It's 3:26 in the morning and I can't sleep...

I just need to vent a little, sorry guys. I've been in the hospital since Monday in a specialized headache unit and I'm getting fed up with the dang nurses.... I'm supposed to be getting round the clock IV medication every six hours, but most of the nurses aren't following that. Instead they are making me wait hours and hours and hours and telling me that I'm just making it up and they know it all better. It's my body, I have a brain. And even though my brain may be hurting right now , it's still working. I'm definitely going to have to have a chat with my doctor tomorrow morning when he comes in (the doctors do their rounds on the unit here at like the crack of dawn which is also annoying). So now my nurse says that I have to wait to get my Norflex (muscle relaxant) till 5 am. I was supposed to get it at 2 am... grrrrrr. So basically she's going to give me medication that basically makes me almost pass out and then expect me to talk with the doctor and PA within half an hour of getting the dang stuff. How does that make sense?! I mean, I'm thankful that I am able to be in a private 5-star hospital, but this is just downright annoying. Plus I've had something in my right eye for the past couple hours and I can't get it out and it's bugging the heck out of me. Plus when I just pushed my call button and asked if my nurse could bring my medication, she ended up calling me on the phone in the room and yelling at me that my TV was too loud- it was on its lowest volume setting! Who sleeps with a loud TV? And even if it was loud, I'm all the way at the end of the hall where there is like no one around so who would notice?! I'd like to find the person that complained and punch them in the face... that's the kind of mood I'm in.

And I miss my kitties soooo bad! Everytime I turn on my laptop I see one of Pirate's baby pictures as the background, and it literally makes me want to cry. I actually did cry a little bit earlier because I was looking through all their pictures on photobucket.

There's more that's annoying- I'm here for my headaches to get better and they haven't gotten any better. They are only better right after they give me IV benadryl or IV norflex, and that is very short lived unfortunately. So there's no telling how much longer I'm going to end up staying here this time. Last time I was here I was inpatient for 14 days..... now THAT sucked big time lol. And for those of you who are in the medical field and know what this is- I've got a PICC line and it's really itchy but I can't itch it because it is covered with tegaderm and even if I could scratch it I may screw it up. So all I can do is lightly rub it. NOT fair! It feels like the world is just pooping on my head right now.

Yeah, sorry about all that negativity. I just figured that if I didn't get it out somewhere, I'd explode on someone here and that probably wouldn't turn out well....... So thanks for letting me vent- I know it's annoying I'm sorry. Anyone else up at this time? Haha dumb question- there are people from all over the world on this site so someone is bound to be up and online right now. It's not 3 AM everywhere

good morning

that cant be fun at all for you!! and its not fair that you are having to wait for the meds you need to take at certain times, do they write it down on your chart when you have took the meds and at what time? if they give you the relaxent one just before the doc comes round he may notice your not acting the way you should be, if you think your going to feel all "doped" up about it could you not write everything down before they give you them pills so you would remembe and he can read it maybe

Originally Posted by -_aj_-

good morning

that cant be fun at all for you!! and its not fair that you are having to wait for the meds you need to take at certain times, do they write it down on your chart when you have took the meds and at what time? if they give you the relaxent one just before the doc comes round he may notice your not acting the way you should be, if you think your going to feel all "doped" up about it could you not write everything down before they give you them pills so you would remembe and he can read it maybe

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Well, I did end up getting my meds at 4 AM, right after I logged off the computer and went to lie back down in bed. The doctor should be coming around any minute, and I'm not all doped up right now so I should be good. I won't be all doped up until 10 AM...

They do chart it when they do everything, but some nurses give it a little later or earlier.

Haha, as I'm typing this the doctor just walked in and said that he is going to start another fricken round of DHE, the evil drug, AND start IV depacon. I'm not looking forward to this- it means spending a LOT of time alone in my room not having any good times at all. booooooooo. At least I can still get the abortive meds as needed... but in between. So basically this entire time I will be doped out. UGH!!!! Oh well, hopefully this weekend will go by fast. He doesn't want to send me home yet which I'm happy about because I don't feel any better.

awww hun im sorry i forgot to come back check this topic

you sound full of spirt and you'll get through this back you your babies

how are you doing?

Originally Posted by -_aj_-

awww hun im sorry i forgot to come back check this topic

you sound full of spirt and you'll get through this back you your babies

how are you doing?

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Well I was going to be released tomorrow, but due to last night's huge scare about my shunt possibly malfunctioning again and the headaches becoming unbearable, my doctor said that he is going to cancel my discharge... and I've come to learn that in doctor's terms, that means you're screwed and u have to stay here for awhile lol.

