I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Introduction => The IHD Family - Our Members => Topic started by: okarol on May 10, 2008, 09:28:18 AM
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Our friend Chris is in the hospital with heart trouble. He texted my cell because he's been working on activities for our Chicago meet and wanted to be sure Paris knew that he will be back with more info soon! What a dedicated guy he is! Please join me in sending him some healing thoughts and some LOVE!
:grouphug;
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:bestwishes; Chris. Hope you feel better real soon. :cuddle;
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Not supposed to be in the hospital! Get well quickly and be tapping the keys soon! :grouphug;
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Bounce back Buddy we need ya around here. I need lots of help with my harem.. :grouphug;
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:grouphug; :grouphug; Sending lots of love and good wishes your way Chris, hope you will soon be back again (Sluffbunny really can't cope with all of us alone!!) :bunny:
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Hope your hospital stay is brief and easy and you're home and looking for trouble very soon!
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Chris:
Get Well Soon!!!!
Kim
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Hey Chris, Get well soon. :cuddle;
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Chris, I am sorry you are in the hospital. Don't worry about Chicago--we'll work on it when you are better. I just want you to feel good, heal and be ready to party in August. Take care; I will be saying some big prayers for you :cuddle;
Chris has been so great about getting info and brochures and is helping to make this a great experience for everyone. He is our "insider" and is a great help. :2thumbsup;
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Hope you are feeling better soon Chris and back home and back online again.
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Sure hope you make it to the IHD meeting in August, Chris!
Best wishes are being sent your way, that your heart problems get better, darn it!
:grouphug;
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Get well soon Chris. The hospital doesn't need you like we do.
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Get Well soon Chris :grouphug;
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Chris hope you get well real quick...Boxman
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I'm so sorry to hear you're in the hospital Chris! Hurry up and get better!!! We miss you around here! :cuddle; :cuddle; :cuddle;
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Add me to the list of healing for Chris!
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:grouphug; I'm sending thoughts and prayers your way, Chris
Adam
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Hey Chris, get well soon. Okay?
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I just get out and you go in... not the way things work Mr. :P Get outta there soon, and feel better. :grouphug;
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Aww. Get well soon! :grouphug;
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Healing thoughts to you, Chris.
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Thanks everyone.
I tried to write a short version of what happened to Karol, but lost everything when I used the Spell Check feature. So I typed it up in Word and it turned up being lengthy.
Wednesday May 7, I had on and off chest pressure. Didn’t think much about it and went to bed.
Thursday May 8, woke up with chest pressure still occurring. This time it was not going away, but went to take my final and figured it would pass also. Done taking final, I call my GP doc wondering if there was a quick fix, blood test, or something not requiring an ER visit, but get answering service instead. So I travel towards home and stop to get mother’s day card (not a good variety this year of humorous cards this year) and as I am going thru almost all the cards, I get a call from my doctors nurse. She tells me there is no quick fix and I have to go to the ER. Since I didn’t finish picking a card out yet and didn’t think I would be admitted, I continued to look for a card and then leave for the hospital.
I get to the hospital’s ER area at 12:30 pm and tell them what has been happening and they take me right back. Idiot #1 enters the scene and asks me to step on the scale with my coat on. She didn’t want me to take it off. Well crap! Weight is going to be way off with this coat on. She proceeds to take my vitals and records from my medication sheet what I take tat I bring with in my folder. She takes me to a room, but also takes my folder that had all my medical information and insurance cards. So I get into the dinky hard to close freeze your butt off gown and wait 20 minutes for the nurse to comeback. She was about to take blood pressure from my left arm till I told her she couldn’t and why. So she puts up the usual medical sign to not use left arm for b/p or vp and proceeds to start an IV line. Doctor comes in a few minutes later and asks the same questions the other two nurses asked on why am I here. I tell him the same thing and he orders blood test and a nitroglycerin pill.
