Pelvic Pain

[student1000]

First off I want to say I am not looking for medical advice more advice on how to deal with doctors. I have been having pelvic pain off and on for the last 4 months after being pretty much pain free for 4 years since a hysterectomy. I am on oxycontin which hasn't done anything this last week so I was told to go home and take some morphine to try and break the cycle (don't worry I am a secretary not a nurse and I have given up driving). My frustration is that my new gyn sees no need to exam me (trust me I don't really want an exam but I would like to know what is causing the pain. Does it make sense that my new gyn who I have seen twice in the last 3 weeks, my internist who I saw today, and the ED a week ago don't see any need for a pelvic? The reasoning I get is that I don't have any female organs and they don't want to cause more pain which I am grateful for. They did do a urinalysis which was negative. I had a CT and MRI in May that were negative. I have seen a gastroneterologist and urologist who say it is not their department but my new gyn wants me to be seen again. I can't schedule an appt (not be seen but schedule an appt) for two weeks at the hospital's gastro clinic Another embarassing symptom besides the pain is that I am occassionally having fecal incontinence. Very embarassing. My doctors say it isn't normal for a 33 year old (never thought it was) but nobody has done a rectal on me. How do you ask for that? The fecal incontinence is not due to the hysterectomy since the problem didn't start until 3-4 years afterwards.

I don't want to be back on narcotics and I need a doctor who will take charge of overseeing the various doctors I do see which is what I told my PCP when I started seeing him. I feel like I am being bounced between specialities because everyone says it is not their department which is what I went through 10 years ago before finally being diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain and finally having a hysterectomy.

I really enjoy Allnurses especially reading the humor section.

Okay I just needed to vent. I am trying not to let my family know since they say I need to be more forceful with the doctors and they get upset with me for missing work.

[student1000]

Thanks for the responses. However, I am confused since I remember there being certain repsonses and I can't find them. The link says there are 10 posts but I only see 5 whenI moved from page 1 to page 2.

Anyway, the reason I haven't been posting is that I ended up in the emergency room and being admitted on Wednesday and got out on Friday. They admitted me for the pain and did anothe CT which didn't really show anything other than a bunch of fecal matter which bought me lactulose, miralax, a suppository, and senokot/stool softner. Surprisingly they didn't send me home with orders to take lactulose or miralax (I know Miralax is now over the counter).

I kept insisting I wanted to be seen by Gastro but was told I wasn't sick enough (hmm, you admitted me to the hospital but I can't be seen by any service other than Medicine because I am not sick enough?) I finally contacted GI myself and they sent one of my doctor's colleagues since he was on vacation. Nobody outside of Medicine and the nurses had heard of such a thing. I work at the hospital and none of the doctors in my department had heard of any such thing. I was getting to the point where I was going to call in a favor but since I am new to the hospital I hate to have to do so. I saw a great gastroenterologist who said based on my history, my family history (the intern said I didn't tell him my family history but then he didn't ask and being on high doses of narctoics I wasn't thinking straight) he wanted to do a colonoscopy and happen to have an opening this Tuesday. The intern also said I didn't mention I was having fecal leakage but that is why he did the rectal.

I have never had such incompetent care from an intern and nurses (sorry I hate to have to write this on here since I have had some GREAT nurses, I know there are always a handful of bad ones). The intern I saw was very smug about the fact that he was the first one to do a rectal on me. The nurses were asked to get a stool sample but by the time I was able to produce one I was leaving in the next hour so they said they was no reason to test it. Doesn't make sense to me. It also took them several times forever to get me my pain medicine, the first time 3 hours after I asked, the second time 2 hours after I asked. It wasn't because I wasn't due for it or the orders weren't written it was because they had to get it from the pharmacy, it took them an hour to respond to my reqest, and the nurse's excuse "we are very busy and whe had six patients". I tried very hard not to ask for things I could get on my own. I finally got to the point where I had to have my sister come stay with me and my mother came down. Oh, and the nurse told my roomate that she was not feeling well herself (the nurse and that she had the flu).

When I went to be discharged the nurse had just literally discharged my neighbor, turned to me and said walk down to the nurses station and I will discharge you. To tired to argue, I did. The intern handed me written directions for my colonoscopy and discharge instructions. I questioned what he had written because it didn't make sense to me to have to drink 3 bottles of mag citrate at once, he said yes that was what they wanted. I showed it to my mother who also quesitoned it and we called and that wasn't what they wanted. Also he had written I was supposed to drink mag citrate today and it turns out it is tomorrow. I swear if I am readmitted I refuse to allow this particular team to care for me. I will be keeping copies of the notes I was given since they were so bad.

My roommate also had terrible care. They decided she should have a colonoscopy and decided this in the afternoon but waited until 8pm to have her start the prep and cut it in half due to her medical condition. Well, surprise surpise she wasn't cleaned out enough and they refused to change her procedure time because it would mess with their schedule. She has to come back in a week and redo the prep. It made me so mad since it was the doctors and nurses fault that they didn't give her the right prep nor start it on time.

Okay, I have vented enough. Hopefully this colonoscopy I am having is worth it and they will come up with something. The doctor, the first one out of many thought he could feel an indentation and seemed to think maybe I have a hernia but I know that won't show on the colonoscopy.

Oh and my boss stopped by to say I don't have enough time in extended illness or vacation which didn't make me feel any better. I am concerned about losing my job. She is a new manager and I need to call either my old manager to find out the deal about being sick or call HR. I mentioned it to one of the doctors in my department and he said don't worry you aren't going to lose you job your too valuable but I don't think he has any say in it. I work for 9 doctors and the doctor that came by is one I am friendly with but don't work under. I did contact one of my doctors for help and unfortunately he now knows more about my care then I wanted him to but I was desperate and will hopefully keep what he knows under doctor/patient privledge but I am not sure it applies. I think I would contact him again because I was so desperate.