Wednesday, August 17, 2011

hi guys, i have so much to share on this blog, now, where to start. Last Saturday night, i couldn't breathe very well, i had to sleep on about four pillows, to feel comfortable with sleeping, but that didn't last, i was still somehow experiencing breathing difficulties. Steven suggest that i go to ER, and be checked out. It is about 10PM and we arrived at ER, and was immediately registered in, because of my breathing difficulties, the nurse immediately gave me some oxygen. I felt a little bit better. The ER doc came in, about fifteen minutes later, and ordered an x-ray of my chest. This test didn't take long at all. Now, at this time, i am wandering if they will admit me or late me go home, but after i had the x-ray and the results came back promptly, it indicated that i had fluid around my lungs. Now, i am thinking that hemo isn't going as well for me, because this was only the day of treatment, that i found this out. However, right after my treatment session is over, and the nurse checks my lungs and heart, i ask her or him, every time, are my lungs clear, and they remark with yes, so i didn't think nothing of it, but after this latest diagnose at the ER, when i return to hemo, they better be up front about any fluid that i am retaining. All they do is check my ankles and say your fluid levels are fine. I even wander if they are aware, that fluid can be retain around your lungs. I truly think that all dialysis units, should be equipped with an x-ray machine, to detect fluid around the lungs or heart, for that matter, and what they should do to remedy this, but i guess with the economy plights, Davita wouldn't consider providing this for their patients, (it maybe way too expensive, to provide this kind of equipment, plus employ someone who is skilled with this machine. Well back to my hospital stay, after the diagnose of fluid around the lungs, the dialysis nurse, decided to challenge my dry weight. They decided to take off 2.5 on that Sunday, and the nurse called it bump treatment session, out of all my years of being on dialysis, i never heard this form of hemo treatment. the dialysis nurse explained it to me, that, that means they only take off the extra fluid gain, instead of the usual toxin, waste and fluids. You learn something new everyday, right! About a few hours after i completed this bump treatment, my b/p was drastically dropping. I can't tolerate 80's and 90's very well. My b/p was finally starting to elevate, 114/67, that is OK, but i usually feel better with 120 b/p. It is the next day, wednesday morning, and the doctor in charge of our floor, comes in and examine me (you know the usual, check the lungs, and then the heart), and he said i could go home, but he says i will get a visit from my neph, before i am officially discharged. And about 10:30AM my neph pays me a visit, and he does the very same exam(you know the lungs and heart). My last reading with the nurse, my vitals were pretty OK, my oxygen - 100%, so i didn't no longer need the oxygen to breathe. My b/p was 114/72, and that was fine. So, i began to get dress and put my things together, but after i dressed, i started feeling faint and very fatigue, to the point that i had to lay back in bed. The nurse then takes my vitals again, and the b/p displayed 86/57, i knew right then and there, that i wasn't going to be discharged, until my b/p came up. The nurse then brings me some straight high sodium chicken broth. I was so loving this broth, because finally i could taste salt again (lol). In my opinion, with this very strict renal diet, i can't help but have low b/p level. I even said to the nurse, i hate this food in this hospital, i continued on by saying, you need some salt in your diet, to help bring the b/p up. Whoever said that a strict renal diet, will help elevate your b/p. Well, back to my discharge day, my b/p was taken 15 minutes later, after i drank the broth, and it went up a little, 94/62, but that was still not tolerable for me, because when i stood up, i began to experience that faint and fatigue feeling again. I lied down on the bed, for another hour or so. The nurse finally comes back to take my vitals once again, my oxygen level still holding at 98%, oh, and i wasn't running a fever, each time my vitals were taken by the nurse. She then takes my b/p - it finally up to 114/72. I felt much better when i stood up, she even told me to take a walk around the halls of this wing of the hospital. I felt so good after taking too laps around the halls and i also went into the visitor lounge to chill for a minute. I was looking out the window, while sitting, and saw the people out in front, where they do a farmers market day, and it felt so peaceful. I was then ready to finally be discharged. And all this time, they didn't even have my discharge papers ready for me. First, they had to page the doctor in charge, because he had to see me one last time, to make sure my vitals were good enough for me to be discharged. I enjoyed having this doctor look over me, and i am strongly considering changing my current primary doctor to him, because i haven't been very pleased with my latest primary, because when she became my primary, she immediately told me, i had type 2 diabetes, and of course, you know that was not true, as i took this up with my neph, and immediately he remarked with, i don't believe it, i have been with you for over a decade now, and i am not convinced that you have any type 2 diabetes. This primary frightened me so much, that i promptly started researching type 2 diabetes. My neph immediately ordered a glucose test, plus a glucose tolerance test. Well the end result was my glucose was around the 80's and perfectly normal. So, yes, i truly need to be with a primary doctor, that has a concerned for me, and doesn't get another patients records, screwed up with another pts. such as me. Now, i am on my way home, with some oral antibotics, to keep taking for 7 more days. Well that is it for my blogging today. take care and all the best to the hemo, HHD patients, as well as the PD patient, which i can't wait to be back with my PD family (lol) Finally going home, and away from this blaine as food that this hospital provides, they don't even serve the fruit cocktails in their syrup. I didn't know that fruit cocktail didn't taste so good without the syrup. When i first saw fruit cocktails on my tray, i really thought i was going to get to taste that wonderful syrup. You know even the lady that brings the food to you, told me that i could only have about a tablespoon of the low fat milk, and you know what she did, to make sure that i didn't drink or use all of that milk, she pour the milk in my cereal, and throw the rest of the milk in the waste basket, right in front of me, she could have been discreet and took the rest of the cartoon of milk, with her, not dispose of it, right in front of me. I was so pissed, that i didn't even eat that darn cereal. I really thought that i had lost my appetite, dealing with this blaine as tasting food. My daughter came in with some popeye chicken, and as soon as she stepped into my room, i could smell the aroma of this chicken, so i had her sneak me a piece, which was the breast, (in which i truly love, this part of the chicken). I ate that chicken, and my b/p started to rise. So, you see, these hospitals, better come correct with these meals, and stop giving us those low as sodium meals, that don't taste like nothing, even those sauces that they provide for the me, don't enhance the flavor one bit. I make the best gravies and sauces, (in which i share in both my books), and i know my gravies and sauces, would make that hospital meat just scream (lol). Let me close this blog, because i may think of something else to share. So later to my followers. Stay compliant dialysis pts. Glo