Ever had a patient who had such a crazy medical history, insanely criticallabs, scary vital signs etc. that made you go, "How are you evenalive and talking to me?!"
Last night we had several such patients.
Every time I entered my patient's vital signs, the computer kept giving mea warning message saying that the numbers were outside the criticalrange and do I really, really want to record that. His MAP wasbasically incompatible with life. Equipment was validated many times.And yet the patient was totally asymptomatic and highly annoyed thatwe keep bothering him.
The phone was ringing and ringing when AM labs were up because we had somany critical values. Crazy electrolytes... and yet patients werestill in sinus rhythm.
A friend was hospitalized and his heart went into the 20s when heslept. No blocks, no cardiac disease, no symptoms... nada. He's justa fit guy, a genetic freak and a thorn in the side of the telemetry techs hehe.
The human body is amazing sometimes. Sometimes it finds a way to keep going despite the numbers.
So tell us about your patients who have made you go, "How are you even alive?!"
I ask this out of pure curiosity, as I am a very brittle diabetic. In many threads, not necessarily this one, but many I have seen previously, it almost seems that people think our blood sugar bottoming out is our fault for one reason or the next. Is that the case or am I misinterpreting what I am reading? Tone is so difficult to read over the web.
In my experience, I can go from 200 to 45 in 20 minutes at times for NO discernable reason. I am and have been on the pump for years. Seldomly do I need to make any changes due to being in pretty good control. I could have had the exact same carb count as the day before with no more physical exersion than an other time and boom.......I bottom out. Often times I chalk it up to hormones, but I have no real black and white reason.
WBC count 63.4!!! That one made it about a week....
Patient who came in for a Lap Chole and within 6 hours in complete respiratory failure from BiPap to vent to oscillator. Swan, chest tubes, central lines, pressors...the whole nine. She stayed on the oscillator 2weeks (forever, normally patients don't last 2 days.) It took her about a month, but she made it out of the ICU and to rehab....miracle!
The guy who drove himself to the ER in VT because he didn't think his wife was a good driver. I was there when the VT was replicated in the EP lab. As my jaw is dropping to the floor, the guy is awake and talking to me, saying, "Yeah, I'm starting to feel a little funny. This is how I felt when I drove to the hospital." Totally denied chest pain, dizziness, and never lost consciousness. Got an AICD/pacer anyway. It's been about 15 years and I still think about that guy.
Had a young patient walk into the ER once, complained of feeling kinda dizzy and sob for a couple of days, drew labs and found out his hemoglobin was 2.2! We all couldn't believe that he was even talking, not to mention the fact that he walked in himself off the street like this (it was later determined that he had a bleeding ulcer, it was cauterized, he was transfused, and he walked out of the hospital a couple of days later)
I ask this out of pure curiosity, as I am a very brittle diabetic. In many threads, not necessarily this one, but many I have seen previously, it almost seems that people think our blood sugar bottoming out is our fault for one reason or the next. Is that the case or am I misinterpreting what I am reading? Tone is so difficult to read over the web.
In my experience, I can go from 200 to 45 in 20 minutes at times for NO discernable reason. I am and have been on the pump for years. Seldomly do I need to make any changes due to being in pretty good control. I could have had the exact same carb count as the day before with no more physical exersion than an other time and boom.......I bottom out. Often times I chalk it up to hormones, but I have no real black and white reason.
I don't think anyone is judging their patients, at least I know I'm not. It's just amazing how some people's bodies are able to adapt to conditions that would flatten most other people.
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NurseCard, ADN
2,850 Posts
My DAD.
Seriously, I cannot tell you how many times this man's blood sugar has
completely BOTTOMED OUT in the middle of the night, how many times
my mom has had to call EMS, and he is still here to tell the tale. I am so
glad that he finally seems to be stablized with his current insulin regimen.
He still gets pretty low at times, but I don't think he's bottoming out in
the middle of the night like he used to.