At 4pm I was in my hospital room with the ever-so-flattering blue hospital gowns on and then had another IV inserted into my left hand because the original one was in the crook of my arm and it was hurting, but they left that one in just in case the one in my hand went south…which it did, two days later. Anyhow, the admitting doctor came in and told me I had vertigo and that’s probably why I was vomiting so much, to which I was thinking (no duh!), but politely obliged him and then he left. Dinner arrived: a bowl of beef broth (which I SWEAR is made from a synthetic cow), Italian Ice, apple juice, and Jell-O. I ate a little bit of everything and then my barf bucket got to have some too, so that was the end of that. The nurses loaded me up with all kinds of yummy medicines and I was out…until 1am when the Vampires came (because it’s SUCH a convenient time) to draw some blood. Once they left, I was out again until the nutrition people come bursting through the door screaming “BREAKFAST!”.
Well, breakfast for me was the same as dinner…went in…came out…no big surprise other than I think the nurses were surprised at the speed at which I could take in something and then urp it right back up. I think I should be in The Guinness Book of World Records! If you’re ever in the hospital and put on a liquid diet, request the lemon flavored Italian Ice, that way when you throw up at least you have fresh breath.
That day I met my 1st attending physician, Dr. W. She was really nice and listened to what I had to say, what I had been going through for nearly three months and decided to continue on with the meds that I had been on, unless the Neurologist, Dr. H. decided to change anything. Dr. H. came in later and decided to raise the dosage of a medication that he had put me in about 3 weeks earlier, to see if it helped with the migraines…it didn’t help. That day I received a roommate who was the sweetest lady and really watched out for me because that night or the next, can’t really remember, I had a HORRIBLE night. 4:30 in the morning I woke up out of a dead sleep CRYING, I was in such pain. It felt like my head was in a vice with an elephant sitting on top of it, not to mention that I started vomiting up blue-green stuff that tasted like medicine. My roommate had to push the button for the nurse for me because I was completely unable to do it for myself. The poor nurse started pumping every medication that was ordered for me into my IV because I just would not stop barfing and the headache wouldn’t go away. Finally, after who knows how much medication, I finally passed out and didn’t wake up until they were smacking me awake for breakfast…which came right, back up.
By Sunday none of my doctors knew what to do with me. I guess Dr. H and Dr. W talked with each other and both were completely flummoxed as to what to do with me. Dr. W decided that I needed to have an Endoscopy, a procedure where they put a scope down your throat and check out your esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. That evening they had to call in a special nurse called a PICC Line nurse; they are ones that specialize in putting in central lines for cancer patients, to put in a new IV for me. He used an ultra sound to do it, because my veins were so small that they were hard to find. He wanted to avoid putting it in my upper arm, but was forced to put it in my bicep on my left arm when the vein in my forearm was not cooperating. So come Monday morning, I’m hauled off to G.I (Gastrointerology) to have the procedure. I had that procedure once before and the doctor did not sedate me enough and I was awake for part of it, so I made sure that the doctor I had that day was going to KNOCK ME OUT! He did a good job because I remember very little of it and it wasn’t that bad, so Dr. P did a good job! Only thing is, there was nothing wrong with any of those body parts, which is good, but adds to the frustration factor. Then enters Dr. A…That man walked into my hospital room a couple hours after the Endoscopy and made it sound like if I kept down one meal, I was going home! And then dinner arrives and it’s HUGE chunks of chicken! I haven’t eaten solid food for a month and he wants me to eat THAT?! The only thing I could do was burst into tears and demand that the tray be taken away. It was ridiculous!
The next morning Dr. A walked in and I let him know that I was not happy with him at all. I am not a very assertive person, it’s not in my nature, but I put my foot down. He asked me if I wanted to go back to liquid foods only or continue with real food. I told him real food, but in BABY STEPS! For crying out loud, not 24 hours earlier I had been hucking up Italian Ice!!!!! Thankfully that was the last time I saw Dr. A and Dr. C replaced him. At any rate, Dr. H, the Neurologist came in and decided that he wanted to put me on a high dose of Solumedrol, a very potent steroid because he had heard that it helps migraines. The catch: it makes your blood sugars go through the roof. So for three days I received the steroids and had to get insulin shots in my tummy 5 or 6 times, which is not big deal.
