Overwhelmed

V

Victor

Senior Member
Location
midwest USA
I am overwhelmed at all the doctors (5) and tests, operation and 2 medical procedures I have done since January .
Mostly since February. I can't stop thinking about it...and I have another major procedure next week and more medical tests
like ultrasound, etc. I am so tired of doctors. Two of the visits were unnecessary, I realize, all with specialists. The latest was
a urologist...and their nurses and assistants. My life is dominated going to see doctors and hospital visits. I will have major
surgery in about a month and I am scared and obsess about it. People tell me not to worry, if will be all right. Easy for them to say.
I could go on...I feel all right, but feeling okay does not always mean you are okay--normal. Besides that, I have way too much time on my hands
and yet I don't feel like socializing at all.
Can you understand this?
 

I am A single older male living alone too Victor and spent 6 of the last 10 days in the hospital with all the tests, nurses, doctors etc.Two of those days I spent hours in the Emergency Room. I have also had a number of surgeries in my life time so I tend to handle it all well despite the fact it's discomforting and not fun.

As a older male just how old are you? There is no profile information. I just turned 83
 
Hi Victor,

My situation isn't serious like yours, but I know where you're coming from. A couple months ago I had a bad pain in my side. My doctor thought it might be kidney stones so he sent me to emergency for a CT scan. While there they discovered I have an irregular heart beat, and before I knew it I was flat on my back hooked up to a machine that went beep and ping over and over. They took blood samples, chest Xrays, urine sample, and did an ultra-sound on my heart. The CT scan showed no kidney stones and I left with the name of a cardiologist.

I have since seen the cardiologist and had a nuclear imaging test which showed that my heart is fine. He wants me back in a year. The pain eventually went away and I still don't know what caused it. Hopefully it won't return. If it does, here I go again. It is overwhelming and depressing. And when you don't feel good you don't want to do anything. I spent a lot of time just sitting.

I don't know what your condition is, but I hope it gets taken care of soon and you can get back to a normal life. Hang in there.

Don
 

Grampa Don said:
Hi Victor,

My situation isn't serious like yours, but I know where you're coming from. A couple months ago I had a bad pain in my side. My doctor thought it might be kidney stones so he sent me to emergency for a CT scan. While there they discovered I have an irregular heart beat, and before I knew it I was flat on my back hooked up to a machine that went beep and ping over and over. They took blood samples, chest Xrays, urine sample, and did an ultra-sound on my heart. The CT scan showed no kidney stones and I left with the name of a cardiologist.

I have since seen the cardiologist and had a nuclear imaging test which showed that my heart is fine. He wants me back in a year. The pain eventually went away and I still don't know what caused it. Hopefully it won't return. If it does, here I go again. It is overwhelming and depressing. And when you don't feel good you don't want to do anything. I spent a lot of time just sitting.

I don't know what your condition is, but I hope it gets taken care of soon and you can get back to a normal life. Hang in there.

Don
Click to expand...

You are so right Grandpa about the sitting & laying and waiting, waiting,waiting. The procedures don't bother me, it's the sitting and laying and not knowing what or when the next thing will occur. The hospitals are busier than can be and we just can't expect to be treated like we are guests in the Sheraton.
 
Just be lucky you're living today instead of 100 years ago when it took 10 strong men and a bottle of booze
just to get your leg sawed off !

We should be lucky to have all the advancements in medicine that we have; new procedures, instruments, ways of diagnosing,
thinner needles (My favorite) etc. We still haven't been able to cure cancers and other diseases and conditions, but we're working on it. PTL
 
Victor said:
I am overwhelmed at all the doctors (5) and tests, operation and 2 medical procedures I have done since January .
Mostly since February. I can't stop thinking about it...and I have another major procedure next week and more medical tests
like ultrasound, etc. I am so tired of doctors. Two of the visits were unnecessary, I realize, all with specialists. The latest was
a urologist...and their nurses and assistants. My life is dominated going to see doctors and hospital visits. I will have major
surgery in about a month and I am scared and obsess about it. People tell me not to worry, if will be all right. Easy for them to say.
I could go on...I feel all right, but feeling okay does not always mean you are okay--normal. Besides that, I have way too much time on my hands
and yet I don't feel like socializing at all.
Can you understand this?
Click to expand...

