Re: Re: LSEI on Friday

May 3, 2009

Thanks Bruce. I guess I had to learn the hard way, but I don't think I will ever go back to that hospital not even for an x-ray any more. I have had x-rays there before that weren't so bad except for the chest CT which wasn't very comfortable cuz I had the IV contrast dye. I know for sure I definitely will NEVER go there for any type of procedure. CaroOSTEOARTHRITIS 2002, COPD 02/06, IPF 08/07, UIP 01/08, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS 03/08 SJOGREN SYNDROME 07/08 POLYMYOSITIS/DERMATOMYOSITIS 03/09 CANCER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN 03/09Mississippi

To: Breathe-Support Sent: Sunday, May 3, 2009 12:46:41 PMSubject: Re: LSEI on Friday

CaroAs one familiar with the area in which you live, I can assure you thereis no local hospital there I would have gone to. Maybe Memphis, possibly, more likely if it was anything I could, Tulane or as you did toUAB. It's sad actually. So many good people in areas like the delta orMississippi who deserve better in so many regards. Education and medicalcare being at the top of the list.>> From: Carolyn Wade carowade4444@ ...> Subject: LSEI on Friday> To: Breathe-Support@ yahoogroups. com> Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009, 9:36

AM>>>>> Hi all,>> I want to tell you all what happened to me on Friday when I went formy 3rd lumbar steroid epidural injection. First of all, my mom wascoming to drive me home and spend the night to make sure I was okaybefore leaving on Saturday and my dad was driving through on Friday, soon Thursday (the day I told you all I tried to be superwoman), I hadmade lunch for us all so we could eat after the injection was done. Well, I got up on Friday morning thinking that I knew I was going tohave a big lunch so I would eat a small breakfast. Went straight thecoffee maker just like everyday, drank my 2 cups of coffee and ate ahalf a bowl of Special K. Get to the pain clinic and the first thingthey ask me is have you had anything to eat? WHAT WAS I THINKING? ThisIS the 3rd one I was getting and I KNEW you are not supposed to eat ordrink 6 hours before the

procedure. I don't know where my mind was whenI got up on Friday. Well, they tell> me they can't give me an IV for sedation since I ate at 6 a.m. (Itwas 10 a.m. then). Ok, they said they could do it under local and hewould rub something on my back to numb it before giving the injection. I told them I would try. Either that or reschedule and my mom had todrive nearly an hour to get there plus I had to take another day offwork for the procedure and I am really running out of paid time off. Well, the longer I sat on the table waiting for him to get in the room,the more nervous I got. By the time they got in there to do theprocedure, I was sitting on the bed shaking and they asked me was Icold? I said no, I am nervous. Blood pressure was 145/90 (not toohigh, but high for me. Mine is usually around 118 to 120/60). He saidif he gave me injection in this shape, I would pass out, so I couldeither

reschedule or I could go to the hospital and he would be overthere at 1 p.m. and he could do it there as outpatient> surgery. Ok, I opted for the hospital like I said so my mom wouldnot have driven all the way for nothing and I wouldn't have to missanother day of work, which would be without pay. I get to the hospitalat 11 a.m. They put me in the preop suite and immediately start an IV(which I totally have ANOTHER huge bruise from). After about 1/2 bag ofnormal saline, I had to make 3 or visits to the restroom and by then itwas 12 noon. Between 12 noon and 1 p.m, I started watching the clock onthe TV again, getting more nervous by the minute, as the last injectionI had in the office they did sedate me, but there was a lot of pressureand I had about 4 or 5 days of really bad back pain after it was overand I wasn't looking forward to it. At 1 p.m., they wheel me up to theOR and put me in a holding

area. Turns out, he only has 2 outpatientepidurals that day. Lucky for me (HA!!), I get to actually sit straightacross from the OR suite> with actual WINDOWS on the door and I can watch the entire proceduredone on the lady who went in before me. First thing I notice is thatthe first 2 procedures I had in the office were done with me sitting onthe edge of the table with my back exposed. This one he was going touse the fluoroscopy machine since I was going to the hospital and hecould get a deeper injection so I see the lady before me is lying on herstomach. Well, seemed like 5 minutes after she went in there, she getswheeled out and asks the nurse, When is he going to give my injection? I am thinking, great this is going to be a breeze. Ok, I will bealright then, sedated, in and out and I can deal with the stiff back andsoreness for a week when I get home. NNNOOOTTTTT! !!>> This is how

