Mr. Asthma

Question:

YOu are the patient; it cannot be your fault. You had a careless doctor, that’s all. Don’t blame your self. The attack was preventable, and when in a medical center, they should handle the attack, not you. I sure hope the doctor, who doubtless was thinking about his golf game instead of you, learned something. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Yes, I think it was bad medicine any way you look at it. > In a way though, it was partly my fault, since I’ve been having a very > rough time with my asthma lately, and I should have pressed the issue > BEFORE they sprayed the stuff down my throat. > I see your point about the oxygen. Especially with them so nervous > about my asthma. > I hope that doctor has learned something from this. I know I have. > Among other things, I learned how I handle a really bad attack: I > freak out like somebody in an airliner plummeting toward the ground. > All the "stay calm and breath into your abdomen" went right out the > window.  : ] >Wow, I’m shocked. This was what I was fearing and yet did not happen to me >a little over a year ago. >I had questionable results on an echo of the heart, so they did a sort of >internal echo where they lower a minaturized version down the throat and >take pics from down behind the heart. I was panic stricken, but they ran >stuff through the IV (that meant I was set if they needed to give me >anything else IV should anything go wrong, the nurse said. That was >comforting, sort of.) Then they sprayed the throat, and then they did the >procedure. Since I itch when I wear latex gloves they used non latex >tubing. >I was awake but not particularly caring what they did. All wore off pretty >rapidly about an hour afterwards although I was limp and had to be driven >home. >I sure hope that is unusual. Even the dentist wheel an O two cannister in >when she works on me. No oxygen readily available when doing a procedure on >an asthmatic? That sounds like really bad medicine to me.

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Response:

Wow, I’m shocked. This was what I was fearing and yet did not happen to me a little over a year ago. I had questionable results on an echo of the heart, so they did a sort of internal echo where they lower a minaturized version down the throat and take pics from down behind the heart. I was panic stricken, but they ran stuff through the IV (that meant I was set if they needed to give me anything else IV should anything go wrong, the nurse said. That was comforting, sort of.) Then they sprayed the throat, and then they did the procedure. Since I itch when I wear latex gloves they used non latex tubing. I was awake but not particularly caring what they did. All wore off pretty rapidly about an hour afterwards although I was limp and had to be driven home. I sure hope that is unusual. Even the dentist wheel an O two cannister in when she works on me. No oxygen readily available when doing a procedure on an asthmatic? That sounds like really bad medicine to me. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > This morning I went to the hospital for an endoscopy so they could > look at my ulcer. > All was going well, until they sprayed something down my throat to > numb my throat. > POW!!!! >  I went into a very serious asthma attack. > They were monitoring my blood oxygen level, and it was plummeting > fast. > I could not breath and I was panicking like crazy. > The doctor started yelling for oxygen. I remember her shouting "How > long does it take to get some oxygen around here!?" > I kept babbling "I can’t do this. I can’t do this." > They put me on the oxygen and kept telling me to breath through my > nose — I was gulping through my mouth. > By that time every doctor and nurse in the department was crowded into > the area around my bed. > The problem was, the stuff they sprayed down my throat was still in my > lungs causing bronchial spasms. > Finally it subsided and my oxygen level started to climb. > I said "I can’t do this." and the doctor said "Don’t worry, we’re not > going to do it." > I said "I’m sorry." and she said "It’s okay. It’s okay." > I have never had an attack like that, and I have never in my life > freaked like that. I was totally over the edge. > If you ever  have an endoscopy or some similar type of procedure, DO > NOT let them spray the stuff in your throat.  I just got off the phone > with the friend of mine who’s had two endoscopies, and neither time > did they spray the stuff in her throat. She said it was no problem at > all. They give you lots of valium, and you don’t even need the throat > spray. > Today, when I was prepped and waiting for the doctor, one nurse asked > me if I’d brought my inhaler, and I said "Yes. Why?" She said "You > might need it." > Another nurse asked me if I was allergic to the throat spray, and I > said I didn’t know, I’d never had it before. She shook her head as if > to say "This might not be good." > Then, when they were getting ready to spray the stuff down my throat, > the doctor told me to take a puff from my inhaler first. > Now, wouldn’t you think, with all their negativity about my asthma and > their throat spray, they would have come up with another plan? > Especially when you don’t really need the spray in the first place. > They were planning to give me the valium after they gave me the throat > spray. Why didn’t they just do that and forget the spray. Especially > since they were obviously so worried about the spray triggering an > asthma attack! > After I had gotten back to my senses, the doctor told me that the > spray had triggered bronchial spasms, and the nurse said "That’s why I > asked you if you were allergic to the spray." > Now, come on! > I’m still in shock, and I’m still trying to figure out why they gave > me the damn stuff if they were afraid it would do that. > What a day! I’m going to take a nap for a while.

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