It's just more of a boredom thing here- also it's pissing me off how long it takes nurses to come to my room after I press my call light... sometimes they just ignore it. Like I just pushed my call light and asked if my nurse could come to my room and look at my PICC line because I thought it was starting to get infected, they said sure. 15-20 minutes later, I walk down the hall and who do I see just sitting there charting her crap? My nurse... She took a quick look at it there and just said that it's fine. She also said that they are still working on getting that caffeine drip up here from pharmacy or something. I have the feeling that it's such a rare thing they don't even have it and need to wait for it to be delivered or something. That's the only explanation that would make sense for this.

Oh- and here's another fun one- I'm most likely going to have to wait all day long to hear back from my neurologist to see if he was able to talk to my neurosurgeon back in Wisconsin. I just wish that they would do the diagnostic testing here while I'm still in the hospital. That would make more sense, right? I mean it won't make sense to send me three hours back to the hospital where my neurosurgeon is just to find out that there is nothing wrong with the shunt. I'd be more than willing to go back to the hospital in WI if they found something in some test here.

I'm even so bored that I signed up to go to another biofeedback appointment at 1:10 pm. And for those of you who know what biofeedback is, most people think it's useless and hokey. But I'm so bored, I don't want to just spend the rest of my day lying in my bed or going to groups that have nothing to do with me. I think to find out what exactly that caffeine crap is I'm just going to go to the pharmacy class at 2, which the pharmacist for the unit is in charge of it. I can also ask him about another medication that I am going to be sent home with me that I've never taken before.

you know hun if the nurses over here treated anyone the way they are treating you they would have their martching orders they are paid to help and care for people

hehe do you like sudoku might be a good time to do them (sorry)

im hoping they can get you sorted soon hun!

There is actually an extreme shortage of nurses here in the US. It's not that they are bad nurses, it's just that their work loads are huge and wayyyyy out of control. For instance, sometimes it's two nurses on the unit when there really should be 5 or something. And it's not their fault, it's just hard to understand that when it's 3 or 4 in the morning and I have the worst headache in the world and want something for the pain (it's kinda funny- everyone on the unit seems to wake up and fall asleep at the same times, so we all end up pushing our call lights pretty much at the same times lol which is totally uncool because then thats when the nurse's overload of work starts). It's like synchronized I find it quite humorous

As for the doctors... the doctors that are actually part of this clinic/program are extremely punctual. The other day it was mainly waiting for my neurosurgeon to contact back my neurologist, and I have found out that it's either very easy or extremely difficult to get a hold of surgeons of all kinds.

Originally Posted by mismaris777

Well I was going to be released tomorrow, but due to last night's huge scare about my shunt possibly malfunctioning again and the headaches becoming unbearable, my doctor said that he is going to cancel my discharge... and I've come to learn that in doctor's terms, that means you're screwed and u have to stay here for awhile lol.

It's just more of a boredom thing here- also it's pissing me off how long it takes nurses to come to my room after I press my call light... sometimes they just ignore it. Like I just pushed my call light and asked if my nurse could come to my room and look at my PICC line because I thought it was starting to get infected, they said sure. 15-20 minutes later, I walk down the hall and who do I see just sitting there charting her crap? My nurse... She took a quick look at it there and just said that it's fine. She also said that they are still working on getting that caffeine drip up here from pharmacy or something. I have the feeling that it's such a rare thing they don't even have it and need to wait for it to be delivered or something. That's the only explanation that would make sense for this.

Oh- and here's another fun one- I'm most likely going to have to wait all day long to hear back from my neurologist to see if he was able to talk to my neurosurgeon back in Wisconsin. I just wish that they would do the diagnostic testing here while I'm still in the hospital. That would make more sense, right? I mean it won't make sense to send me three hours back to the hospital where my neurosurgeon is just to find out that there is nothing wrong with the shunt. I'd be more than willing to go back to the hospital in WI if they found something in some test here.

I'm even so bored that I signed up to go to another biofeedback appointment at 1:10 pm. And for those of you who know what biofeedback is, most people think it's useless and hokey. But I'm so bored, I don't want to just spend the rest of my day lying in my bed or going to groups that have nothing to do with me. I think to find out what exactly that caffeine crap is I'm just going to go to the pharmacy class at 2, which the pharmacist for the unit is in charge of it. I can also ask him about another medication that I am going to be sent home with me that I've never taken before.

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So sorry you are going through this. It totally sucks being in the hospital and depending on some one who is overloaded. Things need to change in that area, but that's another rant!

The PICC line gave me shivers! Had to have one when I was admitted for the 2nd time in 2 weeks for pneumonia. It was total hell....if I ever have to have another, they will have to catch me first. I'm allergic to dye so they were at a disadvantage and so was I. Third try was a charm, but if I'd had the strength to get my hands on any of the 3 techs that it took to get it placed....whoa baby!!!

I sure hope that they find relief for you and that you can get back to your babies soon. Sending lots of for your recovery and no more headaches.

You know, I really don't have any faith in the healthcare system in the U.S. Some family physicians are really good but most are very rude and they don't care about their patients.