Then idiot #2 enters the scene. The lab tech apparently missed sign #1 and sign #2 on not to use left arm, or can not read English at a grade school level. Tough call there! I tell her she can not use my left arm and she begins to give me an attitude as I am telling her why. So I jot down her name to complain later. Then an EKG tech comes in to do a test and a chest x-ray an hour later. So I lie there waiting and waiting for someone to come in to just check up on me, even when I disconnect an O2 sensor or a heart monitor lead. Apparently that’s the first thing they check instead of asking “are you alright?” So there I lay boredom a bed that I am to long or big for and the doc finally comes in after 4 pm to tell me the test done so far comeback negative and asked me how I felt after the nitroglycerin pill. I told him I felt better and noticed I could breathe better that I didn’t notice I had a problem before. He then tells me we can keep you for observation or admit me to find the cause of the pressure feeling. Well duhhhhh! I want to find out what is the cause of the problem is. So more waiting, but he already decided to admit me anyway due to my medical history and talking to my doctor. So there I lay by myself again, smelling fresh brewed coffee I would love to have instead of this cup of ice water they left me that I won’t touch. I ended up dozing off, but can hear people walking by making loud sounds. Then 8 pm rolls around and a new nurse comes in to see how I was doing and to tell me that a room will be ready in 15 minutes. I proceeded to tell her that I haven’t had anything to drink since this morning and would like some decaf coffee or even some regular coffee. She asked when the last time I ate was and I said yesterday afternoon. She tells me that she will be right back with something and I am hoping it’s a coffee! A few minutes pass by and a transporter comes in to my room to take me upstairs at 8:27 pm and the first thing I thought, crap, no coffee! Then the nurse comes running in and hands me a brown bag and 2 of those 4 oz apple juice containers. Brown bag was odd o me till I got upstairs to find a chicken sandwich, pudding, a cookie, cranberry juice, and potato chips inside. This stuff use to come in a nice neat packed box, I guess paper sack was a real cost cutting measure.
So there I am in a room finally and then it dawns on me, I have the usual roommate that I get 99.9% of the time I am here. The other .1% is when I have my own room there where there is peace and quiet. I never get a quiet or sane roommate and I already know I won’t get any rest. Turn on the tv, but fall asleep. I wake up at 10:00 pm and ask the nurse about my meds. He tells me that the pharmacy is running behind and told me to wait. I told him I can’t wait. I only have an hours window before my immunosuppressant’s become ineffective. He then asks if I had my meds with. I said yes, but they are out in my vehicle and I’ll go get them. At that poi I’m thinking I wish I didn’t rush to get out of class and put them in my book bag instead of my coat. He say’s no, I can’t go out to my vehicle and he goes over my meds and I discover that the nurse downstairs or who ever copied my meds down wrote down what meds are taken at what times they are taken. Crap, when will they ever get this right! Anyway the nurse calls down the pharmacy and tells them that I need my meds ASAP and I get them by 10:37 pm. Then the nurse proceeds to ask me if I wanted a sleeping pill, I told him yes, and he asked me how many, 1 or 2. I said 2 with the roommate I have.
Well that night I was out cold and pretty much the next day, but was awaken by nurse who wanted to give me one pill. I asked here what it was, then told here I’m not taking it. ItAt 7am it was to early and that type of med goes with taking my immuno meds, not by itself, what good is it going to do to me. So she gives me an attitude about that. Well that was next name on the list to complain about, but start to wonder if these people can read and right Why do they copy my medication list and do not follow it is beyond me. Not sure how much simpler I can make it. After lunch, more test begin. First was a echocardiogram. That was fast, but as soon as I was taken up to my room, I am taken back down to nuclear medicine for a stress test. First part of the test is done with a dye injection and a 3-D scan of the heart is taken. Will ere comes idiot #3 giving me crap on how to hold my arm. So I yell back I can’t do it that way. H tells me I have to hold my arms straight above my head. Well when I do that, my left arm becomes weak and blood flow is not to good because of the graft in my arm. This test takes 15 minutes and he tells me to quit moving my arm. Wish I could idiot, but I can’t, I’m loosing feeling and can’t hold it up without wiggling my fingers or bending my arm to circulate blood. Finally done dealing with this jack in the box and I’m off to the treadmill. Doctor comes in and tells me he has never worked with a transplant patient before and ask me why I’m not on Lipitor. I told him I was taken off it after my transplant and my numbers are good, I just had them checked, go look on the computer. Well while on the treadmill, only wearing socks (not the best thing to wear on a treadmill!), I pass the standard mark, so they rev the rpm up and angle. 5 minutes later they rev it up again all the while adding more dye to my body. At this stage I am running in the worst kind of way, holding my hands out onto a bar and wearing only socks, which is not the best way for me to run. At this point I am running out of energy and the treadmill stops. Once the treadmill stopped, I got nauseated real fast and then the chest pressure begins. At the same time the doctors I give you a C for effort. WT$! I’m nauseated and have chest discomfort and you tell me this! Give me some shoes and don’t tell me to hold the bar in front of me and I could have done better.
