Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Hi all, and Happy Holidays! Saturday's treatment went very well, my blood flow was at 400 for the entire 3 hr. 15 min. treatment session, but let me get back to the beginning of the morning of the treatment. I came in at 6:00 AM, and did the usual weigh, and then preceeded to my regular assigned chair. I am feeling so much better in the last few days, i came in with a smile on my face, and greeted varies fellow pts, as well as techs and nurses, but i can't understand for the life of me, why some of the techs and nurses at our unit, seem to be in a sort of funky mood, (so to speak), that when i would say good morning to him or her, it is though, they are struggling with just saying those two delightful words to me, i feel that most of us patients, do come in from time to time, not feeling our best, but we still have the kind consideration to say good morning to those varies techs and/or nurses. Now don't get me wrong, there are some that say good morning to me first, and that truly pleases me, and makes it so much easier to endure the hours of treatment, with much peace of mind. I am aware that some may come into the unit, with some personal issues that they may have experience that morning prior to entering the unit, but why bring your problems or issues to the unit, and take it out on your dialysis pts., what you should be taking into consideration is the fact, that without us dialysis pts, you wouldn't have a secure job (especially with the economy the way it is these days), they really need to get a clue, and wakeup and smell the coffee, and try their best to show some kindness to their fellow dialysis pts., well so much for that. As you usual, i am not put on, at a decent time, still waiting with other dialysis pts. as well, especially this being Saturday, and i had plan on doing some much needed christmas shopping (with my college daughter) after hemo treatment, that i had been putting off and avoiding all these weeks (lol). Now, because of this late put on, i have to go shopping a little later on, and have to put up with all the chaos, with parking, as well as waiting in these long lines at the register, they should have a line, just for people that are disabled or handicapped, right! and that of course, could be very long as well, as i notice that trying to find handicapped parking, is very difficult in itself. All the handicapped spaces are usually taken as well. I was forced to park, almost outside of the Mall parking lot, ain't that something, that i am sure, many of you out there, are coping with during this holiday season, right! Well, it is all good. I never dreamed possible, that i would become so exhausted and fatigue, just shopping, there was a time, even being on dialysis, that i could shop until i drop, and maybe that is because i am in my mid 50's and still on dialysis, so maybe that should be taken into consideration. I just took a moment here and there, and sat and rest for about 15 minutes at a time. At times, it was very difficult to find somewhere to sit, and i noticed there were even children sitting, like they are so tired from shopping, i even was forced to sat on the corner of a shoe display in Macy's, and people were just looking at me, some look at me with pity, and some just observed me with confusement (especially with that big bandage showing throught my blouse) that in itself, makes me look like i am ill and in pain, and i just continued to chill and rest, until my energy returned somewhat. and i was able to continue on with my christmas shopping. My daughter was a big help in holding my purse and the packages, because for some reason, just holding my purse, (which is enormous - lol), would exhauste me somewhat, go figure! I even observed some patrons in wheelchairs, so i thought to myself, (i should be ashamed of myself, i do have leg capability, right!), let me muscle up the energy, to continue with this shopping, however, i did do some of my shopping online, but it is very beneficial if i would frequent the actual stores, such as Macy's, JC Penneys, and Sears, because if you go into the store, they have so many clearance items, with as much as 50% off, and then when you go to the register, they even inform you of an additional discount of as much as 20% more or even if you by one item, you get a second item for free, ( just love holiday shopping), ain't that something!, so yes, dialysis pts. muscle up the strength to take a trip to the mall, and indulge in these benefits for your gift shopping, OK. I want to thank my friend, Alton Milton, (who is a transplant recipient), on sharing those you tube vidoe on facebook, that truly take me back down to memory lane, (i even think about the time for a moment, when i wasn't on dialysis, when i first heard these varies tunes, not a care in the world about my health). He always brightens my day, sharing these varies