I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: kitkatz on April 08, 2006, 04:57:29 PM
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I have just spent six days in the hospital over chest pain. It was hell for the most part. I have a rant for you all to read.
I think the next time I go into the hospital the doctor and I should have an agreement that reads: What ever I order for you to have done,you get to watch them do to me! Do these doctor have any idea how invasive some things are or how long you have to wait for test results to get back to them???
I went to emergency room Wednesday night around 8:30p.m. after dialysis with chest pain. I figured I would get checked; they'd tell me it was nothing and send me home. (Six days later..). Anyway they finally got me into a room at 5a.m. Thursday morning. Okay, fine. I tried to get rest. At 5:30 a.m. here come Dracula to get blood from me. Okay fine, I try to rest again, in come PCA for vital signs, okay try to rest again, in comes nurse with meds and heparin needle. Great. Try to rest again.
No breakfast, because they are going to take me to St. B's, another hospital, soon to go for angiogram. The paramedics arrive to take me, however the TB test from Tueday turns out to be positive and St B's will not take me. Okay, so no angiogram, but no food until I am on dialysis near 2 oclock in the afternoon. I was close to crying. Asked about lunch at noon, they bring me ice chips and say it is okay to eat. I asked where is some food. They bring me a nonrenal patient tray. Can't eat what's on it. They take it away. I wait for two more hours, go to dialysis and finally get to eat. Geez, a person can starve in the hospital.
So after dialysis I try to do the usual; rest, and relax .HAH! Drs in and out, nurses in and out. My room is across from nurses station. Noisy! All the time noisy! I do not think they even know how to be quiet.
I was going to buy NASCAR flags for that hallway with all the noise the carts made up and down the hallway all day and all night long. RRRRRRRR, squeak, rummmmmmmmmm, durrrrrrr!
Open the door, slam into the room, hit my bed with the cart as they have go see my roommate, come back out, hit the bed, slam. Don't close the door. Hey I am sleeping here! I wanted to yell regularly. >:( They would slam door closed if asked nicely by me. Not one night, every night this happened! Slam, here are your meds, get vitals half an hour later,shut door, slam!
Let me tell you about Nurse Ed. Idiot Ed. He was the night nurse (read nightmare). I had just arrived back on the floor from dialysis on Friday night. He came in and said: I have to give you your meds. Since I do not take my blood pressure pills but once a day I asked why. He said dr orders. I said: " Why? I do not take the pills but once a day. " This nurse and I had an argument for half an hour in front of some friends of mine over whether I shpuld take the meds or not. I knew if I took them I would be in dangerous low blood pressure valleys. He finally got the hint that I take the meds once a day despite what the bottles say. Every other nurse understood me when I explained it to them. Ed needed a hit in the head. His parting shot to me in the morning was for me to straighten out the meds issue with a doctor in the morning. I did straighten it out.
Oh Lord. Do not sent inept blood drawers to my hospital room. Send the profeesional ones, not the amatuers. I have terrible veins that roll and flatten out and hide. One night around 7pm. in walks a vampire lady to get blood. She decides to try the underside of my wrist after I told her already it was not a good place to go. She made me cry, it hurt so bad! I told her to forget it and get out. They could have their blood later. Nurse Ed-read Idiot here- came it and asked was something wrong. I looked him the they eye and said: "Don't send the amateurs into my room, go get the professionals!" He waited till 5a.m. to get blood from me again! The funny thing was I had a trained phlebotomist and an RN visiting me at the time this lady came in to try for blood. They were ready to kill her when she left me alone finally.
Friday, all set for angiogram, they find out neither St B's, nor the cath lab at Kaiser with touch me because the PPD- TB test I had on Tuesday as an outpatient had turned positive. Now they have to test for TB over three days with sputum tests. So for three days they monitor me with heart monitors, feed me occassionally, and have me spit into cups for examination by a lab in LA. Sunday at 3a.m. was the last spit-take I did. So the spit takes are clear and I am ready for the angiogram.
No TB in the system, thank you Lord. After Chest Xrays, an infectious disease doctor examining me, and three spit takes it is time for the angiogram.