Back to scanning room and this time I have a different tech. She tells me I only need to hold my arms above my head just to clear the machine and then I can rest them comfortably. This made the experience 100% tolerable compared to dealing with idiot#3. And back to my room I go.
I get back to my room and find that I will have no rest since roommates family and their small kids are there taking up most of the room yacking away. Great, no peace and quiet and now I gotta worry about these small kids spreading germs I don’t need to catch. GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!!! Luckily the test wore me out a little and I dozed off. 10 pm rolls around and my meds are given and again asked if I wanted a sleeping pill and how many. I say 2 and I fall asleep. Then at 2 am I am woken up by my roommate screaming his head off having a nightmare. CAN’s come in wondering what is going on and this guy thinks he is in a jeep and begins talking to people that are not even there. A few minutes later he turns the TV on at full blast. So I leave the room wandering the hallways looking for a quiet area to sit and snooze. Only place I find is the surgical waiting room, but there are people waiting there, so no luck sitting there. So I walk the hallways and thought about sneaking downstairs to the vending machines o get some decaf coffee, but there are nurses and security guards wandering the hallways. 5 am rolls by and I try togo back to bed since it is quiet now in there. I doze off, but awaken at 6:30 am by room service asking what I want to order. I said peace and quiet, I want some sleep and I hang up and go back to sleep. &:30 am I am awaken again this time by a dialysis tech for my roommate. Guess trying to be quiet to not disturb anyone else is out of their realm. Then I thought, I hope I don’t have to use the washroom since he has equipment in there! So I put my head between two pillows to try to drown out the noise and pull my blankets over me to get some sleep. Well that almost worked till the roommate became combative with the tech trying to pull his needles out constantly and trying to leave. CRAP!! GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW or I will beat this man with a baseball bat to shut him up and calm him down NOW! He constantly did this throughout his session.
Finally, I get some news from the test. Doctor comes in and wakes me wondering why I am covered up, head between two pillows. I tell him why and that I need to get out of here due to roommate. He tells me that it wasn’t a heart attack, but there is some swelling of the heart that is due to diabetes complications and that the cause for the chest pressure is due to acid reflux which nitroglycerin also helps, but would like to do more test and will talk to the other doctors. The cardiologist comes in my room 2 hours later and asks me why I am covered up with my head between two pillows and I proceeded to tell him why. He tells me what I already been told and we discuss what diabetes does to the body and he would like to see me on Lipitor even though my numbers are good.
Doctor #3 comes in; the nephrologist on duty from my clinic asks me the same question the other doctors asked about. Why am I under the covers with my head between two pillows? She then asked me when was the last time I urinated and I told her yesterday before lunch, but I haven’t eaten or drank anything since. I had no appetite or thirst. I just want to get out of here and get some rest. She then say’s she will push more IV fluids and I argue about that. I told her I would do better if I was not here, especially with this roommate. She leaves and says’s nothing. So at 2:30 pm I call the nurse to ask about my discharge papers. I get no reply. Call again and no reply and this is way before a shift change. Finally at 4 pm the nurse comes in and asks if I am ready to go home. I told her yes and she tells me she will get my papers ready. So I start taking my heart monitor off, change my clothes, get my shoes on, and begin peeling all the tape off my arm holding the IV line in place. Could have taken it out myself, but didn’t want to go to the middle of the room to empty the IV line in the biohazard wastebasket and risk seeing or getting in some odd conversation with roommate.
