Hey :)

[nikkiARNGwife]

So I've been MIA a couple of weeks. Long story short I had my gallbladder removed on the 24th of August and then had some complications. Well basically my doc nicked my common bile duct so 3 days after surgery I was back in the ER in the worst pain of my life. Seriously. Bile in your abdominal cavity is not fun. Then it took them 3 days in the hospital to figure out what was going on which I still haven't understood why it took so long. This is 3 days of constant pain..to the point that I was writhing and screaming in my bed at points. Morphine every hour the first few days hardly touched it and finally once they got me a continuous PCA pump the pain eased enough so that I could at least lay down and breathe without feeling like I was going to die.

Thursday night they finally did a HIDA scan which showed the leak and from there I went to emergency surgery to have a JP drain placed to remove the bile and allow the leak to heal.

I was put to sleep 4 times within a week's time. Had every test you can think of - ultrasounds, xrays, upper GI, ERCP, MRI and HIDA scans....and finally was sent home to recover with the drain still in place.

Good news is that my repeat HIDA showed no leak and so next Thursday he's going to get the drain out and hopefully I'll be back to life as normal. The kids and I have been living with my parents for 2 weeks but finally last night I felt well enough to move back to my house and try it on my own. My MIL is coming up this weekend to help out also.

It was a nightmare. And honestly I feel like it shouldn't have happened...that he should have made sure there was no leak going on before he sent me home from surgery...or at least he should have done the HIDA scan first thing when I got to the ER with the symptoms I had. It shouldn't have taken 3 days to figure out what was going on. By the time he did..I was running fever and just hours from becoming septic. and this is supposed to be the best surgeon in town.

Anyway, one thing is that they have tested every part of me from head to toe nearly and at least I know nothing else is going on lol

[maryinaz]

What a nightmare Nikki! So sorry you had to go through all of that. I pray you are done with all of it and well on your way to recovery!

[Jennilyn]

After this type of stuff happens, do the doctors even apologize for their mistakes? Sorry you had to go through that Nikki & glad you are on the road to recovery (again)!

[nikkiARNGwife]

My doc has not apologized. I mean I know there are risks with any surgery and this is one of them with this type of surgery...but if he'd at least acknowledge that he is responsible for what I went through then that would make me feel better. He's even tried to claim that the leak wasn't due to his error but that I might have had and "accessory duct" or something ridiculous like that. Even when I was in his office Monday morning sobbing b/c I had been through so much I didn't get an "I'm sorry".

Anyway, I won't be using him again ever that's for sure.

[JuliaM]

So sorry to hear you've gone through so much.

[Andrea Gourley]

That sounds awful Nikki I'm so pleased you are on the mend now x

[heathergw]

I seriously can't believe all you went through and so glad you're on the mend... and at the dr for not even apologizing!!!!

[scrap2day]

Oh my goodness. I'm so glad you are ok. Sending prayers and good thoughts for a speedy recovery.

I'm not surprised in the least that 1) the doctor did not apologize and 2) you were blamed because he would never be in the wrong. Just know you are not alone. I'll leave it at that because otherwise I might start to "talk ugly".

I'm glad you have so much help from extended family. Rest, relax and heal.

[Arual]

Im glad your doing better now, what a nightmare!

[kristijoy]

Holy Cow! THat's an incredible story! I'm so glad you are through the horrible part! I had complications to an abdominal surgery a few years ago. Nothing as horrible as you went through, but yep, doctor is not going to admit 'oops I did something wrong'. I have a couple of friends who are surgeons. I can NOT even imagine having that kind of job. I mean...when I make a mistake in my job...no body dies!

[neenee]

What a freaking nightmare. You POOR thing. This just gave me chills thinking of you laying there suffering so much. I am so sorry you went through so much pain. Glad you are healing up now though. Gosh....that could have been soooo much worse if that continued on.

[tsbegley]

How horrible!! So glad you're feeling better and on the mend.

[LJSDesigns]

Glad you are feeling better Nikki! I swear I hear of more complications and mistakes with gall bladder removal than any other surgery: my aunt almost died because of a nicked artery that bleed internally for days before it finally started pouring out her nose and ears. So scary!

While it would be nice if the dr could admit he made a mistake and apologize it won't happen because he would be leaving himself open to a lawsuit.

[nun69]

omg...so glad you are on the mend....and what a A%$ of a doctor.....

[cardinalskate]

Nikki, what a horrible ordeal. I'm so sorry it all happened in the first place. I'm so glad to hear you're on the mend.

[ayaandjudah]

that is just awful. I'm so sorry. I have a friend who is a surgeon and she has mentioned before that she always checks surrounding areas before she closes to make sure there was no collateral damage. I'm so sorry that your surgeon was too high on himself to check.

HUGS

[rach3975]

That sounds terrible, Nikki! I'm sorry you went through it and am glad you're back home feeling better.

[marnel]

Nikki, when I had mine in June and the Dr told me that could happen but usually doesn't the bile duct being nicked. It made me not want to have it done but I was in serious pain and was later told after declining it usually doesn't happen, so I said ok.

That is a serious nightmare and to have the Dr not even acknowledge his wrong doing, wow what a slap in the face. I hate that about Dr's they have that holier than almighty attitude

So glad you have the support of your family, big hugs.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Thanks everyone. After having gone through this I've had about 7 people contact me that I know personally who went through almost the exact same thing. The problem is that when they do it laproscopically, they just can't see what they're doing as well as if they open you up and have major surgery. Also these doctors have made this so routine that I feel like we're just kind of herded through like cattle. I mean..seriously my surgeon only does gallbladders on Fridays and that's all he does all day...one patient in another one out. I never even saw him the day of surgery and it was done in a surgery clinic not even in a regular hospital. I think he's just too sure of himself..he's done hundreds of them so why should mine have gone any differently..well it did and I suffered horribly for days. If nothing else I think a JP drain should be placed as a precaution in every surgery just to be safe.