Another night of NASCAR races up and down the hallways. Slam, noisy hallway, slam door open and closed all night long. Here are your meds. Try to get some rest, Hah! >:D
Finally at 2pm. Friday afternoon, after no food or drink since midnight, they send me to the cath lab for the angiogram. Not too bad a test. They gave me some Verced, which does nothing for me, I felt everything, but they gave great lidocaine to the catheter sight so it did not hurt much. Morphine for pain later. An hour after this test I am wheeled flat on my back to dialysis where they dialize me and promptly take the pain meds out of my system. Three hours later I am in my room, in pain, asking for more pain meds, and the nurse is saying I have to get an order for it. "Shit hurry up and get the order! :I am saying to myself.
I am in tears. Of course I have been in tears every day since I have been here. However I don't let nurses see it. They would get the social worker to come see me. For God's sake don't send the social worker. I think it would be normal to be upset when you have not eaten or had anything to drink anything since midnight, been through a major medical test, then dialysis. Then been in pain for an hour or two with no pain med ordered for you. I did not eat until 9pm. that night and the nurse had to fix a TV dinner for me and add a few things like jello and a shasta Twist to drink.
The angiogram showed nothing wrong with my heart, Good! Tuesday I am sent home with new drugs and told to take it easy, no stress. Hah that'll be the day! ;D I go home exhausted and slept the day away. Slept most of Wednesday, went to dialysis that evening. They had no idea I would be there, even though I called I said I would be in Wednesday night. Geez!
Thursday yours truly gets up and goes to work as usual, hurting, and gimping along. I am out of sick leave now and the doc would not give me an off work order for Thursday or Friday. She saw no reason for it. It is Saturday now and I am exhausted still. I have had the urge to cry for three days now whenever someone says something to me nice or not nice. Must be the new meds.
The kids at school missed me and so did my aide. They were glad I was back.
The worst thing about the hospital was the lack of rest and the noise. The food was next. I am a large person and they kept me on mouse portions!
The best thing: Hmmmmmm. Getting out of there. The female nurses were nice. Most of PCA- nurses assistants were okay
Anyway there is my diatribe over the six day last stay in the hospital. I plan not go back real soon. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts.
Katherine
P.S. I spelled checked this three times. Sorry if any errors are in it.
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I'm sorry that your hospital stay was such a nightmare! As a hospital nurse, I can completely understand what you have been through. I have worked with some of the 'Idiot Eds' and other healthcare workers that just won't listen to the patients or use any 'common sense'. There is such a thing as doing everything you can for a patient at one time so that they can get more rest. There is no excuse for 'slamming doors' ever and the noise levels are awful. I work the second shift and have a terrible time trying to get staff to understand how far voices and other noises carry at the end of the evening. Change of shift times are notoriously bad for noise. I'm glad they did not find anything wrong with you and that you are back home so you can get some well earned 'rest'. I also hope it is a very long time before you have to be an inpatient again. Stay well !!! Ginger
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You poor dear! That sounds horrible, and I'm so sorry you weren't treated better. I'm glad everything else checked out OK. Rest up this weekend.
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I certainly feel sorry that you had to endure the treatment you received in the hospital ,kitkat! You have every reason not to want a repeat performance anytime soon! I do hope you are getting better rested ( and fed ) at home. You have pretty stressful hours at work, not to mention the important role you play in so many other lives~~ My best to you and may you stave off the chest pains and feel well.
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Last time I was inpatient , brought ear plugs and a do not disturb sign. The odd nurse got the message. Also had my own flashlight for when they check at 3AM to see if you are sleeping, wondering if you need a sleeping pill. NO, just get out with the flash light. Hope your feeling better, fed and rested.
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Sounds like a typical stay. Can you believe you pay about $10,000 a day for that room? I'd rather stay in a Hotel! You get better service and they have a pool! The food is better too! >:D
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I agree Rerun. A hotel would have been more relaxing.
Now don't get me wrong. I received excellent care while in the hospital. I demand that I be part of the team making decisions, so doctors know to talk to me first before orders are made. I guess I am a demanding old bitch when it comes to my own care. I keep discovering that despite thinking I have unlimited superpowers, I am not Superwoman!
So now to figure out how to de-stress my life, and yet continue to work miracles. ;D
Katherine
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Oh dear ya poor thing, sounds awful!! I get so pis*ed off when doctors don't write up meds that you will obviously need later on!! And then trying to get them to write it up in a hurry is a joke. After being in hospital a gazillion times you soon learn to know what to ask for. Whenever I'm admitted and they are doing to meds chart, I always get them to write up panadeine PRN, so at least its something I can take if I get pain. I get regular jaw pain, so its not like they are writing it up for nothing.
