Germy Co-Workers

[Brightsky69]

Here is the problem I am having.....Co-workers using my stuff when I am not at my desk. I don't want to run the risk of picking up whatever cold/icky germs they might have on their hands. It is known around here that certain people don't wash their hands after using the bathroom.
I know for a fact that people around here don't think twice about using someone elses telephone or pens or keyboard.
I have invested in Lysol disefecting wipes and wipe everything down in the mornings when I come in. I was thinking about putting up a sign that says Hands Off - immuno suppressed. Whould that be too cheesy?? 

[paris]

I say do anything that protects you and your new kidney.   An acquaintance if mine saw me at a store  the other day. She hadn't seen me since the transplant. She immediately starts hugging and touching me.  I know I cringed and I am sure she was offended.  Who knows where she was coming from, or if she was sick or had a cold.  I did explain the situation, trying to soothe her feelings.  People don't think.   I would put up signs, hand out flyers, put a big bottle of hand sanitizer on your desk --  anything to get their attention.   Let us know how it goes.

[RichardMEL]

I don't think it's cheesy but the fact is people would probably ignore it, or not understand it. You know there are some people out there that are both selfish and ignorant and don't think "Oh I'll just use the nearest phone/pen/stapler" type thing.. and not even THINK.

I have on my desk the antibacterial handwash stuff and usually when I get back to my desk from being anywhere I give my hands a quick scrubbing. Of course that doesn't help too much if I then go pick up my phone and someone's coughed all over it, but really at the end of the day you're doing all that you can to protect yourself - wiping down everything when you get in, and keeping yourself clean. As my transplant team say constantly you need to use common sense, but don't get anal about it. After all you can take all these precautions, live in a bubble etc, walk out the door and have some moron sneeze their germs all over you. I admit I have become a bit more lax about wiping down my stuff at work (he says as he gets the wipes out.... ). I also feel once the immunosuppressants are pulled back to maintenance doses your body will be in a much better shape to withstand the usual minor cold viruses etc. I've halved my cyclosporin dose now and I feel generally stronger in that respect (this may just be a bit of denial on my part though!). I am still very careful around people who cough or seem ill or whatever and like I said I overdo the antibacterial handwash...

The other thing to consider is offending your co-workers someway by being too paranoid and "keep off the grass" signs. WE understand where you're coming from, but others may decide to take it personally.. and maybe you don't need that. Maybe an email around to the department(discuss with bosses first!!) might be an idea, or get the boss to send something general about cleanliness, use of other people's stuff etc (that way don't focus on YOU but in general) might also be an idea.

[Chris]

I'd say do it! Maybe put low immunity in parenthesises because some idiot won't out what immuno suppressed means.

[jbeany]

Perhaps something like this?

[Ang]

2 days after being released from hospital,my wifes car was totalled, so following day after $28 taxi ride to clinic, i approached the social worker and explained my situation.(can you help),anyone else bring you in each day,yes he's travelling around europe.
jump on public transport -you'll be ok. this inside 2 weeks after transplant.

then during my prolonged stay in hospital, all the patients that  shared my room everything ,cough vomit,etc etc

and i was warned for the 1st 3 months STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE SICK

[RichardMEL]

Sorry about your wife's accident Ang - hope she's OK now??

Yeah it's funny how they  are so strict in terms of their recommendations etc, but then don't exactly practice what they preach in reality. I guess that's what happens in our public system where there's the ideal, but not the ability to provide it due to cost, space, beds, etc. Like when I had to go back in a few weeks ago for a few days, I was in the renal ward (good) but in with a guy who was caughing and whatnot. Although to be fair he was a stroke patient and in there because he was more confused than infectious, so that wasn't too bad.. but again I was forced to share a toilet with the coughers and others with god knows what (specially as renal shares the same ward with, wait for it, infectious diseases!!  ). Still, I seemed to come through OK by being totally insane with the handwash and so on.

