Posted by joe galvin on January 29, 1998 at 15:37:56:
i was having abdominal pains and was sent to a gastroenterologist. he had my blood checked and sent me in to have an ultrasound to check for any problems in my gall bladder. the ultra sound showed no problems however my blood work showed positive for hepatitis c. the doctor then performed a liver biopsy which showed no problems other than the hcv.the biopsy was extremely painful and has left me with chronic pain in this area
the doctor recommended a treatment of interferon to get rid of the hcv.he told me there was only a 50% chance of recovering fully but it was the only therapy available. other than the pain in my abdomin i was quite healthy and vigorus at the time.the doctor wanted to perform a endoscopic exam.because of the biopsy problem i was very concerned he assured me there would be a small amount of disscomfort but all in all relatively
painless.the procedure went fine and i was allowed to leave about 2 hours later.i drove home and took a nap 3 to 4 hours later i was in severe pain and rushed to the emergency room.3 hours later i was placed in an icu room with necrotizing pancreatitis. after 4 days at near death and my condition worsening my wife had me tranferred to another hospital. the staff were apppalled at my condition and couldn't believe i was coming
from a hospital in the condition i was in.i spent 2 more weeks in icu and another 2 weeks in the hospital general ward.this has greatly reduced my life style and ability to work. i suffer from constant fatigue and depression. we later found out that the doctor had a problem during the endoscopic procedure and had sprayed a large amount of media into my pancreatic duct.this was in his prcedure notes. this caused my reation and
the following weeks in the hospital as well as the last year and a half of suffering. why was i allowed to leave when there was such a high potential for what bacame a life threatning illness.