Hurt on Transatlantic

We did enjoy our Azamara cruise. Until, one night in the Atlantic we had very rough seas. About 3 am I was thrown against the bathroom sink & broke a rib. OMG! The pain was almost unbearable. I went to the ship's medical center & got x-rays done. Sure enough fx rib! The doctor had absolutely no pain meds,only Tylenol! He had morphine IV only which I didn't want. For 2 more days I was suffering in the middle of the ocean with nothing for pain. The first port in Canada I went to an ER & finally got pain pills. I couldn't even turn over or get in or out of bed. The pain was so bad, it almost took my breath away. Well, the point I want to make is that cruise ships should keep some emergency pain meds. What if someone has a kidney stone or broken bone? It was cruel to go 2 full days before I could get any relief. And now I have a $779 ER visit. I hope my insurance picks it up.

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I am sorry you suffered such an unpleasant experience on your cruise. It seems unbelievable that the medical centre did not carry drugs to assist you. Did you ask why this was?

Let's hope they have learnt from your experience.

Hope you are feeling better now.

I hope your health is improving Judy.

I always carry spare pain killers ( knee problem)

I think I would have taken one of the options.

I find it incredible that the Medical Centre would have no pain relief on the scale between Paracetamol (Tylenol in the USA) and Morphine. It is standard practice to stock medium potency medication such as Ibuprofen, Naproxen and codeine based drugs, all of whom would have been more appropriate to treat pain from a fractured rib.

Of course, there ate some patients for whom these pain relief medications are contra indicated...asthmatics or allergic reactions, or side effects of codeine for example. However I would be certainly have been asking questions as to why standard pain relevant medication was not available at the Medical Centre at that time. I know it usually is.

It takes time for fractured ribs to heal, but I hope you are feeling better now Judy.

Inexcusable for the medical center not to have more of a variety of pain killers. I am certain some of your fellow passengers might have had some with them and I would have found a way to canvass them to see if they'd lend you a few.

I would be asking that question, too. I have bruised ribs, and the pain was horrible; I can't imagine what a broken one would be like! That needs to be addressed by Aramark, for sure.

We did enjoy our Azamara cruise. Until, one night in the Atlantic we had very rough seas. About 3 am I was thrown against the bathroom sink & broke a rib. OMG! The pain was almost unbearable. I went to the ship's medical center & got x-rays done. Sure enough fx rib! The doctor had absolutely no pain meds,only Tylenol! He had morphine IV only which I didn't want. For 2 more days I was suffering in the middle of the ocean with nothing for pain. The first port in Canada I went to an ER & finally got pain pills. I couldn't even turn over or get in or out of bed. The pain was so bad, it almost took my breath away. Well, the point I want to make is that cruise ships should keep some emergency pain meds. What if someone has a kidney stone or broken bone? It was cruel to go 2 full days before I could get any relief. And now I have a $779 ER visit. I hope my insurance picks it up.

 

 

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You poor thing!! :( That is terrible! I had an issue on Princess, they could not have gone any more out of their way, to make sure I was comfortable!

Also:

I leaned over my office chair a few months ago to pick something up off the floor (right side over the arm of the chair). Heard and felt a pop! Wow, was in pain for weeks. Hubby had to help me get up in the morning :(

Yeah I know I am old, and should not lean over so far, but I am still working and cruising ..........lol

You poor thing!! :( That is terrible! I had an issue on Princess, they could not have gone any more out of their way, to make sure I was comfortable!

 

Also:

 

I leaned over my office chair a few months ago to pick something up off the floor (right side over the arm of the chair). Heard and felt a pop! Wow, was in pain for weeks. Hubby had to help me get up in the morning :(

 

Yeah I know I am old, and should not lean over so far, but I am still working and cruising ..........lol

I also should have added that the doctor on board repeatedly asked what my doctor at home would do :confused: The nurses were self assured and fantastic!

They told me what to do, did not ask what my doctor would do!

The real kicker is I work in an ER in the states. I knew exactly what I needed & asked several times. I kept thinking how patients suffer with a kidney stone until they get toradil injection. I would hope they would keep some Percocet, lortab some pain medication, especially knowing we'd at sea several days. I assume this doctor onboard was a licensed medical doctor that could prescribe.

I am hoping Azamara will see my post and make sure future passengers never have to suffer for so long.

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Who is Aramark?

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So sorry, stupid autocorrect.

I am no expert in the field but I was wondering if it's down to the licensing and regulation of certain drugs in different parts of the world? Having never heard of Percocet I looked it up and it's a narcotic pain relief only licensed in the USA, so I'm assuming it would not be possible to obtain supplies in other parts of the world.

