Went To The Emergency Department Of My Local Hospital For The Nausea My Failed Artificial Left Hip Is Causing
[ Thursday November 7th 2024 at 10:40 pm ]
When I arrived they immediately gave me Tylenol and Advil in the hopes it might take the edge of the nausea. This wasn't the case. They also took blood and wanted a urine sample. They wanted to see if I was dehydrated. I wasn't.
I almost fainted during the blood draw. I was sure it was the nausea. But I have been in pain for years. I didn't know if I had just got queasy. After all I have never felt like I would faint before from pain or nausea. But just 5 minutes later it happened again. I spoke to a hospital staff member. She got a nurse. I very quickly found myself in a hospital bed. The nausea let up. The pressure was off my hip as I laid down.
They wanted a doctor to look at me around 5:30PM. This didn't happen until around 9:10PM. I wasn't upset by this. When I almost fainted from the pain they got me laying down on a hospital bed. I was in the hall of the emergency department. I didn't mind. Immediately one of the nurses assumed responsibility for me. I may have caused the urgency to go down a bit when I said as long as I am laying down I am fine because I have the pressure off my hips. However in terms of being in the emergency department of a hospital I would prefer to be the least important person.
I brought my hip anatomy teaching model with me to the hospital. I thought it would be easiest for me to explain what is wrong. It was very helpful. The triage nurse had asked me 101 questions that amounted to is there anything else possibly wrong besides the hip. The doctor did check that I didn't fracture my hip. When it was just the hip I was very easy to care for.
I used the hip anatomy teaching model to explain what was wrong. It really helped focus the nurses questions to me. There had been a shift change happen at 7:30PM just as I got into a room. Around 8PM I had a new nurse and needed to explain what was wrong. Again I used the hip anatomy teaching model. The nurse felt bad that I was still waiting. I said to the nurse "you" did what I really needed when I was about to faint from the nausea and I genuinely didn't mind the wait. I explained I had brought my tablet to keep myself amused. Then I said to her as long as I am laying down I am okay. But I am in no shape to go home until this gets solved. The nurse wanted to know what could have possibly happened to my health that lead to this. I didn't fit into having a motor vehicle or work place accident. I explained the disease and lack of medical understanding. This went well. I asked if I could show her 1 thing before she left. I showed her a photo of Gary The Hamster. I was missing him.
It got to be 8:55PM and I was due for my pain regularly occurring pain medication at 9PM. I rang the bell. I explained that I don't want to make things worse by taking them without permission. She asked what I would normally be taking. I had typed this out on my tablet. I handed her my tablet. She took it to the doctor and then came back to me about 5 minutes later. The doctor wanted to solve the nausea before I had my evening pain medication and I would be seen next.
It is obvious the nurse had done a really good job at summarizing what was wrong. When the doctor came into my examination room she had about 5 questions for me. It was obvious she had a plan in mind before she entered the room and I just needed to confirm the picture she had built up in her mind was accurate.
In terms of treating the nausea the doctor had named off 4 medicines that could be used. She wanted to know if any had been tried on me prior to today. I explained what I now needed was the next progression from "over the counter" 12 hour Gravol. I told her the 2 medicines and doses I had used already. She wanted to know if they were helpful initially and what changed. This was very easy to explain.
Then I said what I need is to get me through until when I have a hip surgery. She wanted to know if I had a date for surgery. I told her no but the pre-surgery screening unit called me so I am well into the process. I could see the relief on the doctors face.
They gave me a dose of anti nausea medicine to try. The plan was to give it 30 minutes to work or not. If it didn't work they were willing to keep trying. I could feel something had changed around the 15 minute mark. Just before the nurse was due back to check on me I tried taking the few steps needed to use the toilet. This went well. If I had done this when I first arrived at the hospital I would have been back to fainting.
I explained to the nurse I had tried walking and it was fine. The anti nausea medicine had worked. I said to the nurse what I now need is to lay here for about 40 minutes after I take my evening pain medicines so I won't have the same thing happen to me on the way home. She was fine with this. Then in practical terms she explained the doctor still needed time to write a prescription for me.
My feeling is that the nurse got the prescription to give me but just waited the 40 minutes to make sure I was good. The doctor prescribed 2 medicines and wrote down to give me what was going to be the least expensive.
When I arrived home I was very concerned that I could end up in a mess at the pharmacy from the nausea. I wrote the pharmacy a 3 paragraph letter explaining what has transpired with my damn artificial hip, what is going to happen with the surgery and what transpired this evening. Then I ended with "Would you please count out the medicine and I will pick it up mid afternoon tomorrow?" I had explained I didn't want to wait at the pharmacy over concerns that the nausea could get me again from the travel to the pharmacy. Then I said I'd give the original prescription to them when I picked up the medication. I don't often use my fax machine dedicated phone line. But the few times I need it each year it is worth the $5 a month it cost me for the VOIP phone line connected to it.