After seeing dr thoman for a consult, his office sent me to cottage hospital to schedule hernia surgery. At the hospital, everyone was most friendly, and i was assured that after surgery, i would get what i needed for pain, not to worry. Nothing was further from the truth.
Right after surgery, i was given dilaudid every 45-60min. After the first 3 or four hours, i was supposed to go home. As i waited for my ride, my pain ramped up to 10. It was beyond excruciating. Nurses gave me a weak morphine pill (15mg), which did zero for my pain. I I lay there for 30-45 min. w/ cottage staff ignoring me. I had to literally demand medication: "I need something for pain now."
I was given the minimum of dilaudid, which barely helped. I had to ask for more. And more. I finally had to ask to be kept overnight due to severe pain. I also asked for dr thoman himself. He assured me i would be kept comfortable.
Again, the truth was not even close to dr thoman's promise. Once i got to my room, i was given dilaudid only every 2 hrs. In between, i was given a morphine pill, which again, did nothing. A severely rude/disrespectful nurse (Marley) kept saying that this is all i was getting, and she would not call the dr for every little thing (my pain, apparantly, was a small issue). Due to level 9-10 pain all night, i did not sleep for 1 minute. I demanded that dr thoman give me something for my pain. For half of the night, i was ignored. Then, at 3 or 4 in the morning, dr thoman had ordered ativan, an anti-anxiety medication. again, it did absolutely nothing for my pain.
In the morning, some rude dr, who didn't even operate on me, said i would not be getting any dilaudid to take home, only tramadol and the weak 15mg morphine. I repeated that dilaudid was the only thing keeping my pain at bay, that i cannot go home unless i have dilaudid. the dr refused and left rudely. He then discharged me behind my back, w/o even discussing a discharge. After repeatedly asking to speak to a manager or hospital director, a dr shawn diamond, who worked w dr thoman, gave me a dilaudid prescription, enough to keep me semi-comfortable for 5 days.
After i ran out of medication and was still in severe pain, i called dr thoman's office, saying i needed a follow-up and pain medication. Instead, a snippy office assistant tells me that i'm on a lot of medicine, that i need to follow up w my pain dr. I explained that "a lot" is relative, and that i just had surgery, etc., etc. My request for dr thoman to give me a prescription for level 10 pain was ignored; the next day, my pain dr refused to help me reduce my pain (surprise).
At my follow-up w dr thoman, i again mentioned i was still pain, that i needed something, that the pain dr did nothing to help my pain. Dr thoman just said the pain will get better, to take motrin, that i need to get off narcotic pain meds. I have severe degeneration in my back, dr thoman, and will not any time soon be off medication. then he had the nerve to recommend motrin. he knew i was taking morphine and tramadol, so if those dont address my surgery pain, how the hell will motrin help??
dr thoman may be a decent surgeon, but if you are like me, and have a low tolerance for excruciating pain, surgery pain, i.e., the worst pain you've ever had, then go somewhere else. Avoid dr thoman, avoid cottage hospital, unless you can deal w/ getting operated on and receive minimal to no pain medication afterwards. read more
