At my daughter’s baby shower, we played a game, where each woman present had to write down a piece of advice for the new mother. On my card I wrote, “Don’t google the symptoms when the baby is sick. Call your mother and she will do it for you.” That got a good laugh, but really, how many of us do this? I know I do.
Ever since I got my records from the hospital after my surgery, I have been googling the medical terms that I don’t understand, and by doing so, I have a learned a lot about what happened to me. I had no idea how close to death’s door I really was until I read medical articles about Abdominal Compartment Syndrome and Intraabdominal Hypertension and Sepsis
While it is sometimes frightening to read about all these things, it brings me a sense of relief somehow to know what happened to me, and that I lived through it. It could have gone the other way, and I wouldn’t be here today.
One of the most interesting things to me, is that when I started my google search a couple of months ago, I really didn’t know what to search for. I just took one of the terms I found in my discharge summary from the hospital, and went from there. You find one thing, and then another, and then another. You can spend many hours, days, weeks, reading all the information that you can find when you get started in the right direction.
Some would say that this is an obsession, and it may well be, but I just have a need to know if the way I feel NOW, months after my surgery, if normal. No one wants to be abnormal, do they? So, I find myself doing a lot of time searching the internet and reading article after article pertaining to persistent pain, abdominal complications, endometriosis, and on and on and on. For instance, I had no idea that scar tissue from edometriosis could come back after a complete hysterectomy.
Today I found an article called Chronic Post Surgical Pain. The gist of the article is that it is common for people to have debilitating chronic post surgical pain, and that doctors should be telling their patients that it could be a side effect of the surgery before they go under the knife. While I would have still had the surgery that I had, I would at least have had the knowledge that I could be in pain for the rest of my life as a result of it. Instead, it has taken me almost seven months of searching to find out on my own that the pain I am experiencing could very well last for the rest of my life.
It just makes me mad that not one of the doctors I have seen has told me this. That I had to find it out for myself, by getting just the right combination of search words to type in to search for information. Is there anyone you know, or are you yourself, experiencing pain in the abdominal wall after extensive surgery? Did the doctor mention anything at all about the possibility of chronic pain as a result of the surgery?
butterbean carpenter says
January 1, 2013 at 1:51 pmHowdy Karen,
First of all we want to wish for you a HEALTHIER 2013, without surgery, and a wonderful healthy new grandson; we got a ‘complete’, healthy GREAT- grandson in November, 7 WEEKS PREMATURELY!!!!
Thanx, for all of the travel info in the past and for the great tales in the future…
Hope this finds y’all having a wonderful day!!!!
Gaelyn says
January 1, 2013 at 2:04 pmYes I google symptoms and know how many hours it takes to get a semblance of an answer. Not easy reading a medical vocabulary when not in the field of medicine. Also good to pay attention to the prescribed medications. It is good to learn more and try to be responsible for own health. But we do have to rely on doctors and it seems rare to hear a really good patient review. The old time field of medicine although more barbaric in some ways also seemed to hold more compassion for the patient. Now, it’s a science that has grown cold and cut off from the personal in many cases. Having answers helps us make decisions.
Miss you. Big HUGS!!!
Sandy says
January 1, 2013 at 3:30 pmgoogle can also be a deadly place to be searching for medical information. you never know who has put the information out there…it may say a doctor but it could very well be a 12 year old kid putting misinformation out there for kicks. paranoia and panic can also cause more harm than the original illness. never self-diagnose! (i found that out the hard way) gather information but always verify it with your own doctor! my mother died of sepsis and we were told that it is almost always fatal…so if you had it you can be forever grateful that you pulled through. i hope that your new year is much better than the last and that your recovery speeds right along. no matter how bad you think things are…they can always be worse. you have a new grandbaby to look forward to and that is something your illness can’t take away from you.
marilyn register says
January 2, 2013 at 1:55 amIt’s good to see you posting again. We always know you will be honest in your thoughts. Many times you write about things we as women also wonder about. It takes someone like you to get to the point and put these questions out there. Embarrassment keeps lots of us from verbalizing uncomfortable questions.
I pray you can find answers to you medical questions and definitely a solution. Since you are on this side of your surgery I pray you can find a Dr who can help you return to a manageable life style pain free. I am not sure how much of your pain may be nerve regeneration. After the seriousness of your surgery and illness I would expect a rater lengthy recovery. A years’ time maybe. As we move towards spring I pray your pain will subside and your healing be complete. Don’t give up on your quest to find answers to help in your recovery. By understanding what happen and how you were treated maybe that will help a Dr to be able to help you complete your recovery. Moving forward with an attitude of positive thoughts towards your full recovery is hard to do but hopefully you can maintain that mental state a little more each day. Be aware each day of even a little progress made from yesterday or from last week. ( small steps ) Your recovery is slow and if you can realize that you have made progress then you can use that knowledge to help you move forward. If you can’t see the progress then ask someone who sees you once in a while what they have observed. Sometimes we are so in the moment we don’t see what’s there. Pain is the ultimate mask for us seeing our progress. I know you will find your answers and I know you will use all you have been thru to help others.
Hang in there Karen !!!!!!!!!!!!! May the New Year bring healing to you.
Carly says
January 4, 2013 at 4:30 pmBoth my husband and I learned the hard way to always Google any medication or procedure a doctor has prescribed you. We literally lost years of our lives to nasty side effects and unnecessary harm that could have been avoided entirely. It’s criminal that doctors don’t disclose this stuff to you before they prescribe it. Needless to say, we don’t go to the doctor anymore unless someone has a broken limb or is bleeding. I have very little faith in the medical industry beyond mending injuries.
Speaking of which, I once very nearly lost a leg to Compartment Syndrome. You have my sympathy.
Carolsue says
November 13, 2013 at 3:14 amYes, I do that sometimes. My grown daughter does it incessantly and is always sure she has some horrible disease. I agree that it can be dangerous, although so far, no disastrous results. Just a word of warning: Don’t ask your doctor about a medication you saw on TV, as in “what about XXX? Would that work for me?” Apparently they HATE that. I trried to once and about had my head chewed off. Ha Ha.
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