my procedure went: They wheel me into the OR suite. I amfully awake. They ask me to get on the procedure table with 2 pilllowsunderneath my stomach, kind of in a jack-knife position (they said). Felt more like doggy style to me!! They (before any sedative), theythrow my gown up exposing my bohunkus to everyone in the room which wasabout 4 or 5 people). Then the doc gives me another pillow and says Ican hug it if I want, which actually turned out my head was buried in itand I couldn't breathe. I look over at the monitor and by now, my BPis up to 156/110. Then I see the doc pick up a vial and I bury my headin the pillow again and I hear him ask the nurse, do you see that? Shesaid, yeah, looks like the seal is broken. He said, well I guess it isgood. Then he say to me, here is your first sedative. As you he gave itto me my heart started racing so fast, I was just thinking, this is it. This is the end

for> me. I am a goner!! Then he says, here is the second sedative. Assoon as he gave me the second one, my head pops straight up and I amEVEN MORE WIDE AWAKE, looking around the room and he starts shoving aneedle in my back which I felt every inch of and I burst into tears,then he starts yelling, picture, picture, give me a picture, and injectsme another time, then says ok, I am done. They wheel me out into therecovery suite and I promise you I had less pain delivering all 3 of mychildren if you added all the pain together from the 3 of them. We getin the recovery room, and the attendant who wheeled me in there says,there is no nurse. So, she leaves me there crying with no one in theroom (I mean no one, no healthcare providers and no patients, just mewith pain and tears). Finally she brings in a nurse and she says, Hi Iam I am going to be your nurse. Why are you crying? Theattendant tells

her I just had an epidural and it> was more painful than I thought it was going to be. The nurse says,HUM??, we usually don't have to give Dr. Aziz's patients a sedative!! Going back to my first injection in the office, I was told the 3 mainside effects to watch for are sudden excruciating headache (which wouldmean spinal fluid leak), numbness in the back or radiating down the legs(which could indicate possible paralysis), or blood leakage (internalhemorrhage). No more than 5 minutes after I was given the secondsedative, I got what felt like the worst migraine I have ever had in mylife. Told the nurse when she finally got there, and she says, ok, weare going to let you go in about 20 minutes!!! Then 5 minutes later, myback starts getting numb and my whole right side goes numb. I asked herwas my side supposed to go numb like that (it didnt' the first 2 times).She sayt, well it might cuz he did inject

your spine!! Still, theydon't call the doctor or anything.> They wheeled me back downstairs and I get down there and my BP isstill 136/90, still have a headache pounding, but the numbness was alittle better. It had gone from being on the entire right side to justmy right thigh and calf. They said if I could wiggle my toes and standon my foot, I could go home. Still no one calls the doctor. I am stillin tears and my mom is throwing a fit saying she is not letting me leavethere until she knows I am okay. Then the nurse comes in insisting Idrink something. I told her I didnt' want anything. (I was actually justthinking, ge me the hell outa here!!) Finally I gave in and she broughtme some water. As soon as I drank a sip I felt like I was going tothrow up. The nurse says, oh, that's not good. Then she looks at mymom and says, well, you can go get the car and drive around and I willwheel her out and

she can go home.>> That was it. My third and last epidural injection I will EVER have inmy life!! I don't care if I have to take 50 pain pills a day. I willNEVER, EVER, EVER go through that again. I have cried the entireweekend. I can still barely walk and can't bend over much at all. Myback is still throbbing. My boyfriend, , called last night and Iwas still crying with pain. He told me to call an ambulance or go tothe ER, but I didn't want to go back to that hospital for anything, so Ijust doubled up on my Lorcet to try and make it through the night andslept on a heating pad. I have probably slept maybe 5 hours all weekend(I doubt it) and I am totally miserable. said I thought they weresupposed to be giving you something to help you not make you worse. Yeah, me, too. I think I am going to call the pain clinic in themorning (as my discharge instructions said to follow up with the

painclinic), and I am going to tell them I am> going to find another pain physician and I won't be back.>> I am sorry this is so long. You all are my best friends and I justhad to vent!! I felt like he didn't give me any sedative at all forthis procedure even knowing how nervous I was about the procedureanyway. Why didn't he just knock me out and then do it? I am stillsitting here in tears even as I type this just reliving it on the PC. Ihave never in my life had so little faith in a physician. I thought mylung biopsy was a nightmare but it was a party compared to this!!>> Thank you all so much for listening and I don't know what I would dowithout you!! I am so happy I am still here to even be typing this cuzI definitely thought Friday was going to be my last day anywhere!!>> Love you all and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend. Wehave had tornado

warnings all night last night and all day today. Hopefully the storms will ease up soon. It is definitely a day I feellike sleeping all day, but am still in too much pain to sleep.> Caro>> OSTEOARTHRITIS 2002, COPD 02/06, IPF 08/07, UIP 01/08, RHEUMATOIDARTHRITIS 03/08 SJOGREN SYNDROME 07/08 POLYMYOSITIS/ DERMATOMYOSITIS03/09 CANCER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN 03/09> Mississippi>

May 3, 2009

Nan,

I think Caro would tell you there is a world of difference between doctors in the Boston area and doctors in the area of Mississippi where Caro is.

