"My 9 days of nightmare in the Cheerful Sparrows..."

On 23 May I had a Laparoscopic Resection and went to Bay 2. I've studied human biology specializing in the bowel at university and on 25 May I was given Lactolose to start my bowel working. I told the nurse. "That won't work. It's too weak a laxative." I was ignored and henceforth given lactolose every day. They kept upping the dose but my bowel never moved.

I didn't know I had a balloon inside my bowel that a nurse had popped and around 25 May I was in agony from terrific wind. The nurses ignored me when I asked them what was wrong and finally another patient told me. Very little wind escaped but by now I was so tired, not having slept since 22 May, and I was more concerned that they wanted to discharge me on 27 May when I had a sleep disorder...if I didn't sleep for 3 days I had chronic insomnia and even sleeping pills wouldn't knock me out. This always lasted a month and I forgot to eat, take medication etc. I spent two days trying to tell various nurses this but they ignored me. I thought they didn't have matrons in hospitals anymore so in desperation I started shouting this in the corridor and they called the psychiatrist as I was 'unstable.' Finally, they took me seriously and extended my stay. I was in agony and was told "it's only your bowel moving, it'll pass." I couldn't sleep or eat or sometimes drink as this increased the pain. On 28 May at 10 my bowel finally opened and I was about to go when a nurse came in with sleeping pills. I begged this nurse to go away but this nurse would not so I gave in and took the pills but by now my bowel had switched off. I was in agony all night. On 29 May a surgeon warned me if I didn't open my bowel soon it would rupture.

I now wanted to go home. I felt insecure and didn't trust anyone except my consultant. They wouldn't discharge me. They thought I was unstable and a danger to the public. My pain was extreme and they gave me morphine and oramorph. I thought I was going to die. On 31 May they discharged me. I was desperate to leave. I knew I wasn't being treated correctly but I was too tired to work out why. Today, 1 June, my Community Nurse discovered I had tremendous wind left in my stomach from the balloon. She phoned Cheerful Sparrows and was told I had passed stools.(??) My doctor visited me and discovered I was massively constipated. They gave me the correct treatment and tomorrow I have more medication arriving. The doctor said they should never have used lactolose. My community nurse rang to say how 'very very sorry they were that I had been treated this way in Cheerful Sparrows.'

I still have chronic wind and bladder retention and can't eat as it increases the pain. I am currently waiting for a 111 doctor to ring me regarding this.

If I hadn't slept last night with my Zopiclone (they refused to send me home with sleepers) and have the sense to alert my community nurse and doctor, my bowel would have ruptured. (I think extreme exhaustion and relief at escaping removed my anguish and I slept)