Hospital Vent

[robbie3982]

So yesterday I finally had the TEE (transesophageal echo, see my blue lips threads for more info on why I was having it) done and everything came back 100% normal (thank god!). While everyone there was really nice, I am not happy with the hospital at all.

First, they asked the routine question "is there any chance you could be pregnant?" I told them no, even though I''m not on BC, I chart. I know when we had sex and I know when I ovulated and it''s not possible. I also told them that I only ovulated 2 days ago, so even if by some miracle I had become pregnant this cycle, no pregnancy test would be able to pick it up this early since an embryo wouldn''t have implanted yet and therefore wouldn''t be producing HCG. They explained that they''re required by law to do a pregnancy test because the anesthesia they had to give me would cause birth defects, blah blah blah. Ok, fine, better safe than sorry. So they make me pee in a cup and about a half hour later they take me down to the room where the TEE will be done.

The woman in charge of the anesthesia (I guess that makes her the anesthesiologist?) can see that I''m very nervous and she assures me that once she gives me the medicine and the throat spray I won''t have any idea what''s going on, I won''t feel anything and I won''t even remember any of this. She''s about to inject the medicine into my IV when I realize that no one has mentioned getting the results of the pregnancy test so I speak up. I know logically that there''s no chance that I''m pregnant, but they did the test, so better safe than sorry, right? They have no idea that a pregnancy test has even been done and were never told to wait for any results. Um, if it was so important to confirm that I''m not pregnant, shouldn''t they have checked on that?! Their excuse was that pregnancy usually isn''t an issue with patients having this test done since they''re generally much older and menopausal. They call and the lab says the results are negative. What if they''d been positive though and I hadn''t asked before they gave me the injection???

At this point I''m definitely getting more nervous. They sprayed my throat with the numbing spray and injected the medicine and about a minute later started the test. I was completely awake and aware of what was going on and the only thing the spray did was keep me from gagging as they were putting the edoscope down. I definitely felt the endoscope and it hurt to the point where I was crying. It was quite obvious that I was completely awake, terrified and in pain and that whatever they gave me was not working. The anesthesiologist was right there the whole time and I really feel like she should''ve given me more/something else when she saw that whatever she''d given me wasn''t working. DH said the whole thing took only about 15 min (he was in the waiting room), but to me that 15 min was quite possibly the worst 15 minutes of my life. I made it known that I have an anxiety disorder and I was VERY anxious about the entire thing despite having already taken an ativan (which they told me was ok). I''ve had twilight anesthesia before. That''s what I had when I had my nose put back into place after I broke it and it was crooked. I was compeltely out the whole time and felt nothing, so I know that it''s not like I just have a resistance to this type of anesthesia or something.

I will definitely not be going back to this hospital. The people were very nice, but I would have much rather had mean people who remembered to get the results of the pregnancy test and had actually gotten the anesthesia dosage to the point where it did what it was supposed to.

 

[aprilcait]

That sounds awful, Robbie. I''m sorry you had to go through that.

Did the anesthesiologist apologize to you or talk to you about the problem at all?

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 7/16/2008 10:52:37 AM
Author: aprilcait
That sounds awful, Robbie. I''m sorry you had to go through that.

Did the anesthesiologist apologize to you or talk to you about the problem at all?

Nope. I''m really not a confrontational person so I didn''t say anything to her when it was over since it''s not like she could''ve done anything at that point anyway, but I don''t know how she could not know that I was completely awake and in pain. I had tears running down my face and I was squeezing her hand repeatedly. If I hadn''t felt like I was choking and I''d been able to talk during the procedure I definitely would''ve been screaming my head off. I wish they would''ve let DH in the room. He would''ve said something.

 

[Delster]

Robbie first and foremost I'm so glad your results all came back normal and that you are fit and healthy!

Second, I'm sorry you had such a bad time during the procedure.

My mother had an endoscopy done about fifteen years ago and they used no anaesthetic whatsoever, just put a mouthguard in to prevent her biting the tube. She didn't speak the whole way home in the car, I think she was in shock.

