ER

crazymama30

Active Member
husband's pain was horrible this morning, worse than I have ever seen it. He was laying in bed sobbing and moaning, hyperventilating and shaking. I practically carried him to the car. After all day in the ER, and I lost track of how much medications--toradol, phenergan,robaxin and lots of morphine--maybe 50mg or more? The pain went from a 10 to an 8. Oh yay (can you hear the sarcasm?). We are home. He has an appointment to get pain injections on Friday, and another appointment next week.

The ER doctor was great. Did not discount his pain due to his BiPolar (BP)--husband will not let me outright tell the ER docs he is BiPolar (BP) but I usually manage to mention his psychiatrists name and then they should be able to look at his medication list and figure it out--anyways, she is a widow and her husband was a psychiatrist so I figure that was all it took. I just said that dr so and so manages the tegretol and that his levels are fine and he has been stable. She called his pain doctor twice that I know of, and could have called psychiatrist for all I know. I do not like most of the ER docs, but she was great.

I am fried. Just took a clonazepam and started dinner. Now will try to wind down. It seems that the poor guy cannot catch a break--it is either the BiPolar (BP) or the pain. Now he is so wound up, short acting opiates (like injectable morphine) do that to him. I know that would happen, but what other choice was there? How else do you get the pain under control?

I am so grateful for my sister, she took difficult child to his Occupational Therapist (OT) appointment, picked up the kids from school, and was even going to do dinner. I would have been completely lost without her.

I don't know what the point of this post is, other to just get this out so maybe my thoughts will quit racing and my stomach will quit jumping. I literally feel as if I am jumping out of my skin.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
It's so hard to watch someone you love be in such horrible pain. I went through that with husband's brain surgery -- talk about feeling helpless! At least they are listening to you and taking him seriously. There's nothing worse than being in horrible pain and having people not understand or not believe you.

I hope they get a handle on it soon and that things settle down at home for you!

Hang in there!
 

crazymama30

Active Member
At one point I left to go home and grab a book and they called a Dr. Strong (code name out of control patient) husband texted me and asked me if I called it on him. Asked what room he was in. It was not him, and I did not, but wow. That really sent his anxiety up
 

crazymama30

Active Member
Yeah, he was being a little nasty, pain does that to a person, right before I left. Not nearly enough for a Dr. Strong.

Now the pain is getting bad again. Guess I won't be going to work tommorrow.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
So they can't get him in to the pain doctor before Friday? I'd be thinking about calling to see if they can squeeeeze him in somewhere, anywhere. Even if he has to camp out in the lobby all day until they take a break to go pee...
 

crazymama30

Active Member
If we bother the ER enough then something will have to be done. If he makes it through the night I am calling the pain doctor in the morning.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
I hope he makes it through the night.
I hate the ER at times especially for pain.
I had an ER doctor think I was a drug addict once for a migraine when i couldn't get ahold of my Neurologist. Yet they wouldn't give me the simple medications that my Neuro did. Instead they gave me Morphine...

I really hope your husband can make it and start getting some relief.
You as well.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
*Strong hint* I never tell an ER doctor about a mental illness diagnosis unless it is appropriate for the situation. Odds are if they're worth a grain of salt they'll figure it out as soon as you tell them the medications. No need to bring it up. And I've found in my looooong experience that mentioning mental illness when it has nothing to do with the reason you are being seen often back fires and docs as well as staff will cop and attitude and stop listening to the patient.

It should not be that way. It's not supposed to be that way, but even health care workers are human.

Glad the ER doctor didn't pull that on you when you mentioned who his psychiatrist was. There are true professionals out there, but it's not worth the risk in my opinion.

Poor husband should not be having to suffer with such a high pain level. I hope they can find a long term solution that works for him soon.

Hugs
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Do they know what is causing husband's extreme pain? It sounds to me that it is time to look beyond symptoms and try to figure out the root cause.
 

crazymama30

Active Member
Well, so far it is 5:30am and he has not woken up yet due to the pain. Yesterday he was already awake as the pain had woken him.

They really don't know what is causing the pain. I think (they better be) planning on doing another MRI--the last one 3 or 4 years ago turned up nothing.

We will see how he is this morning. I really don't hold out much hope
 

crazymama30

Active Member
hips and low back. Yesterday it was radiating everywhere--from his toes to his head. He was so sensitive to the touch that if I just laid my hand on him he cried out in pain. It was horrible.
 

crazymama30

Active Member
Daisy--the reason I mentioned that husband was BiPolar (BP) was because the ER doctor was reading husband's records from his last ER visit when we thought his depakote and tegretol levels were too high--right before he went into psychiatric hospital. Also, psychiatric hospital is a part of this hospital. I don't think they have access to the notes from the psychiatric hospital, but the face sheet and reason for admission(mental health) would be accessible
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Oh gosh I am so sorry CM, please pass along my good thoughts to your husband.

I hate hate hate going in to the ER for pain control. Actually for anything. I was in there one time and they hollered across the room "bipolar in room 26 needs XXX". I was livid and embarrassed. I wasnt in there for anything to do with my bipolar. I was in there for an abscessed tooth!

Like your husband, I have to tell them what medications I am on and my list contains medications that could either be psychiatric medications or epilepsy medications. The docs need to know which I have. I cant lie. One thing I refuse to tell them is the borderline diagnosis. Just not going there in the ER! Heck, they thought I had overdosed intentionally when I had meningitis because my kids told them I was bipolar until they ran a drug screen on me.
 

crazymama30

Active Member
They did in a way rule out ankylosing spondylitis. The first doctor he saw years ago was a rheumotologist. In order to treat a.s. they have to test for a genetic marker--the treatments can be a chemo like drug that is very spendy--he tested negative for the genetic marker. The other way they diagnosis it is changes in the pelvis. He did not have enough of a change at that time to diagnosis it. Up to 30% of people who have A.S. do not test positive for the genetic marker. That doctor was a very smart man, but a jerk. He told husband that all his problems were in his head. I would like to give him the pain. I think I will mention this to his pain doctor and see if he will revisit it and retest. If he will not then I will ask him to give us a referral to OHSU (big teaching hospital) to get husband evaled. If he will not give the referral then I will ask psychiatrist if he will refer him. I hate to think of the bill, and getting there and all that entails--I would go so I would have to find someone to care for the kids, paying for a motel for me, and whatever else came up--but if this continues it is unacceptable. He cannot live in that much pain, I cannot bear to see it and neither can the kids.

DJ--I know what you mean about the medications. Why else would he take 500mg Tegretol xr twice a day and 60mg of Temazepam at night? Those are pretty high doses, and make all the ER docs look twice
 
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