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?

[ny biker]

As frustrating as it is, he will probably recover faster than people who are less fit going into surgery.

[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.

[indysteel]

As frustrating as it is, he will probably recover faster than people who are less fit going into surgery.

This^. I'm sorry it's so frustrating for both of you though. Hopefully, they'll figure out his normal before long so you can both get some rest. Is Don otherwise in much pain?

Thanks for the update, Mimi. I've been thinking of you all day.

[bmccasland]

Hope he's getting to feeling better soon!

[HillSlugger]

Sending you best wishes.

A few years ago I freaked out the pre-op nurses with my 45bpm resting heart rate. I had to convince them that I'm an athlete and that this was normal for me.

[PamNY]

Sending you the best vibes I can generate.

[Biciclista]

yes you guys know what i am talking about. when i complained he needed his rest they said he isn't here to rest and that would have to wait until he is out of ICU!

on the other hand, most of the patients here are too weak to complain.. so I have to remind him of that and it makes him feel lots better.

[Dogmama]

When my DH was in the hospital with cancer, he ended up in ICU for a week. It is so important to have somebody there advocating! They are so understaffed that mistakes are made, some with devastating consequences. They kept trying to give DH breathing treatments with the same substance that landed him in ICU (rapid heartbeat & threw a clot). He would supposed to be IPO for a morning test & they'd bring dinner. Finally, his oncologist threw up his hands (after a test was delayed) saying, "I guess my ORDERS around here are just SUGGESTIONS."

I stayed with him 24/7 or had a trusted family member with him at all times. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to get to the bathroom, get water, kleenex (why do they always put it out of reach of the patient?), etc. I'm not blaming the nurses because they were very helpful AND very stressed.

Then he got MRSA...not a memorable year