Report Medical Errors

I was a Flight Attendent in the 1960s and flew often to Mexico City. I began experiencing severe diarrhea and was hospitalized to test for amebic dysentery.

I was awakened early one morning very groggy from lack of food. The nurse said she was preparing me for gall bladder surgery. Suddenly, I was fully awake and protesting that she had the wrong person. She was determined to proceed.

Somehow I managed to fight her off long enough to get her to check for the correct patient and she did not return. I was lucky. If I hadn't awakened enough or been able to fight her off, I'd have lost a perfectly functioning gall bladder. After 3 days eating jello and several extremely invasive and uncomfortable tests, I was released. They never did determine if I had the dysentery, admitting it was extremely hard to diagnose. It took me 6 months to get my health back.

12 months ago I had a colonoscopy. I did not wake up from the anesthesia until about 2 hours after the procedure (compared to about 15 to 30 minutes after my 2 previous colonoscopies), and then slept most of the afternoon through to the next morning. Immediately after this procedure I have had memory problems. I have difficulty maintaining thoughts. I start to do something and the thought just drops out of my head and I have to struggle for a few minutes to recall the thought. It has gotten a little better after the 12 months, but is still quite noticeable.

I was in the hospital for 1 week for major back surgery, and then in rehab for a week. One of my doctors prescribed 2x daily injections of heparin since I was not up walking very much during the 1st week. The releasing doctor from rehab, whom I had never seen, ordered the heparin to be continued for a month at home.

Fortunately I questioned the prescription before filling it and my surgeon discontinued it immediately. It could have been very dangerous because at home I developed massive nosebleeds as a side effect of the anti-inflammatory I was taking.

Before my daughter died, she went through many hospitalizations. While hospitalized at the University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital several times over the years, there was at least one medication error during every stay. However, as my daughter was disabled (Aicardi Syndrome), I stayed with her while she was in the hospital, and always checked every medication they brought her, thus avoiding the potential errors. The same went for her latex allergies. Every item (and person!) that entered her room was checked by me for latex. Usually several times during each hospitalization, would it not have been for my vigilance (hypervigilance?), she would have been exposed to more latex and possibly anaphylatic shock.

Before too long, her chart was flagged, and the nursing supervisor visited her room frequently to make sure everything was going smoothly. I am sure in the 8 years since her death, matters have improved somewhat, but I still wonder about children who are left alone and given medications that might or might not be the correct ones/dosages.

I was treated for infertility for more than a year while my hypothyroid condition went undiagnosed. I repeatedly reminded my providers that there was a strong family history of thyroid disorder and that I had symptoms consistent with thyroid disorder. Although they did blood tests I think my levels weren't in the cut-off ranges they used at the time (10 years ago).

Finally a specialist at the local hospital found a mild thyroid problem and prescribed synthroid but said my problem wasn't the reason for my infertility and I still needed separate treatment. I read up on it and realized she prescribed me 1/3 the normal therapeutic starting dose. I went to my regular family doctor and she prescribed the normal dose for me.

Two weeks later I went to the specialist's office to reschedule a follow-up appointment. They had given me a medication to start my menstrual period so that they could conduct further tests about my "infertility", but my period never started, so I couldn't do the tests. Surprise surprise,I was pregnant. The nurse sent me home (I was shocked and my husband made me repeat the test with an OTC test before he would believe it!)

A day later the hospital called me and said I needed an ultrasound to follow up. That seemed curious to me so early in the pregnancy so I read a little and found out the medication they gave me raises the risk of ectopic pregnancy. The hospital never explained that to me, and they and my ob/gyn never admitted they had made a mistake.

After three healthy pregnancies and ten years, I'm still mad and wonder how many women are put through this kind of experience IN SPITE OF TRYING TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES... I took clomid for several cycles and could have gone through high risk multiple pregnancies as a result because they missed a very simple and common diagnosis.

j&t; great program, keep up the good work! 'Medical mistakes';We have been hearing advise to "ask lots of questions". Even your well informed Dr. guest this A.M. sugested asking in 'non aggressive' manner. But why can't forms be printd with all the relative questions for Dr.'s to 'X' and sign. For anyone to argue that they would be mired down in paperwork would be as insulting to our intelligents as the claim by some very greedy people that "we have to pay millions to keep the best/brightest people"! It would really cut down on litigation and free up the courts.

I have severe RLS, and laughed about the lady who put the bar of soap under the bottom sheet of the bed to help or cure RLS.

