in meds for you. Norco should help. Zofran constipates me badly (I think maybe you mentioned it does the same to you?), but it does help nausea so it's always a catch-22 for me. Miralax helps.

Wow, I hope you have a much better experience than she did. Yeah, they are often quite stingy with pain meds, and it sucks. I hate being treated like a pill seeker when I'm clearly in excruciating pain. Tramadol helps me with milder UC pain. Tylenol has never done a thing for me. You can take Tylenol with the tramadol to supposedly make it a little more effective but don't take it with Norco since it already has Tylenol in it (you probably already know this).

I never got pain meds pushed on me in my 15 years with UC. Would've been nice to get a little relief. I had to literally beg over the years. I definitely agree it's inhumane and unethical.

Sarah -- in 2013 when I was hospitalized when I was 1st diagnosed and then a month later was hospitalized for appendicitis (fun times) I felt like pain meds were pushed on me -- I always had to give my level of pain and they were always asking if I wanted anything stonger than tylenol. I only accepted stronger meds after the scope they did to diagnose me -- I was in an enormous amount of pain after that. I asked the nurse why they were pushing pain meds and they told me that the theory at the time was that you healed faster when you weren't stressed by the pain. No wonder so many people got addicted. Now they are very stingy with pain meds and expect you to tough it out.

Clo -- how are you doing? Are you still having surgery this week?

This week has been a learning experience. I feel sucker punched.

I know I coded because of breathing issues during surgery in 2016... But my EKGs were normal after that. 2019 surgery I didn't think I had issues. No one told me I did. 2021 surgery ....my acRS didn't do everything we planned because my pelvis was too narrow and he could not get all the way in there... I had kidney issues one month after that one...but wasn't told anything happened during surgery. But now they think I may have had a heart attack with mild damage...time unknown? (I know I've been struggling the last few years with my memory but... Now am wondering if it was because of a heart attack I didn't even know I had.) I asked when... They don't know. My EKG matches my 2021 presurgery test though.

So I think I should order copies of my medical records, make an appointment with my cardiologist, make sure I am ok and find out when this could have happened...and if it can xx to,,happened during surgery why I wasn't told. I saw my cardiologist in 2018 so we have a baseline. I had a calcium scan at that time and they said I was fine. But there haven't been any new issues....so I haven't gone back. I should have gone back.... I can't believe I let that ball drop....

I spoke a two different people in medicine. They were heehawing around...but was finally told me that if there are issues and they were not major and the person is ok...or they thought informing would cause more stress than needed it's the practice not to inform. WHAT???

Is this something I should just drop?

Regardless... Now I am on a diet. I'm making smoothies out of the raw fruits and veges I usually don't eat because of the narrowing.... I'm even eating Chia seeds in them. It's going ok.

They have decided to do the surgery on Friday because the EKGs match. They will just watch me carefully.

This sucks! I'd rather be battling the darn rooster...

Oh Sara, you made me laugh so hard.... Because I have started to do the same thing. Lol...

Clo

Wow clo. That doesn’t sound legit to not tell a person they may have had a heart attack!!!

Will be thinking of you on Friday. Please update as soon as you’re able!!!

In my thoughts today, Clo!

Thinking of you also clo! Hope you’re free of that nasty stone and resulting pain soon!

Thank you all for your kind wishes.

Yesterday was a crazy day. I've never had one like it.

This was the first time I have used the smaller hospital. Closer to my home. Usually it's a learning University hospital with all my docs there. This time there was only the one chief in the kitchen and it was refreshing.

The drive down was uneventful. The registration person was kind and knowledgeable. She had on these false eyelashes that fluttered and they just amazed me. (I sorta kinda thought Oh My The chickens and kitty's would be all over her... lol... what a thought) They wheeled me to the waiting room where one of my nurses came out and introduced herself. After a 5 minute wait they took me back to a small room with an attached bath. I met my other 2 nurses. A male and another female. There were also 2 other ladies that assisted the nurses. One of them had on this softly glittered eyemake up.. like a soft rainbow... It was translucent with just alittle glitter, With smile written along her eyebrow line. And you know--seeing that---it did make me smile. She said she was working in day surgery that day but usually she works with the kiddos and they seem to like it.

