sleeved 8/16 still in hospital! OUCH

 Hello all. Well, I am sleeved now. My surgey went great, no complications, but it was after surgery where issues came up. This is my story.

I went in Thursday morning at 5:30am. My surgeon is known for always beeing on time and said he would start promptly at 7:30. According to my husband, that didn't happen and it didn't start til more like 9am for ome reason. I had been talking and laughing with the anasthesiologist while they set up my IV. They stuck my arms about 7 times befoe surgery til they got it right. After surgery, I do not remember much, I remember waking up in my room and my husband and mother in law being there. I was pretty sore, and they had me on a low dose of morphine which didn't help me, but I didn't know til after all the anasthesia wore off Saturday night. My shoulder was in so much pain also from the gas used during surgery. I had a catheter in and a tube for drainage hanging out of my gown. They took out the atheter on Friday i think. 

After a while, I started to notice something weird with my arm where the IV was. It was already really bruised up from bein poked so many times. I had my nurse look at it. Sure enough, the IV was bad, and the fluids and drugs had just been going straight into my arm and not into my vein to the rest of my body. The arm was very swollen. I told my overnight nurse and she said she cant find any veins, so she sent in another nurse, she stuck me 3 times, then sent in another nurse who tried another 2 or 3 times, then more nurses came. This was all around 2-4 am. Remember, during this time, I had no pain meds. So the last nirse that tried apologied and said she wouldnt stick me anymore. Then she did one more time. She then said anasthesia will be up in 15 mins to fix since they are the best at this...believe it or not, nobody ever showed up. 

The next morning, I woke up to 2 nurses and the nursing supervisor asking me wha happened. I told them about all the commotion that happend. They apologized and said it should never had happend, plus they had left the old IV in me all night! Never took it out. Then I saw another nurse that told me I would have to get a central line put in to my neck. They told me about the possibility of this before surgery, but said it was very rare and that it would ever happen. Well, they wee wrong. I talked to my surgeon about it, and he said it is the only think I can do right now besides a picc line that would be more painful. SO I signed the form and they wheeled me off for this procedure. Some new doctor and nurses took me to the surhery waiting area and they told me it would take 15mins. Remember, I STILL have not had pain meds since 2 am. It was now almost noon on Saturday. I had been waiting forever in a cold room. Told them I am in geat pain and I was upset that there was no sense of urgency. Finally, the Dr came back, lowered my bed, which hurt like hell, and then put plastic over my face, shoved oxygen in my nose and told me to be still. He numbed my neck, which didn't help, then inserted a line in me for my IV. He poked my neck a few times. Then he told me he was done, but I could not go back to my room until they took an xray that showed the line actually went into a vein. That took an hour of waiting. I made a huge fuss again, with my neck hurting, and they finally gave me Fentanyl. They took an xray. Then I waited another 30mins for the Dr. to come back and look at the xray and clear me to go back to my room. 

All of that took about 3 hours. Then I reminded my nurses back at my room that my arm is very swollen and the morphine is not working, and they shrugged it off. It wasn't until last night the overnight nurse told me my options. Tylenol or dilaudid. The people that did my neck also gave me dilaudid with the fentanyl, and it made my stomach cramp up and hurt. So they gave me tylenol and benedryl to help me sleep because I just could not sleep after this. Then today, my surgeon tells me I can' t go home yet, maybe tomorrow. I had nausea issues right after surgery that delayed everything. I got my clear liquids started Saturday afternoon. Then they gave me a suppositiry because I hadn't had a bowel movement at all. Still nothing has happend in that dept. Also, another Dr. came in this morning to tell me my blood platelets (sp?) are very low so there might be a new issue and it could be because of the drugs they gave me over night for high blood pressure (which I NEVER had prior to this surgery) and the blood clot medicine they gave me.  SO he is stopping that and will order my blood drwn again tonight. 

Sorry for the long story yall, but this is all weird and not at all what I expected. I am thinking it was just poor service here on behalf of this Centennial Women's Hospital here in TN. I trust no one but my surgeon now. And even that is questionable. Had anybody else had a similar experience?

I will post again tomorrow, hoepfully, I will be out by then, I am in pain again, and they put me on oral dilaudid, t=which I told them hurts me, but I have no other choice for pain. Pray for me yall

 So sorry to hear about your drama!!!  i'm happy that you made it through surgery all right and that you're on the losers bench.

We are all sending you positive thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.  

