Oh. My. Lanta. (Part 7)

It was really no surprise to me when the GI doctor and his PA arrived instead of the transport team.  He said, "Well, I've cancelled the repeat ERCP.  You have no active bleeding."  I calmly said, "I can tell you why."  His face showed his doubt.  I said, "In Alliance, for 5 whole days, I was given torodol every 6 hours."  His jaw dropped in a cartoon-esque way.  He turned and gapped at his PA, who's mouth hung slack and then back to me.  "You're kidding me?"  I shook my head.  I then told him that, not 30 minutes before, the nurse had given me a shot of Lovenox (sp?) against my wishes, but it was "doctor's orders" from a different doctor.  He turned to the PA and told her to go investigate it immediately.

You see, when I had the stent placed, I was told no NSAIDs (non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs).  I was to have no ibuprofen, no alleve, no aspirin.  Torodol is basically a mega NSAID.  NSAIDs thin the blood, thus making bleeding a lot more likely and a lot quicker of a bleed out situation.  Lovenox is a blood thinner that they give patients on bedrest so that they do not get blood clots.  In Alliance, I questioned my nurse about the torodol.  My dad questioned the surgeon.  They continued administering it to me just the same.

I'm just going to say that the medical knowledge of my amazing daddy and my own training as a chiropractic assistant and moreso as a medical transcriptionist really saved my life MULTIPLE times.

If you don't read anything else from my blog, please read this: You have GOT to have someone with you as an advocate for your healthcare.  Doctors and nurses do the best they can most of the time.  Even great doctors make mistakes.  You have to have someone on your team that is knowledgable and will be involved in your care whether the attending doctors like it or not.  PLEASE hear this and remember it for the future.  No one can trust healthcare professionals 100% of the time.  They are human.  They get tired.  They make mistakes.  Be your own advocate.  If possible, educate yourself thoroughly about your condition/treatment of things and be proactive!  Truly, it is by the grace of God and the wisdom of medical professionals in my family that I am here to share this tale.