[scrmblr]

Must be Karma. I had a pt that presented with "nausea" and I thought to myself "go home drink coke, feel better"

I had a minor procedure done yesterday (outpt surgery) Was given fentanyl/versed/diprovan. After the procedure I felt "ok" they gave me toradol iv for pain. Just before d/c they gave me one percocet. About 15 minutes later waves of nausea hit me.

I now understand why "nausea/vomitting" drive people to the ER. I was sick for hours yesterday. Sooooo miserable!

I have new empathy for my pt's.

Anyone else ever have that "aha" now I understand moment???

[glascow]

I have a new found appreciation for pts with chronic backpain and take offense when other nurses call them "drug seekers."

I hurt my back at work and had to have back surgery and have not had a pain free day since 1996. You learn to live with it, but the flare ups can be hell!

[Tweety]

Yep, sounds like karma to me. I had the same kind of reaction to IVP dye. Hope you're better by now.

[michelle126]

I now understand...nausea to the extremes (hyper emesis during prenancy...I'm pregnant with my fourth now)
Urinary retention (teaching my pts how to straight cath themselves is a lot easier than doing it on yourself..lol)
UTIs (taking care of the litlle old ladies in the nursing homes....I soooo feel for them)
Taking pills and complaining that they make you nauseated, get stuck, etc....

Am I pregnant or a little old lady??

[TazziRN]

Ohhhhhh yes! I never understood why parents showed up with Junior in the middle of the night with an earache until I had one myself. Can you say "Find wall, bang head"? I also was unsympathetic to an abdominal post-op who came in for pain control until I had a nephrectomy and my pills weren't working. And then there are family members of those who expire....I was always empathetic, but now I know how it feels to be in their shoes.

[*SMP* FUTURE RN]

Ugh! I absolutely hate nausea! I feel anyone's pain when they say they have nausea. It has to be one of the worst feelings in the world! I hope you are feeling better!!

[sunnyjohn]

Back pain is HELL, HELL I say!

At 28 I hurt my back so bad I wanted to die. Nobody understood. All I kept hearing was, "Your young! Walk around and shake it off!" A very nice NP gave me some VIOXX samples (I couldn't afford medicine) and some BIOFREEZE.

It made me more symapthetic to slow moving elderly people and anybody in pain.

[Altra]

Originally Posted by TazziRN

Ohhhhhh yes! I never understood why parents showed up with Junior in the middle of the night with an earache until I had one myself. Can you say "Find wall, bang head"?

Yep, yep, yep!!

I've had one ear infection in my life, about 15 years ago. At the time I saw my MD I had trouble hearing in that ear & an odd sensation, but no pain. Went home with scripts for abx and Tylenol #3. I wondered why in the heck I needed a script for pain control.

12 hours later ... I was curled up in bed praying for someone to stick an icepick in my ear because it would have been less painful. Excrutiating beyond belief!

[LeahJet]

Originally Posted by TazziRN

Ohhhhhh yes! I never understood why parents showed up with Junior in the middle of the night with an earache

Oh, I hear ya......... I used to mentally roll my eyes with "first timer" parents. I now have a one year old and while we haven't made a late night ER trip yet, it have to remind myself to calm down and think before I freak.
Having a child can be scary!!

[Brita01]

Several years ago, I got a new understanding for patients who call for the bedpan very frequently. I had a same-day procedure and was getting IV fluids. Suddenly I had to urinate, and I mean immediately. I hit the call light, and a minute later I hit the call light again because the nurse hadn't come yet. Then when I got on the bedpan, I couldn't go! And to make it worse, the nurse was standing there watching. I told her I would call when I was finished so she would stop gawking at me, and finally after concentrating very hard, I was able to go. Can you say relief? The nurse came and emptied the bedpan and moved it out of my reach. Five minutes later, I had to go immediately again. What a PIA I must have been.