[Chris]

I was lucky when I went to my local hospitalwhen they still had shared rooms. I wasin a room when I received a roommate who kept coughing and then urinating on the floor. I was already sick ad was hiding underneath all the covers when the head nurse came in to get me out ASAP and into my own room. This only happened on a two occassions, but I always brought up my situation with the nurse or head nurse/ patient repesentative and got a room by myself.

[Brightsky69]

jbeany - LOVE the sign. I am gonna post it. 
Just after 2 weeks back at work I came down with bronchitis and was out for a week. I actually don't think I got it at work.....I think my mom gave it to me. I have explained to her that I cannot be around sick people. She doesn't get it. My brother's GF was sick with a cold and my mom invited us all out to dinner. I told her I couldn't go if the GF was sick. My mom says "Oh it's not that bad..only a cough."   
Then my mom wanted me to come over to pick something up. I ran over to her house on my lunchtime. She seemed alright at the time. Couple days later I got the bronchitis. After I was over it I was talking to her on the phone and told her about it. THEN she says "Oh wow.....you know that day you stopped by I was feeling like I was coming down with something too. I ended up with a cold." THANKS MOM!!!I swear she could have full blow FLU and she would invite me over and NOT tell me she was sick.   

[jbeany]

Some people's thought process stop at arm's length - anything farther away than that doesn't register.

You're welcome to post away, Rightside - I just doodled it on Publisher.  Sometimes humor helps numbskulls more than yelling....

Yeah, hospitals do NOT practice what they preach.  "TAKE MEDS EXACTLY TWELVE HOURS APART.  ALWAYS!!!"  Okay, but I can't get out of bed, so you have to bring them to me within, oh, at least that 3 HOUR window after when I'm supposed to take them!
Or they would drop them off early and then snivel because I wouldn't take them then.  "But I have to watch you swallow them!"  Get a grip, do you think I'm going to actually skip them?  I want to keep this kidney, ya know.

I had common virus with the transplant. (CMV?  I don't remember which one now.)  Sweet, a private room - and thank heavens, with a 2 month stay.  My next visit - a week while the transplant healed- they hadn't thought to test to see if it was inactive before I checked in, so I landed back in a single room again.  The lab work never did catch up.  I have to go again for the hernia repair in May - I hope it's still lost!

[Brightsky69]

People live in their own little worlds and don't think about anyone else.
I did post the sign in my cubical.  I doubt anyone will notice.

I have never met (so far) a transplant patient that takes their meds exactly 12 hours apart. I even asked out loud one time in the clinic waiting room. Everyone laughed....not exactly...give or take a 15 minutes or half hour.
I have set an alarm on my cell phone to remind me now.   

[Ang]

Sorry about your wife's accident Ang - hope she's OK now??

sorry RM just clarify what i wrote above,the car was totalled 2 after i was relleased from hospital after transplant.
the boss is doing ok thanks

[Chris]

People live in their own little worlds and don't think about anyone else.
I did post the sign in my cubical.  I doubt anyone will notice.

I have never met (so far) a transplant patient that takes their meds exactly 12 hours apart. I even asked out loud one time in the clinic waiting room. Everyone laughed....not exactly...give or take a 15 minutes or half hour.
I have set an alarm on my cell phone to remind me now.   

I have 3 alarms set on my phone to remind me of meds (15 min intervals), on my watch, pill box container, and glucose meter, but at times taking meds at that certain time is not possible. Either it be due to waiting for lab draws, doctors visit which may lead to labs, on  the road, ect.  The doctors know of the possibilities, but they just want you to be consistant and not taking them and hour or two later, or even forgetting.
 
Did you post the sign in a line of sight view? Frame it in a thin cheap frame and post a couple around your office mainly near the phone, computer, stuff you know they might touch or take I say and keep it next to a container of Lysol/ Clorox Wipes to emphasize a point I'm thinking.

