I have never taken care of a patient with a known pheochromocytoma - until now

Nurses General Nursing

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Let me start by saying I am NOT seeking medical advice! (I have great MD's and UpToDate)

Now......I am hoping that some of my nursing brothers and sisters will have some experience in this area that could lend me a hand. I have been an ICU nurse for 10 years and I have never taken care of a patient with a known pheochromocytoma. Well....I have one. I am hoping that some of you may have had a patient with a pheo and could lend some insight on the perioperative experience.

Nurses are the front line and I know they are the true experts. ICU nurses are not scared of much, but being an ICU patient is terrifying!

Any knowledge would be helpful.

Thanks
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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

:hug: it's going to be all right. we can't give medical advice as per the terms of service.

i can tell you as an icu/ed nurse being a patient can be terrifying. i far prefer to be on the other side of the bed. you "know" things yet you "know" nothing. it is very frustrating to not be in control.....a role i don't excel.

first and for most....leave your nurses cap at home. be a patient, use your call button!, take your pain meds! ask those questions! even if they sound stupid. make sure everyone washed their hands (huge pet peeve of mine.) and ignore the monitors!

be the patient!!!!!!!

the big thing with pheo's and i have only seen 2 is labile b/p. pre-op high post op low. depending on the md/facility you will have at least an art line and probably a multi lumen/triple lumen, maybe a swan. htn is common in the or and they use nipride and phentolamine .....there can be arrhythmias but are self limiting. pheos are very vascular and you might need transfusions. they can be done laparoscopically depending on the pheo and the surgeon. so your amount of pain will cry if it is an open adrenalectomy.....take you pain meds at regular intervals, do not "tough it out". it will make you vitals much harder to control. 2 weeks later a biochemical w/u to check essays and you are home free. some get genetic testing as she can be familiar.

my prayers and wishes for your speedy recovery.:loveya:

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Esme, thank you so much! I just wanted to know the patient experience. I have small children and kind of wanted to prepare as much as possible. I am still worried about the potential ICU stay, but maybe I can help with the codes or something LOL!

If anyone else has experience in this area, any stories would be appreciated!

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I think it would be interesting to see what happens/how people behave if they don't know you're a nurse.

Every time I've taken care of anyone who works in the medical field, one of the first things out of their mouth is, "oh, i'm a doctor. oh, i'm a nurse." I don't know that I'd do that. I'm sure it's tempting, but I'd like to see how people behave when they don't know there's a trained eye on them.

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Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.
i think it would be interesting to see what happens/how people behave if they don't know you're a nurse.

every time i've taken care of anyone who works in the medical field, one of the first things out of their mouth is, "oh, i'm a doctor. oh, i'm a nurse." i don't know that i'd do that. i'm sure it's tempting, but i'd like to see how people behave when they don't know there's a trained eye on them.

at this level, i would have to agree with this post, for the simple reason that i wouldn't desire anyone to be on their tip/toes around me, because that's usually when they commit errors by trying to be so perfect, let me give you an example: when i'm having my blood drawn for my annual physical i never tell the person drawing my blood that i'm a seasoned nurse, or volunteer to help them if they have a difficult vein with any other pt. i usually behave like a pt. and let things roll naturally....just saying :cool:

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I think it would be interesting to see what happens/how people behave if they don't know you're a nurse.

Every time I've taken care of anyone who works in the medical field, one of the first things out of their mouth is, "oh, i'm a doctor. oh, i'm a nurse." I don't know that I'd do that. I'm sure it's tempting, but I'd like to see how people behave when they don't know there's a trained eye on them.

I didn't tell anyone I was a nurse (I had a long ER visit, 3 nights in ICU and 3 on the floor post a craniotomy). My dad though took the first chance he could to tell EVERYONE "my daughter the ICU nurse yadda yadda yadda"

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Specializes in ICU.

umcRN- see my post on BelgianRN's thread about not accompanying his mother to the ER anymore.

Everything was all good with me in the hospital, until my dad showed up and let the cat out of the bag. Oops.

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