videos, just keep them coming my friend, i look forward to what he will surprise me with next. Much love to him, and all the best to Alton and his family this holiday season. Now, if any of my followers, have touchscreen tablets, such as any ereaders, ipad, ipod, kindle, nook, any electronic way of downloading books to their mechanism, my 2nd book - My Twenty Year Journey with PKD in the Dialysis World - is available on ebook, very easy simple reading, and i have tried my best to share the meaning of varies technical words, used throughout my book. You can purchase it at xlibris.com, (my publisher), barnes & nobles, and you can also google my name and title of my books, where varies bookstores and outlets, that have discounted my books, as well as my 2nd book on ebook. I have shared so much in my 2nd book, as a briefer, (my pre-dialysis days, which have improved so much since my diagnose of ESRD back in 1990), a great deal is shared about those very important minerals and how important it is to keep them in normal range, so that you can maintain good health on dialysis, and most importantly i have shared ways of how to keep those minerals in normal range, with the diet as well as your medication regiment. I also share my first transplant experience (though the medication has changed somewhat, the scenarios that surround the post transplant protocol, hasn't changed much), i also share an array of renal friendly recipes as a bonus, in the cookbook section of my book, with very important nutritional facts, to help you to better understand this very complex renal diet, which has a stigma of restriction attached to it, that i know and experience all too well all these years. I even share my extensive experience with both hemo as well as PD, and the advantages and disadvantages of both of these forms of dialysis treatment. I also share my transition from hemo to PD, and why! and also my transition back to hemo from PD, which couldn't be avoided, and why i had to return. Also my development of congestive heart failure, during my ten year run with hemo, and mainly why it occur, and most importantly ways of preventing it from happening to you, or preventing it from re occuring with some fellow dialysis pts. There is so much that i have packed into this 2nd book, that i am sure you can benefit from my many years of dialysis experience and of course, the knowledge, that i have achieved all these years. Downloading my book, is a more inexpensive way of owning my book, that could potentially become your dialysis bible (so to speak), you can refer to it, from time to time, if you experience some of the varies health issues that i have coped with all these years, and i hope in my heart, that my books, could potentially be beneficial to so many out there faced with dialysis for their continued survival. I don't protest to know everything there is to know about the renal/dialysis life, but i am here to say i have experience and learned a great deal living the dialysis life this way for so long so far. 22 years and still going strong, need i say more! Well that is it for my blogging today, until my next blog, i wish all my followers all the best, and Merry Christmas, and with much happiness, good health and prosperity for the upcoming New Year. And please chime in, with your thoughts, concerns and similar experiences on my blog, i do look forward to receiving all your thoughts, concerns and experiences. Get tested for possible early diagnose of CKD, if you haven't been tested, (especially those with a history of diabetes and/or high blood pressure (two of the main causes of CKD), early diagnose can be so beneficial, to so many out there, because i can't stress it enough - preventive measures can be taken in prolonging CKD, and even reverse the progression in some cases. People the awareness needs to continue to be spread in a very serious way, about CKD. We need some media attention, (that we are not getting enough of), Help us get our voices heard from the renal/dialysis communities in the USA and all over the world for that matter. Sending much love and concern from the bay area. Glo
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Hi all, & Happy Holidays to you all. Wow! i do have a great deal of blogging to catch up on, so i will start with, the day of my double hernia surgery, Wednesday, December 7, 2011, well the night before the scheduled surgery that morning, i had to do a little aseptic cleaning, hours before the surgery. Let me share something with you, before i get too deep into my actual surgery day. I saw the surgeon, Dr. Besman, two weeks before the surgery, for a pre-op visit, you know to see the surgeon, and then the anthesiologist. After my clinic visit with, Dr. Besman, he tells me i need to see his nurse assistant, before departing, so i thought that might be, to go over the scenarios about the upcoming hernia surgery, but she hands me this burgundy