Back Pain And Went To Urgent Care......told Back Pain Due To Constipation

[yelloownumber5]

Hello,

1. We just returned from the VAMC Urgent care and I have a few questions and maybe crazy or have high expectations.

The first question. The room I was put in at urgent care had a lot of ants. I did not see them until the doctor told me but they were on the side of me as in not in the corner at the wall or under a deck. I was not in a r00m with a bed but in a chair and literally like 6 inches from my foot were a darn tribe of ants and then a line of ants toward the front of the chair. The person that put me in the room did not see them, I did not see them, the nurse did not see them but the doctor when he came in made a comment but nobody came to clean them up. My wife and twenty month old daughter came to the room after about 1 1/2 hours later after I had xrays and my wife said OMG ants on your feet, so they were killed, lol.

I asked if we could change rooms b/c of the ants, the guy put us in the next room over on the same side and he went in the room with a yellow bottow which I assume is "raid" and talked about needing to call the exterminator in the morning.

I did take pics and videos of this because it was like a lot of ants and they started running over my feet not that I could feel them but my wife told me, To me that is just nasty to me, the ants looked to be eating something on the floor that was stepped on.

Anyhow, who can I forward this info to outside of the local and regional VA here and would that be acceptable or just too much?

2. My back (lumbar or PGP) I went to UC because I could not get out of bed, could not walk, have fallen probably 20 times in the last two days as this just came out of no where but I have reported lumbar issues and use a tens, meds tramadol and muscle relaxer flexural.I have never hugged the wall in my life but being unable to stand up I learned. My pain to me feels like PGP (pelvic girdle pain) or maybe an annular tear.

My UC Doctor seemed really good but even though I told him of my past back historyand the current issues like my left nut felt like it was going to explode he felt I had kidney stones or something else so Xrays, blood work and urine test went on.

All came back negative but as I told him, no bowel movement in the last 48 hours and the xray showed me backed up which he gave me something to release the bowels. He did not want to give me a pain med because I am constipated and it will make it "worse", so I did not get any pain relief even as he acknowledged my pain level and my attempts to walk and get up.

The kicker and insult to me was my "Diagnosis: Constipation" The doctor said he felt the constipation is causing my back pain. Constipation was not what I came in for, this can be a symptom of what is wrong but they did not do a MRI or Xray on my spine. I do know that Saddle anesthesia or cauda equina syndrome can cause constipation but constipation is a symptom of something not a cause or I might really be crazy can someone help me with this. Also, is there something I can file in my record about my severe lumbar pain vs. constipation.

Oh but look. My nurse went looking for me and this was actually ONE room next to the ant room, nothing closed but she went back up to the front with my script and said "he already left, there's nobody in room XX, he must not have had back pain after all, my wife just shook her head as I could not even drive. Someone even put in morphine for me but I never received it b/c it can constipate me even more and I know this but my back pain is still my first problem as I cannot even get out of bed by myself the the flexerall and tramadol my pcp prescribes for me.

I'm unsure if this site will let you upload videos but I can try in the AM

Thanks and sorry for a dumb post but I appreciate any insight.

YelloowNumber 5

Edited September 3, 2013 by yelloownumber5

[john999]

That long acting morphine sulfate will turn your bowels into concrete.

[yelloownumber5]

71m10,

Understand with tramadol and flexeral, however, I have never had constipation from them and really do not take the tramadol due to stomach issues with this and it does not help even start to address my pain - this has been addressed to my pcp and I've asked for something else with out getting it so I play their game of increasing it as they say. One thing I did not really think of is as my wife said with our contrast on the mri they wouldn't be able to see much anyone with the bowels full. I do need to sked a follow up with my pcp but the urgent care physican did say return to u/c if it did resolve and they will do a mri. Personally, I think the u/c physican just said constipation as he was so sold on me having a kidney stone. Anyhow, my "constipation" resolved on it's own the following morning after I took an opiate for the pain however with upper gi bleeding and a letter from my GI doctor stating I am to have NO nsaids they nurse tried to give me a shot of toradol when I asked what it was she said an nsaid and I told her what my GI doctor said her comment was "not even just one shot", is that not hypercritical?!?!? no meds for back which I was about in tears and could not walk but wanted to give a nsaid when my GI doctor said no and the letter is in my VA Record.

