BEWARE OF DOCTORS AND HOSPITALS

• by bellereve
• 2010-06-01 04:06:58
• Coping
• 1914 views
• 5 comments

In September 1st of 2006 my nightmare started. The doctors told me I needed a pacemaker so the same day I was hospitalized the make arragements to operate early that morning.

There were things I noticed before the operation. And I was uneasy about it but I told myself that they knew what they were doing, so I went along with it.

Please! I beg you!!! If you or anyone you know needs a pacemaker, be sure to get not one, but up to three doctors opinion and most of all, check the hospital & doctor experience and reputation. I made mistakes which now I can't take back.

The following statements, were things I noticed before, during and after the operation. Since I was so upset, been so young and needing a pacemaker, I wasn't in the right mind to make choices.

The first mistake I made was choosing a hospital that always have had a bad reputation. The second one was not to get a second opinion. The third was not to question their procedures and not to speak up about was I have seen that it was wrong.

The day of the operation, on the way to the operating room I notice that the bed were I was going to be operated on was quite small.... my arms were hanging. Although I was concerned I didn't say anything because I thought they knew what they were doing.

After the operation, the doctor told me I had to keep my arm put for 18 hours and I was in terrible pain. At the hospital, I had to get up to go to the bathroom, in one ocassion the nurse couldn't find my vein and she had to call another nurse to inject something on me and she also left a needle in my bed which another male nurse mentioned in a sarcastic manner when he came back to take my vitals hours later.

In one occasion I almost throw up in bed because I was calling the nurse and noone was coming. I was in terrible pain and in that condition I had to get up to go to the bathroom. They did not inserted any of those little tubes that make you go to the bathroom and goes to a plastic container, which could have been very helpful for someone who has been operated hours before.

When the cardiologist visited me, he asked me how I felt, explained a few things and he even mentioned that he had trouble implanting the pacemaker. I couldn't wait to go home. This hospital does'nt take good care of their patients and I was there practically on my own if it wasn't for my husband.

The following week I went for my first stress and pacemaker check. My arm was still completely stiff and in terrible pain. I never questioned it at that time because I thought that it was normal since it was only a week since my operation.

I was supposed to go see the doctor in three months, but I had to go sooner since I had to go back to work in 8 weeks and I couldn't the way I feel. I wrote a letter to the doctor concerning my arm since it was stiff, in terrible pain and I needed help to get dress, comb my hair and even to take a shower so he can extend my time out of work.

On that visit he suggested I'll get a kat scam (and another proceduce which I don't recall the name right now) in my shoulder area. It came out that I had a blood clot in that area for which I had to take pills for months. He also suggested I get some therapy for my shoulder. He also send me back to the hospital to reposition the pacemaker.

After months of therapy, which for me is a scam... a joke... a ripoff that shouldn't be allowed. They give appointments to do some "exercises and procedures" there, are their place that are so... ridiculous that I don't understand why noone has pull the plug on these individuals.

What they told me to do and did to me there is something that anyone with a few example sheets can do them at the convenience of your own house without incurring into more debt from the co pay that aren't cover. Someone at the insurance company or elsewhere is profetting with those useless treatments.

They also put me to sleep for a procedure that I don't recall the name right now since it's been more than 3 years, that made my arm get even worst.

Needless is to say that I have been in pain since the first operaion. My arms some days feels better but even then, If I walk for long periods of time I have to use a sling or walk for less than 30 minutes.

I changed doctors in 2007 and thankfully found a good doctor. But my life has never the same. I have been seeing this doctor 2 times a year but as the year progress my health was getting bad. I had shortness of breath, dizziness to the point of fainting and in the last 6 months I couldn't even walk a few short steps withougt feeling I was going to fall in the floor.

Since my new doctor is an hour away, and I have lost my job, and savings due to my health problems I sometimes have waited even 8 months to check the pacemaker. But since I was feeling so bad I decided to see him soon.

I saw my doctor in February of this year. I didn't even have to explained to the doctor my situation. As they checked the pacemaker they find out one of the lead was not working properly.... yes, after all had been said and done, I needed a new operation. The lead had to be extracted/replace, he told me(they couldn't get it out) and a new pacemaker had to be implanted.

I had my third operation on April 8. The Cardiologist(one of two in my area, who does this type of operation)told me that the reason the other lead got broken was because it was underneath my collar bone.

I do feel better after this operation. No more dizziness, fatique, shortness of breath so far. My arm still heart a lot. Both my cardiologist and that perfomed the operation couldn't assure me the pain in my arm was going to go away with the operation.

I haven't been able to have therapy since the first time since I can't pay for the copays, although right now I am going to try to go to a neurologist.

In my heart I truly believe that the first doctor hurt me and the hospital were negligent. But it is hard to prove it because these doctors have so much power that they are getting away even with the deaths of patients. The other doctors, even if they find something wrong they get evasive. They don't want to get involve so if they do something wrong, noone either gets involve.

Another thing that saddens me is that my arm and shouldner, even though doesn't look even the same as the other, and that I cannot fully stretch my arm like before the first operation, I feel like doctors don't believe or don't want to believe me, even though I have proof of my predicament.

I hope anyone who is going to have a pacemaker implanted read this and take the control of their life and heath in their hands. Do no trust anyone. Ask questions and get other medical opinions. If you have insurance, go to the hospital that can offer the best medicine that money can buy.... even if you have to travel a few hours to get there.

Be vigilant and don't make the same mistakes I made because you can end up unable to work for the rest of your life and terrible pain.