Digest Number 869
Annmarie...... I think as a nurse you are doing what needs to be done and that is to listen and learn from patients who have been there...done that. Looking back on my long extended stay in the hospitabl after my CABG I truly believe the nurses are the only ones who seemed to understand and care what was going on with my body. I have to admit to being somewhat bitter about my 2 1/2 week stay in the hospital after I was told "don't worry...you'll be out in five days after surgery" And quite frankly looking back I now realize that my rush into surgery was indeed nothing more than a need to fill the cardiovascular's roster to fulfill his desire to do so many by-pass surgeries per year. Wow....that sounds like a pretty radical statement doesn't it?? But if one looks at how quickly I was rushed ......the fact that my own cardiologist was not consulted....my internists wasn't consulted and everything was based on the doctor who did the heart catherization ......he took it upon himself to make the arrangements...have me transferred from one hospital to another.....set up the surgery schedule so it was done immediately. When I questioned whether or not I should talk to my cardiologist first he said that he would handle all of that and I must prepare myself for surgery. A side note here: my cardiologist was never informed of my surgery and he knew nothing of my complications until after I got home from the hospital and I had my first visit.....He was in shock that he was not informed etc....my internist only knew of my problems because he was in the hospital visiting another patient when he happened to see my husband in ICU.....I was intubated for a totally of 7 days as my organs needed the time to recover. I was out of it most of the time but I can vaguely remember the internist taking my hand and telling me that I would live. I know some will say that indeed the heart cath doctor must have known what he was doing and felt it was an emergency but I can say with all honestly I know it wasn't......my new heart doctor says it most likely wasn't an emergency and that if truth be told all of my present day tests are fairly consistant with the tests done immediately before my surgery (stress tests..echo....heart cath)........so why am I saying all of this.......I guess to stress how important it is to be informed....not to be intimidated by the medical community......but at the least feel comfortable with what the doctor tells you (trust I guess in the doctor)......I wasn't at all sure that what I was being told was the truth.....he never answered a lot of my questions......he was evasive etc.....so in the long run I guess it was my own fear that kept me from getting up out of the hospital bed and running for the exit!!! That will NEVER happen again to me......this is what has made me so vehemently a advocate for everyone to become informed on as much as they can if they have a medical condition. I could go on and on about the problems encountered in the hospital....such as why was I only allowed three hours in ICU after surgery (could hmo have anything to do with that?)....I never recovered consiciousness after surgery until I had been in the hospital for over a week. Oh they said I was consicous but I remember nothing except for vague bits and pieces......I had no pain.......the only vivid thing I can remember is telling my husband the day after surgery that he needed to tell the nurses not to lay me flat in the bed as I felt like I was suffocating. He did and they checked with my surgeon who said to remove the drainage tube in my chest.....which they did..........and BOOM the downhill spiral began....kidneys starting failing......heart followed and eveantually all organs showed sign of failure......thank God for that little nurse who knew I was slipping fast....she rushed me back to ICU and it was determined I had cardiac tamponade that had most likely existed since I came out of surgery.....the rest is history....time spent on respirator helped save my life along with a replacement of the tube that had been removed!!! I'm sorry to be rambling here......once I get started it's hard to stop!!! And yes almost 6 years later I am living a good life with some problems but at least I'm alive!! As for statin drugs.........AnnMarie..the side effects take a long time to show up......I know many who have no problems for a year......others within a few months.....it all depends on how your body handles the drug. For me.....it took months......but then I always felt it was the surgery complications that made me feel so bad......but in time found it was the statin drugs..... I'm thankful this by-pass support group is here.....I hope you all realize that lots of people read these notes but not all write .........I have been reading for a few years now......learning something from each of you.............. Through the internet it is possible to touch someone's life....hopefully for the better.. I certainly don't write this with the intention of saying no-one should have surgery etc.......there comes a time when we all have to face the possibilities of surgery to correct problems within our own bodies......just try to become informed and if necessary use the patient advocate that is available in every hospital. I wish I had known about them before............... Carol in Atlanta
