Or why you have to either stay on top of things yourself or have someone there to do it for you.
I had my Spinal Cord Stimulator surgery on Tuesday. Went in at 10:30, very late for a diabetic and it was 3PM before I got to my room. My husband stayed long enough to see me settled and headed home.
And it’s a good thing I don’t linger too long under anesthesia effects. Cause I had to be my own advocate from the get-go.
They tried to give me OxyContin for the pain in the hospital in spite of the fact that my file says I’m allergic to codeine. So they give me Tylenol while they figure out what to give me. I ended up on Tramadol. It’s a medication I’ve used before safely. But it does make me loopy as a loon. And constipates the hell out of me.
Most of the nurses and aides I had were great, very helpful. Except for one. She had an attitude from the start. She took every statement I said wrong for some reason. I had been getting all the staff to check my back, especially under the bandages for redness. Knowing I’m severely allergic. I wasn’t asking them to remove them but given they were tegaderm and transparent, checking was easy. She pulled an attitude when I asked her if she would. Said she couldn’t cause she couldn’t remove them. I said I didn’t said remove them, just check them. So we get in the bathroom and I get turned around and settled and she’s still snippy with me. I said, please don’t get snippy with me. She said I’m not being snippy. I said yes, you are and if you continue to be, I will get in touch with the floor nurse and talk to her about you. The next time she had anything to do with me, butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. She was also very abrupt with my roommate who had a very hard night. But she wasn’t snippy with me again after that. Threatening her with a report to her supervisor was all it took. It didn’t hurt that there was a witness.
The only other problem I had was the meals. Dinner Tuesday night wasn’t terrible but not great. I survived it. But good Lord Almighty, Breakfast was not designed for any sane diabetic. They do carb EXCHANGES which make no sense. I count carbs. They sent me cereal, orange juice, skim milk, FRUIT and yogurt parfait, hash brown casserole, scrambled eggs, and sweet and low for my coffee. My file says I’m allergic to artificial sweeteners. I ate the eggs, and the aide got me a regular yogurt. I had taken plenty to drink from home. But my rant got me a visit from the dietitian! I explained that while yes I’m a diabetic, I don’t eat based on exchanges, I count carbs. I hadn’t had cereal since 1997. And I only drink OJ if my blood sugar goes super low.
But I’m home now, Charles is handling meals. He’s getting the same lines from me that I was getting from him. I ask him yesterday what was for dinner, he said, I don’t know. I said, why not, I got the finger!
I had my Spinal Cord Stimulator surgery on Tuesday. Went in at 10:30, very late for a diabetic and it was 3PM before I got to my room. My husband stayed long enough to see me settled and headed home.
And it’s a good thing I don’t linger too long under anesthesia effects. Cause I had to be my own advocate from the get-go.
They tried to give me OxyContin for the pain in the hospital in spite of the fact that my file says I’m allergic to codeine. So they give me Tylenol while they figure out what to give me. I ended up on Tramadol. It’s a medication I’ve used before safely. But it does make me loopy as a loon. And constipates the hell out of me.
Most of the nurses and aides I had were great, very helpful. Except for one. She had an attitude from the start. She took every statement I said wrong for some reason. I had been getting all the staff to check my back, especially under the bandages for redness. Knowing I’m severely allergic. I wasn’t asking them to remove them but given they were tegaderm and transparent, checking was easy. She pulled an attitude when I asked her if she would. Said she couldn’t cause she couldn’t remove them. I said I didn’t said remove them, just check them. So we get in the bathroom and I get turned around and settled and she’s still snippy with me. I said, please don’t get snippy with me. She said I’m not being snippy. I said yes, you are and if you continue to be, I will get in touch with the floor nurse and talk to her about you. The next time she had anything to do with me, butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. She was also very abrupt with my roommate who had a very hard night. But she wasn’t snippy with me again after that. Threatening her with a report to her supervisor was all it took. It didn’t hurt that there was a witness.
The only other problem I had was the meals. Dinner Tuesday night wasn’t terrible but not great. I survived it. But good Lord Almighty, Breakfast was not designed for any sane diabetic. They do carb EXCHANGES which make no sense. I count carbs. They sent me cereal, orange juice, skim milk, FRUIT and yogurt parfait, hash brown casserole, scrambled eggs, and sweet and low for my coffee. My file says I’m allergic to artificial sweeteners. I ate the eggs, and the aide got me a regular yogurt. I had taken plenty to drink from home. But my rant got me a visit from the dietitian! I explained that while yes I’m a diabetic, I don’t eat based on exchanges, I count carbs. I hadn’t had cereal since 1997. And I only drink OJ if my blood sugar goes super low.
But I’m home now, Charles is handling meals. He’s getting the same lines from me that I was getting from him. I ask him yesterday what was for dinner, he said, I don’t know. I said, why not, I got the finger!
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