colored packet, which contained some sort of aseptic cleansing kit, and i thought to myself, what is this all about? she said i had to cleanse my body and the area, where my surgery is suppose to be repaired, and then i looked at her, and said, when did this all happen, I said with surprise, "So i said viciously, so the patient has to do their own cleansing of their body, before surgery" and she said, it is a new policy enforced, but we will inspect the body, before surgery to make sure that the body is well cleansed and sanitary for the surgery, and i responded with, I have had a past hernia repair back in 2006, and the cleansing was done in the surgery room, so what gives! I began to explain to her, that i had been forced to take sponge baths, since my return to hemo temporary, in order, to have my double hernia repaired, and this is because, i have a temp cath in my chest, which it is very important, to not get it wet for a potential risk of infection, and i think in my opinion, this is just more for me to cope with, doing my daily cleansing of my PD cath, plus this hernia area as well. So, i just said, well if this is required, i will try to do my best to cleanse it as best as i can. She even gave me a sheet of paper, with the instructions on how to cleanse the area. I thought to myself, now, on top of the anxiety, that i felt the day before my surgery, i have to carefully the night before do all this cleansing, right along with my daily PD cath cleansing, as well as my sponge bath all over my body, and carefully cleanse my surgerical area. I got through all this, now back to that tuesday night before the surgery, i guess you know, i didn't get much sleep, as i had to be up and ready to leave around 5:30 AM, i was requested to be there at 6:00 AM, for registration, and the usual disrobing and cleansing inspection from a surgerical nurse. When i arrived, there were about 1/2 dozen patients already sitting and waiting in the surgery center registration room, my husband and daughter accompany me to the hospital, so i felt pretty comfortable and calm at that moment, about 15 minutes, i was called to come up to the booth to register. I was shocked when i finish the registering aspect of the drill, but she startled me with these words, (i truly didn't expect to hear), after she took my kaiser card and driver's license, she informed me that i had a co-pay of $175.00, boy things have changed, since my past hernia repair back in 2006, Bush has truly did a number on us longtime insurance holders, all these co-pays, and something i think, why am i even paying insurance premiums every month, what in the hell is it going towards, well i could only pay half, as i didn't expect to even have to pay any money, it was a good thing, i had one of my credit cards with me, because she wouldn't have had no alternative but to bill me, right! Well on with the scenarios, there was this retired elderly guy, who is a longtime volunteer at kaiser, so he was directing instructions to my husband and daughter, stating that they could sit in the waiting room, outside my hospital room, and that they could even go get breakfast in the coffee shop of the hospital, and i guess i wasn't really paying attention or listening to him, and i attempted to go sit in the waiting room, and he promptly said before i could sit down, the volunteer remarks with "Aren't you the patient", and at that moment, i felt so stupid, and said yes i am, "well you need to come with me, so he escorted me to another area, where there were was this very large room, with partition station lined up on either side. I was told to go into this particular stall, and disrobe, everything, and remove all jewelry, well i didn't really have much jewelry on, but i did have my diamond stud earrings still on, that i forgot to remove the night before. It was a very pleasant atmostphere in this room, (some pts. already fully covered and lying down comfortable in all that warmth, i guess just waiting to be wheeled into the OR), inspite of all the anxiety i was experiencing. They even had this new way of keeping you warm, it was this quilted white covering, that had a suction pipe attached to it, to distribute the heat, and yes, i was warmed up in no time, and it was to the point, that when the nurse came in, she took my temp and it was 101.5, and she said you maybe running a fever, and thought to myself, i don't feel any chills, and that is normally what i experience, when my temperature maybe going up, so she decided to do a manual temp, something else that was very new to me, she ran this temperature mechanism across my forhead, and the temp read - 98.4, so she said, the temperature on this bed warmer, maybe too hot, but i wasn't complaining, i was feeling so warm and comfortable, that i wasn't aware that i was burning up with warmth (lol). All that morning, i was having visitor after visitor, varies doctors, nurses, anthesiologist, and