So I screwed up...

[Krisna]

Sorry bout the language but there's no better way to put it.  I was late for dialysis twice in a row and rescheduled the second of those.  Then I rescheduled the next treatment which would have been the last one of my week but I only ran 1 hour of my treatment time because my back was killing me from a back injury earlier in the the .

So, Tuesday hubby stayed home and took me to to hospital but I didn't want to wait so we so we left.  We went back near our home to get a prescription refilled but after that he called 9-1-1 from the car in the parking lot but they didn't take me to my usual hospital as usual.  They were doing okay at first they did labs and found out my potassium was 7 so they dialyzed me for 4 hrs.  Then the next day they weren't doing anything right so I signed myself our AMA.  I have a doctor appt. tomorrow or at least I still have have one and if he wants to admit me then fine but I hate being in hospitals that don't tell you anything. 

So, I am going to bed now so I can get and my doctor.

[Joe Paul]

Hope you get things in control, good luck.

[glitter]

wow - sounds dangerous, I would have a heart attack if my husband missed a treatment.

[livecam]

I sense the guilt in your post but on the other hand you've been dealing with this disease for 28 long years!  Feel better Krisna!

[Sluff]

Hopefully after a rest things will seem a little better. 

[Psim]

What a miserable day. Sounds like you've been through a lot over the years -- it's no wonder you get frustrated. I wish it didn't have such lousy consequences for you.

[paddbear0000]

I hope things turn out ok Krisna. 

[Rerun]

You have been doing this off and on for almost 30 years.  You do what you want to do.  Don't let them push you around. 

You know you need to keep your appointments!  No one needs to explain that to you!  But, they have to understand that things come up in a persons life that are out of our control. 

Hope you get what you need.  Take care!!

[stauffenberg]

I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone in the medical profession who blames a patient for being late due to medical symptoms, since the fact that these symptoms exist at all is the fault,  not of the patient, but of the medical profession, which has a duty to cure them -- which it fails to perform most of the time.  The fact that you have been dealing with renal issues for 28 years is the blame of the medical profession for not being able to cure you, and no doubt your back problems arise from the osteoporesus, neurological damage, or muscle wasting that results from long-term renal disease.  So if they try to blame you for being late because of a back problem, tell them the back problem is their fault, which it is.

[goofynina]

Just hang in there and get better Krisna, we'll be here waiting for a full report (as soon as your better of course)   Take care and GODSPEED 

[Krisna]

Okay, so I was still a little confused and what not so here's how it all started and just goes to show how quickly things can turn bad.

Last week:  M-20 min. late, W-15 min. late, F-rescheduled for Sat

This week:  Rescheduled M for Tuesday at another center.  This is the one where I had the severe back pain and also some abdominal pain which caused me to cut my treatment to just 1 hour.  Tuesday night hubby took me to the ER at Swedish but I got impatient and left then went to the pharmacy and picked up a refill where I became incoherent and hubby called 9-1-1. 

The ambulance took me to a different hospital not visited by my nephrologist and they did not know anything abt me.  I hate medical personnel who think patients don't know anything abt their own health!

I was officially admitted at 2:31 am on 11/07/07 which was Wednesday.  And I was dialyzed early that morning for 4 hrs later that day!  This was also the day they injected me with heparin in my abdomen while I was still incoherent...I believe it was 20 CC, this was in addition to what I was given on dialysis which I am not supposed to receive hourly heparin due to severe bleeding ulcers!  Then that evening when I was coherent again the nurse came in to try and inject me with heparin again only this time I said no, my regular doctor does not want me to get heparin because of severe bleeding ulcers.

Now the Nephrologist at that hospital told me she'd call my Nephrologist which I found out today when I went to see him.  He did not know I had been in the hospital on Wednesday. 

I did get chewed out by my nephrologist but for checking out of the hospital or not staying at the first one I went to where he would have been the doctor to see me after I was admitted.  He asked how it got so high and I said I was sick and had been drinking a lot of orange juice.  He asked how high was your potassium?  I said 7!  He said, "Is that all?"  He said he probably wouldn't have admitted me but would've instead sent me to another kidney center to dialyze me for an extended period of time.  There is a Northwest Kidney Center one in Seattle that is open 24 hours because they cater to people in nursing homes and stuff like that.

So, my doctor said to me, "I don't know whether to spank you or hug you!"  Spank me for drinking all that orange juice and hug me for not letting them give me more heparin and leaving before they did more harm. 

So, I am fine today and will drive myself to dialysis tomorrow and will be on time!  I called today because my center moved into a brand new Kidney Pavilion and I haven't been there yet so they told me to be 30 minutes early just to make sure I get on on time and my doctor order a Stat K so hopefully it will be okay! 

And oh yeah, my doctor gave me some muscle relaxers for my back and told me to show up early to dialysis and take one before treatment.  His said go early because they cause drowsiness and I drive to and from dialysis.  I can also take one before bed to help me sleep. 

So, my Nephrologist knows that this is not normal behavior for me and that I know how important getting my treatment entire treatment time in is.  The staff at my usual kidney center are pretty good only one had ever given me a hard time abt being late.  She does it every time too!  Like I don't already know.   

And thanks everyone!

[Krisna]

Just hang in there and get better Krisna, we'll be here waiting for a full report (as soon as your better of course)   Take care and GODSPEED 

I got a warning while you were typing a reply was posted message when I went to post my update.  lol  I am better.  Thanks!

[Psim]

Whew, I'm glad that's straightened out. What an adventure (the kind you really don't want to have). Sounds like you have a good doctor who treats you with respect too.