GASTROINTESTINAL RISK

• Ketorolac tromethamine, including TORADOL (ketorolac tromethamine) can cause peptic ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding and/or perforation of the stomach or intestines, which can be fatal. These events can occur at any time during use and without warning symptoms. Therefore, TORADOL (ketorolac tromethamine) is CONTRAINDICATED in patients with active peptic ulcer disease, in patients with recent gastrointestinal bleeding or perforation, and in patients with a history of peptic ulcer disease or gastrointestinal bleeding. Elderly patients are at greater risk for serious gastrointestinal events (see WARNINGS).

I do understand he the urgent care physican was doing his best but........................with the severe pain and since he gave me meds for the constipation and since i'm never constipated, I didn't see any one reason to not give one shot.

Both Tramadol and Flexerall have constipation as a known side-effect. This does not diminish the fact that your urgent care visit, really did not address your accute pain and temporary debilitation. However, it is entirely possible that the physician thought the present constipation was creating the problem. He/They also had a reasonable set of medical facts to explain the constipation (two medicines that are known to cause constipation). Do you have a scheduled follow up with your primary care physician?

I understand your frustration with getting the VA to do helpful diagnostic tests, you would think that MRI's are prohibatively expensive. What is even more troubling is we are considering lobbing hundreds of cruise missles into Syria at a million point five a pop, it is viewed as a reasonable expense, but practicing the BEST medicine for veterans is a non-starter.

I think all politicians and thier appointees in the federal government should be required to use VA care. The clinics for that care will be populated with staff doctors from all VAMC's on rotating TDY orders. If it is good enough for us, it should be good enough for them!

[Notorious Kelly]

Glad they weren't fire ants - good luck!

[yelloownumber5]

The constipation resolved on it's own. In the urgent care, my wife heard the u/c doctor tell them to give morphine to me room XX. Berta, I saw the P/A at this facility one time and she got my PCP on the phone and was laughing and looking at me (I never addressed with to anyone)......I was so upset I had to have my wife step in and I know I get a little over the edge at times but my wife is very understanding and was just like they are totally unprofessional. She actually did her clinicals there and quite (went to peds) when she say how they treated the elderly paitents several patients she checked wounds were not being cleaned properly and turning infectious and nasty. I was getting ready to post the ants on youtube and send a video to the Whitehouse, I know it's not life or death but dang and then the nurse's attitude when she couldn't find me in the room one over of her saying about he left, he must not have been hurt or really needed any meds......and this is the same nurse trying to give me a nsaid when I can not have them per my GI doctor.......look she didn't even ask anything she said "here is a shot" the needle was uncapped and she had it to my arm, I asked what is the shot and what that was........nsaids and I cannot have them......."not just one shot", my wife was about ready to slap her. Also, everything I've known is that your nerve that sends the signal for your bowels can be pinched or whatnot but my wife never heard of bowels giving you back problems weakness, leg numb, falling down type pain. I'm going to pick up my record to see how it is worded by him.

Hoppy is right, see the PT Advocate and if that doesn't help, see the director of the VA there, if that doesn't help tell the IG about the ants (to get their attention) and tell them about the results of whatever the UC did do for you......I put IG contact info here and it is found under a search. At least it will

provide documentation of what happened to you.But I dont know what the IG will do about this at all.

But has the constipation been resolved by now?

THIS concerns me:

"Someone even put in morphine for me but I never received it b/c it can constipate me even more"

Do you mean someone wrote a script for it, and the pharmacy prepared it, but you have not picked it up? Is that why you didnt "receive" it?

Mention that to the IG too if you need to contact them.

Edited September 4, 2013 by yelloownumber5

[yelloownumber5]

Glad they weren't fire ants - good luck!

yeah, enough fire ants in our lawn. they did start biting, it is kind of sad, because you do know "some" people are allergic to the ants but they were the small ones sugar or carpenter I'm not an ant expert. Dude looked at me like I was crazy asking to move rooms, maybe I should have told him there is a shark in my room and got some treatment then, lol.

[yelloownumber5]

The doctor was on his "fellow" and going to be an ER doctor. I do need to get back into the pain clinic, however, the pain clinic did the same crap with giving me nsaids this is where it all started about 4 years ago and I had to see my GI doctor because they were messing my stomach up more, I have so much burning from bleeding it isn't even funny.

I would think the urgent care doctor was not a specialist. I would expect they scheduled a follow up with primary or a back specialist. If they schedule a follow up with the primary then the primary should schedule a rehab or ortho or pain clinic appt. I have been through this several time for both upper and lower back flares. If no follow up was scheduled I would contact the primary doc and ask to come in ASAP. If problems continue with getting treatment talk to the patient advocate.