I dont think any hospitals are quiet. Some of the night nurses can be quite rude. I wont even go there because Ill end up typing too much hehe
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Hah! - one of the times I was in 4BR Amber, a couple of the night nurses were having a laugh & joke
and I said "Hey! keep the row down, you've got sick people in here!" - I _was_ joking, but they thought
I was serious and went as quiet as mice ;D
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PMSL good on ya bear!! Dont you love it when they shine the torch in your face in the middle of the night when youve finally gotten to sleep? :D
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PMSL good on ya bear!! Dont you love it when they shine the torch in your face in the middle of the night when youve finally gotten to sleep? :D
Classic! When I first started dialysis, and they put my central line in, I had to stay overnight in the hospital. I had the hardest time going to sleep, as I usually sleep on my side. And Just when I would be falling to sleep, the nurse would come in with the flashlight (or torch for you aussies), and wake me up...so annoying!!
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I have a good story about the hospital. You know how they go around in the morning and ask you if you want to wash up? Picture yourself at 3AM, sleeping or trying to sleep. All of a sudden two nurses aides come in the room, put every light on and tell you you have to get washed now. I was like you have to be kidding me! NOW?? At 3AM?? So they say yeah during the day there's no time or no aides on duty so you have to do it now. So one of the comes over and is pulling at my hospital gown! I told her what do you think you're doing?? Boy was I pissed! The they tell me I have to get weighed! I tell thm I get weighed before dialysis not at 3AM. They were so obnoxious! And every night I spent in there the Terrible Twosome came in the room and demanded I get washed. Then one night a male aide cme in my room and demanded he wash me! He's telling me has has to take my gown off and let him wash me. I told him to get lost too. I made out a complaint about these incidents, especially a male aide telling me I had to take my gown off. It never happened again during any of my other stays. If you don't like something COMPLAIN or have something in writing to back yourself up.
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If I dont want a shower at the time I say no, but usually I am independant so I just have one whenever Im ready. If I need help, you usually get showered anywhere between 8-10am.
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LOL meadowlandsnj
Should of let the male aide give ya a sponge bath.. stories you can tell your grandkids LOL ok joking.
. but think about it LOL
Seriously. they wanted to bath you at 3am? omg so lets just start the day a bit earlier for their convenience..
Remember if it wasn't for you (patients) they would not have a job.!!
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During my 15 days in the hospital for my transplant everything went smoothly till they transferred me to the hospital that usually does the follow up. ( one hospital does the transplant and icu and when you're doing better you go to the other hospital ).
Well when I arrived at the new place I hated it.
They treated me like a kid always making sure I took my meds etc which the first place didn't ( at least not the couple days after I was out of the ICU before I got transferred ).
This nurse there always talks talks talks super loud and I can't stand people who talk to say nothing. She was actually going to forbid me from having orange juice in the morning because of the potassium content! I wanted to give her a slap and remind her that I was being given potassium pills as my levels were too low since the transplant! ( The real issue was the sugar content and the fact I should limit sugar because of the prednisone ) I ended up getting my oj .... twice a day! Morning and evening .... not sure how come for the evening.
Today was my coming home day, my back was broken from the uncomfortable bed and I simply wasn't in the mood for anyone to bother me. The annoying nurse was babbling again in the hallway and while another nurse was in my room taking the bp of my neighbour I just yelled " Shut the hell up" ( in french ... ta geules ... much more vulgar than what I wrote in english ).
Annoying nurse runs into my room and asks me if I'm having leg cramps .... I started laughing and told her to leave.
Me and my neighbour and the other nurse in the room were laughing so hard!
I am not a vulgar person and I tend to try my best to be as polite and understanding as one can be but sometimes I find that in the hospitals you just have to be upfront and that tends to clear the air.
Also at the second hospital they brought me a laptop with some kidney transplant training software made by Roche laboratories ( Cellcept antirejection meds ... not sure if you have these in the US )..... I spent about 5 hours or so on the thing ( I kept having to stop and put it back to later as it would put me to sleep and completed the thing in 2 days ). I honestly didn't learn a single thing and found tons of errors in what they were saying .... the nurses didn't appreciate that. They gave me a sheet of paper to write down questions I had and I just wrote down things that were incorrect with what this training software was saying :P