I seriously think she drank too much pickle juice,yellow mustard or took too much magnesium supplements. I put a bar of soap under the sheet, and the only thing I noticed was a lump in the bed.

In Colorado I was served by Kaiser-Permanente, having a complete physical every year. According to their tests my thyroid was functioning very low. They put me on medication and retested after 3 mos. Still low, they raised the med dosage and retested after another 3 mos.

One year from 1st diagnosis, a friend noticed that both eyes were bulging out and vision had gradually decreased substantially. Next day, at my son's suggestion, I went back to Kaiser and requested a complete thyroid scan.

They called me at 5 pm the same day, telling me to stop the thyroid meds immediately. It was too late: I already had Graves Disease and my ulcerative colitis had turned into colon cancer. Next, had to have surgery to remove 3/4 of colon. Have spent last 6 yrs. recovering from the Graves Disease.

I was encouraged to file suit against Kaiser, but wasn't able to do it until I had recovered sufficiently to handle that pursuit. When I was able to take action, I found that Colorado's statute of limitations had run out--it is only 2 years!!!!

8 years ago, shortly after arriving to work in the morning, I developed severe stomach pains and vomiting. After an hour I went to the urgent care clinic. The doctor told me it was likely severe acid reflux, and sent me along with Prevacid. A couple hours later it was much worse; I couldn't lay down as the pain was excruciating. A friend took me to the trauma center (same hospital) where I passed out before being seen.

After copious tests and several days it was determined that I had acute pancreatitis. My history: undiagnosed severe type II diabetes (BG: 350) and hyperlipidemia (6,600). This was after days of my husband fighting with the docs to convince them that I was not an alcoholic. Tests finally proved that too.

After several days of care I developed a staph infection through a central line. The pancreas (and surrounding tissue) quickly became necrotic and required 12 surgeries, one every other day. I was put in a coma to recover, and required 6 weeks of inpatient rehab to do the simplest of things, much less walk again. The insurance company ordered me home before I could stand up on my own.

I still experience flashbacks from the coma and pain from the great amount of scar tissue from the 20" long incision which had to heal via secondary inclusion.

When I was 14, I had Harrington Rod surgery for scoliosis. This was in the 70's, so I hope things have changed, but here's my story:

I contracted a staph infection at the incision - which was over 14" long. By the time they discovered it, the incision was already closed. They reopened my incision right in my hospital room. They used a scapel to reopen my incision, but did not provide any pain relief before attempting this procedure. It was barbaric. The kicker was that I was the 5th patient in a row to get infected after this particular surgery. They said that after me, they were going to review their procedures to figure out why this was happening.

To boot, it was not my orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery, but another physician. My parents were good, compliant middle class folks who revered & respected doctors. They never thought to ask specific questions and a lawsuit would never have crossed their mind.

If your car mechanic causes additional expense, the mechanic foots the bill. Do doctors waive their fees when they have caused harm?

My husband went in for carotoid artery surgery 2 years ago. He had never had any type of surgery before. The surgery was successful, but while the doctor was out talking to me, he went into cardiac arrest.

For some unknown reason, it took them over 20 minutes to revive him. He went without oxygen for all that time and suffered severe brain damage. At the time, they told me that his heart stopped for some unknown reason and they couldn't get it started.

At first, my main priority was seeing if he would live and get out of the hospital. Once he was in rehab, I began searching for answers by taking him to cardiologists. After several tests and consults, the answer came back the same - there is nothing wrong with his heart. He did not suffer a heart attack and there was no indication of any heart disease.

Why did it stop after surgery? I kept asking and no one could answer. I finally decided to get a copy of his records and take it to an expert.

After review by the expert, I found my answer -- The anesthesiologist extubated him in the OR and disconnected all the monitors. His throat swelled shut and no on noticed that he was suffocating. He was blue when they began reviving him. Since his throat had swelled shut, they couldn't get oxygen back in him. I also found out that, due to his medical history and history of snoring and sleep apnea, the proper protocol is to keep the tube in until he is fully awake in the PACU.

The anesthesiologist did not follow this simple protocol, and as a result, my husband, at 57 years old, has no short term memory, no ability to initiate simple tasks, does not speak, and cannot be left alone.

I keep asking myself - why didn't I insist on talking to the anesthesiologist? She did not come into the room before the surgery. Why didn't I ask about risks of the anesthesia, such as complications due to sleep apnea? And the worst part is the coverup by all involved after the event.

