need to vent....

i feel a need to vent about something.. i'll try to not be verbose, as i tend to be sometimes.  i had to make a trip to the emergency room yesterday and north arundel - or whatever their dumb name is - was the closest one.  however, i'm not sure my issue has anything to do with the actual hospital.  the problem was... i was passing a kidney stone.  this was a first for me and my heart goes out to everyone that has a history of passing these suckers.  i'm trying to decide if i preferred childbirth.   SIDEBAR:  the kidney stone was a result of calcium supplement buildup in my kidney... and not enough fluids to properly flush them.  evidently, this is VERY common amongst bypass patients.  so DRINK YOUR WATER.  i admit that this is a weakness for me, but i have vowed to do better!!!   so, i'm in the emergency room and they hook me up to fluids, some pain meds and some anti-nausea meds.  all is well.  then my nurse appears.  she tells me that my potassium is low and hands me a cup with four HUGE capsules in it.  i explain that i cannot take capsules that size.. they may get stuck and that capsules will never fully desolve and absorb anyway.  she looks at me like she doesn't believe me and says that's all they have.  so, i ask if they have any sugar free pudding or something that i can empty them into and she says she will find out.   five minute later.. here she comes.  she tells me i need to eat something and gives me honey graham crackers and a ginger ale.  i nicely tell her that i cannot eat or drink that.  she asks why.  i explain again that i had gastric bypass and i cannot have sugar or carbonation.  so, she gets really smart and says "well, what CAN you have?"  i said... something without sugar and preferably protein.  she asks if i can have a turkey sandwich and i say yes, with nothing on it.  so, she brings me a turkey sandwich that was loaded with turkey.  i pick the turkey off of one half, leaving the bread and the other half.  i felt fine and did not want to overeat and feel sick.   here she comes again... "is that all you're going to eat?"  "do you still feel like you're going to vomit?"  i explained that felt fine and that i had had enough to eat, adding that i can only eat about 4 oz per meal.  she actually looked at me annoyed and shook her head at me.   not even two minutes later, she comes in and says "you need to drink tha****er.  you need to flush your kidneys."  i explained that i was drinking the water, but that i have to wait 15 minutes after i eat before i can drink again or my pouch gets too full and i will get sick.  she rolled her eyes!   i was so glad when they moved me over to another area after that.  i seriously wanted to smack this byotch.  you'd think a medical provider would appreciate the fact that i'm simply following my program in the manner in which a doctor laid it out.  it's not my problem that she doesn't understand my health condition.  what an attitude!

(((Pam)))

Unfortunately, you're not alone in suffering from kidney stones - Mo and Kim suffer from them, too.  And from what I understand, SUFFER barely touches what you poor gals go through.

I'm sorry you had to go through this at the hospital - unfortunately, SO many health care professionals are NOT in the least bit educated in wls patients - unless, of course, it's their specialty.  I understand that North Arundel was the closest and when you're in pain, that's all you think about, is getting there quickly.

Just a thought - the next time you go ANYWHERE besides St. Agnes, have the attending CALL DVR.  I know for a fact that he will be happy to discuss your needs with the attending.  I went through the same thing with some gyn issues, and DVR told my gyn, who wasn't versed in wls, to call him with any questions. 

As for the nurse's attitude, well, at each hospital, there's such a thing as a Patient Advocate.  I'd highly advise using it when you feel like you're not being listened to or your needs are not being respected.  It's amazing how things can get done in a much better manner when medical professionals realize they're dealing with a respectful, educated, no-nonsense patient!!!!

Hope things get resolved soon!

Tia

Unbelievable! I actually think that this should get reported. In a prior life I spent a lot of time in Customer Service and Service Quality. Businesses (a hospital is a business and a service oriented one to boot) won't know unless we tell them. I make it a habit to let any business or person in a service oriented environment  know either what they could do to improve their service or what they do very well. (I think it is only fair to give the positive when justified.) Statistics show that only 2% of people who are dissatisfied with a service ever bother to report it. Instead, they tell their family and friends about it and it then affects how these people perceive that business. Not good for the company. It is up to that business to make the best use of the information we as consumers provide. If they choose to ignore it or give a lame reaction to my feedback, then that does affect how much business I give them in the future.

I frequently take advantage of the web sites for various businesses looking for a Customer Relations, Management, or other area with authority to submit my feedback.

