Just got back from another emergency admission into the hospital.
On Saturday, I ended up in agony with my abdomen and back going into spasms. I had my GP round; she didn't think I could do much more than I was doing by self-medicating, but 2 hours after that, the pain became more intense, so I dialed 999 for an ambulance, which arrived at 12:30 PM and got me to the hospital at 12:50 PM ...
It didn't bode well when the ambulance chappie stood at the nurses' station in A&E and was ignored for about 15 minutes before anyone took my name, etc. .... I was left in a cubicle for some time, then given some pain relief, Cyclizine, and Morphine, which did the trick and left me much more comfortable.
I then waited for about 2 hours before the doctor came. She said that she wouldn't prod me about as I would need to be seen by the surgical team anyway, so she was admitting me to the Surgical Assessment Unit and I would be taken up there shortly. They did this just within the 4-hour time frame of keeping within their required statistics, and I was taken up to the ward.
There I lingered for a good 3 hours before I was admitted by a nurse (who asked if I had moved my bowels that day!!!!). With nothing to eat or drink, I was beginning to get dehydrated, the pain was coming back, and my head was pounding. I was finally allowed sips of water (still hadn't been seen by the doctor) as I told them that I was dehydrating and needed some fluids.
The doctor finally arrived at about 11 PM. By this time, I had self-medicated my own pain relief as I wasn't prescribed anything at all. He couldn't quite understand what I was telling him about my condition (i.e., that I can shit out of 4 orifices at once!), but he prodded me about and then said he would order an x-ray and see his boss. I finally went down to x-ray at about 12:30 PM, but all was okay, no blockage - but I knew that ....... (good job really, as after those 16 hours, my colon would have probably died off, putting paid to any attempt at a future reversal.....?)
The 'boss' came to see me at about 2 PM. He actually said he thought that it was my back causing the trouble, not my stoma/hernia ... ummm, not sure about that? I finally got some pain meds out of them in the middle of the night, but good job I had brought my own .... I sprung myself at about 8:30 AM this morning and have slept since 11 AM, waking up at 3 PM with a bag off in bed ... just what I needed!
Well, I wasn't doing anything for the Bank Holiday weekend anyway ....!