My suggestion to everyone is to insist on choosing the anesthesiologist BEFORE the surgery. Often, this critical part of the surgery team is someone we don't even know. Discuss all aspects of your medical history before the surgery. It's very scary and devastating what can happen from anesthesia errors.

In 1990 I had my 3rd son at the age of 40. Due to a large head, I ended up delivering by C-section. During the procedure, my doctor severed my uterine artery without realizing it, closed me up, I bled out and had to be revived.

A 2nd doctor was called in to find the bleed, and ended up accidentally severing the iliac vein (which is the size of an artery) and I bled out a 2nd time.

Today, I am legally disabled with chronic venous insufficiency. AT first, I had to learn to walk all over again, first with a walker, then a cane. Now, I am on an extremities pump to keep fluid pumped off the leg. Doctors are not sure what my prognosis is into the aging process.

The worst part is that when I questioned the doctor's what happened, they knowingly lied to me and told me that I would have to have a battery of vein tests to see why my veins blew. Perhaps I had weak veins.

In deposition, both doctors admitted that they knew what had actually happened immediately, but were afraid to let me know. We lost the law suit, due to WI. requiring that the doctor must be found "criminally" negligent to win a malpractice case. I was awarded $400,000 in damages by the jury, but didn't get a dime of it because they refused to find him "criminally" negligent. My losses to date are over $800,000. I still feel that I was raped and abused because of their lying.

My mother died from staph infection after hip surgery. Both the hospital and doctor were at fault. They ignored all the systems. I reported them to the medical board. The doctor had to go back to school for infectious diseases for 2 years. The medical board said the hospital was ok even though they had several cases of staph infection other than my mothers. They did not know I knew about the. That was 1995. Since then the doctor has lost his California license so he has left the state

Four years ago I had a pinched nerve in my back. I was going to an Orthopedic Surgeon for something else and he said he could take care of the pinched nerve. When I (finally) woke up from the surgery I couldn't walk, had no bladder control and had 10 hammertoes. I will probably have to use a walker the rest of my life. I still don't have any bladder control and have an almost constant bladder infection. The hammertoes don't sound like much but try buying a pair of shoes that fit comfortably.

The DR. claimed the hammertoes were caused by neuropathy. He never offered any explanation (or sympathy) for the other problems.

Tessalon Perles caused my daughter to be dizzy and pass out several times...ER doc diagnosed Labyrinthitis..boy was she wrong...Tessalon side is cardiac collapse...

I had severe headaches on one side of my head. They usually came on overnight. For almost 10 years I was treated for migraines with medicine that would nearly knock me out. One morning I got up, was very dizzy and had a splitting headache. I was afraid I was having a stroke (in my 40s!). My husband drove me to see my doctor who FINALLY diagnosed a sinus and ear infection.

I believe all of my headaches were really sinusitus. I saw an ENT who did allergy testing and I took allergy shots for a couple years. He also performed sinus surgery to open a blocked sinus. I get 1-2 headaches a year now.

It happens in the mainstream health systems of all developed countries.
Our Australian experience of my mother's initially undiagnosed, and then poorly managed brain injury:
http://margihealing.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/medical-negligence-and-the-meaning-of-life/

In November 2001, I got sick and thought I had the flu. I was groggy and sluggish. I spent most of the day on the couch, drifting in and out of sleep. I was extremely thirsty-drinking pitcher after pitcher of Kool-AId without being able to quench my thirst. I was having trouble walking down the hallway and was bumping into the walls. I also had blurry vision.

First, I saw a GP for my flu-like symptoms. He told me I wasn't sick. I asked him what he thought was causing my feeling so ill. He said he didn't know, and there really wasn't anything he could do for me. And he sent me home.

Next, I saw an opthamologist for my blurry vision. Surprisingly, my vision was 20/15. I asked the doctor why everything was so blurry and he said that my eyes were probably "tired" and needed some time to readjust and refocus. And he sent me home.

Third, I saw my family doctor. I was still feeling ill and dizzy and had blurred vision. This doctor had recently changed my birth control prescription from a brand name to a generic one. I thought it might be (although a long-shot) the reason for my sickness. She assured me that none of the symptoms I was experiencing could be caused by the new BC pills I was on. And she sent me home.

Now it was Thanksgiving. I was so sick, I opted to stay home from the family Thanksgiving feast. I was just going to take a nap and try to "sleep it off."
My mom urged my husband to take me to the urgent care at the hospital. And we are glad he did!!

