Can You Hear Me Now?

This is a doozy. WHAT a day I had yesterday.

I arrived at the hospital at 10:00 a.m. and was admitted to Day Surgery. After getting routine tests and an IV inserted, a nurse talked to me about what was going to happen that day.

I was told that I’d go into the OR by 1:00, a few doctors and the anesthesiologist would talk to me, I’d go under a general anesthetic, have the laproscopic tubal ligation, then wake up in recovery. Depending on how long it took me to wake up and stuff, I would be back in her care within half an hour after surgery. About an hour after that, they would try to get me up to go to the bathroom. If I am able to go, then they will know I’m okay and will be ready to go home within a couple hours. If I’m not able to pee, they will keep me until I can. (LIARS!)

So, all goes as planned and I woke up in recovery. I was groggy, so I wasn’t sure what I heard was real as a nurse leaned over to tell me, “so, you know, they couldn’t do it. Once they went in, there was too much scar tissue (from a surgery I had 10 years ago) so they couldn’t reach your tubes”. Wha?? Soon my surgeon came over and confirmed what the nurse said. Surgery unsuccessful. He could have gone in, cut me open and done a full surgery to clip my tubes, but since that would mean a couple days in the hospital and weeks of recovery, he figured he should check with me first. Yeah, thanks. And no thanks. I asked him, considering there is so much scar tissue, aren’t I infertile anyway? He said probably, but there is no way to know for sure. Sigh. We agreed to meet in a couple weeks and discuss my options.

I went back to my day surgery bed and got hooked up to oxygen. I started to come back from the anesthetic and talked to a variety of nurses about how I felt, pain killers were taken, I get my blood pressure taken every five minutes, etc. After an hour or so they removed the oxygen and I asked to go to the bathroom, I had some mega pain happening in my bladder and felt a very strong urge to pee. So, with some assistance I got to the toilet. I sat and sat and sat and the pain got worse and worse and worse, but I was unable to go. I got back into my bed and talked to a nurse. I told her my usual “after surgery” routine is that I need a catheter for at least 24 hours; I didn’t think I would with this simple procedure, but I was wrong. I know this is common for many people, but my having MS plays a role in that too, my bladder isn’t exactly normal. Meanwhile, the pain is getting worse and I start writhing around and moaning and begging for a catheter. They send in a nurse with an ultrasound machine to scan my bladder to see how much urine is actually in there, because what the hell do I know about my own needs?? According to their ultra high-tech scanner, my bladder is practically empty, maybe 64cc’s. I DON’T THINK SO. I am writhing in so much pain by this point, they finally decide to take pity on me and insert a catheter.

I won’t go into details about that chore, but the first one was “faulty” and my, my, that was fun. The second one went in and I offered up about 500 cc’s. Get a new scanner, people! That gave me a lot of relief, but not totally. They commented that my urine was full of blood and cloudy, so they figured I had an infection and were sending my urine for tests. OH what a surprise, I go into the hospital for a routine surgery and come out with an infection. That has never happened before!!!

The pain got worse. I was now grabbing the sides of my bed, crying and moaning and experiencing pain like I had never felt before. A nurse came by to tell me that I have a urinary tract infection/bladder infection, that they have sent for some antibiotics and UTI pain killers, (PLEASE HURRY! I have had a UTI once before, but never have I felt pain like that!) and that I “won’t be going anywhere”. They are going to admit me. (LIARS!) This was at about 6:00 p.m. I request a catheter be put in and kept there, please, because the pain is really bad and I know I can’t pee on my own yet. I am refused and given two Tylenol 3’s.

Oh, and they also told me the UTI was old news and I’d had it for awhile. I reminded them that I brought in a urine sample that morning, and that it was clear, no blood or cloudiness or anything, and that I have had no pain or burning or any sign of an infection. The infection started after the anesthetic; my mom gets one every time she goes under too. Hospitals and infections go together, but they don’t want to take any responsibility.

At about 8:00 my Pyridium (pain killer for the UTI) finally arrives. I experienced almost instant relief, because it sort of “freezes” the bladder. I was no longer in agonizing pain and started to feel better (the pain from the laproscopic? Hardly an issue, that was the least of my worries!) I am handed 3 prescriptions, half a ham sandwich (the only thing I ate all day) and told that my Stepdad is on his way to take me home. What? I thought I was being admitted, you’re not supposed to let me go home if I can’t even pee on my own… (I fucking hate that hospital). It was like talking to deaf ears, they didn’t care, they just wanted me out of there because day surgery is supposed to close at 8:30 and I was the last person left. They just wanted to go home.

