Fresh off of a 3-day hospital experience, when pain on a scale of 12/10 was an issue . . .
You
1. Make sure you have a list of meds you can and cannot take. If you can't take them - FOR WHATEVER REASON - call it an allergy and make sure it's in writing.
Make sure the timing is in writing, as well as specific instructions for "must be taken alone." The hopspital med list for me included meds I have NEVER taken, and one med that is always taken at bedtime kept showing up as the wrong version (regular v. extended release) and at a mealtime. Another pair that are to be taken together
with nothing else for at least 30 minutes kept being offered in combination with other meds. I worked with the floor supervisor and the pharmacist and still my going home list include the wrong form of a med I do take, and meds given at the wrong time/in the wrong combination. A complaint is pending with the ombudsman. I'm an alert and oriented patient - and this could have been deadly with different meds and/or a confused patient. {In sharing this story with my doctor, we learned his mother had been recently hospitalized, she was not alert and oriented, and they nearly killed her by giving PRN (as needed) meds as frequently as she was permitted to have them - regardless of whether she needed them or not.}
3. Don't worry about taking pain meds. Do it. Ask for it.
And ask for it before you really need it. Most hospitals are so understaffed that the response will be delayed. Routinely, I would push my call button and someone who was unable to assist came in and turned it off. (I later learned they have to respond in a certain period of time, so the non-helpful person stopped their ticking response clock.) Morphine was delayed for an hour one time. (If you don't know - they only give morphine when the pain is bad enough that you don't have time to wait for a pill to kick in)
8. Have someone you trust advocate for you. This is NOT the time to trust doctors or the hospitals. They will cut corners and you need someone to be your voice. Not the time for mamby-pamby attitudes.
When I got out of the hospital, my doctor asked if I was a "good patient." My spouse and I simultaneously said, "No." Largely, becasue I was not a "good patient," I got what I needed it.
Your Caregiver
7. Ignore visiting hours if you need to. You legally have a right to be with the patient no matter what. Start using the "my lawyer says" and don't back down. You are the patient's voice.
We have a family policy that NO ONE stays alone in the hospital unless they are fully able to fend for themselfes. That includes overnights. I stayed in the hospital for a month before the medication I needed to be on was approved for home use. I saw way too much of what happens to people who are unable to fend for themselves. It's NOT pretty.
9. TRUST YOUR SPIDY SENSE and SPEAK UP. Not the time to be shy.
Sometimes it doesn't even have to be spidey. My favorite moment (although I was in too much pain to appreciate it at the time) was when I had given very clear instructions about the need to keep my knee and toes aligned when moving my leg at all (without too much cringe-inducing detail - spiral fracture; jagged bone digging into flesh). The nurse immediately grabbed my knee and rotated it upward wihout lifting my toe. I yelled stop. She kept moving. I screamed. She yelled at me that I couldn't scream like that because there were kids around. So my temporarily role-reversed-daughter immediately jumped in: "She told you to move the knee and toe together, you only moved the knee. She told you to stop. You didn't. She screamed because you F***ing hurt her." (I don't normally appreciate my daughter swearing, but it was appropriate at that moment.)
Later, we found out that she had made a critical mistake of wetting the splint before trying to apply it. She was so frantic to keep goin because once you wet the splint it starts hardening, so she didn't have any time to move slowly, or listen to what would minimize my pain. Complaint is pending on that one too.
Good news - I'm now 10 weeks out, walking without much pain or limp, and my ortho guy did a fantastic job. Even though it's different stuff - you'll be fine as long as you have good support that can help keep you well and as comfortable as possible in the hospital.
= new reply since forum marked as read
