Surgery Details and Update with Dr. Duke

Surgery was 8/2/18.  Hubby and I drove over the night before surgery. No bowel prep made it nice!

We arrived at the hospital at 7 am.  Paperwork filled out. Then they brought me back to prep me for surgery.  Vein finding did not go well, 2 different nurses tried in my hands....nope. So they called in for reinforcements and did it in the underneath side of my arm, which is supposed to be more painful but was not at all for me.

I was so thankful for my husbands support.  I was certainly a ball of nerves.

Dr. Duke came in and visited and so did the Anesthesiologist, who was very nice as well.  Everyone at the hospital seemed nice.

They gave me the versed and wheeled me back, I remember getting scooted over on the table and them giving me the mask to hold and that was it.

Waking up was a different story, pain, horrific pain. I remember the recovery nurse saying no I can't give you more pain medicine you will fall asleep.

This is where things went down hill for my experience.  I felt very rushed by the recovery room nurse, she would say I don't want to rush you and then immediately be like should be get you dressed and up. Are you fucking kidding????  Finally I was like fine and she helped me sit up and get into my dress (because pants are a no go after surgery for me).  She said we need to get you to the next recovery section. Surgery was supposed to be outpatient, unless I wasn't doing well then I could stay or so I though.  So I get in the wheelchair and she wheels me into where my husband is waiting next to this recliner thing.  I had to get up out of the wheelchair, this was excruciating, and lift myself into this recliner which was too tall ( imagine a short person trying to sit down on an oversized recliner when every core muscle is screaming in pain), I had to use too many abdominal muscles to scoot back into it and then it only reclined so far. My pain was a 10 for sure, I was dying and I have a damn high pain tolerance. They gave me a percocet. Yeah that wasn't cutting it, they kept asking me about discharge. I was like I can't even get my pain under control.   So they said, maybe if you pee it will help. So I went pee, yeah that didn't help and while in the bathroom I missed Dr. Duke who stopped by before heading to the clinic.  The nurse says to me we don't want to rush you, but we have done all we can for you here.  So I asked about a bed, because there was no way I could get back in the chair, they said well we can, but you are out of time here, there is no medical reason for you to stay and your insurance might not pay for it.  So I sat, in the wheelchair, in pain...debating. The percocet got it down to maybe a 5 when I wasn't moving a muscle and I got some broth and jello down.  They kept saying we are not rushing you but.....I had to make a decision, fight for a bed or go back to the hotel for the night.  Out of sheer frustration I decided to hell with it and we got discharged.  Talk about pain.  My pain was nowhere under control, but what option did I have.  The next morning as we were leaving town, as I was just desperate to get home by that point, Dr. Duke calls, he had planned on admitting me for the night due to my endo on the bowel that was addressed and my pain.... apparently nobody got that memo.  My husband did record what Dr. Duke told him went on during surgery thankfully so I at least had that.

It took me several days to even be close to be able to say pain was under control.  I don't think it benefits women to push them out of the hospital so fast after such a major surgery.  So what did I have done?  Appendectomy, hydrodistension and bladder scope, work on the inguinal canals to check for endo in the inguinal canals, endo on my bladder, endo on my small bowel, endo over my inguinal canal, endo on my left pelvic sidewall, obliterated pouch of douglas, adhesions, endo wrapped around my right ureter, I am probably missing something.  No full bowel resection was needed but my bowel had quite a bit of endo and is stitched up.  Oh and IC was confirmed.  No wonder I hurt like hell!!!! How on gods green earth does this extensive of surgery become a day thing and get you evicted before pain is under control.  Now I do not believe that this made Dr. Duke happy and at Post Op I will have some suggestions for him. Because despite being a great surgeon if women feel like they have to do more battle for pain management after surgery they might not choose him.  I know after my hysterectomy with Dr. Arrington my pain was too bad and they kept me overnight even though it was supposed to be outpatient surgery.  And my pain was hard to get under control then. I have to say Dr. Dulemba does the best job of pain control after surgery, he has a set routine for every woman and that is how it goes, no nurse makes the decision.

I am now 5 days post op and feeling more human, still on pain meds and exhaustion sets in easily.  My pain that was in the appendix area and prompted surgery is gone.  I can't wait to see what pathology has to say about that.

I do not regret this surgery one bit, I do however wish doctors took after surgery care just as seriously.  I know a big portion is insurance, I get that.  But if I am doubled over in pain ( I couldn't stand up straight until 3 days after surgery) that is medical reason in my opinion to be held in the hospital.  I never expected my pain to get to a 0 before being discharged, I realize that is unrealistic, but we were nowhere close to what would have been acceptable and I felt judged or made to feel the pain wasn't that bad when I tried to say otherwise.