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imhayley

imhayley

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 25, 2005
Messages
350
Location
Nevada
I went to the gastro doctor last week for the colonoscopy/endoscopy. I did the Lovenox shots (NO comment) and was ready for the procedure. I will start with this.......I was talking to the Doctor then I was trying to grab the hands of the person forcing something down my throat. I was awake. The next memory is of the Doctor asking me to lay on my back. After that I remember yelling in severe pain begging the Doctor to please stop. This was Sept 11th. On the 12th I felt worse. On the 13th I was getting scared. I called the gastro doctor and asked to come in and see him. They got me in to see him and he tells me I have irritable bowel syndrome. He says I only woke briefly during the procedure and was asleep most the time. It was my fault that I woke up due to the high anxiety I Have. It's MY fault for the abdominal pain as I have a tortuous colon thus making it harder for him. He also mentioned I had scar tissue. I still have no idea what he meant as I have never had any other surgery than open heart. Does that cause scaring in your colon?
He told me that I needed to take nexium and watch my fiber intake and just learn to live with it. Well for those of you who know me then you know that IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. I sat up and looking him in his eyes closely and said "I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU HURT ME REALLY REALLY BAD. I WAKE UP RMEMBERING BEING CHOKED DAILY NOW. Why are you not saying something like "I am sorry Mrs. Irwin that things went sour" OR Gee Mrs. Irwin that's terrible that you woke up and I'm sorry it didn't go so smooth. NO NO NOT THIS DOCTOR. HE COMES BACK WITH "Oh now your trying to say I am trying to hurt you" OK HANG ON FOLKS I HAVE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND CALM MYSELF.:mad: I yelled at the Doctor that I am sick. I am not better and please acknowledge what I am saying. He looked at me and said nothing. My next words were ....and I quote.....'GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE. YOU ARE RUDE AND YOU HURT ME BAD. IM SICKER THAN A DOG AND YOU TELL ME TO JUST LIVE WITH IT AND WATCH MY FIBER INTAKE???? WTF!!!!!!!!!!! I SLAMED THE DOOR SO HARD I BROKE THE MOLDING. I called another GI place (I DIDNT SAY A SINGLE WORD ABOUT ANY OF THIS TO THE NEW DOC JUST THAT I WANTED A SECOND OPINION CUZ IM STILL SO SICK) and got in with Dr. Harrison. He took ONE YES ONE look at me and his reaction scared me. Here we go...... my jugular is bulging out of my neck so badly that he stopped EVERYTHING AND GOT ON THE PHONE WITH MY CARDIOLOGIST. Dignosis from new Dr........Congestive heart failure. Heterogenous perfusion of the liver.(which was already diagnosed by the cat scan I had days earlier in the emergency room and the first GI doc had this info.) He sent me off the the cardiologist. Repeat echo (as I just had my regular visit last week during all this insanity.) to see whats going on and 3 thousand dollars worth of lab work and cultures. I went for the results of the blood work and repeat echo friday. MY TRICUSPID VALVE IS LEAKING MOD-SEVERE. I HAVE GUT ADEMA THUS THE ABDOMINAL PAIN AND BLOATING. I HAVE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION. I am all bloaty and floaty. My cardiologist says they dont do surgery on this valve and gave me lasix and potassium. Re check in 6wks. I had to telll you all of this to give you the enitire senario. All I needed was Lasix?? I didnt need colonoscopy/endoscopy/lovenox injects/hundreds of dollars in labs/hundred and fifty dollar script for nexium? HOW MUCH MORE CAN I TAKE. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. THIS IS UNBELUCKINGFEAVABLE. ROSS ROSS AM I CRAZY OR IS THIS INSANE. OK DONT ANSWER THAT PLEASE. Am I ok? WHATS GANA HAPPEN TO ME NOW.? Im scared. Should I not be concerned with new leak. Do I need another surgery? Does this valve just fail now until I die? oh my:eek:
 
When I read your post I remembered back to before I had my 3rd OHS in 2006. I too had been told by two doctors that I was having symptoms that pointed to irritable bowel & they wanted to do the gastro exam on me & wanted to put me on nexium. In fact, one doctor even wrote out an Rx for nexium but I threw it away because I felt that that was NOT what was going on with me!

Fortunately, I went to see a new PCP, (our current family doctor now) who is an Internal MD & he was the one that found that instead irritable bowel, I had CHF!!! It was he, that by just looking at my jugular vein in my neck in the examining room ordered an Echo stat, & found that my aortic valve was showing extreme signs of pressures!! And up to that point, non of the other stupid doctors could diagnose that!!!