They tried to get an IV started. .. in my hand.. and and hit a nerve. Yikes! I've never had that happen.. I am such a wimp...I cried..and I think I moved. My female nurse had to listen to me scream "Mother Butterfinger" for 2 or 3 minutes... And by that time her and the male nurse were in stitches because I kept apologizing for cursing and burning their little ears off. We tried the left arm, was only able to get the needle half way in... But we left it so anesthesia could have a third go at it while I was asleep. Apparently I have a lot of valves and scar tissue.

The head of day surgery popped in, the head of anesthesia, my anethesia nurse practitioner came in and finally my doctor. They all gave very detailed descriptions of what they were going to do, asked if I had and concerns about any of it so we could resolve it before surgery..I don't think I've ever been offered the opportunity to change anything that might cause me anxiety before.... Or met everyone assigned to my care before surgery. Is that normal. Or is this just a very good hospital?

Surgery went well. It was quick and they got the stone. The doctor thought it was larger than 7mm cause he had a lot of fragments.

It was after surgery. Zofran was not helping. The pain meds were not helping..... I almost face planted when I got up to try to go to the bathroom.. twice. I wanted the stent out right then... (stents are awful!) The team was scrambling. They gave me another nausea medicine, plus those brown pills for urine pain, (and honestly, I was thinking..What are these little brown pills really going to do that the pain meds aren't.) They gave me more pain meds... Then someone wanted to transfer me back to recovery and a few wanted to have me there over night. I asked to stay where I was for a couple more hours. Exactly 6 hours after surgery, the anesthesia started to clear, all the pain meds kicked in and I could go home.

The doctor came back in, explained everything and refused to give me antibiotics. He said that they could cause even more issues... Especially if we needed them down the road and my body is used to them. Instead he wants me to take powdered D-Mannose, (30 to 50 bucks) probiotics and double up on my cranberry supplements. (Cranberry supplements and probiotics were 114.00 yikes... Can you say credit card? I had them already at home but had used almost all.of them. I had to order more to be overnighted. )

My bedside table looks like a pharmacy... But I am home. The stent will stay in 10 days or so. The stone was very sharp and scrapped all over in there. The surgeon had to push it back into the bladder so he could laser it... And that caused more inflammation and wounds. He kept asking me how many Norco's I'd taken. I told him one cause I wanted to hoard them for when things were really bad. Those pain meds must have had a truth serum in them. So he didn't prescribe more just yet. I'll call him when I run out. 😩😩. I'm. Really disappointed I don't get to hoard these things because they are helping. Oh well.

But the bad thing???. All the pain meds obstructed me. My stoma is not working. Today it's soup, grape juice and milk of magnesia. And this stent is hurting. It feels like an NGO tube scraping and twirling around... only in my kidney and bladder. Cross your fingers that stoma starts working and this stent stops hurting. It's tolerable but still painful even with pain meds. Those little brown pills I scoffed at make it so that I can pee without screeching. So... So far I am doing ok.... As long as I don't move or breath deeply. Lol...

I know it's a long post... But I just could not get over that hospital. It was a very calm and professional procedure. Dallas is just different Not in a bad way... But in the... There's so much to do.. and so many people are running around everywhere and you don't get to meet or have a conversation. They are both good hospitals.. it just that this time it was so different. I am impressed.

Thanks again for your kind thoughts.

Clo

Glad your surgery went well and you had a good experience.

That really does sound like a great hospital! Still, quite the ordeal to go through. I wish it weren't so tough to get pain treated! So much suffering. I am rooting for you to have a quick recovery.