I collapsed outside the entrance to the urgent care/emergency room with a massive pain in my abdomen. My husband went inside to get a wheel chair to get me to urgent care. The ER nurse came out and admitted me straight into the ER.

The next thing I know, I had a nurse asking me (in a mean and mad sounding voice) how long I had been diabetic and why I wasn't taking my insulin. I said, "I'm not diabetic." And she proceeded to argue with me that I was. My husband finally said, "My wife is NOT diabetic!"

The ER physician came in and explained to me that my blood glucose level was 667. That's over 6 times what it should have been, especially considering the fact that I wasn't eating anything at all.

What makes it worse is that I was experiencing 8 of the 10 "tell tale signs" of diabetes. And not one of the three doctors I had seen earlier in the month realized that a single finger prick would have diagnosed it.

So, at age 25 I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. I spent 5 days in the hospital over Thanksgiving weekend. Was sent home without being showed how to give myself an injection, and with an appointment for the diabetic clinic in one week.

My diabetes has been uncontrolled ever since. I have had two stressful pregnancies (both which resulted in two beautiful boys). I have necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum, which itself went undiagnosed for three years. (It started slightly smaller than the size of a dime on my lower right leg and is now about the size of a fifty-cent piece.) And I have been trying to get onto an insulin pump for over 5 years.

This experience has shown me that you can never ask too many questions. And you can never be too concerned about anything health-related. I ask questions about everything different and unusual that happens to me and my boys.

I am not surprised by the number of errors that happen in hospitals. It is however surprising to hear the number of deaths occurs.

I had a metal crown put in, and a week later I got spots on my eye lids. Another week later I got extremely light and sound sensitive along with a headache, and suddenly high blood pressure, the headache was worst I've ever had. I called my dentist and he wouldn't listen. He said it was an underlying health issue so I had every test I could. They found nothing. So then I got blurry vision I went back to the dentist over and over he still wouldn't take it out but finally agreed to a root canal well that restored my vision instantly, but I still had a headache, but not the light and sound sensitivity. So I begged him to remove the crown and after 5 months he finally did it. The head pain was gone by the second day and I no longer needed the high blood pressure meds. It was the worst experience ever.

Several years ago my 82 year old Mom, who was doing great at the time, was give a drug called "BONEVIA" for Osteoporosis. Five days later she was taken to E.R. because she was bleeding from the mouth and rectum profusely. The Doctor's told us she had a bleeding ulcer. Throughout the next ten days they only fed her only fluids through tubes, she used 17 units of blood to replace what she continued loosing, and they repeatedly attempted and failed to cauterize the ulcer.

This procedure is cheaper than surgery. On the tenth day in intensive care she was weak and dying. Finally the family was informed that that they had to operate to sew up "numerous" bleeding ulcers in her duodenum which were caused by the drug BONEVIA.

Our research of this drug uncovered many, many, many warnings clearly stating it was the #1 major cause for patients developing bleeding ulcers in the duodenum if they had any previous history of GERD, (Gastro Enteric Reflex Disease.) The Doctor that prescribed this drug to my Mom had been treating her for GERD for over 10 years. She made it through the operation, but suffered a stroke while in the hospital for 32 days.

She would not let her daughters sue the Doctor. One year later after she suffered a small fracture upon falling, the same Doctor tried to put her on this drug again! Her daughters who now have to care for her full time actually had to remind him that this was the drug that had almost killed her a year before. Make sure you know what your older parents are prescribed before they take it.

I've been taking Generic HYDROCODONE/APAP 5/500 (Watson) for over a year with refills approximately every month. I take this medicine carefully in a precise regular pattern. Prior to a recent incident I came up short toward the end of my one month period but could not really pinpoint the reason so I blew it off.

Several months ago I received 50 of the prescribed 60 tablets of Generic HYDROCODONE/APAP 5/500 (Watson). When I brought the container home I noticed that although the usual size container was used it was not filled to the brim as it usually is so I counted them at least twice and saw that it was short by 10.

I imediately called the pharmacy and was told to speak to the pharmacist who actually did the preparation. This I did and he said he would check. Within a minute he told me that his check comfirmed that I was mistaken. I have no idea how he could have performed the check in that short time and I asked if counting the pills in the container from which my pills came from would be a more prudent method. I was told that that wasn't necessary, that I would be given the benefit of doubt and could pick up the 10 pills. He would also flag my account for double counting.

