I had a fit last night

[Ihadafit]

Just need some hand-holding and impressions.

My DP was woken up last night by me "having a fit" - me eyes were open and vacant, I was completely unresponsive and shaking violently.

I hope this isn't epilepsy etc. Thankfully I already have a GP appointment booked for this afternoon.

Really, really, scared...

If this is genuine, you seriously need to go to a different hospital.

Why would they discharge you when they told you yesterday they where operating.
Op none of this adds up.

One doctor yesterday, different one today.

Maybe tour GP could help?

your GP

Why is it that you want IV rather than oral morphine?

Sounds really shoddy.

Same thing happened to me op...
I was actually on The trolley with my decompression socks on waiting to go to theatre when they told me my op has been cancelled again (3rd day in a row)
I hadn't seen my kids for 4/5 days and I discharged myself (they were only giving me pain meds I had at home anyway)
Very fortunately for me my mum paid for me to have it done privately 3 days later

It's awful what's happening to be NHS
The Govt are starving it of funds so they can point to people like us and say "look patient safety is at stake!"
Then they will privatise it - all in the name of patient safety
Bastards

Pancreatitis is beyond excruciating. I have seen a grown man reduced to screaming. There's no way they would send you home if they suspected it, as it can be fatal.

Perhaps this is all linked to your gall bladder.

When is the MRI scan scheduled for? Did they mention an MRI scan in relation to checking for gallstones?
You wouldn't get IV morphine to take at home, as you'd be on a drip (IV = intravenous). There are lots of other pain relief either tablets or patches etc that you would be offered long before you'd get to the IV stage.
They don't give morphine out just like that at A&E to take home, as it needs management in dosages, and because of side effects needing to be managed. Especially if you are on other painkillers.

This is shocking! I don't even know what to say. I hope you can manage to get to a different hospital and get someone sensible to see you. I'm sorry this is happening to you.

Is your emg today?x

Story gets stranger and stranger

OP has said gallbladder or pancreatitis suspected and sugery if it's gallbladder .Not clear that any mention made of sugery today so guessing this is an option for the future .

I don't think OP was asking for IV morphine to go home with ,I think she wanted it while in hospital .Though as others have said oral morphine an option .

Ihad hope you didn't miss your scheduled EEG and that the pain has lessened .

And FWIW morphine can really mess with your head .Make you imagine all sorts of things .Not nice .

IV morphine is far more effective than its oral counterpart. I was given a dose in A&E as climbing the walls in pain. It's the sheer inconsistency that has frustrated and annoyed me.

Doc today was good at taking Pancreatitis off the table, blood results confirmed it. So I'd agree this is gallstones, his stance for the future was if I have repeated attacks I must go in for ultrasounds and bloods at least so they can develop a full profile picture. His stance is justifiable yet inconsistent communication led to me being told two different things by two different docs.

In my eyes, leaving someone in clear pain, who has a likely condition that carries extremely severe pain as a symptom, is unforgivable, even more so when said patient has been open to trying other things first and is clearly still in pain.

For those of you lauding oral morphine, have you tried it? For severe pain?

Either way I am progressing this down the PALS route.

Did miss the EEG, but is rearranged for start of next week. Hope yours went well ginger.

Can they not just remove gallbladder

I think you have to move away from the IV vs oral morphine argument. Oral morphine is as effective as IM morphine which is as effective as IV morphine. Fact. Unless you are vomiting profusely. The dose needed to get the same effect will be different but the effectiveness is the same. The risks of IV administration are higher than oral. You are getting a rapid onset dose of morphine which is a respiratory depressant, amongst other things. That's why you tend to get a single dose of oral morphine and repeated small doses of IV morphine. By insisting on IV morphine you'll make it look like you have a reason to want morphine. Try to trust your team and focus on getting relief from pain rather than focusing on getting IV morphine.

myoriginal3 it's not ideal to remove a gallbladder during a flare-up. It's much better to wait until symptoms have abated and then remove it as a planned operation.

Did you have an ultrasound during your admission to confirm the gallstones? Hoping answer is yes otherwise that is very strange management.

Hope the pain has subsided this evening.

I didn't find oromorph that good tbh
And I took it with tramadol and nefapam!
The state they leave gallstone patients in is shocking
I was discharged twice, only for the dr to send me straight back in again
I was sent discharged once at midnight!
My gallstones were confirmed my ultrasound but they still sent me home
It happens a lot more than you would think

Would agree re. IV morphine, I work regularly with patients who have had major brain surgeries and its once in a blue moon we have someone receiving it via IV, even less so IM. They don't hand it out easily , IME it would require oxygen via a nasal cannula at 2/4 litres as well as frequent obs, a SATS monitor and a bed that's well placed for visual observation. They can't just give it to anyone in severe pain.

Most of my IV patients would actually have a PCA which requires a lot of setting up and sorting out, and again very frequent obs etc. It's not just something they can do just like that.

Are you prescribed other pain relief? Most patients I see take a long acting pain killer (eg MST, long tec) and then are prescribed oramorph, short tec etc for breakthrough relief.

I would tend to agree that as a patient, I found oramorph wasn't great for getting rid of the pain I had (suspected endometriosis) however combined with dihydrocodeine, it triggered off 24 hours of horrendous hallucinations. Not pleasant at all, and I would be reluctant to take it again. Codeine has the same effect with me, knocks me out for a good 6 hours at the highest doses.

I would try to manage the pain via diet, and the painkillers prescribed for you at the lowest dose that allows you to manage the pain, whilst keeping up regular contact with hospital consultants and GP.

I hope they have managed to get you an EEG too.

Oral morphine is used first line in severe cancer pain. Dose would be different from IV. IV morphine carries far more risks than oral, with no benefit unless you are vomiting or inable to absorb it.

Are your vital signs not gone haywire?

I know when I'm in severe pain my bp tends to go mental.

An acutely inflamed gallbladder is much more risky to remove than an elective cholecystectomy.

Morphine can make gallbladder spasms worse - really, really to be used with caution.
You should be offered an antiiflammatory + Paracetamol + codeine in the first instance.

As the cause of your fits is not established yet either, there may well be concern about respiratory suppression and how opiate affect your brain.

Yes, it all sounds v odd.