my husband had surgery today...longest day in hell I have spent. he was in or for 2 hours 45 min, then they had trouble getting him weined off of ventilator. I can deal with all this but I am mad because I was not giving frequent updates that were accurate. Now he is laying in ICU (I am told this is a precausion) blood pressure (which he has trouble with) is high and I am having trouble getting the nurse to take me serious. My husband is an alchololic (not sure I spelled it correctly) and I get the felling I am not taken seriously because of that. I also feel he is not as cared for as he should be. What do you all think?

If you feel this way you should call and ask to speak to the hospitals patient advocate or the supervisor of nursing. That will usually clear up issues such as this. Good luck with it!

My brother was an alcoholic and I have not doubt that is why he recieved poor care at the first hospital that treated him. When were were finally able to get him to MD Anderson I requested his records from the first hospital. Everytime the doctor's physican took notes she mentioned his alcoholism - even though he stopped drinking and dipping tobacco as soon as he was diagnosed. If you feel you are not getting the best treatment find another doctor or facility. If he hasn't had chemo or radiation, don't let them start until you see about another facility - other hospitals won't take him if he is in the middle of treatments. You will have to wait until they are complete and then another month for the meds to clear so further tests can be ran. I see you are in Oklahoma. The first hospital to treat my brother was in Oklahoma. I will send you a private email and make sure it's not the same one.
Best wishes and stay strong. Don't let them intimidate you - we did and it cost us precious time and put my brother through a living hell.

Hi, I am so sorry to hear about your husband and know what a fright it can be to sit out there and wonder how things are going. Not to sound as if your concerns are not accurate but the people in the ICU are pretty busy and then they aren't really suppose to be talking too much about medical info to you. They usually ask my husband if it is okay to discuss the issue. I don't believe that it has anything to do with his drinking. How would they know that?