wellinghall (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wellinghall) wrote2007-01-29 09:18 pm
wellinghall) wrote2007-01-29 09:18 pm
Entry tags:
This morning ...
... I went to St Mark's hospital.
I'm cutting the rest because it's medical
The journey down was smooth, helped by Creatrix having made me a cup of tea before I went, and packing me up a breakfast to eat on the train - I was out of the house by 6.40. I got to the hospital 20 minutes before my appointment, then wasn't seen until 25 minutes after the stated time - bl**dy annoying when it's the (joint) first one of the day.
The clinic appointment was fairly pointless - the doctor didn't know what medication I was on, what procedures I'd had during the year, or anything about the study I had been asked to take part in (MRI v capsule endoscopy for small bowel surveillance). They're going to do a full set of scopes (upper and lower colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy, possibly plus this MRI thing) "during 2007".
Then they wanted blood. The nurse had got as far as putting on the tourniquet before I was sweating and nearly vomiting. So they left it. They let me lie down for a bit, and gave me a glass of water.
I'm going to talk to my GP about this. Partly to find out if there's anything else they can look at - monitor on finger, urine, stools, cheek swab, whatever. And partly to see if there's anything they can do to calm me down (although two Temazepam barely take the edge off it) - even if they can find some alternative to blood tests, I'm probably going to need IVs every so often.
After I had gone through the paperchase that is the NHS appointments system, I got myself a tea and a pain au chocolat from the cafe, and had them on the tube back into London. The journey back was also smooth, and I was in the office by about 11.20.
I'm cutting the rest because it's medical
The journey down was smooth, helped by Creatrix having made me a cup of tea before I went, and packing me up a breakfast to eat on the train - I was out of the house by 6.40. I got to the hospital 20 minutes before my appointment, then wasn't seen until 25 minutes after the stated time - bl**dy annoying when it's the (joint) first one of the day.
The clinic appointment was fairly pointless - the doctor didn't know what medication I was on, what procedures I'd had during the year, or anything about the study I had been asked to take part in (MRI v capsule endoscopy for small bowel surveillance). They're going to do a full set of scopes (upper and lower colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy, possibly plus this MRI thing) "during 2007".
Then they wanted blood. The nurse had got as far as putting on the tourniquet before I was sweating and nearly vomiting. So they left it. They let me lie down for a bit, and gave me a glass of water.
I'm going to talk to my GP about this. Partly to find out if there's anything else they can look at - monitor on finger, urine, stools, cheek swab, whatever. And partly to see if there's anything they can do to calm me down (although two Temazepam barely take the edge off it) - even if they can find some alternative to blood tests, I'm probably going to need IVs every so often.
After I had gone through the paperchase that is the NHS appointments system, I got myself a tea and a pain au chocolat from the cafe, and had them on the tube back into London. The journey back was also smooth, and I was in the office by about 11.20.
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Sorry to hear your geographical proximity was pointless and unpleasant :-(
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I'd feel like making a fuss about that. Not only was it wasting your time, but it was wasting theirs too.
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Your account reminds me of what I heard about my grandparents' visits to clinics when accompanied by my mother - something that should have been useful to all concerned reduced into a pointless and potentially harmful ritual.
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Sorry to hear that you were messed around :( I should make a complaint if I were you.
Out of interest, why Temazepam? My mother recommended Valium very highly after she was given it for a rather unpleasant procedure.
I agree that you are going to have to find a way to deal with the blood tests. I'm not convinced that counselling, hypnosis or relaxation techniques would be enough on their own! but perhaps combined with a more effective medication...?
*hugs*
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Obviously I've been lucky, as so far my hospital visits have been useful and kept to time. My consultant is apparently famous for being impatient (in a good sense, he likes to get on and avoid hiatus) so I shouldn't be kept hanging around in future either!
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Second, have you got low blood pressure? And perhaps a different position would help, how were you sitting/lying when they tried to take it? Have they tried using local anaesthetic gel on the site? Have you tried a sleep mask or similar? Or a nurse to sit and talk to you about something else while they do it? Or using an unusual site, perhaps one you can't see as easily, rather than your arm?
Or maybe you could have blood tests (and have as many diff ones as you might ever need at once) under the heavier type of sedation one has with one's scopes...I wasn't aware of anything during my scope so they could have taken blood then no problem.
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*manly pat*oh alright dammit *hug* sorry you were messed around, I do hope they did have a good excuse as suggested ^ ^no subject
sounds bad.
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