very fit in the ICU

[Biciclista]

as a lot of you know, my DH is in the hospital, having just had some drastic surgery to rid his body of cancer. In the ICU they don't expect to find athletic people. when your heart beats at 60 beats a minute and normal blood pressure for you is 115/80 that means if you are a little droopy (as most people are) the alarms in the ICU are constantly going off. Today, as DH falls asleep, his bp drops and the alarms go off, which then wake him up. it's kind of like torture. also a lot of pain meds drop the blood pressure so they have to give them other stuff to bring it up. they finally let my DH stand up this afternoon and he wanted to walk but because of his low BP they said if we let you walk we'lll get fired with those numbers.
pretty frustrating.

[emily_in_nc]

Wow, that's interesting, Mimi. Who knew? I have lowish BP but not an incredibly low resting HR, and I don't recall having any of this when I was in the hospital for several days after surgery in 2005. I hope they will realize that RD's normal is perfectly healthy for him. Sorry you're having to go through this on top of everything else. Hospitals are not fun places to be, and I was SO relieved when I was able to go home.

Do they say when he will be released? Hopefully SOON!

Keeping you both in my thoughts...

[yellow]

Hang in there, both of you. Sending positive thoughts to you, DH, and the hospital staff.

[Biciclista]

he will be in here for about 12 days, but hopefully only 2 more in ICU. yeah they told me they had an olympic athlete here that had the same issues...

[jessmarimba]

Yikes! Hope all is going well!

Not related to BP, but my Raynaud's kept making the blood oxygen sensor go off because I was freezing and it would cut off the blood supply to that finger. One of the nurses taught me how to turn the alarm off Once I could walk I learned how to steal extra blankets, too.

[ny biker]

Best wishes for you both -- I hope he recovers well.

When I have my blood pressure and heart rate checked during any visit to the doctor, there's a good chance they will look confused and check a second time, or ask if the numbers are always that low. Last year my pulmonologist said, "how much bike riding did you say you do?" And that was after I walked up 5 flights of stairs rather than take the elevator to his office.

My sister is a nurse in a critical care post-op unit -- I think I will ask her about this.

[NbyNW]

How frustrating not to be able to rest! I wonder if RD's doctor can direct them to adjust the monitors so they can let RD sleep but still make sure he is safe?

[zoom-zoom]

I'd be in big trouble...my BP is typically 110/60. On a high day it might be 110/70.

A friend's DH is type 1 diabetic and had extended hospitalization after he was blown off a roof during a windstorm and suffered dozens of broken bones and a collapsed lung. In the hospital MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS totally mismanaged his diabetes--treating him as if he were a type 2 diabetic and obese...2 things he is far from.

They had to have a friend (a fellow type 1) come in and give the hospital staff what for. If his injuries didn't nearly kill him, their lack of competence nearly did. They were trying to treat his condition with diet, rather than the necessary blood checks and insulin.

Sometimes it seems like "policy" trumps common sense. The results could be lethal.

[Sky King]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the cancer floor at the local hospital still talks about me when I was my Mom's advocate. To this day, if someone asks me if I am the Dr Daughter I have to restrain myself(but that's another story)...
KEEP BEING THE ADVOCATE,
DEMAND don't ask,
TALK to the Supervisor,
CALL the DR. and keep calling,
BE A PIA Monitors can be adjusted and alarms can be silenced but typically the charge nurse has zero power.
QUESTION, QUESTION and then QUESTION again
Who cares if they talk about you on break

[Dogmama]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the cancer floor at the local hospital still talks about me when I was my Mom's advocate. To this day, if someone asks me if I am the Dr Daughter I have to restrain myself(but that's another story)...
KEEP BEING THE ADVOCATE,
DEMAND don't ask,
TALK to the Supervisor,
CALL the DR. and keep calling,
BE A PIA Monitors can be adjusted and alarms can be silenced but typically the charge nurse has zero power.
QUESTION, QUESTION and then QUESTION again
Who cares if they talk about you on break

+++1
AND make sure that everybody who enters the room WASHES THEIR HANDS OR USES SANITIZER. My DH got wound MRSA and that really sux.

Another thing - they were going to transfer him to an SNF but I pitched a fit & they showed me how to change bandages using the sterile technique, do the IV for the vacomysin (MRSA medicine - the IV was a pic line & already in) and other things. I brought him home and his insurance company sent us bandages, medicine, the whole bit. They were probably thrilled that I saved them the $$ of an SNF. But really, after awhile you need to be home to heal. Hospitals & the like are not for sick people who need to recover!

[tangentgirl]

Mimi, I'm glad to hear things are going well in general.

KEEP BEING THE ADVOCATE,
DEMAND don't ask,
TALK to the Supervisor,
CALL the DR. and keep calling,
BE A PIA Monitors can be adjusted and alarms can be silenced but typically the charge nurse has zero power.
QUESTION, QUESTION and then QUESTION again
Who cares if they talk about you on break

I, too, have to strongly agree with this. I have dealt with my dad and my mom being in the hospital (separate times, separate places), and found time and again that people get much better care when hospital personnel know that there is family there with an eye on things. Seriously, it was like the second the family went home for the evening, in both cases, things went all to heck. In my dad's case, the hospital dropped the ball in a BIG way.

[ladyicon]

Gods speed on his recovery. They will not let you stand with low blood pressure, I guess it is a liability issue.

[evangundy]

I hope everything is going well for Don (and you too). Thinking positive thoughts for you both.