I am humbled, and want to thank everyone for the outpouring support. I have many long days ahead and will continue to need I’m not sure what support long term. Thank you to everyone who read my last post and didn’t directly pester me to find out more. I know everyone is anxious to know more but I had enough I was dealing with.
As I’m sure you know, yesterday I was released to go home six days after having a quad open heart bypass. The doc’s sent me home with a dizzying 14 prescriptons. Only one of them to manage pain. Turns out I was prescribed only the most mild of narcotics. 5mg of Hydrocodone. They had me on 10 times that while inpatient to manage the chest pain. Anyway last night my heart started racing, beating inside my chest creating the feeling I’d just ran a marathon while resting. Worry set in as a weird pressure feeling radiated out from the center of my chest. Complete different symptoms from what I had the first time, and I’m still at an early stage of complications. Concerned, I phoned the doc and was advised if it remained sustained to go in, and hence why I did a round about back to the ER.
I was quickly admitted for the night, monitored, and medicated. The biggest concern, was I having a heart attack, was eliminated. Then the waiting game of more test and multiple doc visit’s which took all day to finally get an answer. I was informed by the cardiologist this evening that I was fine but the rapid pounding heart, and associated pain is because the home pain meds were not strong enough to elevate my chest pain and my heart rate has escalated dramatically as a result, but still within a safe level. Seems simple to me, send me home with something else. Nope, not an option. After a long slimy dance of half truths and blatant lies around the reason why the doc wasn’t willing to prescribe anything stronger which escalated into a hostile exchange, the Doc cornered finally came clean. Having prescribed a sizable opiate prescription the day before to me they were under no circumstances willing to re-write a stronger script out of fear of restrictions which have been put in place on docs over pill shoppers which have plagued the indsutry. Can you Fing believe it??? I was being treated like I was a pill shopper coming to the hospital having my chest cut open so I could become an addict or worse go broker them on the street. I confronted them with, the option you’re giving me then, is “go home and self-medicate myself, by taking more than prescribed so that I can at least sleep, or take Oxy which I fortunately still have several left from my previous hip surgery” The tense environment got worse and I was immediately told I was being sent home, that I needed to get a ride and a wheelchair would be coming soon to push me to the lobby to wait for my ride. OMG, what a disaster. The doc walked out mumbling the maximum a day I could take without hurting myself. The RN watching the ordeal play out, told me to call my primary tomorrow get an appointment and get the situation taken care of. She said all the docs at the hospital are paranoid of what they prescribe. (note, the full exchange is a little more convoluted and involved the PA, too but not worth elaborating)
Know what I’m doing tommorow. I’m home safe, and not looking forward to an uncomfortable night. Good news, I’m healing well and am able to walk aroud. This will eventually pass and I’ll be healthier and stronger than before.
Wow, sorry to hear that. Sounds like they are a tad paranoid but Im glad you are feeling better and are back home.
I can see doctors are the same everywhere, what a pitty
I’m sorry about this masquerade at the hospital. Sometimes the road to recovery has bumps and hurdles. Stay focused on recovery. Get lots of rest n Zs
Mike, I’m here to help. As I know your personal situation, I can help navigate this god awful mess. I am sorry you have to suffer due to the sins of others. Please call me,
Wow, you got great care up to and through the surgery, so I guess after they couldn’t bill you for anything else they sent you out with the minimum pain meds possible so they can COVER THEIR ASS. Period. Ethics? none…morality?? gone…compassion? nonexistent…Glad you gave them hell Flattop and didn’t take that total bullshit without a fight, sometimes there’s nothing you can do when you’re up against a careless, paranoid ‘system’ that has become our medical industry so often in this country…just recently I walked out of a scheduled out patient surgery because they the hospital demanded I have someone there the entire time to drive me home afterwards, even though I was getting no anaesthesia and getting no meds during the operation. I took it all the way to the surgeon who would not change his policy regardless of circumstances. Ended up cancelling everything with them (over $5,000 in surgery) and went somewhere else. Fighting this bullshit won’t change it but at least you know you’re doing your best to take care of yourself and those you care about…keep fighting, you will be stronger after you heal and good luck getting the pain meds you need for a full recovery.
Mikey, scary and frustrating stuff! Glad you are back home! You can call me anytime if you need anything. I usually get back to Tampa between 7PM and 8PM and will be more than happy to swing by.
Happy to hear it wasn’t a complication starting. The pain med issue is really amazing. They did the same thing to my 70 year old Mom when she had a knee replacement this summer. Before the surgery she’d been in pain for quite a while and was sent to a pain clinic which wanted her to take a drug test every week and get ALL of her prescriptions through just them, including her allergy med. She quit going because she was being treated like a criminal.