[jbeany]

I'm usually pretty good at the 12 hour thing - but then it sounds like a 5 alarm fire at the fire station at 8 am and pm around here.  3 alarming watches, plus another 15 minutes later, just in case.  If I can't take it immediately - because I'm driving, etc -  I've learned to spin my watch on my wrist so the crystal is inside.  Quick reminder to go get them ASAP when my hands are free.

I just got annoyed when I kept getting lectures from the docs about how important it was, but the nurses didn't follow through!

[RichardMEL]

My phone alarm is set with Nurse Ratchet from One flew over the cookoo's nest yelling "MEDICATION TIME!" It usually works.

I think it is about keeping the meds a consistent time apart so the dose is spread evenly or reasonably evenly over a 24 hour period. If you have one at 7:50am and the next at 8:10pm I don't think that's a big deal, but if you have the second at 9:30pm then again at 7:30am, that would probably be testing the bounds a bit.

I try to keep it within 15 mins. If for some reason I miss the exact time and take it later, like 30+ mins later, then I stagger the next dose to get back to the "right" time, so if my normal time is 8am/8pm but I took one dose at 9pm for some reason, then the next morning I would aim for like 8:30am, then 8pm, or something like that, just to not make the jumps so big.

That's only happened a couple of times though. Afterall I have the nurse to remind me on time!!

[Sugarlump]

Interesting.
I take my meds at 8am (with breakfast) and then at 6pm approx (dinnertime). Although that's only 10 hours apart, I have to take them with food otherwise it makes me ill and i can't wait til 8pm every night for dinner!!!
When I was recently in hospital for my biopsy, I had big argument with nurse over my medication as they wanted me to take evening one at 10pm
and morning one at 7am I insisted on self-medicating at my times and the nurse (male) said he had to watch me take it in case I overdosed??? or didn't understand which one to take??? I've been home alone for TWO MONTHS so why the hell would a day in hospital change anything. I refused to cooperate so they gave up and let me do it my way 
I was always told not to take Prednisolone at night because it disturbs sleep?

[Brightsky69]

Last time I was in the hospital they wanted me to take Prograf and Myfortic all at the same time. I told the nurse that the clinic told me to space them out by at least an hour to keep stomach upset to a minimum. Of course she said "That's not in the orders" But then she cameto her senses and realized I was a very compliant patient and told me to go ahead and wait  the hour. She said she would come back and check on me. Half the time she did the other half she didn't.   

[Chris]

My phone alarm is set with Nurse Ratchet from One flew over the cookoo's nest yelling "MEDICATION TIME!" It usually works.

I have to look for that so I can add it to my phone

[RichardMEL]

Yes, prednisolone in larger doses apparently causes stomach ulcers/upset. I am on Ratidine (sp?) for it and it mostly works, though I found even when taking the P in the morning sometimes at night I would get a bit of reflux, but I solved that by not taking the stomach med with my other stuff at 8pm, but just before bed - haven't had an icident for awhile. YAY!

Also I understand taking preds with food lowers the stomach issues.

[Brightsky69]

My stomach upset comes from the Myfortic. And it usually comes in the form of diarrhea 

[Sugarlump]

Just had my dose of Valcyte doubled to 2 a day and my poor poor stomach now objects violently to all the meds especially the Myfortic which is supposedly enderic coated to protect stomach ... and since I have to take that twice a day ... there is no respite!

[Chris]

My stomach upset comes from the Myfortic. And it usually comes in the form of diarrhea 

If it doesn't get better to where it is to bothersome, ask your center to switch your medication to possibly rappamune.

[Brightsky69]

It's usually every freakin day.....at least once a day. I was on Cellcept and the same thing happened.....except it was dark tarry stool.
I am having the problem because I am on 900mg of Myfortic in the AM and PM. Some days are good some not so good. Plus I think I am lactose intolerant. 

[Chris]

Hope it gets better when or if they get you down to 375 mg twice a day.

[Brightsky69]

I am hoping they do take me down a dose or two.    MY immune system is so hyped up. My immune system test normal even while on 1800mg of prograf a day.