I told him I needed no benefit of his doubt as I was positive that the cause was on his end. I decided to give him the benefit of my doubt and pegged him as incompetent rather than unscrupulous. I told him I didn't appreciate my account being marked and that if anyone deserved special attention it was he. So I waited until my next appointment with the doctor who rewrote my prescription and took my business to another pharmacy.

I would like to see the flag planted where it belongs though. Sure, it's absolutely possible that it was an innocent mistake on the pharmacist's part and that he is just not built for taking responsibility for his incompetency. I can't possibly know. I just hope someone is keeping score because I doubt that my experience is unique.

Hello,

I am a journalist in North Carolina. I am looking for patients who experienced medical errors in North Carolina. If you would like to share your story, your help would be very much appreciated! Please contact me at rmeagan@email.unc.edu. I look forward to hearing from any of you!

Meagan

In March of 2003, as I was arriving home one evening, I felt a strange "pull" in my chest--not pain, just a pulling sensation, but not a muscle strain. Two days later, I was having issues breathing, my pulse was 120 when resting, and I had no energy at all. Looked up on line the symptoms of a heart attack--had none. Looked up the symptoms of a stroke--had none.

I must state that I never had any underlying heart issues--no high blood pressure, no high cholesterol, no excess weight, no smoking, and I was physically active. However, something was very, very wrong. Went to the local hospital’s emergency room that day. Spent 11 hours there, had several tests (x-ray, EKG, etc) with no determination of what was happening. Finally, sent home with an antibiotic and a diagnosis that I had a slight case of pneumonia and it was making me "nervous" enough to cause my symptoms. Told to take a day off from work and to call my doctor if I was not better in 10 days or so.

Got worse. Much worse. Not enough energy to walk down a hallway. Kept passing out at random times. Ended up panting all the time. Heart pounding hard enough to see my chest moving. Went to my doctor 10 days later. Told I had a heart murmur—must have been born with it. He would not listen to my statement that I had had 2 children & a genetic heart murmur would have been found before now. He didn’t believe my complaints of fatigue, or breathing issues or my heart pounding all the time. He sent me for another x-ray. Found that I could not climb the one flight of stairs to get the x-ray. Went home instead.

Two days later, went back to emergency room. Spent 10 hours there. They were going to send me home because they believed I was “faking” it. My Mother had a screaming fit in the central area (I could hear it in my little room) that I was going to DIE if they sent me home & she would sue everyone of them for murder. Finally, the doctors decided to give me an electrocardiogram (sonogram of the heart)….just to shut her up. Turned out that 17 days before, when I felt something strange in my chest, all the tendons that connected my mitral heart valve to the bottom of my upper left chamber had snapped like rubber bands! So, the entire left side of my heart stopped working! Blood was not going to my lungs; it was sloshing around in both chambers—going nowhere. I could see what was wrong….I was dying!

Spent 2 days in the Cardiac ICU before they could operate—needed to force some of the fluid out of my lungs. Once they fixed the valve, I kept dying on them post-op. Heart surgeon decided to open me back up, hook me up to the heart/lung machine once again & allow my very damaged heart to rest enough to recover enough to keep on beating. Was on machine for 45 minutes or so. Once back in post-op, heart started hemorrhaging. Lead to another trip to the operating room (my 3rd trip in less than 24 hours). Coded several times during these surgeries. Was comatose for 4 + days.

Woke up blind but don’t remember. Because I could walk & talk once I fully woke up, everyone thought I had escaped without any brain damage. Not true. Had lost connection between faces and names. Had lost ability to spell. Had lost ability to transfer short term memories to long term memories. Could not sequence. Cognitive ability was greatly diminished. Kept having TIAs for 2+ years after surgery. Took 4+ years to recover from brain damage & physical issues with heart/lungs. Still have issues with brain injury but able to compensate.

Funny though, when I went for one of my recovery visits to heart surgeon, I asked why no one in the ER properly diagnosed what had happened to me. Her answer? No one ever walks into the ER with this problem. They arrive DOA.

A year ago my husband (76) on a Friday evening had trouble breathing and high blood pressure. Because we had guests from another country and the hospital was near, I let our daughter take him to emergency (where he had gone several times before) while I served dinner but joined them about about 90 min. later.
He had checked himself in and was already being tested. Had a X ray for possible pneumonia (had had 3 bad ones before) and other possible problems related to his background.