I had to have a core biopsy about two months ago that was rather unpleasant and I still get nasty flashbacks when the wound gives me a wee twitch. Actually just thinking about it now is making me feel shaky again. I was in tears too while it was being done

Definitely look into switching hospitals if you can't rebuild your trust in this one, or bring it up with your primary physician how to make sure it's handled better if you should ever need to go back there again for anything.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 7/16/2008 11:06:47 AM
Author: Delster
Robbie first and foremost I''m so glad your results all came back normal and that you are fit and healthy!

Second, I''m sorry you had such a bad time during the procedure.

My mother had an endoscopy done about fifteen years ago and they used no anaesthetic whatsoever, just put a mouthguard in to prevent her biting the tube. She didn''t speak the whole way home in the car, I think she was in shock.

I had to have a core biopsy about two months ago that was rather unpleasant and I still get nasty flashbacks when the wound gives me a wee twitch. Actually just thinking about it now is making me feel shaky again. I was in tears too while it was being done

Definitely look into switching hospitals if you can''t rebuild your trust in this one, or bring it up with your primary physician how to make sure it''s handled better if you should ever need to go back there again for anything.

Delster, I''m sorry you had to go through something like this. How awful for your mother! I''m so glad I''m not alone on the highlighted part, though! I keep flashing back to it and getting shaky as well. My esophagus still feels weird, no pain, but weird, so I''m hoping that in a few days the sensation will go away and take the flashbacks with it. DH doesn''t seem to understand why I''m so traumatized. He thinks I should just be happy it''s over and that the results were normal and I can''t explain why my mind won''t let it go.

There are 3 local hospitals and then even more downtown. I''d been to this one before, not sure what for (I was very accident prone in grade school), but the only reason I went there this time was because that''s where the cardiologist''s office prefers to work. My family doctor works with only one hospital which is not this one so he won''t be sending me there for anything.

 

[Delster]

My FI doesn't get it either Robbie, although to be fair to him, he tries his best. The flashbacks will fade with time. For a day or two after I had it done, it would pop into my mind and literally freeze me in my tracks. Pretty horrible. But the ones I'm getting today are much less vivid and are more of a generalised icky, shaky, wee bit tearful kind of thing.

Sometimes what helped was doing the 'go-away-I'm-not-thinking-about-this' routine, and sometimes it was more helpful to just let the flashback wash over me and kind of face it. Do whatever you need to do to get your inner strength back and kicking!

And be gentle with yourself. It's normal to be wobbly after something unpleasant. Or something downright nasty.

I'm glad you have hospital options, that's good!

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks for the advice. DH definitely isn''t being mean about it or anything, he just doesn''t understand. I''ll show him your post so he can see that it''s not just me.

 

[Delster]

I read a book once that suggested that men are better at kind of 'deciding' not to dwell on things and it struck a chord with FI and I. It might help you out here too..

So the book compared a person's mind to a computer, with various programs running and windows open on the desktop. The book said most men can 'close' a program that they don't want to have open, so, for example, if they are playing on their Wii they can close the program telling them they need to, say, take the laundry out of the washing machine. But most women can't just decide to close the 'laundry warning' program, it'll keep popping up like one of those irritating 'you are visitor one million and you've won a Ferrari' windows, and so they won't enjoy playing on the Wii so much because the laundry window will be niggling at them and they can't just get rid of the thought...

I believe FI used the word 'revelation' when he realised that I can't just 'decide' not to think about something. And I used rather harsher words when I realised he can!

 

[robbie3982]

LOL.

 

[Linda W]

Robbie,

Sweetie, I am so sorry you had to go through this awful procedure. DH and I both have had this procedure done down the throat. Our Dr. put us to sleep for 15 minutes. I wish your Dr. would have done that to you too.

I am sending you a big hug.

Linda

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks, Linda. A representative from the hospital called to do a survey on my satisfaction and I told her I was very dissatisfied and explained everything I explained in this post. She was nice, but she seemed to have an excuse for everything. She actually told me that she didn''t know why anyone would''ve told me that I wouldn''t know what was going on because they always use only a mild sedation for this procedure. The anesthesiologist herself told me that I would be completely unaware and wouldn''t remember a thing, so I don''t know. She said she''d pass my complaints on to her boss and that I might get a call from the boss.