And on top of all of that thank the Good Lord we have good insurance b/c I expect the total bill from my original surgery plus my hospital bill and emergency surgery to be between 80-90 thousand dollars. There's no way it couldn't be...they ran so many tests and I had 4 procedures that involved an anesthesiologist. So thank goodness for Military insurance is all I know.

[joelsgirl]

I'm so glad you have good insurance, too, and I'm glad you're getting better. Sorry it was such a tough road to wellness.

[lovely1m]

Goodness, Nikki, I knew you were having issues, but I didn't realize it was so horrible. I agree, it seems it was all something that shouldn't have happened. I am glad you are finally on the mend.

[k23m]

wow!! So sorry you had to go through all that!!
Thank goodness for insurance too! Phew!!
Glad you are feeling better now!

[NatalieKW]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

And on top of all of that thank the Good Lord we have good insurance b/c I expect the total bill from my original surgery plus my hospital bill and emergency surgery to be between 80-90 thousand dollars. There's no way it couldn't be...they ran so many tests and I had 4 procedures that involved an anesthesiologist. So thank goodness for Military insurance is all I know.

Ugh! This scares me so so much!! I have gall stones and need my gall bladder out so so bad. But I don't have insurance... So, I just live with it, but the pain is so bad we have talked about going ahead and just having the surgery and just setting up a payment plan. How horrible would this be?

[misfitinmn]

Oh my gosh, Nikki!! What an awful ordeal!!

[nikkiARNGwife]

Originally Posted by NatalieKW

Ugh! This scares me so so much!! I have gall stones and need my gall bladder out so so bad. But I don't have insurance... So, I just live with it, but the pain is so bad we have talked about going ahead and just having the surgery and just setting up a payment plan. How horrible would this be?

Aw bless you. I dealt with the gallstone pain for months before surgery so I know it's not fun or easy.

I haven't received any bills as of yet..it usually takes it a while for us to get a statement but if it had only been the one outpatient surgery I think less than 5000 total is what they quoted me. My big bills are going to come from a 4 day hospital stay, multiple scans, mri's, upper gi ercp etc. etc. I had a total of 4 procedures that involved an anesthsiologist (including a second emergency surgery at 8 pm on Thrusday night) and I was also seen by a GI doctor who did 2 procedures so he'll have his own "little" bill too. I may be expecting the worse but since I had a 30 minutes ER stay back in the summer that was nearly 2000 dollars I feel like I should expect the worse. But thank goodness we won't pay anything out of pocket and also Tricare has cap on what they will pay and so the docs and hospitals have to take what Tricare will pay and that's all they get - we don't have a copay.

[jessica31876]

Nikki I thought I replied on this but I guess not. My husband went to the ER three times before they finally figured out his problem was his gallbladder was not functioning at all. The surgeon told us they believe it likely happened in the car accident the previous year. And when I thought about it he did have the symptoms when he was recovering as early as being in the rehab hospital which was like three weeks after the accident. I guess it did not show up though but it got to the point he could not eat anything without getting sick.

[tonyasmith]

My heart goes out to you Nikki. No one should have to suffer so badly. It’s bad enough the pain you deal with before surgery let alone going through all the pain afterwards. I had to have my gallbladder removed last January the worse thing I went through afterwards besides soreness was I couldn’t keep anything down. But once I got that under control I was fine. And I slowly got back to myself. What you went through was so much worse and didn’t have to be. I hope that you can get back to feeling more yourself very soon!

[nikkiARNGwife]

I got the drain out today! Yay! Um it hurt pretty bad..kind of like someone stuck a spoon in my abdomen and stirred it around but it was totally worth it to be rid of that thing. Good riddance and hopefully it's all over now.

[DawnMarch]

Gosh, Nikki, what an ordeal! glad you are on the mend! I agree that in our litigious society doctors will never say they are sorry -- although sounds like your doctor might be a bit too arrogant for that anyway!

[NatalieKW]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

Aw bless you. I dealt with the gallstone pain for months before surgery so I know it's not fun or easy.

I haven't received any bills as of yet..it usually takes it a while for us to get a statement but if it had only been the one outpatient surgery I think less than 5000 total is what they quoted me. My big bills are going to come from a 4 day hospital stay, multiple scans, mri's, upper gi ercp etc. etc. I had a total of 4 procedures that involved an anesthsiologist (including a second emergency surgery at 8 pm on Thrusday night) and I was also seen by a GI doctor who did 2 procedures so he'll have his own "little" bill too. I may be expecting the worse but since I had a 30 minutes ER stay back in the summer that was nearly 2000 dollars I feel like I should expect the worse. But thank goodness we won't pay anything out of pocket and also Tricare has cap on what they will pay and so the docs and hospitals have to take what Tricare will pay and that's all they get - we don't have a copay.

Oh yes, I know all about medical bills coming from the doctors on top of the hospital...and from the anesthesiologist...and the assistants... I ended up in the ER twice within 12 hours because the first time was at 1:00 in the morning and the doctor mis-diagnosed me with heart burn. I think he really just thought I was looking for pain pills. I KNEW he was wrong (I mean, what woman, who has been pregnant, goes to the ER for heartburn???!) but I was so tired and he wasn't helpful, so we left. I should have put my foot down and made them take the tests they did the next day. Those bills were outlandish!

I've been told an uncomplicated, outpatient surgery would cost between 5 and 9 thousand, and we have considered to go ahead and have it and just pay it off in payments for the next several years, but it's the complications that scare me. The only surgeries I've had have been c-sections and there were LOTS of bad complications with the last one and I didn't handle anesthesia well with either. I just need to have faith.