By 9:30 Bob was there and I was wheeled out to the van. I was still very weak and unable to use any of my right side at all, but the pain killers hadn’t worn off yet so I wasn’t feeling too bad. We stopped at the drug store and Bob ran in to fill my prescriptions and I used the cell phone to call my mom and tell her we were finally on our way.

About half an hour later we were about to turn into Strathmore, when I started feeling “the pain” again. The Pyridium was wearing off. By the time I got in the house, I headed straight for the toilet hoping to go, but it didn’t happen. The pain increased and with the help of my mom I got into a nightshirt and crawled into bed. Within minutes I was writhing around screaming and moaning in pain again. I was not supposed to take another Pyridium until 2:00 a.m. and it was only 11:00, but screw it. I can’t handle it, and my pain is stressful for my mother too, who has never seen me like this and doesn’t know what to do. Bob suggests we call Emergency and get me into the Strathmore hospital, I should never have been sent home like this. My pain subsides a bit after the pill, but I know that I still need a catheter and should go to the hospital. I don’t know how many of those pills it is safe to take, I was only given 6, and if they only last a couple hours I better get some more medical attention.

An ambulance is called and the cutest.paramedic.ever and his partner arrive. They were SO nice. I was rolled into the back of the ambulance and Jessie asked me questions. He asked me for my phone number! Okay, so, it’s paperwork, but whatever. (What is it with me and hot drivers who help people?) He lives in Calgary. If he wasn’t, like, 12, I would have asked for his number, really. I’m quite sure me on a gurney in my stepdad’s robe, loopy on drugs, no make up, messy hair and MS symptoms fully exacerbated, made me one desirable babe. He’s probably still thinking about me. (shaddap.)

I was admitted into emergency and a nurse came to see me. I gave her the rundown about my wonderful day. For one thing, she was surprised that they only gave me one Pyridium, she always starts with two and then suggests take as needed. She also agreed I never should have been released. The doctor I saw soon after said the same thing (”always listen to the patient!”). I liked this doctor a lot, he was sensible and he also used technical terms like “pee” and “peeing” instead of “void”. He had the nurse insert a catheter, and by this point the Pyridium had worn off again and the writhing pain was back. The nurse gave me two more after she inserted the catheter. The doctor sent me home with the catheter, 5 more Pyridiums plus a prescription if needed, and told me to come back the next day. Then we’d see if I wanted it removed to try on my own, or keep it for awhile. He suggested that with the catheter, my pain should be greatly decreased for the night and I was okay to go home now.

We returned home, I was pain free, peeing into a bag, and very, very sleepy. I took one last Pyridium with the hopes of not waking up in pain a few hours later, and ate half the tomato sandwich my mom had made me earlier and left on the nightstand. The clock said 2:45 a.m. by the time my head finally hit the pillow.

RECAP: Went in to get my tubes tied. Did not happen. Hours of intense pain, infection, discomfort and improper medical care did happen.

I woke up around noon. I checked out the catheter bag and HOLEY MOLEY it was full!! I had peed out 2 litres overnight. I think I sort of needed that thing.

I had no pain and didn’t need any Pyrdium when I got up. Yay! I had some toast and coffee and mom helped me tie the catheter bag to my leg so I could get clothes on over it. At one point Bob was in the kitchen complaining about something to do with his teeth; I yelled out “I have a bag of pee attached to my leg!!”. Have a little perspective. Heh. I called my family doctor to let him know what was up, and then called my surgeon to let him know the events of the night before and that I was on a catheter. He wanted me to go back to his hospital so he could see me, and I almost said “are you out of your fucking mind?!” but I held back and said since I’m in Strathmore, I will just go here, because I can’t get back into the city today.

Bob took me back to Strathmore Emergency and I was seen by another doctor. He asked me if I wanted the catheter removed or if I wanted to keep it in a bit longer, it was up to me. I asked to have it removed because I didn’t want to rely on it. I was no longer in pain, the antibiotics were kicking in, and I would just hope I could pee on my own soon. He said if I hadn’t peed by 7:00 p.m. to come back and they would put it back in.

I went home, settled into mom’s La-Z-Boy with a heating pad on my belly, and drank some tea. Without all those pain killers I was able to eat again, so I had lunch. And drank some water. Within two hours I PEED ON MY OWN!! Hallelujah! And it didn’t burn! And I did it again a couple hours later!!

Sigh. It’s been a hell of a couple days, I am so glad they are over. The only pain killers I need now are regular old Tylenols for the residuals of laproscopic surgery (more pain in my throat, shoulders and neck than anything!). Now I can relax at Mom’s and regain my strength over the next couple days.

If anyone needs some Pyridium, I know where you can get a whole bunch.