even staff, that i had known from my many years of being a patient at this hospital. I started getting confused as to how many staff personnel was looking over my chart. Now, it is time to do my IV, (issues, issues, issues), i know this was going to be a challenge, as i have dealt with this so much throughout my 20 some years of hospital life (lol). The nurse was glad that i was so warm from that warming gadget, that my veins were very visible, so she saw a vien, that she was excited to say, that could work, but of course, as she inserted the needle, that little sucker, did what it usually does, run and hide, i think my veins have a mind of their own,(they despise needles), especially being very small veins, and tricky at the same time, she did finally get the needle in, but no blood returned, and then as usual it began to blow, so she had to look further at my right arm, and try to find a cooperative vein, and she didn't have much success with this second stick, so finally the anthesiolgoist, took a look at my veins, and was very eager to take on the challenge, and at that moment, i thought in my mind, what am i, a contest to win, like who will succeed at this task, well the anethesologist, (i hope i am spelling this right, (lol), i never could spell this word. He finally succeeded in getting a pretty good IV on me. It is now, about 7:30 AM, and Dr. Besman, the surgeon finally arrives, and comes in, to say hi and say that he is ready to rock and roll. Though he didn't have to go over, how he was going to proceed with the repair of the hernia,(because he discuss this with me, during the pre-op visit), He was ready to get started. It is now, 7:45 AM, and my bed is then wheeled into the OR, i am then told to transfer over to their surgerical bed, and then they do another cleansing of my hernia site, and of course, the shaving of my private area, and then i am told, to lay both my arms straight out on this narrow steel like tables on either side of my arms. One arm is used for the b/p cuff, and the other where my IV is stationed, i am then told that they are giving me a local sedation med, and of course, i become very drowsy and fatigue, i could faintly hear the music, that i could vibratedly hear, when i first entered the OR room, i guess i am just about asleep. The surgery was for about an hour and 1/2, and i woke up slowly, to another room, and kinda glimpsed at the nurse, that was sitting next to my bed. She smiled and said, everything went well, how are you feeling, well, i guess, i was having much difficulty coming out of that sedated med, that i fell back off to sleep, but the nurse insist, that i stay awake, and then she didn't waste anytime, telling me, that she was going to put me in a wheelchair for the remainder of the time, i remember when there was a time back in 2006, since my last surgerical procedure, that they didn't rush you out of the bed, so yes, everything has changed, there is no compassion or concern anymore for the patient, and as i aware that it was an outpatient surgery, i don't remember being treated this way ever. My husband was summoned to help me stay awake, and then the nurse had the nerve to say, now that your husband is here, he can help you get dress, by this time, it is 12 Noon, because i was glimpsing at the big clock on the wall facing me. Boy! this nurse, was in such a hurry to get me out of there, not even asking if i had any pain of such, well to my surprise i wasn't having any discomfort or pain of such. I finally got dressed, and she came back with the discharge papers. And i was wheeled to the front lobby, and my husband drove up, and i was on my way home, but before i could go home, my husband had to pick up my discharge prescriptions, which included painkillers as well, but there was so much confusement with my med order, that my husband had to return to kaiser, because the doctor didn't fill the orders for an outside pharmacy, (in which i am on my husband's military insurance), we were running around in circles, that finally i had to call my neph office, to find out, how am i going to get a prescription for an outside pharmacy, by this time, an hour had past, and surely, my sedation med had warned off, and i was beginning to have very excruiating pain, that i became angry and frustrated, this only made my husband more angry and disgusted, finally my neph called back and spoke with Dr. Besman, and this issue was finally remedied, as soon as they filled the order at Kaiser, in which i had to pay out of pocket, at the time, i didn't care about the cost for the med. All i wanted was relief. I popped two of those painkillers in my mouth, and i was glad my husband had a bottle of water in the car, but of course, it took about an half hour before the pills began to kick in, so i had to agonize for awhile, until they did. I am finally home and comfortable, and of course, the painkillers made me very