So I totally empathize with your anger & frustration with inept & stupid doctors! Did you ask him where, if in fact the scar tissue was in your colon?

I hope that the Lasix will start to make you feel better because I know only too well the discomfort that you feel all bloaty & swollen! It's terrible!

When are you suppose to see your cardio again? 6 weeks? The only thing I believe would show them a clear picture of what's happening w/your valve is with a Cath so perhaps that's something you should ask the cardio when you talk to him.

Hope you start feeling better w/the Lasix. Keep us posted.
 
I can understand why you are so upset. You have been through something terrible with what sounds like the gastro doctor from Hell.

It sounds as if several things have been discovered regarding your medical problems, and some of them have good fixes.

I agree with what has been said. You need to have a right heart cath, maybe a left one too.

First and foremost, you have to have a very good diagnosis on exactly what is going on with your heart and also how high your pulmonary pressures are.

Congestive heart failure has some good fixes. My husband had terrible problems with CHF, but even with all of those problems, we were able to control it for years and years with the care of a good cardiologist who kept a watchful eye on his fluid and prescribed the necessary diuretics and other medications based on Joe's symptoms.

We also monitored his fluid problems at home by weighing him each day in the morning w/o clothing before eating breakfast. And he kept to a very strict low sodium diet.

Your pulmonary hypertension has treatments available. Depending on how high your pressures are, it can contribute to the fluid problem especially in your abdomen (ascites). This can also cause liver and spleen distension at times and can also cause jugular vein distension. So getting on good diuretics and potassium if needed is very important both for the PH and the CHF.

Your valve needs an excellent assessment to determine just how far along it is and whether it can be managed medically or whether it needs surgery.

Some medications really help if the valve is not too bad.

I don't know about your liver or bowel problems. It sounds as if you need to find a much better gastro doctor and one who will explain everything to you. It sounds as if you have some things in that area that need attention.

I am very sorry you had this terrible experience. But I do think that many things can be done to help you.

Wishing you all the best.
 
First of all, let me say I'm sorry you had that happen to you. Of couse they don't use general anastetic during those GI procedures, but I think generally, the drugs they give you are supposed to put you out enough and even if you do wake up during the procedure, you aren't really supposed to remember. Obviously that didn't happen here. And it also shows that while even though most Dr's we come across in our lives are good and compasionate, there are some who just clearly have no business being there. Your guy obviously fits in the second catagory.

As far as the tricuspid valve thing though, if your cardio really said that they don't replace them, he is wrong. I just had mine done 5 months ago and there are several others of us here on this site. I did read somewhere that less than 10% of all valve surgeries are done on tricuspid, however, if it really is causing you to be in CHF, I would skip your cardio and go surgeon shopping. The preference for a tricuspid replacement is tissue becuase the pressures on that side of your heart are much lower and you are much more likely to throw a clot. I also read that INR level for a mechanical tricuspid is somewhere around 4.5 (someone please correct me here if you know differently). In that same paper though, it said if someone already has a mechanical somewhere else, they may consider putting in mechanical because they are already doing the whole coumadin thing.

Take a deep breath and calm down...there is help for what you have. I would also report that other Dr.

Kim
 
Imhayley,
Sorry for all the things you've put up with
I can feel your pain more than one way:(
Just want to add that you are in my thoughts
and prayers........GEEEEZ!!!!!!

zipper2 (DEB)
 
I too am very sorry about these troubles. Will certainly keep you in my prayers.

I don't have the expertise to advise on all that, but with regard to the gastric problem -- my wife also has problem with that and she has gotten good results for years from a prescription for Prevacid. She found that Nexium did absolutely nothing for her. Prevacid is expensive (most of the other medicines we take are generic, but Prevacid is not) but my wife has found it to be very beneficial. I saw recently that a generic for Prevacid is due out in 2009 so some price relief will be on the way.

Sounds like you received horrible treatment, but do try to calm down. The stress surely will not help.

Sending you my best thoughts and prayers.
 
that hypertension will drive you crazy. I know from personal experience. I hope you get this problem resolved.
 
Hayley --

What kind of gut symptoms did you have that made you go to the gastro doctor in the first place?

Are you still having these symptoms?

I'm wondering if you have celiac disease. If you have it, you cannot digest gluten. If you have it, a change in diet will completely eliminate your symptoms.
 
Yikes, Hayley...sorry you are having to endure this.

Thoughts/prayers coming your way, of course....



Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"Waiting to be mended like a potter would mend a broken vase" ... Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers ... 'Broken Lady'
 
Hayley - I'd make sure that the offending doctor gets a copy of the tests that show that he was bordering on malpractice by dismissing you so off-hand. Not to threaten him, but so he doesn't do the same to another patient.

I'm sorry this is happening. I'm not quite sure why the doctor told you that they don't operate on tricuspid valves? We have members here who have had them replaced or repaird. Maybe he meant that at the stage yours is at they don't operate.

If you are going to take Nexium - you may want to search it here. I think some members have had issues with it with warfarin. I take Prilosec, which is a similar medication, and it does not affect my INR.

Good luck!
 
ponygirlmom said:
Hayley --

What kind of gut symptoms did you have that made you go to the gastro doctor in the first place?

Are you still having these symptoms?

I'm wondering if you have celiac disease. If you have it, you cannot digest gluten. If you have it, a change in diet will completely eliminate your symptoms.
Click to expand...

My symptoms were dizzyness, trouble swallowing, disention in the stomach, abdominal pain, constipation, lethargic. Four days after taking lasix my system is working. NO more of the above except dizzyness. I went to the ER for severe abdomenal pain.They said it was my liver according to the ct scan. The told me go see a GI doctor. I DONT NEED NEXIUM OR PRILOSEC FOR CHF DO I???????????
 
Karlynn said:
Hayley - I'd make sure that the offending doctor gets a copy of the tests that show that he was bordering on malpractice by dismissing you so off-hand. Not to threaten him, but so he doesn't do the same to another patient.

I'm sorry this is happening. I'm not quite sure why the doctor told you that they don't operate on tricuspid valves? We have members here who have had them replaced or repaird. Maybe he meant that at the stage yours is at they don't operate.

If you are going to take Nexium - you may want to search it here. I think some members have had issues with it with warfarin. I take Prilosec, which is a similar medication, and it does not affect my INR.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Hi Karlynn, Your lil grandbaby is tooooooooo cute by the way!!!!!!! And getting bigger. Precious!!! Ok so as you see Murphy here has been out in the world and things are happening that are not normal. This Gi doctor is not only getting sued but channel 4 news is coming to my house to get the story. I am tired of this. I would rather die than fight all these doctors again. I dont know if I can trust that Cardio Doctor is giving me right advice. I dont know if maybe I should listen and say to hell with it all and just live my life and wait and see what happens??? Oh geeee. I was up at 430am today pole vaulting. Im so very tired Karlynn.
 
Thanks everyong for responding. This forum is MY ONLY source of support unfortunatley. My husband is here too thank God but doesn't know how to deal with all this. Many thanks.
 
Hi, Hayley--

You totally have my support. I think many of us here have had our share of inept/inconsiderate/just plain a@@$%&* doctors. I also have IBS (constipation) and had a colonoscopy in March. All the GI doc could do for me was prescribe a pain reliever for the nasty lower-abdominal pain I get sometimes after eating and tell me to eat more fiber. I could eat a field full of broccoli and still not go!!! It sucks that there just doesn't seem to be anything to alleviate IBS. All the digestive-tract regulating drugs (like Zelnorm) have been pulled off the market for good reasons, but still...

I'm hoping the tricuspid valve can be taken care of. I know a couple people who have had replacements of the tricuspid valve. I have a small leak there, too, but it's one of those "wait and see" things.

Not to cause you any alarm or scare you any more than you are, but maybe you should have your GP take a look at what's going on with your pancreas. Sometimes, but not always, GI problems are pancreas-related. My mother had always had terrible IBS her entire life, so when she had a nasty flare-up with liver problems, she didn't think anything of it. It turned out to be cancer. Again, this isn't to scare you, but it should still be looked into, especially since you mentioned liver issues.

We all love you and support you! :D

Debi (debster913)
 
Hayley -

Hayley -

I don't get on the VR.com board much anymore but I read your posts tonight and went back to work - could not get my mind off of you so I got back on here to post. You sound so scared and it is totally understandable why. You sound so much like me when I have had not so good news regarding my heart issues.

All I can say is that you are in my thoughts and prayers, that I hope you will get a handle on what is going on with your heart and you will find that it is easily treatable.

BE BRAVE (words of wisdom given to me by Al and I will pass them on to you). I have questioned "why" so many times over the last several years and know that is what you are most likely asking at this time.

Christina L
 
man,
all I can say is what a whackjob this guy doesnt belong practicing, but good job advocating for yourself! looks like you are getting it done, we're here for you!
 
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