When I was in the hospital after being hit by a car, I was in sooo much pain. I'd hit the call button and they wouldn't come, so I'd keep hitting it then they'd yell at me for it. Or if they did answer the call they'd take forever to bring me the pain meds. Also, the first hospital I was in didn't tell me that I had 2 fractured vertebrae! I could have really hurt myself. They just don't care I think.

Sounds so much like one of Gary's experiences! He's always got me to help him with the boredom thing though.

Wow did DHE not agree with Gary. We're trying to find someone who will prescribe a slow drip done at home - but the hospital intense DHE drip thing flipped some kind of switch in Gary and he started vomiting his guts out, despite the regalan and compazine and everything they tried. He couldn't keep water down. In fact, it took months for him to recover from that - he lost 40 pounds in six weeks.

Hang in there hun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about online games/arcade to help pass some time?

Originally Posted by LDG

Sounds so much like one of Gary's experiences! He's always got me to help him with the boredom thing though.

Wow did DHE not agree with Gary. We're trying to find someone who will prescribe a slow drip done at home - but the hospital intense DHE drip thing flipped some kind of switch in Gary and he started vomiting his guts out, despite the regalan and compazine and everything they tried. He couldn't keep water down. In fact, it took months for him to recover from that - he lost 40 pounds in six weeks.

Hang in there hun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about online games/arcade to help pass some time?

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A lot of websites are blocked here- pretty much anything fun lol. It's a private catholic hospital... so that's the reason why. I'm surprised that it will let me go on this site and facebook! It's weird though- last time I was here I was able to go on hulu and youtube no problem, and that was in September. So within a few months things have really changed.

i can vaguly remember my stay in hosptial, it was only 2 years ago but i was in so much pain long story short i had an abcess at the base of my spine and the doctor told me i needed to be admitted ASAP so i was and then i had a lovely nurse my own special one eeeesh i gave her grief because of the agony i was in and i have this problem if i panic my neck muscles spasm and shift about (you can see it happen - dead kool lol) and she settled me down and they relaxed then she told me the dude that was going to put me to sleep (cant spell his job) and it flared back up but he was lovely to and they settled again

i think on the ward i was on there was 5 of us and we all had a different nurse and if we pressed that buzzer they came damn quick

i dunno if its different in different health systems though but they are all paid to do their jobs arent they? i know in some of the private hospitals here they know that your about to press the buzzer and they are there

Originally Posted by -_aj_-

i can vaguly remember my stay in hosptial, it was only 2 years ago but i was in so much pain long story short i had an abcess at the base of my spine and the doctor told me i needed to be admitted ASAP so i was and then i had a lovely nurse my own special one eeeesh i gave her grief because of the agony i was in and i have this problem if i panic my neck muscles spasm and shift about (you can see it happen - dead kool lol) and she settled me down and they relaxed then she told me the dude that was going to put me to sleep (cant spell his job) and it flared back up but he was lovely to and they settled again

i think on the ward i was on there was 5 of us and we all had a different nurse and if we pressed that buzzer they came damn quick

i dunno if its different in different health systems though but they are all paid to do their jobs arent they? i know in some of the private hospitals here they know that your about to press the buzzer and they are there

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Well, IMO, out of all the health systems in the world (besides countries in extreme poverty, etc.) the United States is the crappiest. I hope that doesn't offend anyone on here that works for a hospital or doctor or something. I'm just talking in general. And yes, being in a private hospital is sooooo much nicer than being in a regular hospital. Especially this unit- we are given the freedom to do just about anything except run around naked or get in the elevator if you are hooked up to an IV pole. For instance, I literally just went down to the gift shop on the 1st floor (I'm on the 9th floor) and bought some junk food (mainly did that because I know I'm not going to like my dinner too much). And I went down there in my pj's and PICC line. As long as it's not hooked up to anything, then you're good to go. Oh, and they don't really recommend getting up right after they give you the IV benadryl or the IV muscle relaxer lol . Found that out the hard way- I think it was on wednesday or something that they came in and gave me my benadryl, and like a drunken idiot I all of a sudden decided that I had to pee... potty isn't far from the bed, but there is a wall separating them... well in my "stoned" state of mind, I forgot that walls existed. I think that explains itself .


Oh... and the dude that you are talking about that put you to sleep is called an anesthesiologist. I've been in and out of surgeries so many dang times that I know that sort of stuff. I'm just that good

And I'm pretty lucky tonight- I have one of my favorite nurses (he is the one that had to call the house doctor the other night because I was in like total panic mode from a headache). As I'm typing this with my left hand he is taking my blood pressure . Me so special

thats so kool haha

i knew what he was called and can say it just cant spell it right now long shift at work lmao

th UK is really good in the health department from what i have experianced i know a few of my friends havent found it so good

i dunno whether me being waited on hand and foot was because i was in the surgial ward rather than like a normal ward if that makes sense