Nurse comes back into room after 4:30 pm and see’s that I am ready to go. She pulls out my IV line and starts to tell me I have to wait for transport to take me down. I tell her I can walk and my vehicle is close o the front. She then tells me I won’t have to wait, she will take me downstairs. Get downstairs and just missed the coffee shop from closing. Crap, I need some real coffee. On my way home, I stop at Starbucks and use my gift card to get a large decaf raspberry latte and then proceed to go to the pharmacy for my prescription.
I get home and look at my discharge papers and notice that the papers where ready at 1:58 pm, SO$ I begin l Lipitor that night and had nothing but problems with it. The side effects are to adverse for me and my nephrologist said to stop taking it when I talked to her on Monday.
And that’s what happened in a nutshell.
There ya go Chris.
EDITED: Copied and paste document - Sluff/Admin
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WOW! That was an experience! Thank you for chronicling it for us like that. As Clitheroe Kid used to say (the Brits over 40 will know this) "Don't some mothers hav'em!" The rank ignorance (sometimes) of the people who have our lives in their hands can be chilling at times!
Glad you made it through!!
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Oh Chris!!! What a horrible horrible experience!!! I HATE going to someplace new that doesn't know my/our history,and this is why!!!
Man, I am glad you are home, now, and I'm glad it wasn't a heart attack too!!!
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Yikes!! :o I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm glad you're feeling better and that you got you're coffee!
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To go through all that and in the end be back off Lipitor. Luck of the draw with roommates. My dad had some dozies. You wonder too why the first person you explain things to can't write it down in a way that someone could and would take the time to read. They're called Charts! I had to bite my tongue while being my dad's support in the hospital. It was so frustrating to have to repeat when you would think they'd bone up on the person before coming in. Someone told me 'well, they don't have time to read and can get better quicker info from you.'
Did you get or do you already have nitro pills? :big hug:
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Glad you are doing better Chris. Thanks for the post. I'm glad you got your coffee... :grouphug;
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:grouphug;
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I wish you were closer, I would have raised hell on your behalf! I really think you need an advocate to stand there and not be ignored, like they seem to do with patients. I would rather sleep in the hallway than put up with that room mate. So sorry Chris, it sounds like a nightmare. I hope you can recuperate at home! :cuddle;
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One of the great things about being a transplant patient, or even a Lupus patient... is I *never* have to share a room. I am *required* to have a private room due to my immune system.
I hope you feel back to par soon. :grouphug;
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Man that is why I can't stand being in hospitals!! Seems like all stays are bad ones. Glad you are out and pray for your healing. And more coffee!! :clap;
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Round Two, body falling apart:
Well Tuesday the side effects of Lipitor are weaning off since stopping it, but then the day got shittier at docs office. W started off discussing an MRI I had done of my back and the results are not an easy fix as I had hoped. The doctor said I have a compressed disc and to fix it, one technique is to go in with a needle and inject "super glue" to build up area to regain height and loss of pressure. However another scan is wanted, but both doctors at the hospital who specialize in this scan are on vacation for a week. Next we discuss the scan I had of my knee. Crap, more bad news there, SOB this is not my day, better play lotto! I have a tear on a tendon in my knee along with something else that I have to brush up on my medical terminology on to understand. Next I asked about the pressure in my chest that I still have off and on, just not as severe. Says that it is acid reflux, but needs to discuss with nephrologist on what to do, so free pills to try. Suppose to take them 1 hour prior to eating. WTF, I have the pressure pain without eating, how about a more definitive answer other than it's a diabetes complication. So now I see a knee specialist at the end of the month and no idea about back specialist. He then prescribes me Vicodin, whoopee! I don't take pain killers, how about give me something to make me feel good instead. Only good news I can think of right now, I have an excuse not to mow the lawn. The docs better get this taken care of before next semester classes start, I have things to do, places to go, people to see! Just make sure I'm out when they work on me.
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This may be way out there Chris but have they checked into (mild)pancreatitis attack. Symptoms are close to what I had once except I had a severe case and was in excruciating pain.