On Wednesday I ate breakfast and then my barf bucket got it, but I kept food down the rest of the day, but by that time the IV the PICC Line nurse had put in was starting to go south, but I kept it in one more day. Thursday morning I ate my breakfast and back up it came, along with some Prednizone. Then they called in an anesthesia nurse to insert a new IV, which she did on my right hand, but the gauge wasn’t big enough, so they called in a PICC Line nurse again and I had my 5th IV inserted into my right forearm. Then, about 3 hours later, I was told I was being discharged. Apparently keeping down 2 out of 3 meals was good enough to the hospital staff. I made it known that I was not happy and that my family wasn’t very happy either, but it didn’t really make a difference to any of them.
So here I sit 2 days after a 6-day stint in the hospital with bruises up and down my arms, weak, barely eating, and hurting EVERYWHERE. My mom thinks that it’s the Prednizone that is making me hurt, but I am telling you, it is EXCRUCIATING pain. My mom actually had to rub my back last night until I fell asleep, that’s how bad it was because I was BAWLING! I have a VERY high tolerance for pain, I’ve had to adapt, considering the knees that I have, so when I cry because I am in pain, you KNOW that there is something wrong. If you’ve ever been to my house you know that the walk from the living room to my parents’ room is not that far, but I made that trip last night to take a shower, with help from my mom, and by the time I got back to the couch I totally passed out. My mom woke me up and had me sit on the toilet so that she could dry my hair, but then when I went to bed all I could do was cry because I hurt so much.
I want to make it to church in the morning and go to my Aunt’s tomorrow for Mother’s Day, but I just don’t know if I have the energy to make the walk from the shuttle to the sanctuary and back again. I’m trying to think positively, telling myself that if all else fails I’ll pass out at my Aunt’s, but I just haven’t decided whether or not I have the energy to do any of that. So, if you see me in the morning, hug gently, but don’t be afraid of me, I won’t break, there’s still too much of me to do that! I’ve lost around 25 pounds from this illness, which, on the one hand is a good thing, but not a really healthy way of going about it.
After all of that time in the hospital, no real diagnosis has been achieved. It seems that the Neurologist has come around and realized that it is something neurological, he just doesn’t know what…yet. I see him and my primary doctor on Wednesday, so we’ll see what everyone has to say. Parts of me think that, even though I am holding down small amounts of food, they let me go too early, but I’m trying to take it slowly when it comes to food and moving around so as not to upset my innards.
ALL OF MY IVs:
I'm glad you are home. Almost everyone goes home from the hospital feeling as if they need to stay a little longer cuz they get pretty weak laying in bed for several days. We will just take it slowly and celebrate every day that you do not vomit everything up that you put in. Hopefully you will get stronger over time. They may not ever actually make any other diagnosis other than Vertigo...the causes of some illnesses are just that elusive.Mary
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear that you're keeping food down! That's promising. Keeping you in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteHello Sweetie, well it does not sound like they know what the heck they are doing. So sorry. My husband had vertigo, with a small amt of barfing ( not nearly as severe as yours) but they had him to therapy. I'll try to explain. He had to lay down on his back on the bed and put his head over the edge so it was hanging down. He said it was very dizzy and his eyes moved back and forth side to side. very weird. Anyway he had to do that abt 2 times a day and that helped. dont know if thats anything possible for u but thought id tell u. try to stay positive, Prays are with. you. Sharon
ReplyDeleteThey had me going to physical therapy for a while in this high tech booth thing that specializes in vertigo cases, but I spoke with my physical therapist yesterday and she feels that she is not doing me any good. She wants the doctors to get me straightened out medically first and then, if I'm still having the balance issues, she will take me back as a patient. I guess at this point she feels she's doing me more harm than good, so I'm kind of on my own. But, I'm so weak anyway, I cannot be responsible for doing anything more than answering the phone and I've even proven that THAT task may be a little too much for me!
ReplyDelete