It sounds as if your doctor has made the proper arrangements and is doing your procedure with your safely foremost in his mind.

Try not to worry too much or think that Caro's experience is typical. As long as you are comfortable with your doctor and feel as though he respects you and answers your questions, you don't have too much to stress about.

Beth

Moderator

Fibrotic NSIP 06/06 Dermatomyositis 11/08

To: Breathe-Support Sent: Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:42:32 PMSubject: Re: LSEI on Friday

OK, you girls have me scared now! I have 4 herniated discs in the cervical and 2 more in the thoracic portion of my spine. I'm scheduled to have an interlaminar epideral steriod injection in the right C-7 T-1 on Weds. After reading your experience, Caro, I'm not sure if I should do it. The doctor has said because he'll be working in the cedrvical spine, he won't do it in his surgical suite in his office. He will only do it in the hospital. I hoping that I'll have a much better time of it. Nan 49, MASSlisted started in '82PF '08>> OMG Caro...what can I write that would be of any help whatsoever!> I can imagine what you went through because I was with my daughter when she was going to give birth....long

story short, what you describe, for her too. She let out a scream that I'm sure could be heard outdoors. That poor kid cried and begged him to stop...it was awful and mama stood there, frozen with fear for my child. > I'm so glad that is over for you Caro. Lysa says she too, will NEVER have another epidural!> I sent you big mamasher hugs and pray for your complete recovery from this ordeal.> > MamaSher; 70, IPF 3-06, OR. > Nasturtiums> Don't fret about tomorrow, God is already there!> > LSEI on Friday> > > > > > Hi all,> > I want to

tell you all what happened to me on Friday when I went for my 3rd lumbar steroid epidural injection. First of all, my mom was coming to drive me home and spend the night to make sure I was okay before leaving on Saturday and my dad was driving through on Friday, so on Thursday (the day I told you all I tried to be superwoman), I had made lunch for us all so we could eat after the injection was done. Well, I got up on Friday morning thinking that I knew I was going to have a big lunch so I would eat a small breakfast. Went straight the coffee maker just like everyday, drank my 2 cups of coffee and ate a half a bowl of Special K. Get to the pain clinic and the first thing they ask me is have you had anything to eat? WHAT WAS I THINKING? This IS the 3rd one I was getting and I KNEW you are not supposed to eat or drink 6 hours before the procedure. I don't know where my mind was when I got up on Friday. Well, they tell me they can't give me an IV for

sedation since I ate at 6 a.m. (It was 10 a.m. then). Ok, they said they could do it under local and he would rub something on my back to numb it before giving the injection. I told them I would try. Either that or reschedule and my mom had to drive nearly an hour to get there plus I had to take another day off work for the procedure and I am really running out of paid time off. Well, the longer I sat on the table waiting for him to get in the room, the more nervous I got. By the time they got in there to do the procedure, I was sitting on the bed shaking and they asked me was I cold? I said no, I am nervous. Blood pressure was 145/90 (not too high, but high for me. Mine is usually around 118 to 120/60). He said if he gave me injection in this shape, I would pass out, so I could either reschedule or I could go to the hospital and he would be over there at 1 p.m. and he could do it there as outpatient surgery. Ok, I opted for the hospital like I said so

my mom would not have driven all the way for nothing and I wouldn't have to miss another day of work, which would be without pay. I get to the hospital at 11 a.m. They put me in the preop suite and immediately start an IV (which I totally have ANOTHER huge bruise from). After about 1/2 bag of normal saline, I had to make 3 or visits to the restroom and by then it was 12 noon. Between 12 noon and 1 p.m, I started watching the clock on the TV again, getting more nervous by the minute, as the last injection I had in the office they did sedate me, but there was a lot of pressure and I had about 4 or 5 days of really bad back pain after it was over and I wasn't looking forward to it. At 1 p.m., they wheel me up to the OR and put me in a holding area. Turns out, he only has 2 outpatient epidurals that day. Lucky for me (HA!!), I get to actually sit straight across from the OR suite with actual WINDOWS on the door and I can watch the entire procedure done on

the lady who went in before me. First thing I notice is that the first 2 procedures I had in the office were done with me sitting on the edge of the table with my back exposed. This one he was going to use the fluoroscopy machine since I was going to the hospital and he could get a deeper injection so I see the lady before me is lying on her stomach. Well, seemed like 5 minutes after she went in there, she gets wheeled out and asks the nurse, When is he going to give my injection? I am thinking, great this is going to be a breeze. Ok, I will be alright then, sedated, in and out and I can deal with the stiff back and soreness for a week when I get home. NNNOOOTTTTT! !!> > This is how my procedure went: They wheel me into the OR suite. I am fully awake. They ask me to get on the procedure table with 2 pilllows underneath my stomach, kind of in a jack-knife position (they said). Felt more like doggy style to me!! They (before any sedative),

