Saturday morning, I knew I was in trouble, having thrown up all evening, with nothing but fluids coming through my ostomy. After first calling my doctor, my husband Barry took me to the ER at hospital # 1 at 11am. I discovered that ER personnel are not well trained in the handling of ostomy cases, something the ER nurse said she wished they had more training on. But she did have the foresight to ask how I normally handled a situation like this in the past. I said that it was imperative that I get started on an IV, in order to rehydrate me. By 12 noon, an hour later, I was hooked to an IV (before I saw a doctor), and was given pain medication to help relax me. In the past, this has also proven to help in relaxing my gut, and allowing food to pass. By 4 pm I no longer had cramps, and apparently no blockage, and was released from ER. Sunday morning, the cramps started again, but not nearly as intense as Saturday. I was still rather sore and weak from my experience the day before. By evening, I was again in so much pain from cramps, that my husband took me to hospital # 2. This time we had gotten a hold of the back-up to my gastroenterologist, and he told us to go to a different hospital. We got there at 11 pm, to find that the doctor had already alerted the ER that we were coming. I thought, great, they will get me on an IV and some pain medication right away. Wrong!! At 11:15 pm I got into an ER room, so I could lay down. At 11:25 pm, the nurse came in and took my blood pressure. I asked about getting an IV, and the nurse said that they couldn’t give me one until the ER doctor saw me. It wasn’t until 1:40 am that the ER doctor saw me, and finally at 2 am, I was given an IV and pain medication. After x-rays were taken at 2:45 am, I was admitted to the hospital at 5 am, 6 hours after arriving at the ER. It wasn’t until 2 days later, that I found out that the ER doctor had prescribed a medicine for me that slows down secretions, or liquid output, a mistake in my case.
I wasn’t released from the hospital until Thursday. Lesson: Not all hospital ER’s operate the same. ER staffs need more education on treating ostomies. Make sure you have a good GP doctor, gastrointestinal doctor, and colorectal surgeon involved in your care, and communicate what you need when you arrive at the hospital.