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Your hospital visit sounds very close to what I experience every time I go in there. No sleep, no food, no understanding. I often end up in tears. I am surprised I do not get a psych consult whenever I am in the hospital. I know one cardiologist who thinks I am completely crazy!
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This may be way out there Chris but have they checked into (mild)pancreatitis attack. Symptoms are close to what I had once except I had a severe case and was in excruciating pain.
Not sure if they did. Looking at blood test performed in the hospital, I'm suprised they didn't tell me my red blood cell count is lower than usual and didn't mention m BUN was up o 28. No confidense in this hospital or transplant center (they may take you in, but all they care about is if te organ is ejecting and nothing else).
Kit,
As far as the food concern is, I don't mind not eating there. As long as someone could bring me a few decent cup of decaf coffee, I would be happy and that never happens. Only good part about transplant center is that they allow me to go downstairs to Starbuck's or Au Bon cafe for a latte, espresso, or just a plain cup of real coffee.
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Chris, sorry about all the bad but I want you to know how much I enjoy reading your writing. You pull me right into the story.
I used to teach literature------ I would have read some of your writing for examples ...... you are good------ keep writing---
sometimes I feel like you are writing exactly what I feel
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Hope you are better now.
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I just stumbled on this thread Chris. OMG what a nightmare. Hope things are better these days. :grouphug;
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is this Chris with the red car :'(
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are they giving you epo shots for the red blood cells?
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I hope You get well soon :bestwishes;
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To tell the truth, I don't know how I am, nor do I think they know how I am. During the weekend of June 14; after eating some ribs, I became ill, no energy, but not in the bathroom to much either. Never checked my temp, but figured since I had an appointment with my transplant center on Monday, maybe they will do something. I get there and the first thing they say is "You don't look well", gee thanks and hello to you too! Can we get the pleasantries out first before saying hey you look like Sh&*! They had me get on the scale and to my suprise I lost 8.5 pounds. Oh Crap that's not good! Then they take my b/p, again that's not good either, CRAP! So they draw 12 vials of blood (whoopee!) and then ask me to give them a sample. I already told them I haven't been going to the bathroom very much, which part didn't you understand of that! So they give me some cold water, great cold water to a person who is shivering. Thanks for paying attention to any signs a person maybe showing Moron! So the doc sees me, gives me a prescription for Mycelex and tells me to come back in a month. So I go upstairs to see the internal doc who orders more blood test and yet again a urine and stool sample. Well one of them isn't going to happen since I can't go and the other is no way am I going to do that. Since my knee surgery was cancelled, had a bone density scan done, now a MRI of the brain was scheduled, a tilt table test, and a carotid artery scan scheduled (might be forgetting one or two) and sent home to wait to see a knee and a back doctor due to problems found in MRI's done locally. Well I get home and from taking the train to Chicago and fall asleep. On Tuesday some nurse with an attitude from the transplant center calls me on my cell phone asking where I was. I told her I am at home and she ask me why didn't I call back. I said I didn't get a message. She said they called my home phone and wanted me to come in that day due to lab results (They know my cell is my primary number, not my home) and ask if I could still come in. I said no because it is 2 pm and the next train to Chicago is after 3 pm and takes an hour to get there, which by the time I get there you will be closed. So she tells me to come in Wed at 12:30 for IV fluids and meds. So I get there and now they wonder why I am there, I'm not on their list. WT? why did so and so tell me to come in then? So they then take me back, take more blood, and then try to get an IV started. Of course they won't listen to you to where to try, so they ended up trying 4 times to get an IV started and the last place they try is the one I told them to go to. After 2 hours more blood is taken and no improvement is made and then something happens to the IV line and a new site has to be tried, CRAPOLA! Another 3 tries this time around, but now there is a leak. IV solution is now soaking the sheets, no call button to press, no one coming in the room, and I can't remember how to get the guard rail down on these ER type beds. Finally someone walks by and notices me squirming down to the end of the bed and she goes and gets a nurse. Bed is cleaned up, but my pants are wet, no help there and