sleepy, so i slept most of the afternoon, into the evening. More to share, about my very next day after surgery, at the unit, and that is detailed with a great deal of drama. Now about the day after surgery, thursday, December 8, 2011, I arrived at the unit at 5:15 AM, as usual to be put on by 5:30 AM, but that didn't occur. First, i was walking really slowly towards the weight machine, and then i walked slowly over to my chair, as i was walking, varies fellow pts. saw that i was kinda struggling to get to my chair, so i shared with them, that i had, had double hernia surgery repair on wednesday, it was so sweet, they showed so much concern for me. As i made it to my chair, i decided to stand, because if i would have sat down, it would've been very difficult for me to stand back up, so a PCT ask me why i was standing at my chair, and i explained to him, that i had had a double hernia surgery, and he said, just sat down, and of course, it was very painful for me to sit in that position, because bending with this incision wasn't very pleasant for me, finally at 6:30, the nurse got around to getting me setup for hemo treatment. The PCT and nurse, were still going slow with everything. I was sitting and then the PCT tech ask me for a standing b/p, and that is when my husband stepped in and remarked with she can't be sitting and standing with that incision in her belly. The PCT kinda had an attitude, and she went across to another pt. to assist the nurse with another catherer pt, but the nurse said, you need to get back over here, because i am ready to connect her lines, and she did have consideration to tell the PCT, that she can skip the standing b/p, because i was obviously experiencing some pain and discomfort at the time. I was so miserable this day, it wasn't a very pleasant run, because the alarms kept going off, after even a half hour of treatment, it was evidence, that my blood was beginning to clot, because they were given instructions to hold my heparin for three treatments after my surgery, but that proved to not be feasible, as i had gotten into 1 hr. and 24 minutes of my treatment, they decided to discard my dialyzer and the tubing, and start all over, but even after 14 minutes into the treatment, it was decided that i needed to stop the treatment, and return an hour early on tuesday, for some medication to help with the clotting, and they would send a message, to ask the neph to start the heparin again on tuesday. I was pleased with this, though i didn't receive my full treatment, i wasn't very comfortable doing the treatment anyway, that i think God was in this plan, for me to go home, and recuperate some more and take some pain meds, so that i can rest comfortably. As i am aware, that they didn't take much off, so i really needed to monitor my fluids real closely, because after all this is Saturday, and i have Saturday, plus Sunday and Monday, to go without treatment, but i know i have the will power to do this, because i have done this in the past on hemo, with much success, so no worries. I hope on tuesday, i am put on at a decent hour. Tuesday, December 6, 2011, i was put on at a ridiculous hour, i arrived at 5:15AM, my usual time, and wasn't put on until 7:20 AM, and they come up with some bogus excuse, like they are adjusting to new protocol in the unit, and that we patients should bare with them, but what i don't understand is, if they know they are going to be behind putting patients on, why not give them a courtesy call, not to come at the usual time, but an hour later, so that they wouldn't have to sit around looking like fools, just waiting around to be hooked up to the machine, but no, they just have the patients coming in at their regular time, and sitting around in confusement, because of what happened tuesday at the unit, i decided to come in on Saturday, a little later, like a half hour later, and guess what! i was still sitting around for some time, until i was finally put on for treatment. The way things are going at the unit, it doesn't look like we patients are going to be back to our regular scheduled time for awhile, and in the meantime, i will come in a half hour later at each treatment, until i see that they have gotten a little more organized and abiding by our scheduled treatment sessions. Well, that is it for now, until next blog. Happy Holidays! to you all. take care and all the best to all my followers of my blog. Oh! I am feeling much better, minimum pain now, maybe it will have subsided all the way by Monday.
Glo
