Dear God, Help me - Page 2

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  1. Oct 1, '12 by
    Quote from CT Pixie
    When I was a CNA I had an Alzheimer's patient who would wail at the top of her lungs..."ohhhh God!, please help me!"..."ohhh God, just one word from you and I will be able to sleep peacefully..". She would go on and on for hours doing this...didn't matter where she was, and only at night when it was quiet. One night in particular, she was really off the wall..screaming that out, driving her demented room mate into a tizzy. This roommate also had a particular habit of yelling out..."yeeaahhhh, yeahhhh" said in a very thick Southern accent. So you'd hear "ohhhh Lord!".."yeaahhh! yeaaah!" Then those two would set off the whole wing...you know how that goes.We tried toileting them, giving them a snack and juice, getting them up and putting them in a quiet area, having them sit with us..it was worse when they were OOB, so back to bed they went. The "ohhh God" and "yeah! yeah!" kept on. Finally one of our nurses had had enough and grabbed the call system and clicked on their room. He very calmly, gently, and softly said "Christine**...This is God...go to sleep". She fell silent. We were all amazed..and then we hear "Yeah!". Both of them uttered not a peep after that last "yeah" but the entire nursing station roared with laughs.It became habit, after Christine went to bed, and would start with her "oh God", someone would pick up the call system and say "Christine, this is God, go to sleep". And she would every time and slept soundly all night. It seemed that she just needed reassurance from Him that it was ok to go to sleep.(**name changed for privacy)
    Whatever it takes to keep or get your sanity back!!
    JZ_RN, *4!#6, twinkletoes53, and 1 other like this.
  2. Oct 1, '12 by
    I work in acute care but we get a lot of confused older patients on my unit. (Dementia + smoking = extremely flammable habit.)

    I can actually tune out the mindless screaming.

    But had one the other night who had to pee, literally, every twenty minutes or so. Crawling out of bed, the bed alarm bleeping. "I have to pee!" He's on tele and unsteady, so I have to unhook him and walk him to the bathroom every time. I straight cath the guy -- nothing. The UA is clean. They'd ruled out BPH earlier that day. Try to talk him into using the urinal but he won't unless he can stand up. (Better than having to walk him to the bathroom but I'm still in there every twenty minutes.) Try to reason with him -- "You just peed twenty minutes ago." Nope. Maxed him out on sedatives and pain meds -- didn't touch him. Towards dawn, he was more cognizant; "I know that I don't really need to pee but I feel like it. I think I'm just nervous."
    37 °C, merlee, and imintrouble like this.
  3. Guide
    Oct 1, '12 by
    Oh, our poor patient who was a nurse...
    "Call the pharmacy! Call the pharmacy! I've made an error! Call the pharmacy!"
    Oh, dear god!
    Even in dementia there is no reprieve!
    Kitty- Student RN, MedChica, redmielita, and 18 others like this.
  4. Oct 1, '12 by
    Quote from Hygiene Queen
    Oh, our poor patient who was a nurse...
    "Call the pharmacy! Call the pharmacy! I've made an error! Call the pharmacy!"
    Oh, dear god!
    Even in dementia there is no reprieve!
    That's just really depressing.
    teeniebert, IowaKaren, 37 °C, and 3 others like this.
  5. Guide
    Oct 1, '12 by
    Quote from dirtyhippiegirl
    That's just really depressing.
    It was.
    She always thought she was at work.
    All the time.
    Talk about being trapped in your own private hell.
    It really freaked us all out.
    MedChica, fashionistaRN, teeniebert, and 7 others like this.
  6. Oct 1, '12 by
    A coworker has a running joke that one day she's going to wake up at work, (as a resident) all in a panic because she has to pass more pills "Just four more pills. I'm not done yet! I've got more pills to pass out!!" lol
    sharpeimom, teeniebert, *4!#6, and 5 others like this.
  7. Asst. Admin
    Oct 2, '12 by
    Quote from artsmom
    I just listened to this for 12 hours- almost literally non-stop. I just felt the urge to put it in an online forum full of nurses who may sympathize with my numb brain. God Bless Alzheimer's.
    I feel your pain. We have similar things happen in psych.
    Hygiene Queen, sharpeimom, and imintrouble like this.
  8. Oct 2, '12 by
    I love this thread. You guys are cracking me up. I am a med-surg RN and absolutely ADORE the elderly dementia patients. The amuse me, and I have infinite patience for them because I know they can't help it.
    fashionistaRN, Hygiene Queen, *4!#6, and 4 others like this.
  9. Oct 2, '12 by
    Quote from Meriwhen
    I feel your pain. We have similar things happen in psych.
    Try being a psych patient with someone like that on the unit. You get to go home after eight hours. I'm lucky if the screamer isn't my roommate. :P
    imintrouble likes this.
  10. Oct 2, '12 by
    We have a former DON patient who is a high fall risk, especially overnight ,so the nurses give her a clipboard and she goes along for the med pass. She will make notes about the job the nurses do and also which patients she feels the doctor needs to come see.
    libbyliberal, Spring_Peeper, fashionistaRN, and 15 others like this.