 

[cara]

Oh, that sounds awful!!! Anesthesia sucks. Sorry you had to go through it.

The pregnancy test... Oh, brings back bad memories. I was in the hospital for a CAT scan on my broken leg. On crutches and in a moderate amount of pain. My then-boyfriend, a medical doctor, had told me earlier that I must tell them that there IS a chance I might be pregnant (even though I had not missed my period, we used effective birth control, and even if pregnant it would probably be too early for a test to pick up.) He was assuming they were used to this and would just give me a pregnancy test prior to the scan, which is the procedure at his hospital.

No. I tell them there is a chance, they freak out and tell me I have to leave and can't have my CAT scan done. I try to backtrack, and tell them the chance is extremely extremely low. I try to argue that all sexually active women of reproductive age have some minute chance of being pregnant. I realize my error, backtrack and tell them I was mistaken, there is no chance I might be pregnant. They sent a doctor, who basically tells me that the hospital legal team has no appreciation for such statistics, and they cannot do a CAT scan on any woman who claims at any time during her appointment that there is any chance she might be pregnant. Only women who lie or have a different understanding of risk are allowed to have CAT scans. They kick me out and tell me to come back only when I have obtained a negative home pregnancy test on my own.

I am on crutches, have no car, couldn't drive if I did, my ride is scheduled for an hour later, after my scan was to be performed. I have no means of getting to a drug store.

I call boyfriend, blame him for a big, big mess, direct him to leave work immediately, buy me a pregnancy test and bring it to the grassy stretch of lawn in front of the ER where I will be waiting...

Note to self and others: make own determination of pregnancy status prior to appts.

 

[robbie3982]

Oh geez, Cara, that must''ve been awful! I wonder why they couldn''t just give you the test themselves.

 

[LaraOnline]

Date: 7/16/2008 3:31:15 PM
Author: robbie3982
Thanks, Linda. A representative from the hospital called to do a survey on my satisfaction and I told her I was very dissatisfied and explained everything I explained in this post. She was nice, but she seemed to have an excuse for everything. She actually told me that she didn''t know why anyone would''ve told me that I wouldn''t know what was going on because they always use only a mild sedation for this procedure. The anesthesiologist herself told me that I would be completely unaware and wouldn''t remember a thing, so I don''t know. She said she''d pass my complaints on to her boss and that I might get a call from the boss.

I''m glad you got to express your feeling directly to the hospital, even though all the rep did was to hose you down. It might get back to the anaesthesiologist now, good. It''s a shame she wasn''t made aware immediately.
I feel bad for you...the medical system is made up of people, and people aren''t perfect, are they?
Hope you feel better soon!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I am sorry this happened to you. My father woke up in the middle of his colonoscopy. They asked him if he wantedt to watch and he said "NO!" and they put him right back down. They should have done the same for you.

You should put you complaints in writing to the hospital, that will kind of force them to listen.

Also, I know it is hard if you are want to be nice and not speek up, but studies have showen that people who speek out more get better care. Its a fine line, because you don''t want to be "that patient." But you do have the right to ask for more sedation, medication, and no one should be bothered by that. If they are, that is not ok, and as you already realized, it may be better to go elcewhere if you have that option.

 

[divergrrl]

Robbie, I want to hit that woman for you! The awful awful woman! (I have other words, but they aren''t appropriate for a public forum)

HUGS....

When I got the Quentin Tarantino/Hostel/Saw version of an amniocentisis (omg...I shudder at the horrific experience) with my daughter, it chilled me to the bone for a long long time. Fortunately my DH was there so he was very sympathetic, because it took all his willpower not to pummel the guy.

But you had a trauma, and it was traumatic. You don''t bounce out of it all rosy posy peachy keen. Had my dh not been there, he probably wouldn''t have understood.

I''m sorry....(((big hugs))

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I never did get a call back from that woman''s boss, so maybe I will write a letter. I don''t know though, at this point I just kind of want to stop thinking about it and move on.