As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options

Hospitals and Long Term Treatment: Chronic illness thread

1222325272861

Posts

  • Options
    PeenPeen Registered User regular
    My wife's lingering back pain turned into a full blown crisis yesterday and we went to the ER; thankfully it's "only" a bad sciatica flare up and she's got some meds now but it was nice to have it confirmed that going to the ER is still miserable! We waited for an hour and a half to get seen by a doc and another half hour before they managed to get her something to help her. I totally respect the care that they need to take because of the opioid abuse epidemic but it really feels like that whole thing could have gone faster.

  • Options
    BubsBubs Not Burbs ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Peen wrote: »
    My wife's lingering back pain turned into a full blown crisis yesterday and we went to the ER; thankfully it's "only" a bad sciatica flare up and she's got some meds now but it was nice to have it confirmed that going to the ER is still miserable! We waited for an hour and a half to get seen by a doc and another half hour before they managed to get her something to help her. I totally respect the care that they need to take because of the opioid abuse epidemic but it really feels like that whole thing could have gone faster.

    First, I feel you. I have something similar to sciatica, there's no visible symptoms and getting flare ups treated depends largely on the doctor actually knowing what my condition is and how much I sell it. Not fun. Only thing I can recommend is if you have a pain specialist, get the ER to call them. Even better if you can get his or her cell number.

    Second, city hospitals can be either way worse or much better. They generally have more staff and work quicker, but occasionally you'll arrive just ahead of gunshot patients or something and that's not ideal. So it's a roll of the dice. I go to the ER in the first suburb north of Chicago now, it's okay.

    Here's hoping you don't have to go back any time soon, but if you do, best of luck.

    PSN: thewheelz
  • Options
    I ZimbraI Zimbra Worst song, played on ugliest guitar Registered User regular
    Ulcers at the end of the stoma, and positive for C-Diff.

    I am actually positive for C-Diff.

    My fiancee's C-Diff is back, too, so you have my deepest sympathies.

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    I Zimbra wrote: »
    Ulcers at the end of the stoma, and positive for C-Diff.

    I am actually positive for C-Diff.

    My fiancee's C-Diff is back, too, so you have my deepest sympathies.

    Yikes, my sympathies to you as well.

    Hellish plus all those dumb precautions for the entire visit

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    this semester has been a clusterfuck of fault for my
    mild cold thing > school stress > indeterminate mental health cluster fuckery < went to ER over a week ago at my husband's 100 adamant demand < septic diverticulitis maybe? wasn't going anywhere < nurse sort of willfully led to violation of food restrictions < following pains were so strong I got tons of new scans

    longer story shorter, Friday I had emergency surgery to remove 32cm oooffffffff possibly. necrotic (no labs back yet)

    so that's been we've been up to over here

  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    ice chips and hard candy, I could write an ode to you

    but can my digestive system please wake up so I can go home some day (and also eat food)

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    I will be spending thanksgiving at home alone, as I am far too ill to be dealing with all the shenanigans of this weekend, including the travel and the football game against our hated rivals.

    I fucking hate this, and I hate that I had to come down with fucking C-diff and its Vanco treatment right before thanksgiving.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    I spent today in hospital, still not home. Friday night they took out 32cm of necrotic bowel tissue, they have no idea what happened or why, since it's a holiday labs have not been forthcoming. Surgery went pretty well, lucked out on the no colostomy bag, wasn't able to have lapro surgery so I have like an eight inch incision straight down my midline. As of this morning I'm back on solid foods with no restrictions, which is good, but the liquid diet combined with everything else has played hell on my digestive system and I'm tired of that aspect. Incision combined with the guard rails in this bathroom mean I'm no longer able to clean myself which is really awesome and not embarrassing at all, especially after a nurse berated me today about what I was going to do when I went home as I cried. So that was cool.

  • Options
    pookapooka Registered User regular
    hey, that nurse is being a jerk. you are a cool and worthy person who needs a little extra help right now.

    also, handheld showerhead? i had a seemingly laaaaaazy roommate who just.. occasionally wouldn't buy toilet paper. she was gross, but sick/healing people should do whatever eases their challenges, and i guess it worked for her...

    or have the hubs install a bidet!

    lfchwLd.jpg
  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    Have the other nurses kill the witch in her sleep.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    Like if I walk way down the hall out of the unit into the public restrooms I'm OK, but liquid diet and restructured bowel means that I don't generally have enough warning right now to make it to a bathroom where I can wipe. One of the nurses tonight finally suggested a commode that wouldn't have the bolted on arm rails and would be more flexible... where was that suggestion two days ago??

