But... it's not what you think! (How's that headline for an attention grabber? LOL)
I had an issue with my lap-band where a piece of hard carrot did not get chewed well enough (my bad) and became lodged in my band. Generally these kinds of mistakes are "forgiven" by the band and the offending piece of food eventually passes on through. WELL... not this one. It was stuck with a capitol "S." So much so that it required an endoscopy, done by a G.I. doc, to go down and get it. UGH! Because there was so much swelling, I was unable to hydrate, so I had to be admitted for two days.
WHY would I share that here? Well... as Paul Harvey would say, Here's the REST OF THE STORY.....
When I walked into the E.R., I gave them my med list. I was honest with them about my diagnosis. As per usual, before I left the E.R., every single person who did an assessment of me, asked for my med list... which I promptly gave. When I was admitted to the floor, my chart went with me... with my med list.
I began telling doctors, nurses, nurses aids, and anyone who would listen that I needed my sleep medication so that I could get some rest. (I have a raging sleep disorder. I just don't sleep without meds... period!). For one reason or another, I was put off. At 6am the following morning, when the residents made their rounds, I begged for my sleep meds. They agreed to write for them. At 7:30am, still no meds. I got testy.
Not only did they miss my sleep meds, my other psych meds were not on my orders list. I brought this to the attention of anyone who would listen. All promised it would be corrected. Then, when I asked the next shift, no one knew anything about it. I got testier.
I finally called my Psychiatrist (who is a hospital doc), and said HELP! He intervened and asked the surgeon to write orders for my psych meds. I was now more than 24 hours without meds. At bedtime, I FINALLY got some sleep meds... but not my other meds. So, another full day without my mood stabilizers.
On the day that I was discharged, they FINALLY gave me my meds, just a couple of hours before discharge. I had been two days without meds. I was really angry. It was like it was not important. Even though I self-advocated, even though I called in my psych doc, I still fell through the cracks.
I bet if it were heart medication or insulin, I would have gotten my meds.
be well,
Jules
Joined: 10-30-2007