These are my dogs ever since i got home.

[pattrose]

I went to the hosptial for three days and they did all sorts of tests and I never got to see a doctor. Only nurses? Tell me, does anyone else find that odd? I'm not saying the nurses weren't great and everything, but I would have preferred to see a doctor. Especially, since they thought it might be my heart. The nurses all decided that it's probably an ulcer in my esphogus and will have to be treated. I have no idea, since I missed that day at med school. :) They woke me up every hour and a half every night during the night because my blood pressure got too low. They had no idea what that was from. Again, I would have like a guess from a doctor. Call me silly. I'm glad it's not my heart. Thank goodness, but hubby wasn't happy with their diagnosis at all. He believes it's something worse. LOL He's a worry wart. They told me today to see my Primary Care Physican. I guess I'll have to do that. Most tests, oh happy day. Anyhow, I got home and the dogs acted like I was gone for a month. They laid on the floor in the office watching me like a hawk. LOL They're so funny. :) Dakota is the brown one and Lily is the chalk colored one. I hope everyone else is doing better than I was. LOL



Update: I'm having a ECG tomorrow sometime. I Have to call when I get up. My doctor wasn't happy with the diagnosis or the care. He advised me to never go to that hospital again. (LIke I would.) I'll keep everyone posted.

Comments

[bluewolf458.livejournal.com]

You be careful with yourself!

Seems odd though that in three days you never saw a doctor. I know nurses are given a lot more autonomy now than they used to have, but...

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I even asked to see a doctor and they said, you saw the GP doctor for ten minutes in the ER. Oh well then, I guess I'm covered for the next year. LOL Rod just thought it was very odd. I had a stress test done and they said my heart is good. So, that's good news. I'm not complaining about that, I just would have felt better about seeing a doctor. Now, I have to make a special trip to see my PCP. Wouldn't it make more sense to have me do the tests while I'm in the hospital? makes sense to me.

[unbelievable2.livejournal.com]

They are your Sentinels, Patt!
I am so sorry to hear you have been suffering. I am sure it will be fine but its so frustrating when medical staff don't give you full explanations. If your mind is still uneasy, I think you should ask for another opinion.

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

UB2, I'm going to call my doc, who is great in the morning. We'll see what he says. I did look up Esophical ulcers and they can cause chest pains. So, they might very well be right. I just would have liked a doctor to come in while I was there. I'm talking to my favorite doc today later, so I feel good about that. :)

[unbelievable2.livejournal.com]

Good! Our health service is of course different to yours, but a consultant once gave me a good piece of advice. She said "Squeaky wheels need oiling." that it, you have to keeping pushing these people to talk to you properly - they are all so overstretched that you need to shout to get your voice heard. So make sure you and Rod shout! :))

[finlaure.livejournal.com]

I will say an extra prayer for you that a Doctor can give you the answers that you are needing and that you get to feeling better!!
eta: my cat gives me the same look after being gone just an afternoon. I think animals have "that" look down just to guilt us.

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

I love the way animals turn on the 'how could you?' stare *g*

I'm like you, I'd prefer to see a doctor for something like that - though probably the nurses are better at figuring out what's wrong. As long as you get to see a doctor some time soon and talk it over, just to put your mind at complete rest. Big hugs for not feeling well and having to stay in hospital - you don't need that kind of thing! *hugs*

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I'm on hold to talk to my doctor right now. I hope we can set something up.

[tinnean.livejournal.com]

Hang in there, Patt, and make sure you let the hospital know how unhappy you are that a doctor never once came in to see you. Ten minutes in the ER doesn't count.

And yes, nurses are great, but since when do they diagnose?

{{{Patt}}}

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I wanted my doctor there and they refused to call him. I wasn't thinking properly and should have called him. *sigh*

[grey853.livejournal.com]

That is very, very odd indeed. I'd be asking your GP for a referral for a second opinion on the heart. If you didn't see a cardiologist directly in the hospital, you need to get there soon. A stress test is not the only test and cardiac disease in women presents differently than men. There are several tests that can pinpoint if there's an issue, electrocardiogram, and echocardiogram. The echo is the most accurate. They might also want to give you a heart monitor for 24 hours. Plus, I hope they did blood tests to show cardiac enzyme levels. All that has to be considered, not just a stress test. I know this because I had a heart attack in '02 and they were going to send me home saying it was gall bladder attack. Luckily, they did an enzyme test and caught it and I was treated before they sent me home to kick off.