they throw my gown up exposing my bohunkus to everyone in the room which was about 4 or 5 people). Then the doc gives me another pillow and says I can hug it if I want, which actually turned out my head was buried in it and I couldn't breathe. I look over at the monitor and by now, my BP is up to 156/110. Then I see the doc pick up a vial and I bury my head in the pillow again and I hear him ask the nurse, do you see that? She said, yeah, looks like the seal is broken. He said, well I guess it is good. Then he say to me, here is your first sedative. As you he gave it to me my heart started racing so fast, I was just thinking, this is it. This is the end for me. I am a goner!! Then he says, here is the second sedative. As soon as he gave me the second one, my head pops straight up and I am EVEN MORE WIDE AWAKE, looking around the room and he starts shoving a needle in my back which I felt every inch of and I burst into tears, then he starts yelling,

picture, picture, give me a picture, and injects me another time, then says ok, I am done. They wheel me out into the recovery suite and I promise you I had less pain delivering all 3 of my children if you added all the pain together from the 3 of them. We get in the recovery room, and the attendant who wheeled me in there says, there is no nurse. So, she leaves me there crying with no one in the room (I mean no one, no healthcare providers and no patients, just me with pain and tears). Finally she brings in a nurse and she says, Hi I am I am going to be your nurse. Why are you crying? The attendant tells her I just had an epidural and it was more painful than I thought it was going to be. The nurse says, HUM??, we usually don't have to give Dr. Aziz's patients a sedative!! Going back to my first injection in the office, I was told the 3 main side effects to watch for are sudden excruciating headache (which would mean spinal fluid leak), numbness

in the back or radiating down the legs (which could indicate possible paralysis), or blood leakage (internal hemorrhage). No more than 5 minutes after I was given the second sedative, I got what felt like the worst migraine I have ever had in my life. Told the nurse when she finally got there, and she says, ok, we are going to let you go in about 20 minutes!!! Then 5 minutes later, my back starts getting numb and my whole right side goes numb. I asked her was my side supposed to go numb like that (it didnt' the first 2 times). She sayt, well it might cuz he did inject your spine!! Still, they don't call the doctor or anything. They wheeled me back downstairs and I get down there and my BP is still 136/90, still have a headache pounding, but the numbness was a little better. It had gone from being on the entire right side to just my right thigh and calf. They said if I could wiggle my toes and stand on my foot, I could go home. Still no one calls the

doctor. I am still in tears and my mom is throwing a fit saying she is not letting me leave there until she knows I am okay. Then the nurse comes in insisting I drink something. I told her I didnt' want anything. (I was actually just thinking, ge me the hell outa here!!) Finally I gave in and she brought me some water. As soon as I drank a sip I felt like I was going to throw up. The nurse says, oh, that's not good. Then she looks at my mom and says, well, you can go get the car and drive around and I will wheel her out and she can go home.> > That was it. My third and last epidural injection I will EVER have in my life!! I don't care if I have to take 50 pain pills a day. I will NEVER, EVER, EVER go through that again. I have cried the entire weekend. I can still barely walk and can't bend over much at all. My back is still throbbing. My boyfriend, , called last night and I was still crying with pain. He told me to call an ambulance

or go to the ER, but I didn't want to go back to that hospital for anything, so I just doubled up on my Lorcet to try and make it through the night and slept on a heating pad. I have probably slept maybe 5 hours all weekend (I doubt it) and I am totally miserable. said I thought they were supposed to be giving you something to help you not make you worse. Yeah, me, too. I think I am going to call the pain clinic in the morning (as my discharge instructions said to follow up with the pain clinic), and I am going to tell them I am going to find another pain physician and I won't be back.> > I am sorry this is so long. You all are my best friends and I just had to vent!! I felt like he didn't give me any sedative at all for this procedure even knowing how nervous I was about the procedure anyway. Why didn't he just knock me out and then do it? I am still sitting here in tears even as I type this just reliving it on the PC. I have never

in my life had so little faith in a physician. I thought my lung biopsy was a nightmare but it was a party compared to this!!> > Thank you all so much for listening and I don't know what I would do without you!! I am so happy I am still here to even be typing this cuz I definitely thought Friday was going to be my last day anywhere!!> > Love you all and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend. We have had tornado warnings all night last night and all day today. Hopefully the storms will ease up soon. It is definitely a day I feel like sleeping all day, but am still in too much pain to sleep.> > Caro> > OSTEOARTHRITIS 2002, COPD 02/06, IPF 08/07, UIP 01/08, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS 03/08 SJOGREN SYNDROME 07/08 POLYMYOSITIS/ DERMATOMYOSITIS 03/09 CANCER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN 03/09> Mississippi>

May 3, 2009