Feed me, Seymour! When patients want forbidden food...

Sassy5d · Oct 18, 2013

I def 'serve' a much different patient population than what I live by.

No one in my personal life says they've ever eaten or asked for something to eat while in ER but 99.9% of my pts ask for food and drinks within 10 minutes of arrival, unless they are coding. It goes hand in hand with narcotic pain meds. You've been in pain for a week, you can wait just a little longer for the doctor to actually see you before you get pain meds.

But I do catch myself rolling my eyes at the same, seemingly scripted reply.. 'I haven't eaten all day' or 'I haven't eaten in days I've been so sick' but magically without any interventions, you feel like eating my nasty turkey sandwiches.

ADeks · Oct 20, 2013

My favorite was when a patient demanded her medications via IV and not in pill form. She says she can't swallow pills, and reassures me that she was in fact not a "pill head." Did I mention that her friend had brought her three pieces of pizza, bottle of soda,and two bags of chips. Of course she had no problems scarfing all that down in about 15 minutes.

After hearing all my wonderful stories about those ER turkey sandwiches. My friend says if he ever goes to the ER he's gonna demand one first thing to see the nurse/tech eye roll.

SaoirseRN · Oct 20, 2013

I had a post-op lap appy patient order McDonald's (had a taxi deliver it) at 1am. I got him back from PACU at just before midnight. He ate a large fries, 20 McNuggets, a fruit pie, and giant soft drink, and didn't even throw up after!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 20, 2013

Years ago when I worked in CCU, we had a patient being transferred to our facility from a smaller one in another state. We heard the helicopter land on the roof, but when the team arrived in our unit, there was no patient. "He got up and ran off as soon as we unloaded him from the helicopter," they told me. "Apparently he knows he's NPO for a heart cath, and he wanted to make sure he got something to eat before he got to CCU. Security is looking for him. We have another call, so if they find him, he's yours." And then they proceded to give me report. Crushing chest pain and shortness of breath relieved with NTG and morphine, long history of cardiac issues and (who would have guessed?) noncompliance.

Security located the patient in the hospital cafeteria, consuming a cheeseburger and fries he'd ordered from the grille there. Before they could get him up to our unit, he developed more chest pain. They took him straight to ER, and from there to cath lab where he coded and died -- after barfing and aspirating his cheeseburger.

NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN · Oct 21, 2013

HI RUBY!! You're back! All is better in the world now. :)

Yup, and I bet he went down in hospital history as "hamburger guy" to scare semi compliant pts into behaving. "Oh no, you don't want to be like... Hamburger Guy!!... Let me tell you the horrible Horrible consequences of not doing what you're supposed to..."

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Oct 21, 2013

I had a post-op lap appy patient order McDonald's (had a taxi deliver it) at 1am. I got him back from PACU at just before midnight. He ate a large fries, 20 McNuggets, a fruit pie, and giant soft drink, and didn't even throw up after!

That's OK, I just threw up for him.

TrevyRN, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2013

HI RUBY!! You're back! All is better in the world now. :)
Yup, and I bet he went down in hospital history as "hamburger guy" to scare semi compliant pts into behaving. "Oh no, you don't want to be like... Hamburger Guy!!... Let me tell you the horrible Horrible consequences of not doing what you're supposed to..."

LOL "hamburger guy"... the perfect patient horror story!

My friend and I in clinicals a few years back had a "french fry Pooh" lady we liked to reference. She had CHF, couldn't even roll over on her own, was incontinent of stool and urine, had major jaundice and renal failure, and a trach. Right after the doc lectured her for 15 minutes about adhering to the prescribed diet unless (she wanted to die), her family brought in a bunch of McD's french fries and she started stuffing her face while they turned her over on her side to let her poo a loose stool into a bed pan. Horrible image of the jaundiced, round lady stuffing her face with forbidden fries while taking a dump... looked like Winnie the Pooh taking a pooh.

TrevyRN, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2013

I had a post-op lap appy patient order McDonald's (had a taxi deliver it) at 1am. I got him back from PACU at just before midnight. He ate a large fries, 20 McNuggets, a fruit pie, and giant soft drink, and didn't even throw up after!

At least he wasn't pre op ... LoL... disaster patients! Food is an addiction... people will be resourceful to get their fix!

ICUNurseG · Oct 21, 2013

We had a frequent flyer dka pt order a pizza while he was in the ER and had it delivered to the ICU room... While on an insulin gtt of course. The doc was there and wouldn't let him have it.

Another time he left AMA because I wouldn't let him eat sandwiches and soft drinks all night while on an insulin gtt.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Oct 21, 2013

True confessions time: I sent my husband out to get me a cheeseburger while in PACU from my first c-section. I had been NPO for two days (in my defense)

NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN · Oct 21, 2013

Two words, meanmaryjean......

Hamburger Guy!

:yes: :roflmao: