ANA Discussion Forum
AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: Soundy on December 15, 2010, 12:18:04 pm
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Not sure where this should go since it is not about hearing but may be about surgery so just popping it in here
Yesterday was my husbands birthday... he is a pain in the doctors office ... if left too long in a room he wants to start messing with stuff ... he always wants to get the otoscope and look in ears ... so when we saw one at Walmart a while back we picked it up as kinda a gag ... last night he was peeking in every ones ears ... when he looked in my deaf ear he asked what the gray tubes in my ear were for ... :o ... heck I don't know since no mention of any tubes put in my ear at time of surgery has ever been made ... both girls looked in and said yep , tubes
Called my PCP office this morning and when they looked through my surgical transcripts there is no mention of tubes and when he has looked in my ear it has been because I had swelling in canal and he has seen no tubes ... called neuro office and the doctor who took over when my surgeon left says they have no record of any tubes being put in when I had surgery ...
so question to one and all ... to your knowledge , did you have any tubes inserted when you had surgery ? what would they be for ??? Drainage would be my guess but seems there would be some mention of them ... gonna run in to office tomorrow and get PCP to look and make sure what my family describes as looking like two ends of gray macaroni (yuck) are tubes and if not tubes just what they are ...
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Soundy ~
You sure get all the weird stuff! I have absolutely no idea of what was seen in your ears but you certainly need to have it checked out by a medical professional. I recall that some time ago a poster mentioning that she had 'strings' in her ears (unbeknown to her) that were checked by a doctor and found to be undissolved sutures from her AN surgery (I think). That was strange. As I remember it, they were safely removed. It may be something similar in your case but 'tubes' and 'strings' are quite different so I'm not at all sure this is even comparable. I do know that I'm almost as anxious as you are to find out what the heck is in your ear - and why. Please let us know. Thanks.
Jim
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I don't know the answer to your question, but hope you find out and let us know.
Anyway, yesterday was my husband's birthday too.
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That is certainly strange, I wonder what it could be? ??? ???
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Soundy -
I have never heard of this, but I'm dying to know what you find out.
Please keep us posted.
Jan
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This is very unusual ..... waiting to read what you found out!!
Clarice
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ONLY YOU!! ;) ;)
The family that looks in each others' ears, stays together?? ::)
Anxiously awaiting!
K ;D
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If my husband was not such an odd ball we wouldn't have found out anything was in there ...he always wants to get the one hanging on the wall and peek in someone’s ear while we are waiting for doctors ….he almost lost a finger a couple weeks ago working on some farm equipment and when we were in ER treatment room he was fiddling with stuff ...he took my blood pressure, listen to my heart beat and wanted to look in my ears then …wish I had let him so someone with a medical degree of some kind could have peeked in …. he also wants to give someone stitches :o ..he is just a strange bird ... the kids were trying to take a picture of it with my camera on macro setting so I could see what ever was in there but never got a good one
with the odd things that have cropped up since surgery , I am beginning to think the doctor that I was perfectly happy with for my surgery and the 3 1/2 year he treated me before surgery was not the right man ... but since I can't go back and get a re-do I am gonna roll with the punches and cross my eyes that this is a simple fix ... and thank someone that I do have a nutty husband that wants to peek in peoples ears ... :D
Anyway , it is confirmed … I have tubes in my deaf ear … everyone that has had input is in the opinion that they need to come out … when PCP has looked in my ear , the canal has been swollen and once there was an infection and fluid was in my ear , so he couldn’t see them … if they are stopped up it could explain the fullness and why I have ear aches with no evident infection … figure they were put in to drain ear or sinuses into throat ….
When MRI from December 2008 was reviewed today you could see a thin line that just kind looks like a pencil line … the one line we see on MRI doesn’t look like a tube but the radiologist says it is because the material doesn’t show up as much more than a shadow … doctors wanted me to have an MRI every year but with insurance change that hasn’t been an option since they say that it is not necessary …
if they have to be removed I think it should be done at no charge …since according to hospital records they are not there and I have never had any ear surgery or had my head open for any other surgery … they were probably put in to drain fluids to my throat til my head was healed inside …but this is a just guess … I have small canals and before surgery when they were tracking hearing loss they had to use the smallest plugs in my ears …so drain tubes may make sense but would like to have known so when my ear was full and achy I could have done something other than just take it as part of my new normal … doctor said if they are not adhered to any tissue that they should be able to just slip them out in the office with a spray of numbing agent in my ear …
I am a bit P-O’ed … I just don’t need anything else right now …and my insurance will roll over January 1 and I will have to start all over on my $2400 deductible and $2400 out of pocket before insurance starts picking up …and audiologist that was called can’t get me in until mid January but has me on list for any cancellation before January first … CIGNA used to pay a percentage and we would be billed the rest … BCBS doesn’t pay a penny until we meet our yearly share … GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
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Soundy ~
Thanks for the update and the confirmation that, indeed, you have tubes in your ear. I believe your conclusion that they were originally inserted to drain fluid from your ear canal and were forgotten is accurate. Why they are not listed in your hospital records is puzzling. However, I agree with you (for what that's worth) that the tubes should be removed at no charge to you because they should have been removed at the hospital, prior to your discharge. I trust the removal process will be as easy as your doctor described. You deserve a little break.
Jim
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Well, I'll be...that is crazy!!
K ;D
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My son had his taken out in the ear doctor's office - he had to sit real still but it was easy, quick and painless. He being my son of course, the ear doc had to move around a bit!
With the right pair of tweezers, your husband could probably take them out . . .
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Sara,
I was thinking that needle nose pliars might work.
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My son had his taken out in the ear doctor's office - he had to sit real still but it was easy, quick and painless. He being my son of course, the ear doc had to move around a bit!
With the right pair of tweezers, your husband could probably take them out . .
:o I am glad he doesn't read here because he might want to try ...
when I go out in the cold I have to have that ear plugged or covered because it gives sensation that something like a knife is being stabbed into my ear/head ...wonder if th tube is conducting cold deeper into my noggin causing the pain
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I wouldn't think so, Soundy, but then again, who knows. You'll have to report back after you find out.
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It really burns me up that we end up paying for medical screw-ups and doctor mistakes, but it is a fact of life (or a fact of hospitals and insurance companies!). When a doc was draining a cyst that had developed in between my liver and diaphragm, with no sedative or anesthesia, he punctured my lung, which immediately collapsed. It reinflated a little and they SENT ME HOME!! Who sends someone with a pneumothorax HOME???? Of course I woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe, was rushed to the hospital, and had a chest tube inserted in the ER (most painful thing know to man!) And spent 5 days in the hospital. Ofb course I got stuck with the entire bill and the doc who did it to me never even stopped by my room to apologize. Turd!
Capt Deb
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Soundy -
this is just SO strange.
I can't believe you have tubes in your ears, yet no one will admit to putting them there.
Unbelieveable!
Jan
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I am sure they were probably necessary at the time but now it is like no one wants to admit to putting them in ...
I am about 99.9% sure I didn't grow them ... and like Deb said I have to live with the consequences ...
I am hoping that when they come out some of the fullness on that side goes away ... if they were covered in fluid and my
PCP couldn't see them when I complained about ache and full feeling , I would think that meant that they were stopped up
and ears not draining like the should
just rolling along ... have new appointment on January 7th instead of 17th so will know something 10 days sooner :)
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Definitely keep us posted. This is a really weird story.
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If it makes you feel any better, my husband is the same way. Every time we are in a doctor's office I have to yell at him to stop touching things. Then when we met with my surgeon right before my surgery, he asked if he could scrub in since Vanderbilt is a teaching hospital. Ugh! Why do I take him anywhere? ::)
Glad you go an answer to your question about what's in your ear. Hope it's an easy fix. Leave your husband in the waiting room that day!
Lori
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Ugh! Why do I take him anywhere? ::)
Lori
Because he's a sweetheart and you love him ;D
Jan
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I won't take Bo at all ... I like to do stuff like this on my own ... and Bo is an interference and distraction ... and it is embarrassing to have to keep slapping his hands
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went to my appointment without Bo fearing he may attempt some procedure on me while waiting and things went OK ...
what he and the kids said were tubes were really what was surgical suture material .. . AKA stitches ...
they had some gunk built up around them ( dead skin , fluid , yuk ) making them look larger in diameter than they
were ... sent to pathology to check for bacteria and have antibiotic drops for a week
also had appointment with PCP for annual on the 6th and aside from magnesium deficiency ( who knew there was such a thing :o) and
still over weight ( I know that without his help >:( ) things look good ... BP which has been high since after surgery but was brought
down some over time and is finally normal at 120/69 ... been hanging about there for about 6 weeks ...
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I'm glad the mystery is finally solved for you, Soundy.
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I wonder if your head will clear a bit now... ???
I still think you should have let Bo at 'em!! ::)
K ;D
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Here's hoping several things will get cleared up!
Priscilla
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ear felt a bit less full or tight right after it came out there was some fluid right around it ... other than that can't tell
any difference ...if the fullness doesn't come back I will assume that the drain was plugged by the thread and its
collection of gunk
wonder what else is in my noggin
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wonder what else is in my noggin
to answer that question I got a tickle in my throat and coughed like crazy yesterday while packing bags at church for tornado relief... I think it may be caused by some of the soap and stuff I am handling and don't pay much attention to it ... still feel like something is tickling back of throat ... when I got home I looked at throat which was a little red but not bad looking ... still thinking mild allergic reaction to something ...
nope ... coughed and sputter this morning and looked to see why throat was so irritated ...there was a black thing hanging out the drain hole on the inside of my throat ... a couple good coughs and I brought out another bit of a stitch ... about 2 inches long with a knot in it ...kinda weird but I feel better ... put it in a medicine bottle with alcohol to take next time I go to doctor ... not bothering him ...owe him a bundle for necessary trips to see him ... no bleeding , no longer irritated feeling throat and no fever so just not gonna bother...
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Oh my goodness :o :o What else did they leave in you? I am almost afraid to ask.
Priscilla
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Holy Guacamole!!
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Soundy ~
Although I in no way wish to minimize your health problems and I want you to know that I admire the way you soldier through them but this one is, well, astonishing. I'm impressed by the way you handle something so bizarre with such poise. I'm glad to learn that the errant suture was dislodged safely with no negative consequences. Here's hoping this never happens again.
Jim
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WOW! Kinda freaky and scary all wrapped into one.
Clarice
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I am just jumping in here and was shocked by the lack of documentation of what is called a myringotomy. That should certainly should have been in the op report. The leave scar tissue which makes your eardrum less pliable. Why don't you write them a letter and ask them why a myringotomy was performed. When you write to them you should expect a written reply.
Mei Mei
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What a strange thing to happen! :o I'm glad you finally got it figured out.
Sandy
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Jim ... I was less poised in real life than when typing
Prisilla ... I am scared to ask too
Mei Mei ... since it is my deaf side not worried about ear drum so much as the lack of documentation ...
but surgeons attitude since surgery has pretty much been that he got the tumor and all was right with the world
feel fine ... just kinda freaked out when I hacked up the hair ball ... showed it to kids and hubby ... hubby was
impressed and thought it cool ...kids were grossed out ... have an appointment for BP check next week and will let
my PCP peek in my ear and throat and see if he sees anything else that may fall out ...
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Soundy,
I agree with you. I find it unconscienable that there is no documentation on this at all. You needed to give permission for a myringotomy.
:-\
Mei Mei
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odd thing has happened ... the right side of my head has lost alot of the stuffed up feeling it has had since shortly after surgery ... I have a theory that the stitches and gunk around them were blocking normal drainage ... I have been able do away with one of the 7 inch bed wedges I use and lower my head and upper body that little bit ... still not sleeping flat but flatter ...
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Woo hoo!
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Soundy, just jumped in and read your very strange happenings.....one of them is bad enough but the two together should make at least a paragraph in a medical book, with that I am glad you are feeling better.
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I have been having a few break through headaches on AN side only ...had an ear ache last week that I just attributed to allergies ...fever yesterday ... today clear fluid draining from AN side ear with little white floaters ...there is a thick knot about the size of my thumb running from behind ear down side of neck ... it is tender to touch ... called doctor since ER is $600 to walk through the door and just don't feel like racking up another bill ... we have a bottle of horse size augmentin here that Bo got when he almost cut his finger off ... He took two of them and broke out in hives ... they expire in November so are good ... I flushed the ear with peroxide which made it feel better ... doctor said to go on and take the augmentin and to put a hot compress on neck ... and to come see him Monday morning if it is not alot better...
I didn't get ear infections before surgery and can't help but to think the sutures left behind or surgery itself have something to do with the now 4 ear infections I have had since surgery ... kinda irritated about the whole thing ... the stitches in my scalp were dissolving ones ... if they did have to suture something inside shouldn't they have used dissolving suture material ?
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G'day from another bewildered ANer :o
Your stitches should be the dissolvable kind but mine didn't all disolve so yours may not have either. 6 weeks after my last op for CSF leak, the nurse had to manually take the last couple out. I had residue in my leg from 10 years ago after an achilles op!
Ever thought of suing them? Just a thought.
I like the way you've told us with a bit of humour and a subtle bit of grace but that hubby of yours needs an MRI post haste! (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/suujoy/lol.gif)
All the best!
♥ ´)
.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•♥ ¨)
(,.•´ (.♥ •´ *Suu
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He needs an MRI machine so he can do my MRIs ...
Today sitting in church I had a gauze pad taped to ear so I wouldn't have any fluid running down my neck ... feel better and the lump /knot /whatever is almost gone from behind ear ... hot compress made it drain out ear and in throat ... that is what doctor wanted it to do ... may go see him tomorrow and let him peak in ...
a friend and I were discussing the method of getting an MRI paid for by my going in claiming my face was numb or I was having a violent headache or I was seeing spots before my eyes ...something to constitute an emergency ... have doctor order MRI ... my friend agreed that it was about time to commit my insurance fraud ... I can't bring myself to do it ...
then the Sunday school teacher starts talking about honesty ... and the game warden that did our hunters safety course was in the class ... and I am hearing him tell the kids that ethics is doing the right thing even when the wrong thing is not illegal... he was applying this to hunting but it follows through life ... I need the MRI... getting it through correct channels means that insurance won't cover it if it is deemed a maintenance MRI...but they said they would cover one in case of emergency ... I question their ethics ... they say they are obligated to meet our medical needs in a timely fashion ... and it isn't happening .. things going on are not emergency so much as just aggravating ... but can't break my thinking that it is wrong to falsely get an MRI done just so we can do what doctor calls my AN maintenance check ...
gonna half to take a chunk of next calf check and get an MRI locally ... it isn't as good of machine here than the neuro in Nashville puts me through ... but it is newer than the one that originally found the AN ... just getting tired and frustrated with setbacks ... I do great 90% of the time ... the 10% or so that I hurt or have gunk running out my ear or suture material falling out of my ear of hacking it up like a hair ball , gets to me …
As for suing … yes have thought about it … not suing doctors but the insurance company …they have told me they won’t cover anything related to the AN and call it preexisting … about the time that status was to change they put into effect the Obama crap and have me listed as preexisting until July 2 , 2014 … that will be my 7 year anniversary of surgery … when we were changed to BCBS we were told it would be a seamless transition and I would have coverage for AN treatment as I did under CIGNA … it hasn’t happened and lawyers and mediators have been fighting things for several of us that have dropped through the cracks …
So I get up each morning and put one foot in front of the other and plod through life … keep busy so I can’t sit brooding and thinking about what’s wrong … and I popped in here and read often … get a lot of encouragement … laugh at little things …laugh at big ones too … have to laugh so I don’t go stark raving mad …
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Soundy ~
From what I read in your posts, you're a very active wife and mother doing a lot of physical work on a daily basis I think you get the kind of exercise that would tire most of us out pretty quickly. I also sense that you're like my wife in that you possess a determination to do whatever you want or need to do to live your life the way you want to (often, to do things for or with your kids) even if it leaves you in some discomfort or worn out. Your refusal to brood is healthy but difficult to maintain, I know. I admire your realization that cheating the insurance company, crappy as they are, sometimes, out of the cost of an MRI 'maintenance' scan, is still stealing. It's easy to justify bad behavior (I've done it) but you obviously know right from wrong and that you chose to do what's honest and ethical - even though it costs you - is commendable. Unfortunately, present AN forum company excepted, many people would cheat the mean old insurance company and have little problem doing so, justifying their dishonesty by telling themselves that the insurance company cheats it's policyholders and 'deserves' to be cheated. A comforting justification. However, theft of services is still stealing, as you know, so again, I admire your decision to do what's honest, even at a cost to you. Well done.
Jim
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I have to work at not brooding ... and I am thankful that I have the girls to keep me from that ... they are active kids and I have to keep up ... that keeps me from having much time to brood ... I try not to do things I wouldn't approve of my kids doing ... they wouldn't know if I scammed the insurance company , but I would ... and as of right now the little guy in white on my shoulder is winning over the one in red ...
and I forgot part of the game wardens quote ... ethics is doing the right thing even when the wrong thing is not illegal and no one knows what you have done
your description of your wife sounds familiar ... I get most of what I need to do and what I want to do done by pushing through ... and I think I work doubly so at doing things now because I have a few people around me that think I should have stopped alot of things when I had surgery ... a few that think sitting quietly in the corner knitting would be more appropriate ... but I can not give up who I am over a little intrusion into my life like a nasty little brain booger ... I can honestly say this who AN experience ahs made me stronger in many ways and has not been an all bad experience ... I have learned alot about myself and others through it all
I think I will know when I absolutely need an MRI , like I knew when Bennie took of growing that in April 2007 that I couldn't wait until October for the MRI that was scheduled ... Hoping I know when it is a must … for now going to try to put back some money to get one done
not sure what is up with the ear infections but am positive that they have to do with surgery and left behind suture material ... my doctor has the sutures in a bottle of alcohol for safe keeping ... the stitches were just kind of odd at first ... I think that them coming out may have left a raw spot or open place that is root of infections ... 3 of 4 infections have come since the first stitches came loose
As for current problem … no more drainage and only Tylenol necessitating pain …going to just watch things and finish antibiotics …
I am so glad for all of you …having this place as a sounding board keeps me sane … I feel that no one around me understands what is going on with me … this is a comfortable place to sit during what I have been calling my grand adventure ..Thanks for being here