MY HORRIFYING STORY!! NO LOCAL ANESTHESIA ADMINISTERED DURING BARTHOLIN GLAND/WERD CATHETER SURGERY

Hi everyone! For starters I am a Victim of Chronic pelvic pain/Fibromyalgia for 8 years now.  I have been seeing a Pelvic Pain Specialist Who is also an OB/GYN for appx 8 years, but this particular Dr for only 3 of those 8 years. 

Six months ago I had a Bartholin gland/werd catheter “in office” surgery performed. It was probably the size of a small hen egg. It had not gotten infected yet, but definitely became tender during intercourse and during walking and some sitting positions. I knew I needed to have something done with it before I reached the point of no return. 

A month prior to having the surgery done, I spoke with the medical assistant  of my “pelvic pain specialist/OB/GYN” to find out what this surgery consisted of.  First thing I asked was “Will I Be numb before being cut on?” She explained I would be numb “local anesthesia” then proceeded to explain the remaining of the procedure, as if she had been present to assist my doctor in many of these surgeries in the past. In my opinion, she obviously knew what she was talking about.  

After speaking with my Drs medical assistant I spoke with my Dr and he explained how the surgery would be performed and what to expect. He actually wanted to do it “that day”. However, I came alone to my appointment and wasn’t sure if I would be available to drive myself home afterwards so I postponed the surgery for the next following appointment for the next month. 

For starters, I have a terrorizing fear of needles, and suffer from Anxiety and Panic Disorder. So you can only imagine how terrified I was the entire month leading up to my surgery. 

A FYI!!!! I AM A BIG TIME GOOGLER! I google everything! I ask questions about question lol. So you can imagine how busy I got on the internet the month before my surgery. I found this website(Patient) and read many blogs, read about some nightmares(bless that poor ladies heart who was out of the country on her honeymoon when she was stricken with excruciating pain from her BG(Bartholin Gland). Anyway, I even found a few YouTube videos showing this BG surgery up close and personal. I don’t recommend those videos if you’re Squeamish! But, I had to know exactly what I was dealing with. Every website, every blog, every video showed local anesthesia being used before proceeding with this surgery.   

So after many “Talk ups” to myself, I convinced myself that once I was numb(OMG NEEDLES!), the rest would be Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

But how wrong I was!!! 

June 1st 2017, (one month to the day from my 41st bday), was my surgery date, and it seemed to come upon me faster than Christmas. I had a feeling of dread and anxiety the entire month leading up to this date, but I knew I had to do this before this problem really became a PROBLEM!!! 

My husband took off work to take me for my appointment, he’s just awesome like that! 

NOTE! NEVER GO ALONE  or BE ALONE when you are having a surgical procedure performed. Not because you need the moral support, or someone to drive you home, but as an EYE WITNESS!!! 

We arrive for the appointment and are called back to the examination room. My Drs Medical Assistant comes in and weighs me and checks my blood pressure as she always does. She tells me to “undress from the waist down” while handing me a small sheet to cover myself with. We speak very briefly again about the surgery and again she says again “A local anesthesia will be administered”. 

At this point, I am beginning to feel clammy and sweaty causing the back of my legs and butt cheeks to start sticking to that thin table paper. Don’t we all just hate that stuff?!?!? 

My doctor walks in and greets my husband and myself, his medical assistant follows him shortly after. My Dr pulls out the stirrups at the end of the table and suggests that I slide all the way down to the end of the table. I slide down, while all that moist paper is sticking to my buttcheeks (how embarrassing!), then I place my feet inside the sock covered stirrups.  He grabs his very bright floor lamp, that I can literally feel the warmth of the light bulb on my butt cheeks and he shines it in my direction “Down There”. 

While laying on the table I can hear his medical assistant gathering the tools and supplies needed for this surgery to be performed. My husband is standing beside me at my head, holding my hand. The Dr. sits in his roll around chair and proceeds to peep under the sheet at my “WAHOO!”. I feel him insert his fingers to the right side of Bartholin Gland while pulling it in an outward position exposing it to be fully viewed. At this point, I begin sweating profusely, like I was stranded in The Sahara Desert! My husband grabs me several tissue to wipe my face. I hear the Dr request tools etc from his assistant, then he says “It’s gonna be a Big Pinch!!!” I held my breath, squeezed my husbands hand, while squeezing my eyes as tightly closed as I could, awaiting the local anesthesia needle to penetrate the raw flesh of my “WAHOO”. THEN IT HAPPENED!!! OMGGGG THE PAIN!!!! I raised my head up and asked “Was that the anesthesia?” My Dr explained “No that was me puncturing the gland with the scalpel, Anesthesia would hurt just as bad as the actual puncture!” 

I AM IN A STATE OF SHOCK!!! I could feel my blood rolling down my buttcheek, All I wanted was off of that table and to go HOME!!!!  I explained to the Dr. that “I no longer want to proceed if I cannot be numb down there!” He explained “Its too late to stop now, he had to finish!” I think tears began to roll out the side of my eyes at this time, while I looked “WIDE EYED” at my husband in TOTAL DISBELIEF AS TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME!!! I knew I still had to endure more excruciating  pain of the “Werd Catheter” insertion and inflation.  

The dread, my anxiety, my fears, were all on high alert of knowing I had to lay there even longer and endure the rest of this surgery. I felt like I had just been robbed of my own voice because no one was listening to me! 