  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    any suggestions on how to heal my acid-burnt tongue as quickly as possible... between the instructions to chew gum, which turns out is shockingly acidic, to going back on juices (acidic) and lemon ice pops (acidic) the end of my tongue feels raw as fuck

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    cabsy wrote: »
    any suggestions on how to heal my acid-burnt tongue as quickly as possible... between the instructions to chew gum, which turns out is shockingly acidic, to going back on juices (acidic) and lemon ice pops (acidic) the end of my tongue feels raw as fuck

    You don't. Your tongue heals remarkably quickly though.

    Everything you do to your mouth is going to fuck up the pH of your mouth.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    edited November 2016
    of course it's a mysterious pocket of fluid right in the middle of everything that they can't drain with a needle, of course it is, of course it's antibiotics and if that doesn't help tomorrow they'll lapro in and do a drain and flush

    I'm so tired y'all

    literally using the bathroom every 20-35 minutes and I can't seem to keep anything inside my body


    SONS OF BITCHES PUT ME BACK ON LIQUIDS ONLY

    cabsy on
  • Options
    CreaganCreagan Registered User regular
    cabsy wrote: »
    any suggestions on how to heal my acid-burnt tongue as quickly as possible... between the instructions to chew gum, which turns out is shockingly acidic, to going back on juices (acidic) and lemon ice pops (acidic) the end of my tongue feels raw as fuck

    Hopefully this isn't too gross, but for several years I used to chew my tongue. (Like, literally bite the taste buds off the front of my tongue. It was related to my BFRBs and was compulsive.)

    Depending on how bad things are, it may take 24-48 hours for it to stop hurting. During this time period, you want to avoid strong acids, and salt (obviously.) Foods that make your mouth feel flemmy help, though, because the sensation is kind of similar to the type of scabs tongues form. (They're white and almost mucusy.) So it feels more like you've healed, or at the very least makes you less likely to make things worse and rub your tongue against your teeth because it's itching as it heals.

    I typically found dairy products, like milk or ice cream, were good for this. So if you can switch out the lemon bars with vanilla ice cream bars, that might help?

  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    edited November 2016
    Creagan wrote: »
    cabsy wrote: »
    any suggestions on how to heal my acid-burnt tongue as quickly as possible... between the instructions to chew gum, which turns out is shockingly acidic, to going back on juices (acidic) and lemon ice pops (acidic) the end of my tongue feels raw as fuck

    Hopefully this isn't too gross, but for several years I used to chew my tongue. (Like, literally bite the taste buds off the front of my tongue. It was related to my BFRBs and was compulsive.)

    Depending on how bad things are, it may take 24-48 hours for it to stop hurting. During this time period, you want to avoid strong acids, and salt (obviously.) Foods that make your mouth feel flemmy help, though, because the sensation is kind of similar to the type of scabs tongues form. (They're white and almost mucusy.) So it feels more like you've healed, or at the very least makes you less likely to make things worse and rub your tongue against your teeth because it's itching as it heals.

    I typically found dairy products, like milk or ice cream, were good for this. So if you can switch out the lemon bars with vanilla ice cream bars, that might help?

    I'm back on food again, thank god, so the ice cream thing has definitely been helping! Clear liquids meant I couldn't have any last night though. Clear liquid diet is the most acidic, painful bs I've had to go through and I sincerely pray that this time I'm over it.

    so because I've literally never been through this before, apparently if you go a long time without eating things it can make your mouth crazy sensitive to anything?? like I'm eating a breakfast sausage patty and it is on par with like medium-hot Indian or Thai food in the Before Times

    cabsy on
  • Options
    CreaganCreagan Registered User regular
    Ugh, I didn't realize it was a clear liquid diet. That really sucks. I'm glad you're able to eat real food again and the ice cream is helping. (Finally, having a damaging compulsive behavior pays off!)

    If you have to go back on one, maybe see if broths are okay, if you think you can stomach that. Broth might be slightly less acidic than fruit juice.

    Also, I might be able to help with the food thing too. I had a lot of stomach problems as a kid, and ended up going on some fairly restrictive diets to get over serious bouts of the "stomach flu" (they never found out what was actually happening to me.)

    You are 100% correct about not eating making your mouth crazy sensitive. That goes beyond spiciness too. Texture becomes more pronounced too, along with saltiness, temperature and general flavors.

    This can either be pretty cool- if you go long enough without eating, even really generic stuff like freezer burned frozen green beans can taste like the most delicious thing you've ever eaten.

    But you might want to ease back into spices, salt, and roughly textured foods like toast. Otherwise you may feel a bit uncomfortable after having eaten, or hurt your mouth, especially given you've already got a sore tongue.

    Oh, and avoid anything that gets stuck in your teeth, because you'll want to use your tongue to mess around with it, and that'll undo a lot of the healing.

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    If it's a GI thing, it's ALWAYS clear liquids.