carol in atlanta You digest was great reading, although i am still puzzled by the fact that you only got 3 hours in the ICU. This is not the policy of the hospital I am in. Our OHS patients spent the night in ICu and get up into a chair at 6am and hopefully transfer out around 3pm after being extubated, and usually still with chest tubes and foley. We watch them closely for the night with freqent vitals and close monitoring. The next day the usually get some blood and their chest tubes and foley out. And then usually one or two more days to increase activity and gain strenth under the watchful eye of others. Well at least that i what happened when everything goes well. Not all cases go perfectly. I appreciate that you are encouraging others to become patient advocates for themselves. Everyone should have answers and infromation to make approp decisions. hugs, annmarie
In a message dated 1/21/2004 1:32:00 AM US Eastern Standard Time, ramblingrays@... writes: It didn't happen that way but it did make such an impact on me that I will never again agree to any type of surgical procedure whether I am in a life threatening situation or not. Ann God bless you ann i do understand the feeling you talk about Rose
Ann, What an aweful story. It has been hard for me to read the aweful experiences that people have had with their open heart surgery and how poorly they thought about the staff. I hope the patients and families that I work with think much better of their OHS experience. I work hard to try to explain everything to patients. Actually I got yelled at by an older nurse because she thought an older patients husband did not need to know the details about her rhythm problems. I operate with the idea that everyone deserves to know EVERYTHING about their care. I try not to make it scary, but I do want them to have the facts. I hope I never have a patient who says they never told me about this. As far as your leg... I am honestly not sure. One of the things I am leaning towards is that it will slowly come back in time. When the skin and nerves are stretched significantly (as with post op swelling) it can take a while for the nerves to recover from the jarring. I had surgery on my elbow 4 years ago and teher is still about a 2x2 inch patch of the skin that just did never recover full sensation. As long as you have full sensation in the foot and toes and have full mobility you should be fine. If you are concerned I would mention it to you doctor and see if he wants to do a venous duplex ultrasouns to rule out any clots. Good luck, anmmarie
Hi Carol, Writing your experiences of over 6 years ago was so helpful - especially to a newly recovering bypass patient. It makes one realize what another idividual went through and even though the recovery for me is slow I realize how lucky I was to have such a wonderful team of doctors and since I was too sick to make any decisions they kept my husband and children informed every step of the way and gave them both adequate time and information to make the necessary decisions. This support group is definitely a wonderful connection to the outside world as I live in Canada and so far out of 105 people currently in rehab at our local hospital I am the only female patient. Its nice to know I can be in touch with many others who have undergone the same type of surgery. It was through the postings that I learnt the mammary artery can be used and then at my first post -op appointment I found out from the surgeon but only because I knew the right questions to ask. He does so many surgeries that he wouldn't remember I was aware enough to have been told right after surgery and then he went on vacation. To all of you who post - thankyou for continuing to do so. Gail
Leg Numbness Just to let you know you are not alone with the situation regarding your leg. I too have total numbness in almost the entire leg beginning about 4 inches above the knee right down to the ankle - the exact area from which the vein was removed. It also feels as if it is very swollen but isn't. Their is swelling around the ankle which worsens as the day progresses. I wear a support knee high to alleviate this problem. It has made a big difference - the skin no longers feels tight. If you want the specifics of the stocking let me know. Gail
Hi Ann, Like you I can't wear any kind of ankle socks on the one leg, if I do you can see the swelling below and above where the top of the sock contacts the leg so I wear these support stockings. They are called graduated support stockings - knee hi version and the compression is 15-20 mmHG. The ones I use are made by SIGVARIS INC. I was told to continue walking 45 minutes a day and eventually the lag would return to normal but that it would take a lot of time. When I asked I wasn't given specifics about the amount of time. All 3 doctors gave me the same answer. Gail