Hi all, & Happy Holidays to you all. Wow! i do have a great deal of blogging to catch up on, so i will start with, the day of my double hernia surgery, Wednesday, December 7, 2011, well the night before the scheduled surgery that morning, i had to do a little aseptic cleaning, hours before the surgery. Let me share something with you, before i get too deep into my actual surgery day. I saw the surgeon, Dr. Besman, two weeks before the surgery, for a pre-op visit, you know to see the surgeon, and then the anthesiologist. After my clinic visit with, Dr. Besman, he tells me i need to see his nurse assistant, before departing, so i thought that might be, to go over the scenarios about the upcoming hernia surgery, but she hands me this burgundy colored packet, which contained some sort of aseptic cleansing kit, and i thought to myself, what is this all about? she said i had to cleanse my body and the area, where my surgery is suppose to be repaired, and then i looked at her, and said, when did this all happen, I said with surprise, "So i said viciously, so the patient has to do their own cleansing of their body, before surgery" and she said, it is a new policy enforced, but we will inspect the body, before surgery to make sure that the body is well cleansed and sanitary for the surgery, and i responded with, I have had a past hernia repair back in 2006, and the cleansing was done in the surgery room, so what gives! I began to explain to her, that i had been forced to take sponge baths, since my return to hemo temporary, in order, to have my double hernia repaired, and this is because, i have a temp cath in my chest, which it is very important, to not get it wet for a potential risk of infection, and i think in my opinion, this is just more for me to cope with, doing my daily cleansing of my PD cath, plus this hernia area as well. So, i just said, well if this is required, i will try to do my best to cleanse it as best as i can. She even gave me a sheet of paper, with the instructions on how to cleanse the area. I thought to myself, now, on top of the anxiety, that i felt the day before my surgery, i have to carefully the night before do all this cleansing, right along with my daily PD cath cleansing, as well as my sponge bath all over my body, and carefully cleanse my surgerical area. I got through all this, now back to that tuesday night before the surgery, i guess you know, i didn't get much sleep, as i had to be up and ready to leave around 5:30 AM, i was requested to be there at 6:00 AM, for registration, and the usual disrobing and cleansing inspection from a surgerical nurse. When i arrived, there were about 1/2 dozen patients already sitting and waiting in the surgery center registration room, my husband and daughter accompany me to the hospital, so i felt pretty comfortable and calm at that moment, about 15 minutes, i was called to come up to the booth to register. I was shocked when i finish the registering aspect of the drill, but she startled me with these words, (i truly didn't expect to hear), after she took my kaiser card and driver's license, she informed me that i had a co-pay of $175.00, boy things have changed, since my past hernia repair back in 2006, Bush has truly did a number on us longtime insurance holders, all these co-pays, and something i think, why am i even paying insurance premiums every month, what in the hell is it going towards, well i could only pay half, as i didn't expect to even have to pay any money, it was a good thing, i had one of my credit cards with me, because she wouldn't have had no alternative but to bill me, right! Well on with the scenarios, there was this retired elderly guy, who is a longtime volunteer at kaiser, so he was directing instructions to my husband and daughter, stating that they could sit in the waiting room, outside my hospital room, and that they could even go get breakfast in the coffee shop of the hospital, and i guess i wasn't really paying attention or listening to him, and i attempted to go sit in the waiting room, and he promptly said before i could sit down, the volunteer remarks with "Aren't you the patient", and at that moment, i felt so stupid, and said yes i am, "well you need to come with me, so he escorted me to another area, where there were was this very large room, with partition station lined up on either side. I was told to go into this particular stall, and disrobe, everything, and remove all jewelry, well i didn't really have much jewelry on, but i did have my diamond stud earrings still on, that i forgot to remove the night before. It was a very pleasant atmostphere in this room, (some pts. already fully covered and lying down comfortable in all that warmth, i guess just waiting to be wheeled into the OR), inspite of all the anxiety i was experiencing. They even had this new way of keeping you warm, it was this quilted white covering, that had a suction pipe attached to it, to distribute the heat, and yes, i was warmed up in no time, and it was to the point, that when the nurse came in, she took my temp and it was 101.5, and she said you maybe running a fever, and thought to myself, i don't feel any chills, and that is normally what i experience, when my temperature maybe going up, so she decided to do a manual temp, something else that was very new to me, she