    Pro tip: eat sugar packages. They count in the clear liquid diet and its SOEMTHING to ingest that isn't the ass of juice and shit that drives you insane.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    If it's a GI thing, it's ALWAYS clear liquids.

    Pro tip: eat sugar packages. They count in the clear liquid diet and its SOEMTHING to ingest that isn't the ass of juice and shit that drives you insane.

    You ever considered going back to school and getting a medical degree Munkus? There can't be too many people on Earth with more experience of GI problems with you, you could probably write a textbook or two at this point...

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    I doubt I could handle medical school stress right now. I was in my prime mentally when I did law school and was hospitalized literally every other week, and that was without my problems being compounded by the stress. I have some serious mental scars from the past few years that I am still recovering from.

    But yeah, I originally planned on getting a medical degree then switched my major to philosophy and just ran with it.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    And on the subject of clear liquids: Yeah, broths count, and hospitals should have both beef and chicken stock on hand to make that shit on demand if you want. But again, that gets real old real fast. Sugar Packets keep me sane on clear liquid diets. I know it sounds disgusting, but it's basically like eating Pixie Stix. It's something and you can kinda convince yourself that it's food, as opposed to water.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    CreaganCreagan Registered User regular
    If it's a GI thing, it's ALWAYS clear liquids.

    Pro tip: eat sugar packages. They count in the clear liquid diet and its SOEMTHING to ingest that isn't the ass of juice and shit that drives you insane.

    In that case, when I was hospitalized as a kid after failing to hold down any food or water and getting dehydrated the hospital totally screwed up. I was given orange juice with pulp and I think even offered ice cream at one point but turned it down because of allergies.

  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    There's clear liquids and full liquids - ice cream and OJ are 'full liquids'. They were concerned my colon surgery might be rejecting or that I had an intestinal abscess so they put me on clear liquids overnight. It didn't really do anything and nobody on my surgical team really seems to know why they did it, but they did, so meh. I'm back on unrestricted food again, so that's aces.

  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    Another day of elevated white blood counts that they can't explain, whee

  • Options
    Mr FuzzbuttMr Fuzzbutt Registered User regular
    pretty sure vodka counts as a clear liquid

    broken image link
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    got home last night! zofran seems to really not be doing anything for the narcotics barfing, but since it's narcotics barfing I can basically eat immediately after I throw up

    go figure

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    Zofran (Zophran? Zofran? I forget.) always made me more nauseated.

    And at least orally, Finnegran doesn't fuck up your veins something fierce.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    Zofran (Zophran? Zofran? I forget.) always made me more nauseated.

    And at least orally, Finnegran doesn't fuck up your veins something fierce.

    I have both, so that I can alternate between zofran and phenergan, but phenergan is so fucking sedating and I'd like to be able to do things

  • Options
    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Benadryl works for nausea for some people, might interact with your medications though.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    For now at least I think I've decided to give up on the narcotics unless I really, really have to take them. 1k of acetaminophen seems to keep it mostly under control without the whole barfing thing, plus then I'm not sleeping 18 hours a day.

  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    Staples out today, doctor's advice was basically stop trying to be stupid and eat too much at one go. Lots of tiny meals etc etc. I've been nauseated for three days so maybe he's on to something there. Today I drank an Ensure too fast and spent three hours sick to my stomach so that was awesome.

  • Options
    JenneroseJennerose Registered User regular
    I had a bunch of tests run recently and it turns out I have crazy high cholesterol AND my thyroid is sluggish AND my liver enzymes are elevated, so the doctor and I spent a long time talking about how to manage everything along with my chronic pain from the endometriosis and my ongoing GI issues (which I haven't even begun to get sorted thanks to everything else).

    Currently plan is eat a very low-cholesterol diet (most of my "meat" intake is fish now) for six months and come back and re-test and see if the big diet change sorts out the GI problems. If it doesn't, they're going to test me for celiac disease because some of my issues point to that being a possibility.

    Basically, it looks like I'm going to end up able to eat nothing but lettuce salted by my tears.

    A friend of mine who I've known since high school was telling her dad about all my new problems, and he was like "Man, she's kind of a lemon, isn't she?" /laughsob

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    You could do a 3 week celiac diet to test yourself for celiac's disease.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    pookapooka Registered User regular
    i know it seems daunting, but there is still good food that can fit all those criteria. it's a lot more work if you're accustomed to eating whatever! but there are even a few GF-only restaurants, and lots of places have gluten-free options.
    my last job, we had lots of folk coming in doing a testing diet, and whenever someone ordered a GF item, we'd ask if it was an allergy or preference. (celiac is not an allergy per se, but it's an easier shorthand for protocol to follow.)