Victor, I sympathize. I felt much the same back in 2013 when I was waiting for my hips to be replaced. I was scared to death and obsessed about all kinds of awful results. I also spent a lot of time just sitting around -- but then with my collapsing hips I didn't have a whole lot of choice.

Two things helped me:

1. I found an online community -- a support group -- of people either facing or just having been through the same thing. It was moderated by a medical professional so people didn't post off-the-wall stuff. The purpose of the group was to answer questions an give encouragement (without being pollyanna about it). I found that it helped a lot, both to talk with others who were in the same boat and who had had the surgery and could give realistic ideas of what to expect, etc. I hadn't had any surgery since my tonsils in the early 50s and I was scared to death.

2. One of the people in the group recommended a guided imagery meditation CD that was specifically for those preparing for surgery. I listened to it every night while trying to fall asleep and I found that using it helped stop most of the "oh my god, oh my god" type thoughts that kept running through my mind. It did help me learn to guide my fearful thoughts in another direction and feel like I was more in control of my thoughts. I even took it with me to the hospital for the first surgery and listened to it in the waiting room before being called to pre-op and also while in pre-op until the anesthesiologist took it away from me.

By the second surgery I knew it wasn't so awful and just breezed right through it. I'd also point out that all my fears were unfounded, though they were very real to me at the time.
 
Lon said:
You are so right Grandpa about the sitting & laying and waiting, waiting,waiting. The procedures don't bother me, it's the sitting and laying and not knowing what or when the next thing will occur. The hospitals are busier than can be and we just can't expect to be treated like we are guests in the Sheraton.
Click to expand...
Seems like if you are on Medicare and have a good Insurance you will spend 3 days there with every doctor and tests they can come up with and then be released without a definite answer as why you where there in the first place!!
 
Have you learned anything more about your health problems since you last posted about this in July ? I also have heart issues, and I can really agree with everyone else who has posted on this thread, that medical tests are no fun, and spending time in the hospital is even worse.
What are they treating you for right now, Victor , and are the medical procedures you have had done this spring ?
 
Ken N Tx said:
Seems like if you are on Medicare and have a good Insurance you will spend 3 days there with every doctor and tests they can come up with and then be released without a definite answer as why you where there in the first place!!
Click to expand...

Yep, once I got on Medicare seems the tests were endless. I barely finished all my wellness tests before it was time to start them all again.

Right now I'm anxious about my MRI and the results. My shoulder pain has gotten worse and I'm sure there's a reason...just hope it doesn't involve surgery.
 
Victor said:
I am overwhelmed at all the doctors (5) and tests, operation and 2 medical procedures I have done since January .
Mostly since February. I can't stop thinking about it...and I have another major procedure next week and more medical tests
like ultrasound, etc. I am so tired of doctors. Two of the visits were unnecessary, I realize, all with specialists. The latest was
a urologist...and their nurses and assistants. My life is dominated going to see doctors and hospital visits. I will have major
surgery in about a month and I am scared and obsess about it. People tell me not to worry, if will be all right. Easy for them to say.
I could go on...I feel all right, but feeling okay does not always mean you are okay--normal. Besides that, I have way too much time on my hands
and yet I don't feel like socializing at all.
Can you understand this?
Click to expand...

Yes I can understand. At one point I gave up seeing a prostate specialist. I just got tired of the examinations.

It's all luck as far as I am concerned anyway.

My friend is always complaining about all the tests and as far as I can see they aren't doing him any good.

He is depressed all the time. It is overwhelming to have to get up to this every day and being unable to get away from it.

I wonder how much of this is unecessary and is just more money in the bank.

I notice that when a new specialist moves into town, the doctors all refer their patients to the new guy. It seems to me like a union.
 

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