ran this temperature mechanism across my forhead, and the temp read - 98.4, so she said, the temperature on this bed warmer, maybe too hot, but i wasn't complaining, i was feeling so warm and comfortable, that i wasn't aware that i was burning up with warmth (lol). All that morning, i was having visitor after visitor, varies doctors, nurses, anthesiologist, and even staff, that i had known from my many years of being a patient at this hospital. I started getting confused as to how many staff personnel was looking over my chart. Now, it is time to do my IV, (issues, issues, issues), i know this was going to be a challenge, as i have dealt with this so much throughout my 20 some years of hospital life (lol). The nurse was glad that i was so warm from that warming gadget, that my veins were very visible, so she saw a vien, that she was excited to say, that could work, but of course, as she inserted the needle, that little sucker, did what it usually does, run and hide, i think my veins have a mind of their own,(they despise needles), especially being very small veins, and tricky at the same time, she did finally get the needle in, but no blood returned, and then as usual it began to blow, so she had to look further at my right arm, and try to find a cooperative vein, and she didn't have much success with this second stick, so finally the anthesiolgoist, took a look at my veins, and was very eager to take on the challenge, and at that moment, i thought in my mind, what am i, a contest to win, like who will succeed at this task, well the anethesologist, (i hope i am spelling this right, (lol), i never could spell this word. He finally succeeded in getting a pretty good IV on me. It is now, about 7:30 AM, and Dr. Besman, the surgeon finally arrives, and comes in, to say hi and say that he is ready to rock and roll. Though he didn't have to go over, how he was going to proceed with the repair of the hernia,(because he discuss this with me, during the pre-op visit), He was ready to get started. It is now, 7:45 AM, and my bed is then wheeled into the OR, i am then told to transfer over to their surgerical bed, and then they do another cleansing of my hernia site, and of course, the shaving of my private area, and then i am told, to lay both my arms straight out on this narrow steel like tables on either side of my arms. One arm is used for the b/p cuff, and the other where my IV is stationed, i am then told that they are giving me a local sedation med, and of course, i become very drowsy and fatigue, i could faintly hear the music, that i could vibratedly hear, when i first entered the OR room, i guess i am just about asleep. The surgery was for about an hour and 1/2, and i woke up slowly, to another room, and kinda glimpsed at the nurse, that was sitting next to my bed. She smiled and said, everything went well, how are you feeling, well, i guess, i was having much difficulty coming out of that sedated med, that i fell back off to sleep, but the nurse insist, that i stay awake, and then she didn't waste anytime, telling me, that she was going to put me in a wheelchair for the remainder of the time, i remember when there was a time back in 2006, since my last surgerical procedure, that they didn't rush you out of the bed, so yes, everything has changed, there is no compassion or concern anymore for the patient, and as i aware that it was an outpatient surgery, i don't remember being treated this way ever. My husband was summoned to help me stay awake, and then the nurse had the nerve to say, now that your husband is here, he can help you get dress, by this time, it is 12 Noon, because i was glimpsing at the big clock on the wall facing me. Boy! this nurse, was in such a hurry to get me out of there, not even asking if i had any pain of such, well to my surprise i wasn't having any discomfort or pain of such. I finally got dressed, and she came back with the discharge papers. And i was wheeled to the front lobby, and my husband drove up, and i was on my way home, but before i could go home, my husband had to pick up my discharge prescriptions, which included painkillers as well, but there was so much confusement with my med order, that my husband had to return to kaiser, because the doctor didn't fill the orders for an outside pharmacy, (in which i am on my husband's military insurance), we were running around in circles, that finally i had to call my neph office, to find out, how am i going to get a prescription for an outside pharmacy, by this time, an hour had past, and surely, my sedation med had warned off, and i was beginning to have very excruiating pain, that i became angry and frustrated, this only made my husband more angry and disgusted, finally my neph called back and spoke with Dr. Besman, and this issue was finally remedied, as soon as they filled the order at Kaiser, in which i had to pay out of pocket, at the time, i didn't care about the cost