If you've been following my surgical recovery journey you know it's not going well. Not only did NO doctors check on me after surgery even though the nerve block failed but my surgeon was MIA for 11 days. Seriously how is a patient discharged after surgery without any doctors checking on them?
No one at the office told myself or my husband what was going on .I also did not have a fill in doctor and had no continuity of care.
It took them 5 days to change my pain meds after I told them the nerve block didn't work and I had an infection. 5 fucking days of pure agony (7 really as I was hurting within hours of the hospital meds wearing of the day of).
Last Monday we went into the office and that's when we discovered my dr was not around. To make it worse the PA was a complete misogynistic douchebag. They removed my cast in the office I was told at the hospital it was not a cast but a brace wrapped in bandages but to not touch it.
The PA was lecturing me about how surgery is painful and all my symptoms were normal. He heavily implied I was being dramatic and treated me like a child. This was before he looked at the wound.
When he saw the wound he was like "oh yeah it is angry and I see a little infection". Interesting choice of words. A little infection sounds like no big deal. When I finally met with my surgeon yesterday he said the notes noted a much worse infection than I was told and that (a week later) it was starting to heal. Hmm, now why would the PA use such dismissive language?
Oh yeah I am a woman and he is a power hungry misogynist who's advice ("it's normal")could have killed me. But he jus had to minimize this situation. This is at least 90% of all doctors I have ever interacted with male and female. At east the female drs are less overt and less extremely misogynistic.
I should have been in the hospital but despite my ADA request for infection control (and them claiming to have a system for immune compromised patients)they didn't follow the first time I figured recovering at home was the best option. Also drs do not know how to treat my chronic illnesses .
This is where my husband stepped in and it was glorious. My husband made the PA admit out loud that yes my wound was not in fact healing normally and is objectively more painful that just the surgery itself.
I did not get a change in meds that day. The office expected me to wait until Friday when I saw a different doctor I never met to discuss this. What the actual fuck?
They also reset my cast which was traumatic and so painful. It was torture . They knew my pain was not under control and I had a serious infection and very severe swelling.
My husband went in the next day, got a doctor from. the hospital to call and that dr, though he was also a condescending asshole and was dismissive he did change my meds. The new meds help slightly more.
This infection could have been avoided if they took my medical history and immune deficiency seriously. I mean I only have at least 3 diagnosed health conditions that make infections more likely.I barely got the dr to write the script after the surgery and had to fight for that. He should have given me the anti biotics BEFORE the surgery.
This is the result of systemic medical misogyny and my primary illness being ignored for decades, it has bee proven scientifically since the 1970/80's that my condition causes severe immune issues and severe pain. There are millions of us with this disease in the US yet there are no treatments. Current Estimates of prevalence are between 1.3% and 4.5% of the global population has this disease. But since it is female dominant we get no funding and no respect from doctors.
I was already in antibiotics still got an infection and had a fever and no one gave a shit.
I am still in severe pain and the healing process is slower than usual . I have also been in in a rolling PEM/PENE flare which itself is extremely painful.
This is another incidence of medical professionals ignoring my infections and me needing to play my own doctor and fight for help. Had I not known what post op infections were and I followed their advice (which was" do nothing this is normal")I would be septic or dead.
This is at least the 6th time medical professionals have not taken my infections seriously. After all I am "just a hysterical woman who has low pain tolerance/looking for attention". /s
Doctors will never care. Medical misogyny kills.
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Important context every doctor/dentist that has denied my infections (and were proven wrong )have all been male. Yes female drs are also misogynistic and ignore my health issues but have never actively tried to kill me. At least they take infections seriously.**