Re: Bowel prep, etc.-THE TRUTH UPFRONT PLEASE!!!!

[Guest guest]

Okay-what's up with all this?

I am SOOOOO tired of medical " surprises. "

Why is it that some of you had to do a bowel prep and

others didn't for the SAME operation?

And were you informed, in ADVANCE, that this would be

part of your procedure? Or was this just another under

the bullet " surprise " in your series of surprises?

I just came from having been told that I needed to

have a CT Scan-a CT Scan-I asked what that consisted

of and they said I would just be under a machine for

about ten minutes and that's it. WELL.....I was

suspicious when I got to the imaging center and they

told me I had to fill out a form regarding contrast

dyes. I asked, " What For? " They said, " Standard

Procedure. " Next thing I knew, I was being FLOODED

with dyes-orally, rectally, and via an IV. It sucked

royally, but the worst part was that I was not

informed-even when I asked!!!!

So, ladies, I am about to have surgery-PLEASE, could

you share some of the pop surprises that you were

presented with? I have not had surgery before, so I am

clueless.

Thanks, Dawn

[Guest guest]

Hi Dawn,

I had to do the bowel prep before my ab myo since my fibroid had

previously been adhered to my bowel & they were just taking a

precution in the event my bowel was involved again (it wasn't but

the fibroid was attached to the omentum (fat around the colon)). I

think a bowel prep would only be necessary for fibroids on the

outside of your uterus and only if they suspect bowel is involved.

I don't think most Drs. require it for a routine myo..

Hope this helps. Good luck with your procedure!

~Cindy

> Okay-what's up with all this?

> I am SOOOOO tired of medical " surprises. "

> Why is it that some of you had to do a bowel prep and

> others didn't for the SAME operation?

> And were you informed, in ADVANCE, that this would be

> part of your procedure? Or was this just another under

> the bullet " surprise " in your series of surprises?

> I just came from having been told that I needed to

> have a CT Scan-a CT Scan-I asked what that consisted

> of and they said I would just be under a machine for

> about ten minutes and that's it. WELL.....I was

> suspicious when I got to the imaging center and they

> told me I had to fill out a form regarding contrast

> dyes. I asked, " What For? " They said, " Standard

> Procedure. " Next thing I knew, I was being FLOODED

> with dyes-orally, rectally, and via an IV. It sucked

> royally, but the worst part was that I was not

> informed-even when I asked!!!!

> So, ladies, I am about to have surgery-PLEASE, could

> you share some of the pop surprises that you were

> presented with? I have not had surgery before, so I am

> clueless.

> Thanks, Dawn

[Guest guest]

Unfortunately, some doctors aren't as communicative as we'd like. It's a

good idea to ask your doctor lots of questions. Make him or her spell out

exactly which procedures need to be done before and during your myomectomy.

They do so many myos that they sometimes overlook the patient's perspective.

I did not have a bowel prep before my myo. I can't think of anything that

was a surprise about the myo. My doctor was really good about telling me

what to expect, predicting how long recovery would take, and so on. Being a

good doctor involves more than just skill with a scalpel

Your description of your CAT scan experience was interesting. I had a CAT

scan the day after I went to the ER for pain caused by a ruptured ovarian

cyst. I was breastfeeding my two-month-old daughter, and the doctor who was

overseeing my care originally placed orders for the radiologist to give me

contrast dye orally, rectally, and via an IV. At the time, the doctors

didn't know what was causing my intense pain, and they wanted to make sure

they covered all the bases. The radiologist told the doctor that all three

dye methods would be overkill for this particular situation and that he

should pick two at the most. I think he decided on orally and rectally.

When I got down to the radiology room, the radiologist told me that if she

gave me dye orally, I couldn't breastfeed for 24 hours. Well, that really

wasn't an option, since we had only given our daughter a bottle a few times

before, and we didn't know if she would accept bottles for 24 hours. The

technician said that she thought rectal administration would be sufficient,

and that's what we went with. Later, the doctor said that the images came

out great and that they could clearly see excess fluid in the abdomen,

which is typical of a ruptured cyst. He was surprised to find out that we

used only one type of contrast dye. From that experience, I learned that

you should always question your doctor and any involved technicians as much

as necessary until you have enough information to decide for yourself which

treatment is best for you.

Cheryl

At 11:22 AM 3/29/2004 -0800, Dawn wrote:

>So, ladies, I am about to have surgery-PLEASE, could

>you share some of the pop surprises that you were

>presented with?

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy, I wholeheartedly agree about the second, third, fourth

opinions... Have you thought of UFE? It's another option. Jackie

Re: Bowel prep, etc.-THE TRUTH UPFRONT

PLEASE!!!!

I had a myo in August 1998 and I also had to do a bowel prep. It was

not much fun at all. My surgeon wanted me squeaky clean! I think it

was because he was going to be removing many, and wasn't sure excatly

where they were (inside, outside, etc.). I think he wanted to keep his

options open for anything, and make sure there was room to manuever.

Now I have been told to have a hyst. because I have new ones, and they

are rapidly growing. I'm only 36 and don't really want to have a hyst.,

though I'm also not planning on having children. It's something about

my not wanting to part with my organs. So I am in the process of

seeking second, third, fourth opinions...

[Guest guest]

Hi Jackie - Thanks for your reply. I met with an IR

last Monday, and he said that since I am not showing

any symptoms (i.e. heavy bleeding, cramps, etc.) that

he does not rec any procedures. In his words, having

surgery will not make me feel any better, if I;m not

feeling bad now. And that really adds to the

confusion. His opinion is so different from my

regular gyn's opinion. I am seeing an RE on Wed (the

doc that did my myo 5 yrs ago). Hopefully, he can

shed some light on the vast range of opinions.

Amy

--- Jackie Sladky jackie@...> wrote:

> Hi Amy, I wholeheartedly agree about the second,

> third, fourth

> opinions... Have you thought of UFE? It's another

> option. Jackie