for the med. All i wanted was relief. I popped two of those painkillers in my mouth, and i was glad my husband had a bottle of water in the car, but of course, it took about an half hour before the pills began to kick in, so i had to agonize for awhile, until they did. I am finally home and comfortable, and of course, the painkillers made me very sleepy, so i slept most of the afternoon, into the evening. More to share, about my very next day after surgery, at the unit, and that is detailed with a great deal of drama. Now about the day after surgery, thursday, December 8, 2011, I arrived at the unit at 5:15 AM, as usual to be put on by 5:30 AM, but that didn't occur. First, i was walking really slowly towards the weight machine, and then i walked slowly over to my chair, as i was walking, varies fellow pts. saw that i was kinda struggling to get to my chair, so i shared with them, that i had, had double hernia surgery repair on wednesday, it was so sweet, they showed so much concern for me. As i made it to my chair, i decided to stand, because if i would have sat down, it would've been very difficult for me to stand back up, so a PCT ask me why i was standing at my chair, and i explained to him, that i had had a double hernia surgery, and he said, just sat down, and of course, it was very painful for me to sit in that position, because bending with this incision wasn't very pleasant for me, finally at 6:30, the nurse got around to getting me setup for hemo treatment. The PCT and nurse, were still going slow with everything. I was sitting and then the PCT tech ask me for a standing b/p, and that is when my husband stepped in and remarked with she can't be sitting and standing with that incision in her belly. The PCT kinda had an attitude, and she went across to another pt. to assist the nurse with another catherer pt, but the nurse said, you need to get back over here, because i am ready to connect her lines, and she did have consideration to tell the PCT, that she can skip the standing b/p, because i was obviously experiencing some pain and discomfort at the time. I was so miserable this day, it wasn't a very pleasant run, because the alarms kept going off, after even a half hour of treatment, it was evidence, that my blood was beginning to clot, because they were given instructions to hold my heparin for three treatments after my surgery, but that proved to not be feasible, as i had gotten into 1 hr. and 24 minutes of my treatment, they decided to discard my dialyzer and the tubing, and start all over, but even after 14 minutes into the treatment, it was decided that i needed to stop the treatment, and return an hour early on tuesday, for some medication to help with the clotting, and they would send a message, to ask the neph to start the heparin again on tuesday. I was pleased with this, though i didn't receive my full treatment, i wasn't very comfortable doing the treatment anyway, that i think God was in this plan, for me to go home, and recuperate some more and take some pain meds, so that i can rest comfortably. As i am aware, that they didn't take much off, so i really needed to monitor my fluids real closely, because after all this is Saturday, and i have Saturday, plus Sunday and Monday, to go without treatment, but i know i have the will power to do this, because i have done this in the past on hemo, with much success, so no worries. I hope on tuesday, i am put on at a decent hour. Tuesday, December 6, 2011, i was put on at a ridiculous hour, i arrived at 5:15AM, my usual time, and wasn't put on until 7:20 AM, and they come up with some bogus excuse, like they are adjusting to new protocol in the unit, and that we patients should bare with them, but what i don't understand is, if they know they are going to be behind putting patients on, why not give them a courtesy call, not to come at the usual time, but an hour later, so that they wouldn't have to sit around looking like fools, just waiting around to be hooked up to the machine, but no, they just have the patients coming in at their regular time, and sitting around in confusement, because of what happened tuesday at the unit, i decided to come in on Saturday, a little later, like a half hour later, and guess what! i was still sitting around for some time, until i was finally put on for treatment. The way things are going at the unit, it doesn't look like we patients are going to be back to our regular scheduled time for awhile, and in the meantime, i will come in a half hour later at each treatment, until i see that they have gotten a little more organized and abiding by our scheduled treatment sessions. Well, that is it for now, until next blog. Happy Holidays! to you all. take care and all the best to all my followers of my blog. Oh! I am feeling much better, minimum pain now, maybe it will have subsided all the way by Monday.
Glo
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