I've never heard of being in the hospital and never seeing a doctor in that time. There are hospital specialists that are supposed come every day to check on you and if they didn't, something's not right. They're the ones who are supposed to coordinate your seeing specialists and doing testing. They're supposed to tell you what they're going to do and what the results are. As a patient, you have to push for your treatment and rights. They depend on people being passive and not pushing for info. The nurses sounds like they're running interference rather than giving you access to the doctor.

The fact that your blood pressure is dropping while you're sleeping and they're concerned enough to wake you is another indicator that it might be heart-related. An esophageal ulcer would cause chest pain and mimic a heart ailment, but it would NOT cause your blood pressure to drop.

Don't mean to scare you, but you definitely need a second opinion.

And your dogs are lovely!

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

Grey, thank you for all of the info. I'm going to be talking with my PCP this afternnoon. I'm ready to go back for more testing. I felt like they just wanted to get rid of me. My doc is supposed to call tonight. I just talked to his nurse. She was very upset that no one contacted him and let him know. Especially if I asked them to. I'll never go to that hospital again. *sigh* I'll keep you posted.

[grey853.livejournal.com]

Please keep me posted and feel free to email me with any questions you might have.

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I will, my friend. :) Thank you for always being here for me.

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

Grey, did you see that tomorrow I'm having an echocrdiogram? I'll feel better when that's done. If it comes back good, then, we'll look at the ulcer problems. But my doc didn't think that's what it was.

[grey853.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't see that. I hope it turns out okay. I'd still want an echo and an 24 hour monitoring. The dropping of pressure while you're sleeping concerns me. Ulcers don't really cause that.

Good luck with it.

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I have to go next week, like MOnday or Tuesday to discuss what we're doing next. So, I will keep you posted.

[grey853.livejournal.com]

Please do!

[stargatesg1971.livejournal.com]

It does seem very odd not to have see a doctor in all that time. I don't think I've heard of that before. I know that nurses are more involved than they used to be but surely a doctor should have come to see you prior to you being discharged. It's a little weird. I'd get a second opinion if I were you, just to be on the safe. Take care of you.

The dogs are so cute. I bet it felt like you'd been gone a lifetime to them.

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I'm in the process of getting a second opinion now. Can't go through this again. Hopefully, I'll find something out soon.

[stargatesg1971.livejournal.com]

I hope you do too. Please keep us updated and in the meantime take care of yourself.

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I'll keep everyone posted. :) So glad I have all of you to sound off to, about things.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Yes, very odd! I hope you'll get some answers soon.

It's good that your dogs are keeping an eye on you though!

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

I'm having another test tomorrow. Hopefully, they answer some of our questions.

[unbelievable2.livejournal.com]

Been reading the last comments and just wanted to say so glad you are pursuing the second opinion. That will set your mind at rest.
*hugs*

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm having an ECG tomorrow sometime. Am anxious to get that out of the way.

Get better, but...

[jael-lyn01.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I would be furious. Three days is a long time. Who's ordering the tests? Or looking at the results? Someone's in charge of your case, & if they can't find him/her, they should find someone else. Three days wo a check back from the treating physician is negligence.

If you're genuinely ticked off (and that does take energy, so consider...) it might be worth your time to contact hospital admin - yes, they have phone numbers, and you can be a polite but insistent complainer.

I have done this once, & only once. In Nov, the primary care doc found what was apparently a fast growing baseball sized tumor in my husband's lung. There was no sign of it in May on an earlier CT. The physician was in enough of a panic to call us at home on a Friday evening.

The next test needed to be scheduled thru a specialty hospital. After no response for 10 days, despite my own efforts & the referring physician's office, I called hospital admin direct. He was scheduled before the day was out, and they fell all over themselves apologizing. The paperwork had been sitting on some slug's desk the whole time.

This is why we have stress in our lives...

Re: Get better, but...

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

Once I am done with the tests, Imight just call and complain. I really don't think it will do any good,but we'll see. Thanks for the info. And is your husband doing fine now?

Re: Get better, but...

[jael-lyn01.livejournal.com]

After much aguish, multiple tests, 2nd, 3rd & 4th opinions, the consensus is it's an unusual form of encapsulated pneumonia - possibly fungal or a soil bacteria. He has a CT scan every 6 wks for the foreseeable future. Not good, but better than a fast moving malignancy.

Re: Get better, but...

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, I'm going to stop my griping and complaining. Give him a big hug for me.

[laurie-ky.livejournal.com]

Be well, sweetie pie.

Laurie

[pattrose.livejournal.com]

Thank you Laurie. :)