[goofynina]

  So glad you are feeling better Krisna, and i cant believe your doc said "is that all" when he heard your potassium was a 7  .. jumpin jiminy.... that is HIGH my friend  , i am just glad you are ok now... take care and keep us posted on how your new center is going 

[Bill Peckham]

Glad you've gotten sorted out - what do you think of the new SeaTac Pavilion?

[angela515]

Your doctor didn't care it was 7? Wow.

Anywho... glad your better... hopefully you make your appointments on time. 

[Krisna]

Glad you've gotten sorted out - what do you think of the new SeaTac Pavilion?

Yeah, I'm okay now...still can't believe that I did that!  I've had CKD for 28 yrs. 

The new center is beautiful but I really liked the laid back atmosphere of Cascade Kidney Center.  I had gone there off and on since '95.  I started going there when they still had a receptionist!  So it's kind of hard for me to move on but the new one is beautiful and has a lot more room to help a lot more patients and also the training center.  I like the scale that prints your weight out for you too but have noticed some of the patients are having trouble tearing off the paper because there isn't enough sticking out for them to grab hold of. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

[Krisna]

Whew, I'm glad that's straightened out. What an adventure (the kind you really don't want to have). Sounds like you have a good doctor who treats you with respect too.

He's rated one of the top 100 doctors in Seattle by a Seattle Magazine and he's been on the list every year the list has been published. 

[Krisna]

So glad you are feeling better Krisna, and i cant believe your doc said "is that all" when he heard your potassium was a 7  .. jumpin jiminy.... that is HIGH my friend  , i am just glad you are ok now... take care and keep us posted on how your new center is going 

It wasn't said like he didn't care, is was sorta sarcastic but at the same time he wouldn't have admitted me, he would've just sent me to the nearby NW Kidney Center for emergency dialysis.

But I am also the woman who at age 15 walked into my doctors' office (different doctor) with a Calcium of 3.0 symptom free!  She always had me get stat labs drawn before my appt. so they would come back while I was in with her.  They came back on this one day and she said, "I think I want you to walk over to the Oncology Unit and get some IV Calcium.  On second thought I think I'll walk you over there!" 

Her office was in an attached building to the hospital the the Oncology Ward was close by and they could administer the Calcium injection which had to given over several hours using a heart monitor!  I got the Calcium but it never helped for long.  That was the time in my life when my Parathyroids became overactive and starting pulling all the Calcium out of my body and bones!

My current doctor calls me his "miracle patient" because I survived all that stuff in Dec. 2002!  I wasn't supposed to survive according to the surgeons who have known me since '95 when I went to get on the transplant list at Swedish!  They are a bunch of awesome doctors and surgeons and anesthesiologists too. 

[Bill Peckham]

Glad you've gotten sorted out - what do you think of the new SeaTac Pavilion?

The new center is beautiful but I really liked the laid back atmosphere of Cascade Kidney Center.  I had gone there off and on since '95.  I started going there when they still had a receptionist!  So it's kind of hard for me to move on but the new one is beautiful and has a lot more room to help a lot more patients and also the training center.  I like the scale that prints your weight out for you too but have noticed some of the patients are having trouble tearing off the paper because there isn't enough sticking out for them to grab hold of.

Cascade was out of space while the demand for dialysis kept growing - particularly in S King County. The state has approved the addition of 13 stations to the 12 stations transfered from Cascade. Over the next few years those stations will come on line to meet demand. The training center aka the Dialysis Academy is a unique resource. Not only does it allow new hires the opportunity to practice using the equipment (medic one, nurses and neph docs all rotate through training too), it provides surge capacity in an emergency. The whole center has a back up generator so if there was a problem with one of NKC's other units the Dialysis Academy stations could be quickly brought online. This is a regional resource. With all the hotels near by if there was a disaster in Portland or Boise or Juneau dialyzors could fly in and dialyze. Emergency dialysis surge capacity is missing from most regions.

Do you use the loner laptops while you're at dialysis?

[Krisna]

Glad you've gotten sorted out - what do you think of the new SeaTac Pavilion?

The new center is beautiful but I really liked the laid back atmosphere of Cascade Kidney Center.  I had gone there off and on since '95.  I started going there when they still had a receptionist!  So it's kind of hard for me to move on but the new one is beautiful and has a lot more room to help a lot more patients and also the training center.  I like the scale that prints your weight out for you too but have noticed some of the patients are having trouble tearing off the paper because there isn't enough sticking out for them to grab hold of.

Cascade was out of space while the demand for dialysis kept growing - particularly in S King County. The state has approved the addition of 13 stations to the 12 stations transfered from Cascade. Over the next few years those stations will come on line to meet demand. The training center aka the Dialysis Academy is a unique resource. Not only does it allow new hires the opportunity to practice using the equipment (medic one, nurses and neph docs all rotate through training too), it provides surge capacity in an emergency. The whole center has a back up generator so if there was a problem with one of NKC's other units the Dialysis Academy stations could be quickly brought online. This is a regional resource. With all the hotels near by if there was a disaster in Portland or Boise or Juneau dialyzors could fly in and dialyze. Emergency dialysis surge capacity is missing from most regions.

Do you use the loner laptops while you're at dialysis?

I know it was needed and it will be nice to not have to worry abt losing power anymore.  I've had to run at different centers many times because the power at Cascade was out but it'll take time to get used to.  It's definitely needed and way past due!  It is closer to my house than Cascade but with all the lights it takes me abt the same amount of time to get there. 

As for the laptops...they are both usually being used by other patients and I like read and listen to music on dialysis more than surf the net.  I have a laptop with wireless internet that have taken in before.  Would you believe someone actually stole the wireless card out of one of those laptops?  That was when they finally started locking the cards up and keeping track of who had them last.  Someone also took the ball out of the trackball mouse.  Not the whole thing, just the ball!  But no, I don't really use them, but I know lots of people who do.