In some ways, having an inside view of the medical world is probably a double edged sword when you suddenly find yourself being the patient.
Yep you bet.
It's hard work being a patient. I wanted to know what was going into my body, when I was coherent enough. I wanted to know my hemoglobin, hematocrit levels.
I said NO WAY when they were going to "top me off" with some blood after the bloody thing was removed and my levels had dropped drastically. Fried chicken livers & onions were the cure!
I
knew I didn't need that IV put back in when there was maybe just one more dose of antibiotic. I asked her to call the doctor, but she didn't!
She put the iv back in anyway, in the middle of the night of course, only to have it taken out in the morning.
People knew I was a nurse (and my hubby is a navy doc), so that affects some things. Like, "do you want some pain med?" uhh yea.
I was throwing up in the ICU after brain surgery. Repeatedly. They should have been pushing something in that IV at rapid succession to get it under control, but all I remember is the heaves, the head exploding, and some well intentioned nurse dabbing my mouth with a cloth. Give me a dang cold washcloth will ya?!
With my most recent face surgery, I had this fear of throwing up. Did well the first night. Kept asking for nausea medicine, just in case. I then knew it was either zophran or reglan or phenergan. They rotated them.
I had one throw up the morning after the face surgery. I was doing soooo well.
The doc had ordered 2 potassium pills, on an empty stomach, which came up. Bad doctor! Bad nurse for not asking the doc to make it IV form. I was an easy patient. I'm in the ICU!
The next day, I DID get IV potassium like I should have the previous day, and was fine. Then I was paranoid until I left the hospital that I would throw up.
And as a nurse, I know when I want my pain med and nausea med, and you better bring it to me! And bring me the nausea medicine
before the narcotic, not
with it!
So that's all for now.
Maureen