It is certainly up to you if you want to pursue this further. But there is definiely a need for this hospital to provide updated education to their staff about bariatric surgery patients. There are more and more of us every day. They should not wait until someone is harmed or worse by faulty treatment, before they realize this. This particular person could also use a major attitude adjustment!

Sorry for running on. This just hit a nerve with me too! I hope you are feeling better soon!

Debbie

Pam I'm so sorry you had to go throught that. I havnt heard the best of things about that hospital to begin with and the fact that the nurse was rude is what i have been told. The fact that she didnt know how to deal with a wls patient, that seems to be the norm in hospitals that dont do these services.

Are you feeling better today? I think you should call and talk to the advisor or who ever it is and complain. You go to hospitals to get better not deal with nasty people who cant treat ou the way you should be treated

oh, i was feeling absolutely fine as soon as it passed.  by the time it left, it had reduced to grit, so i had no problems having it leave peacefully.

and i appreciate the feedback.  a lot of what i have experienced post-wls is mental and i have a low tolerance to how some people react to my choices.  another example is when you're out to eat and they ask if you want something to drink and you say no thank you.  they suddenly think you're weird or something because you don't want a drink.  or they see that you haven't eaten all of your dinner and they start assuming you didn't like it.  after you've told them 20 times that everything was fine, it just gets so annoying. 

i simply do no like when i feel like i have to explain that i had surgery so that people will accept my preferences and leave me alone... but the reality is that i shouldn't have to explain anything. 

oh well... i just need to talk about these things because these are the mental issues that i deal with sometimes as i struggle to feel normal.

Pam -

As soon as you talked about ordering a drink or not with your meal, I understood completely.  But, keep in mind that you're right, you do NOT have to explain yourself.  Just say no thanks, or, just order a glass of water and let it sit.  As far as not finishing a meal, just tell them it was good (if it was) but that you're finished.  After that, they're the ones who look stupid if they continue to ask.

Don't worry - vent away!  We've been there, done that!!!

Tia

Honey, take pride in our wierdness! ;)  I love it when I eat half a meal and then they ask if I need a box.  When I say now they ask me if I'm sure or if the food was okay.  I just prefer to keep it on the table and let it get tossed because #1 I likely won't reheat it or #2 it doesn't keep or reheat well.  Some things I do take home for the dog, but as I lost weight he has GAINED LOL  You know what.  My grandmother (RIP) ALWAYS ate her meals without any drink and as a kid I thought it was odd, but you know what?  She must have weighed 95 pounds!  Don't worry about feeling normal.  We are making changes to make ourselves healthier and better.  We don't have the problem, the rest of them do!!!

Pam:
I totally understand what you are going through.  Shortly after my surgery I woke up one night shivering and thought I was going to pass out. Dr said to come to Baltimore.  I didn't think I could make it so he told me to go to my local ER.  They wanted to do a Upper GI.  Do you know they brought me 2 - 32oz cups of fluid to drink.  I told the nurse.  I can't drink all that.  She said you have to.  I started crying.  She admitted that the hospital needed to be more responsive to patients that had WLS and that they didn't know what else to do.  She gave me 2 hours and I gagged most of it down, I couldn't believe I did, but they were able to get the tests that they needed.  There is a lot of ignorance about WLS, even in the medical community.  It takes us, the patients to educate them.  (LOL)  And yes, I too, get irritated when the waitress/waiter wants to know if there is something wrong with my meal or is that all I'm going to order, or why don't I want something to drink, that they could never eat without drinking.  Well, thanks for reminding me! (LOL)  Hope things get better for you, but we've got to come up with a quick answer (preferably something smart) to say to those servers.  If you think of anything, let me know.

Hey Lis!!

Here's a comeback:

Remember the movie, Gremlins?  If you got them wet, they multiplied, and if they ate after midnight, they morphed into nasty creatures. 

That oughta shut ANYONE up!!!

Have a great weekend!!  Doing anything special?

Tia

That is a good one!!!  I'm gonna try it.  Saturday - bday party with one of my grandson's (someone from his class), Sunday - a local craft show in Cambridge and in my spare time, packing for our move on Tuesday.  I can't wait until it's over because I have been stress eating.  Found Glenny's protein chips and boy I really like them.  Not horrible - horrible for me, but still not as good as not eating them at all.  Plus, since we are moving, I haven't been to the grocery store.  Trying to make my family eat up everything that's there and don't want to carry too much with me, so I don't have the best choices of food in the house right now.  Can't wait until we get to the new one!!!!