After 5 1/2 hrs they admitted him. I went home by 23h30. Next morning, they put him in ICU before I came to visit. Lots of tubes... but he had stabilized. Next day on Sunday, still in ICU and looking very well, sitting, eating and almost normal. We watch a football game together. Our regular doctor who had been on duty the whole weekend at another nearby hospital came to see him after I had left.
Monday morning, he was back in normal ward. When I came to visit around 11h30, he looked tired and slept a lot.

I thought that was good, for being a type A person, he did not rest easily. However, before I left he was agitated and told me the man in the next bed wanted to kill me... I thought he was having a nightmare. Beside, there was no man in the next bed. Later, our daughter stopped by after work, and found him very agitated and talking again about the man who wanted to kill me. She called me and I came right away. He was again very groggy and had a lost stare.

I asked the doctor in charge what was going on. He said they had to give him Valium IV because he was having DTs... I was shocked and asked why: " his hands are very shaky and he was agitated". I told the doctor he had a tremor which had gotten worse lately but certainly was not alcoholic. The doctor said he had signed in that he drank 4oz of whiskey daily and wine for dinner. We did drink wine for dinner, but no whiskey every day and had water with it. The doctor was not
convinced that he was wrong and had not checked with our regular doctor.

I left around 20hrs and he had calmed down. Next morning, I was awakened by the telephone and was asked to come to the hospital. I said I was coming as soon as I would be allowed, around 10h00 but they said no, NOW. I rushed to the hospital, and as I walked the long hallway, I could see the resident doctor and 2 women next to him. At the nurses' station, they asked me to come to a corner of the visiting area, and told me point blank that he was dead.

We went to his room where he was already lying with his eyes closed. He was warm still and looked just asleep. It was the first time I saw a dead person that close and so soon after. The shock had not settled on me yet, and I managed to call our daughter. Some staff came to tell me that they needed the room and I should call a funeral home to make arrangements. I called his best friend and X told me he would come right away.

Well, he had had so much Valium and relaxants that sitting in a wheel chair by the nurses' station while eating his breakfast, he swallowed a piece of food and choked which brought on a cardiac arrest. They tried resuscitation but he did not come back.

I had his records copied later to follow the whole progress of his hospitalization. He was over drugged on the Monday and with his very shaky hand must have pushed the food in his mouth in a bad way which made him swallow the wrong way. If I had been there to feed him may be he would still be with me. However, we shall never know. But definitely, there was some mistake. I have learnt from your program today, to have a daughter with me if I need to go to a hospital and have her stay by me and check on every procedure and medicines I would be given.

Your show with Patrick Malone sure was an eye opener about having an advocate when needing medical attention. By the way, we had been married for 51 yrs and were still much in love.

I wanted to tell the woman whose husband died in the hospital essentially because he was neglected by a doctor who could have had information from his PCP and did not bother to get it that I am horribly sorry. I have had many small problems with doctors and a long time ago I had unnecessary dental surgery, but I have fortunately not had anything like that happen.

My biggest complaint is that big pharma (whose handsomely dressed bodies often enough stand in line ahead of me and other patients) have obviously talked doctors into prescribing medications for my fibromyalgia which did not help and did give me what I call a bouquet of side effects.

Doctors are horribly afraid where I am to prescribe anything controlled, but it's not because a moderate amount of those would not work better than any of the new classes of drugs, it is because the government has scared them.

Again, I am truthfully sorry about your husband and wish your family had not suffered so much so unnecessarily.

I am really encouraged to hear that your ten years of Migraines have been stopped overnight with the correct diagnosis and surgery. I too have been enduring years of Migraines and have noticed that no one is really trying to figure out the cause for them. In the last few years I've noticed lots of problems with my sinuses, and that area in general. I'm also sure I've developed a "Polyp" growth in the left nostril which is blocking my breathing more and more. I'm going to do follow the path you have taken and hope my issues can be repaired as easily. Thanks for sharing your story.

I too am taking several strong pain medications and used the same pharmacy for year after year. One year I began noticing missing pills only in the medications that I've heard have a high street value price. Like you, I first let it go. Then I began counting and seeing that especially the Hydrocodine pills were coming up five to ten short per month. I set up an appointment with the head of the Pharmacy and really let him hear what I thought was going on. He too flagged my prescriptions for special recounts. Since then, I haven't missed any pills. Being flagged is not the worse issue, it will prevent others from stealing from your prescribed medications.