He is maneuvering the end of this  Werd Catheter attempting to insert it inside the punctured wound opening he created with his scalpel. I am literally GRITTING MY TEETH while SQUEEZING MY EYES AS TIGHT AS THEY COULD CLOSE, while SQUEEZING my husbands hand, thinking to myself “Just A Little Longer!”This Will Soon Be Over!” . The Dr finally realizes the punctured opening, he created in my Bartholin Gland wasn’t large enough to insert the end of the Werd Catheter so he requests a set of hemmostats from his medical assistant. So his medical assistant walks around to the other side of the exam table near my head and removes the hemostats from the drawer inside my exam table, then she passes the tool off to the Dr. At this point I have no idea what is going on but I could sense there was a problem.  The Dr. peeps back under my sheet and inserts the hemostats inside my puncture wound and stretches it wider so the end of the  Werd Catheter will now fit inside the puncture wound. I could literally feel myself stretch and rip. I literally felt like I was going to come up out of my skin! I just asked myself “How Much Longer Was This Going To Last?!” 

The Dr. finally inserts the Werd Catheter into the Punctured Wound of my (BG), then he inflates the bulb of the catheter with saline by inserting a needle of a syringe into the opposite end of the catheter. This created even more pain as I felt the bulb grow larger with saline, expanding the size inside of my Bartholin Gland. 

I was able to raise up from the exam table, I could see my blood on the floor, as well as the sheet I had covering myself from the waist down. The exam paper I was laying on was in shreds and also bloody. The Dr. then began explaining aftercare instructions which I had no idea what he was even saying until I heard him mention I could even have sex with this catheter inside of my (BG) and he didn’t say it with a smile on his face or a laugh in his voice. I specifically stated “He had nothing to worry about there, that was the last thing that would be on my mind for the 2 weeks of having this catheter hanging out of me.  He told me I could get dressed and go then he walked out of the room. The Drs. Medical Assistant walked in my room to bring me a maxi pad to wear home. I looked at his medical assistant dead in the eyes with what felt like a shocked, disappointed look on my face and said “I thought you said he would use a local anesthesia to numb me up first????” She looks at me in a very disbelief look on her face and shrugged her shoulders at me and said “I don’t know, he usually does!” then she walked out of the exam room.  I had My husband to help me put my panties and jogging pants back on, but I couldn’t sit down to even put on my tennis shoes, so I walked out of the drs office in my socks with my shoes in my hand. 

I will NEVER understand how Doctor who Specializes in Chronic Pelvic Pain would cause a patient who he treats for this disorder to go through something this traumatic. I honestly didn’t realize how emotionally disturbing this was for me until I began typing out my horrifying experience to you. I didn’t just shed tears as I was putting this in Black and white for you, I literally bawled like a baby, dramatically sobbing, hyperventilating! I’m still in shock today! I feel betrayed, my trust taken advantage of, and DAMAGED!!! 

The Dr. didn’t prescribe any antibiotics and also didn’t prescribe any additional pain medications for me to take on top of the pain medications he writes for me every month in order to treat my chronic pelvic pain nor did he alter my dosage as far as being able to take something for pain every 4-6 hours instead of every 6-8 hours as I am originally prescribed. 

The drive home was torture, the vibrations from my SUV’s engine running was antagonizing not to mention any bumps or railroad tracks that had to be crossed over in order to get me home. Had I had local anesthesia maybe the ride homecoming wouldn’t have ave been so bad. I would have still been numb to feelings. 

The entire time this catheter was placed inside me, appx 2 weeks, I could not sit, stand, walk, and laying was even painful. Going to the restroom to pee pee burned like a coal of fire and wiping anywhere near the catheter was painful. Literally touching the catheter itself was excruciating painful. 

The next night I began to run a low grade fever and the smell “down there” didn’t seem to be normal so I callled the after hours line at the drs office and spoke to the Dr. on call. She was hateful, rude, and had no bedside manner. She even hung up on me, causing me to have to call back a 2nd time. She was argumentative with me about what temperature constitutes a fever, and finally asked “Are u just looking for an Antibiotic?!” In such a rude unprofessional tone of voice. I said “YES! that’s the entire reason for my call, I’d rather treat myself than not in case I am trying to get an infection!”  God only knows I didn’t want any setbacks to recovery from this particular surgery.  After I hung up the phone with the Dr. on call, I thought to myself “I bet she thought I was seeking narcotic pain medications” that’s why I was being treated so disrespectfully. 

Ever since this Dr done this to me, I have experienced anxiety, dread, mistrust, anger, and feel belittled upon seeing this Dr once a month. My blood pressure is always high when I see him because I stress over having to come to see him each month. Shortly after this surgery occurred, I have noticed a lot of unprofessionalism and a poor bed side manner. I almost feel like he is doing certain quirky things in regards to my medications in order for me to leave his Practice. So a couple weeks ago I found a woman dr. Who treats chronic pelvic pain who I have an appointment with at the end of the month. Please wish me luck that she will take me on as her patient. I Never want to see this Drs. Face again! 

So, here I am, a chronic pelvic pain patient of his “STILL”, 6+ months later, who must rely on his care, so I am not suffering from pelvic pain or withdrawal symptoms of pain medications. I can’t only hope someone will hear my cry, and give me a opportunity to Trust again. Finding A dr. this day in time who will prescribe and treat chronic pain is so hard to come by especially in this “Opioid Crisis” our country is experiencing. But, I am moving forward and trying to make some medical changes. Thank you for listening to me. Angela 

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