Certainly in countries like the UAE possession of some drugs that are commonplace elsewhere is illegal and can carry harsh penalties, codeine which is a common painkiller in the U.K. is illegal as is any medicine containing it. If you have a prescription medication that is on the list then you have to have a copy of your prescription authenticated by a public notary, for US citizens there are even more stringent rules.

So the ship also has to be very careful they don't dispense drugs that if the passenger then takes ashore aren't illegal in that country.

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Who is Aramark?

 

 

lol .............the company that runs the kitchen,at my facility!:D

I am no expert in the field but I was wondering if it's down to the licensing and regulation of certain drugs in different parts of the world? Having never heard of Percocet I looked it up and it's a narcotic pain relief only licensed in the USA, so I'm assuming it would not be possible to obtain supplies in other parts of the world.

Certainly in countries like the UAE possession of some drugs that are commonplace elsewhere is illegal and can carry harsh penalties, codeine which is a common painkiller in the U.K. is illegal as is any medicine containing it. If you have a prescription medication that is on the list then you have to have a copy of your prescription authenticated by a public notary, for US citizens there are even more stringent rules.

So the ship also has to be very careful they don't dispense drugs that if the passenger then takes ashore aren't illegal in that country.

 

Hi John,

 

How are you and Carol? My mother says Hi.

 

Percocet is just a brand name in the US for the opioid drug Oxycodone, which is available here in the UK and other countries on prescription. It is highly addictive, but also effective relief for moderate to severe pain and any doctor would be very cautious about prescribing it. I am pretty sure that a ship's medic would not have access to this type of medication.

 

You are correct that codeine medication is banned in some countries but a valid prescription is all that is required to allow usage. I have several patients that regularly travel to Arabic countries and ask for a copy of their prescription but I was not aware that it has to be notarised.

I have a travel pouch that comes on all trips, it contains stronger painkillers, Zantac, anti histamine and ralgex gel and spray plus one knee support and two heat pads. I never rely on being able to get it from others and I've had to dive into it from time to time but it gives me peace of mind.

DH is only responsible for carrying his epipen sadly he managed to forget it this trip so might have to rely on the medical facilities as Captain Mainwaring would say stupid boy......

 

 

 

Hi John,

 

 

 

How are you and Carol? My mother says Hi.

 

 

 

.

 

 

Hi,

 

We are both well thank you getting ready for our Hurtigruten experience! Best regards to you and your mother hope you are both well, it was evident you had a good time on Journey recently hopefully they got in extra stocks of bubbles [emoji39]

 

The banned list from the UAE makes interesting reading (http://www.dubai.ae/en/Lists/HowToGuide/DispForm.aspx?ID=6) as we are off to Abu Dhabi for the New Year we check out all the medicine we carry especially over the counter stuff.

 

 

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I am hoping Azamara will see my post and make sure future passengers never have to suffer for so long.

 

 

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Since this is an important issue, might I suggest you contact the LCV Ambassador's team, or the office in Miami, to express your concerns.

That action may well lead to a clarification of the function of the Medical Centre on board.

I have a travel pouch that comes on all trips, it contains stronger painkillers, Zantac, anti histamine and ralgex gel and spray plus one knee support and two heat pads. I never rely on being able to get it from others and I've had to dive into it from time to time but it gives me peace of mind.

DH is only responsible for carrying his epipen sadly he managed to forget it this trip so might have to rely on the medical facilities as Captain Mainwaring would say stupid boy......

Excellent idea, and we attempt to do the same.

We realize that we are not travelling to third world countries, but we try to anticipate any medication needs partially because we don't want to spend time searching for a pharmacist and then attempting to make certain that our needs are clearly communicated.

There may also be an issue that the medicine's formulation may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but those more in the know may correctly dismiss that concern. Certainly labels and other terminology may differ.

Hi Judy,

First of all so sorry to hear about you're broken ribs and what sounds a pretty horrid experience. Hope your recovery continues and good luck for your return to work this week.

Interestingly you mentioned kidney stones, which was our 'event' on out 1st Azamara cruise in January 2014. The consultations, follow up and pain relief which my husband (Kevin) received were 2nd to none. In fact I recall one set of pain relief being given, with an option to provide stronger if required. We were at the start of 2 sea days so in essence fairly similar to yourself in terms of land-based medical services. Our cruise was from Hong Kong to Singapore.