I'm cold due to it. More blood taken and levels comeback with no change. It is now 4:30 pm and they ask me if I would like to comeback or get admitted to the hospital. Gee, let me think there nice and hard. ADMIT ME PLEASE, I DO NOT NEED TO BE A PIN CUSHION TOMORROW! AND DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT COST TO GO BACK AND FORTH HERE ON A LIMITED INCOME! geesh! So now I play the waiting game for a room. 7 pm rolls around and their waiting on transport from the hospital. They call transport again and get some excuse and then they take my IV out once transport gets there, SO%, I know they will need one!. Well finally after 8pm I am up in a room and the nurse has a fit because they took the IV out and she has to start another one. I'm the one who should be complaining, not her! Well nothing to eat or drink all day, but then they give me the old dialysis stand by meal, the dreaded turkey sandwich. So a nurse comes in and ask me to give a urine sample, I didn't feel like going, so she stands me up in my dizzy state and held on to me and well she tries to have me urinate while she is holding me. THAT AIN"T GONNA HAPPEN. So she lays me back down and tells me she is going to call the doctor for a catheter. OH Crap! Don't need to add pain to insult or injury, whatever it is. I then decide to get out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. Doing so I set off the bed alarms for getting up because I am on some sort of watch due to dizziness. I hobble to the bathroom and lock the door and then there is the pounding and rasping at the door, never more (sorry Edgar Allen Poe came to mind) wanting to know if I was OK. I would be if you wouldn't interupt me I say. Well I got them their sample, not much but enough not to get a catheter is all that mattered. Doctors ordered a ultrasound of the kidney, a kidney biospy, NPO diet (no big deal there, food sucks there anyway), and different medications. One that they gave me soon was heparin. Nurse ask me if I knew about heparin and I ask her which part. The part about the bad batches from China or what it is used for. I could tell that she wanted to call me a smartass, oh well, I say just say it, like I care. So far blood test a coming back negative for infections, but more test are ordered. They put off the biopsy due to being on the higher dose of aspirin until a few day later. Whatever test they did, they comeback negative, but kidney function is has comeback to normal. I just feel worn out is all, but that could be due to all the BS I have been going through since May either due to the slowness about the care for my knee and back or dealing with Dr. cookoobananas. So they give me the option of going home or staying one more day. What's one more day going to do besides drive me nuts? Then they finally give me something for pain. I finally get something that works and they won't prescribe it for me, CRAP! I was told I have to ask my other doctor, then why give it to me then if you can't prescibe it? Well in my fun filled loopy state a friend from school decides she wants to pick me up from the hospital instead of having me take the train home. Told her not too, but she insisted, but she had to look it up on mapquest. Oh crap I thought, this is going to be an adventure, I have no idea how to get home from the hospital and neither does the person driving. But as you see I made it home, most scans done now, seeing a doctor for osteoporosis, seeing a neurologist, but then find out the darn knee doctor cancelled today. The most important doctor I want to see so I can walk normally again.Physical Therapy on my back and knee hasn't helped, so hopefully I can get something done as a quick temp fix so I can go to school still and get it fixed when I am on break.
Probably missed something in this though.
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Holy cow!
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Reading all that made me sleepy. Good night,all and good luck,Chris.
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Chris, I'm so sorry. That sounds wretched and then some. :grouphug; :cuddle; :grouphug;
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At tis point, I never expect to have a good hospital or clinic visit. It is a part of my life it seems since I was a kid.
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i'm sorry but dam
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Oh Chris, so sorry to hear of all the problems. No wonder you can't sleep. I hope they figure this out as soon as possible. :cuddle; :grouphug;
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How horrible! My favorite part of your post was the phrase "Dr. CooCooBananas"! I think we have all met him! I do hope you get some answers and the knee doctor can help you. You are dealing with too many things at one time. You deserve some rest today. :grouphug;
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Well I get to see the knee doc on the 24th of this month, bad part is I have an added expence to go downtown. I tried to get an appointment on the 28th since I would be down there, but no opening. Hospital/clinic ned to move closer to the train station so I could walk there or move closer to my house to cut down on my expences. :sarcasm;
I don't see that happening though.