Back to the hospital...again.

wookie130

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Well, some of you may know that my husband was admitted into the hospital with severe cellulitis in his leg last Sunday. Being the stubborn and restless person that he is, he was fairly uncooperative up there, and refused to lay in bed any length of time with his leg elevated. The nurses REPEATEDLY had to tell him to lay down and put his leg up, and he just couldn't seem to follow simple instructions. And, they were poking him right and left, taking blood samples, putting in IV needles for antibiotics, etc...so that made him owly. And to top it off, they gave him enough narcotic pain killers that he was rarely lucid, and quite growly with everyone. He's an addict, and was REALLY pressuring the nurses and his doctor to cave into his hourly requests for more and more pain medication...UGH!!!

Fast forward to Thursday night. He called me at home, and told me that they were going to discharge him in an hour...odd, seeing as his leg looked worse on Wednesday night than ever. They apparently installed a pick-line into his arm where he was to go in every day to the hospital and receive outpatient antibiotics through an IV daily. I came home from work last night, and he was out cold in bed, and totally skipped his IV antibiotic appointment. He refused to wake up, and was incredibly groggy. I called the hospital in a panic, and asked what I should do...they told me he was being non-compliant with his treatment, and that having an empty pick-line could invite immediate infection directly to the heart. In fact, his doctor was so worried that he had not shown up for his IV bag, that they had sent the police to check on him, as something easily could have happened to him during the day with the empty pick-line. So I'm on the phone, all worried, and look down at my husband soundly sleeping, and lo' and behold, the pick-line was laying NEXT to him on the bed, completely out of his arm. UUGHGHGHGHGHHHHHH!!!! The nurse informed me that he was in a life threatening situation, and that I was to bring him to the ER now...if this cellulitis worsened (I can't see how it can get any worse than it's been), he could die, or lose his leg.

Off the ER we go. DH is sound asleep, almost in a coma. Once we get there, he was so out of it and sleepy that he was unable to answer any questions, and he could not stay awake at all. They asked me if he had been drinking, and I told them no, as that was the truth. But I knew EXACTLY what was happening, as I've been through it again and again with DH. DH was withdrawing from all of the pain meds they had given him in the hospital, which of course he HAD to have...I was completely sickened. I told each nurse explicitly that he cannot be depended on to follow an outpatient regiment, as he's not dependable in the first place, and even less so when he's having withdrawal symptoms...and they should NOT give him any narcotic pain killers. Well, sure enough, as soon as he starts coming around, he begins to BEG and PLEAD with the nurses for pain killers, immediately after I told them about him being treatment last September for CRACK, and has a long history of chemical dependence, both with prescription and street drugs. They held off on them, until this morning, when the nurses finally caved and gave him a small dose of Vicodin...bad, bad, bad!!!! Anything in any amount is enough to send DH into full relapse, so I'm feeling really frustrated. :sad: I hope they know what they may have done by giving into the pleading and whining. His addiction has put my family through a living hell, and he's been doing so well. I just don't know what to do. You would think that the nurses and doctors could see right through this begging stuff...it's total junkie behavior.

Anyway, he has another pick-line in, and will most likely come home tomorrow. Let's hope he can actually commit to his outpatient IV antibiotics this time in a responsible manner, and GO. The last thing we want to do is go through this again, or have him lose a leg, or worse, his life. It's so frustrating!!!
 

kittenkiya

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Oh honey, what you need is one of these:
and then one of these:

and then one of these:


What HE needs is one of these:
and then one of these:
and then TWO of these:
 
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wookie130

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Thanks, I need them. I just phoned the head nurse, and reiterated to her that he will need help tapering off the Vicodin, and she told me that they've already begun doing so. Thank goodness.
 
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wookie130

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Originally Posted by KittenKiya

Oh honey, what you need is one of these:
and then one of these:

and then one of these:


What HE needs is one of these:
and then one of these:
and then TWO of these:
Does he ever!


Well, I know he'll always be an addict. It's a lifelong disease...I just want him to continue being a RECOVERING addict.
 

kittydad

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I am so sorry to hear about your husband. Dealing with a addiction of any sort can be rough not only on the person with the addiction, but also the whole family, immediate and secondary. Have you tried talking to the Drs about removing the narcotic painkillers because of this addiction? What was their response??? What about using a non narcotic painkiller instead???. Who knows what will happen, but till your husband hits rock bottom, there is little you can do, but once he hits rock bottom, then there may be hope for him to deal with his addiction.
The nurses are right, cellulitis is a very life threatening condition. And he is in real danger of what you mentioned, which is unfortunate. But a question I have is how did your hubby take the news of potentially losing his leg or his life when told of this? Sometimes that stimulates a person into dealing with their addiction.
I feel for you and your family, it has been a long rough ride, and there is only more pain for you in the future i think. I will be looking for an update on this, best of luck. I can see you love your husband, and that is why you are doing what you are doing. Sending comfort vibes to you and the family to help you thorugh this.
 

lsulover

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Sending you lots of hugs and prayers from Mississippi for you and your husband. I do hope that he gets better and I hope to that he gets the help he needs.

 
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wookie130

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He's doing okay. Last night his legs looked a lot better...they have him on Vancomycin, which is the strongest IV antibiotic there is, and it appears to be working. He's stopped begging the nurses for the Vicodin, and has basically accepted his pain regiment as is...I told him last night that they will be tapering him off of it up in the hospital, and he seemed to understand why.

I've been trying to get this wreck of a house put together and cleaned, so that he won't feel compelled to get out of bed when he gets home while I'm working, which I'm worried about.

Brought him some cookies last night, and he lit up like a 2nd grader!
 
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