    it usually made the people doing it as a fad hesitate, and let us warn/reassure the wary that properly sanitizing for gluten would prolong prep, but that we took the steps to give them 'safe' food. i could tell the former because they'd walk back the 'allergy' when i told them it would take longer, while the latter group would look relieved and often thank me. i remember one lady had a literal printout of all her allergies, and i snagged a manager to go through our ingredient book to find what she could eat; poor thing was allergic to black pepper, among a host of other common items.
    so if you're dining out with any dietary concerns, prepare when you can and tell the person taking your order before they start making your food.

    if you're ever self-conscious about your diet at a restaurant, i can guarantee that you'll never be as weird as the guy who would regularly come in and order plain rice to go. i have felt unwell in public and ordered just rice, or broth, but this guy was also just paranoid every time. spotting this needy weirdo made me sigh, but at the same time, i get it, man. whatever makes you feel safer; maybe making rice is intimidating for you, everybody's got their thing.

    lfchwLd.jpg
  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    I came to utterly despise the health food obsession with gluten because it made people treat celiac's disease with less concern than before.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    Caulk Bite 6Caulk Bite 6 One of the multitude of Dans infesting this place Registered User regular
    I came to utterly despise the health food obsession with gluten because it made people treat celiac's disease with less concern than before.

    The only good things that came about of the fad is that there are actual products that cater to celiacs like my mom. Also restaurants like Pooka's last job.

    jnij103vqi2i.png
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    As someone with celiac, there's a bunch of stuff that can tip you as to whether or not you have it - the doctor always makes it sound like it'll take six months of gf diet to test but munkus is way closer with three weeks. The main thing I'd say is be VERY VIGILANT for the first few weeks, no oats either!, see if it makes you feel better. Oats are a food of contention for tons of people with celiac bc the protein is very similar to gluten without actually being gluten, but can sometimes cause a reaction.

    poop stuff under here
    the main thing I'd say for both myself and from what I've seen from Google is that when you get contaminated, if you have celiac, your stool will get greasy. like film of fat on the water after you go greasy. also your body will violently try to get rid of it, like crampy peristalsis even once your bowel is empty, the poop equivalent of dry heaving. so you could always try cutting it out for a while, try one meal with gluten in it, and see how the whole pooping thing goes after.

    gf sounds really difficult but honestly just switch away from gluten starches. rice instead of pasta, etc. tinkyada makes a pretty good gf pasta but so does Aldi! Aldi makes a ton of good gf stuff you can try.

  • Options
    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    It takes 3 weeks to find out if you have celiac's, and 30 seconds to fuck everything up about it. It's one reason why I stopped trying to do the diet way back in the day, I was working at the time and it was hard as shit to find anything take-out around lunch to eat that fit the diet. And then I ate something that was ambiguous about its gluten content, which meant I had to start all over again...it wasn't worth it to me considering that I had no physical characteristics that were markers for Celiac's.

    But yeah, no Wheat, Oats, or Barley or anything that had any kind of contact with them. Basically think of wheat/barley/rye/oat as venereal diseases, and you don't want that shit on your utensils or the hands of your waiters.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Options
    Caulk Bite 6Caulk Bite 6 One of the multitude of Dans infesting this place Registered User regular
    Also, something my mom discovered to her great dismay, there's gluten in a lot things that you'd never think of.

    It might be dependent on sensitivity, but all I know is that stuff like Twizzlers (a former movie time favourite of hers) are a never again food now.

    I mean, if it's processed, there's a good chance they put some amount of wheat into it for shits and giggles/cost savings.

    jnij103vqi2i.png
  • Options
    cabsycabsy the fattest rainbow unicorn Registered User regular
    It takes 3 weeks to find out if you have celiac's, and 30 seconds to fuck everything up about it. It's one reason why I stopped trying to do the diet way back in the day, I was working at the time and it was hard as shit to find anything take-out around lunch to eat that fit the diet. And then I ate something that was ambiguous about its gluten content, which meant I had to start all over again...it wasn't worth it to me considering that I had no physical characteristics that were markers for Celiac's.

    But yeah, no Wheat, Oats, or Barley or anything that had any kind of contact with them. Basically think of wheat/barley/rye/oat as venereal diseases, and you don't want that shit on your utensils or the hands of your waiters.

    you can get certified gf oats now with no cross contamination, but the protein structures are similar enough for some people to react and some not to, so if I were recommending a gf trial to someone I'd say no oats regardless of certified gf status.

    as someone who did turn out to have celiac it feels better almost immediately, three weeks or no. and yeah the trace amounts is what is fucking maddening. or the ever nebulous may contain trace amounts bc we can't be bothered to narrow our food starch sources or whatever. half the Campbell's chunky soups should be gf but aren't because may contain trace amounts of wheat due to food starch processing.

Sign In or Register to comment.