I'm posting this because our experience seems to have been so different to yours, and whilst all medical experiences are very individual, I'd like those who follow Cruise Critic to have evidence of a much more positive experience. :)

We did enjoy our Azamara cruise. Until, one night in the Atlantic we had very rough seas. About 3 am I was thrown against the bathroom sink & broke a rib. OMG! The pain was almost unbearable. I went to the ship's medical center & got x-rays done. Sure enough fx rib! The doctor had absolutely no pain meds,only Tylenol! He had morphine IV only which I didn't want. For 2 more days I was suffering in the middle of the ocean with nothing for pain. The first port in Canada I went to an ER & finally got pain pills. I couldn't even turn over or get in or out of bed. The pain was so bad, it almost took my breath away. Well, the point I want to make is that cruise ships should keep some emergency pain meds. What if someone has a kidney stone or broken bone? It was cruel to go 2 full days before I could get any relief. And now I have a $779 ER visit. I hope my insurance picks it up.

 

 

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We were on the same cruise and agree that it was an extremely rough crossing. We did hear that a passenger had been injured during the night.

We were woken up at 3.30am on the worst night of the cruise with a terrible smell of fumes in our cabin. That was also very frightening. We went out into the corridor to see some other passengers coming out of their cabins not knowing what to do. I phoned guest relations and was told that it was a burning rubber vapour coming through our air conditioning vent. You can just imagine the smell!

We then had a very poor nights sleep unable to open the balcony door due to the storm. We were offered the doctors services the next morning as my husband was suffering a terrible headache from the effects of the fumes. I am glad we declined - not sure the doctor could have done much!

I've seen some bad medicine on board, but I wish to come to the defense of Azamara, and just about every other cruise line, on this one. Cruise ships are not emergency rooms or medical clinics (although Azamara has a 4 bed ICU unit on board). They are not trauma centers. And there are a lot of very litigious lawyers out there who would just jump at the chance to make some money from a bad outcome. Stocking narcotics would be one of the worst decisions the company could make. Aside from the potential for onboard theft, the legal ramifications of physically going into certain countries with drugs on board would be horrific. Pulling into Singapore with a stock of narcotics could theoretically result in the execution of staff members. If they were permitted to stock narcotics, how much can be dispensed and for how long? The list can go on and on. We were on a storm in the North Atlantic several years ago, a woman got her hand caught between the balcony door and the door frame and gave herself one hell of an ugly fracture. The physician on board, an Orthopedist, X-rayed, correctly diagnosed a fracture, and advised her to see someone when she got back to London. I believe she decided to see someone in Northern Iceland first, for proper casting. And the drugs available were minimal. Same as would be found on an aircraft. It's not a great solution, but unfortunately in the real world, it's probably the only solution. Injury is one of the risks you face when traveling, and care is not going to be what it is at home. As it turns out, two days after the hand fracture, I partially tore an Achilles tendon in my ankle in Northern Iceland. I opted not to see the physician, hobbled as best I could, treated myself, and got proper care once I got home. I refuse to travel with narcotics for the same reasons Azamara won't. So I sympathize, with all parties. Dr H, Internal Medicine

Sorry Doc, I disagree. They keep morphine in their medical clinic. Narcotics are always locked up with very few having access. I don't know anywhere a medical doctor cannot dispense pain meds. No one should have to suffer unnecessarily. When you are out in the middle of the ocean & no ports are around, then you go to the ship's doctor. I know it is not a trauma center or an ER. But, hopefully, the nurses & ship's physician are trained in basic emergency medicine.

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My husband had neuropathy in his feet, and didn't feel a blister that was highly infected, and in danger of getting worse. I happened to see it when he was changing shoes, and we went straight to the medical center; the young woman doctor immediately created a sterile field and basically did surgery on his foot. He went twice a day for the remainder of the cruise, for her to treat and debride his toe. He obviously didn't need pain killers, but she was an incredible doctor and he was well on his way to healing when we got home. So, that was a trauma center, in my opinion.

This was on a Regent ship, but still on a ship. I don't know what kind of medications she used, because I sat outside the sterile area.

Pam, I wouldn't expect anything less from any clinic. You got premo service on Regent. I heard many compliments on the the Grand Princess too. Of course, it is a huge ship compared to Azamara.

I am tired of talking about it, and am getting ready to back to work in my ER tonight. Haven't worked since the first week in Sept. IMO, case closed. It is what it is! Happy weekend everyone!

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I'm really sorry you had a bad experience but truly wonder if there's more to the story. I know from experience they do carry these types of supplies. Was there possibly a miscommunication? (You said you didn't get past the nurse?) Were they perhaps not convinced you needed the drugs? Anything else? I really think if the nurse was able to reply on here, we'd find out more.

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