 I know of another story similar to yours (different hospital) and when the lady got out of the hospital she wrote a very detailed description of her experience at their facility, never heard back for over a week, then rec'd a call from a Patient Liason apologizing, blah blah blah.  Just out of curiousity, the patient called to obtain a detailed statement of her hospital charges and was told that her balance had been written off.  In my opinion, that's the least they can do for traumatizing someone for the rest of their lives! 
I sure hope you are out of there and home getting well and skinny very soon.  My prayers are with you....

My dear, I am so sorry you are going through so many complications at this stage of the game. I can't imagine what it must be like to be facing this operation, only to wake up after surgery with all this other b***s*** cropping up.

So glad you posted to let us know what is going on. You are obviously strong-- able to advocate for yourself when you are in pain. I so look up to you.

Sounds like you need to have a serious talk with the doctor about what has happened-- five or six nurses trying to stick you is just uncalled for. And neglecting your pain meds? Unforgivable. I'm angry you had to go through that.

Just know it WILL get better once you get out of the hospital and have some control over your body and have recovered from surgery.

I will pray for you every day. Please keep us updated on your progress.


I'm scheduled for surgery on Tuesday 8/21.

im so sorry to hear about your issues.. i will pray hard for you.  i never had such a hard time with mine, but just got home yesterday after 5 days in the hospital due to small complication.  my stomach was to swollen to allow anything to go into my stomach, so i had to not eat or drink for 3 days waiting to start liquids.

it will get better dont get discouraged.. blessings to you

So sorry you've been through so much!  I also had an iv come out of the vein after surgery.  Mine was in the top of my hand.  I noticed my hand was leaking fluid and then saw it was HUGE.  I had been without pain meds for several hours - which caused the veins to be near impossible to hit.  The nurse wouldn't even try - then the lab people came and gave up.  They got the top lady in the hospital and she came with a small sonogram machine and was able to hit a vein she located.  It was nice to have the pain meds back!

Hope everything goes smoothly for you now! 

I am so sorry this has happened to you. I prayed for you and everybody in that hospital. It sounds like they do not have their ducks in a row.

As awful as this has been, you are on the losers bench and nobody can take that away from u .

Whenever something happens like this to anybody in a hospital, the best thing to do is to get an outside line,  call the hospital you are in  and ask the switchboard for the Nursing Director. Then complain loudly to her. I GUARANTEE the problem will become fixed immediately.

I will keep praying for your quick release.

Blessings,

Sharon

Oh wow, I'm so sorry for your experience! I pray things turn around quickly and you get safely and quickly back on your WL journey.

Just to share, I had similar experiences with the sticks. Here's my story, briefly....

Prior to surgery, it took 5 sticks to get my IV in. Two of those were from nurses, and three were from anesthesia. At least they deadened the areas first! The lady drawing the labs was Nurse Cratchett Mean!! but she did get the stick in one HURTFUL try.

After surgery, the next day, there was an early labs order. Here we go again....two phlebotomists, two nurses and a nurse manager couldn't get a good stick for labs. Finally, they called the Flight Nurse team in, and one of those guys got the stick.

My 2nd night, over night, I felt moisture on my arm where my IV was, which was above the elbow on the inside of my arm. When I bent my arm, I could feel the tubing in the fold. I turned on a light and looked at the moisture, and it was blood. UGH! Called a nurse. She came in and said it was leaking, but knowing what had been going on, she was going to try to save it. I said take it out, but she said she had been through this before and knew they would make her put a new one in. So she cleaned it up, put all new tape, and we just hoped for the best.

The IV held, but I teared up about the possibility of having more sticks, that's for sure! The next morning, the staff said they were going to check with the doctor to see if he wanted more labs, given how hard this had been, and when my doctor's PA came in, he said he didn't order more labs. Thanks goodness!

Oh wow girl!! I think you had a worse time than me!! You can read my blog for my surgery story. That is just freakin' messed up! I would be asking to speak to the clinical manager on the floor. You need to be getting better care than that! I hope everything goes ok, and you get out soon. Good luck my dear!!

 I am sorry you are having an aweful time.  

I was also sleeved at Centennial Women & Childrens Hospital last november by a colleague of Dr. Dyers.  I had exactly the opposite experience.  I had an amazing experience with their care.  The only issue I had was my IV popping out the night before I was discharged.  The night nurse just decided since I was most likely going home the next morning to just leave it out.

Definitely let Dr. Dyer know of your problems, as well as Pam Davis at Centennial.  I know they would want to know that you feel poorly treated.