Don't know what to do

[Thedreamer]

I went for my first Endoscopy and colonoscopy today.. I have been having severe abdominal pain for two months now, and I am even on medical leave. Im a nurse here in florida. I am 24 and 6'1 143lbs..

I went in today to the hospital and talked to the anesthetist before the procedure. I told him I have been in constant pain and that I would like to have a pain reliever during this procedure and that I was very anxious.. I suggested Demerol and Versed. He absolutely said no, hed prefer to use Propofol. I know that Propofol has a slight analgesic property to it but felt that it wouldnt be adequate.

I spent about an hour trying to talk him into giving me the pain reliever I was requesting.. He was adamant not to and kept mentioning the recovery time would be longer.. I didnt care about that, I just didnt want to be in pain. Apparently him as well as the other hospital staff felt I was being difficult and pressured me into just doing the propofol..

Well i went in and they started the procedure and closed the door. My mom was actually standing outside the door. She heard me complaining of pain the entire procedure and that the docter kept telling me it was fine. She said this happened througout the procedure. Finally it finished and I was taken to my recovery room. My family then told me I was crying and holding my abdomen for almost 10 minutes. When I became aware i was in pain from all the gas they had put into me. It was so upsetting I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I dont remmeber any of the procedure but my family was horrified that I asked for pain relief, was denied and then was in pain. To top it off, while they were doing the endoscopic part, they must have hit my lip because the inside is cut along my tooth line on the inner lip.

I really dont know what to do. I feel very neglected.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

So sorry for this horrible experience. Please write a letter to the head of the endoscopy dept and cc your surgeon and referring MD.

Take care and hope you feel better soon.

[AirforceRN, RN]

Its a bad idea to suggest narcotics to a physician...especially demerol...the number one drug requested by drug seekers...heck, many emergency rooms don't even carry it anymore so the staff is able to say "nope, can't give it to you".

Maybe the doc thought that propofol + a narcotic would have been too much for your system...let's face it, at 6'1" and 143lbs there's really not a lot of you to absorb the drugs.

Its unfortunate that you had this experience but it seems like most of your info is coming second hand. That's the joy of propofol...you don't need to drug the person up, they don't remember it and you can get the procedure done and walk out shortly after. Yeah, it sucks at the time...I've helped set many a broken bone with propofol and the yelling is pretty intense at times...but they never remember and are sometimes out the door before the cast is even dry.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Just wanted to add that we can't provide medical advice such as such and such drug should have been used or not used as the case may be.

We can provide support but no medical advice. Thanks much.

[Thedreamer]

My point is, I am not a drug seeker. I was very anxious and have been in constant pain. I didnt want to be in pain for the procedure because i might not REMEMBER it but my body would still be feeling it. They pressured me into just doing it thier way. And I ended up in pain.

[AirforceRN, RN]

I didn't mean to insuate that you were a drug seeker and I apologize if I came off that way. What I meant was pts asking specifically for things like demerol tend to raise flags that's all.

I'm not going to offer legal advice or anything like that but I think...if nothing else...this is a GREAT learning experience with regards to patient advocacy.