DTCC PreRN

Long story cut short...MIL fell a couple of years ago and had to have her hip replaced. Approx. 24 hrs later she seized in the hospital. No history of seizures and none since...until a few days ago. MIL is a retired RN (only worked as an RN for about a year then quit) suffers from depression and self medicates. Complains of being in pain all the time and pops soma (sp?) like M&M's. (In addition to other pain killers, muscle relaxers, etc.) A couple of days ago she "fell" out of her recliner and her injuries were bad enough to land her in the hospital. The day before she fell she was calling the neighbors for Oxycodone because she ran out. Early yesterday morning she suffered two Grand Mal Seizures while in hospital. Docs now think she suffered a seizure at home which caused the fall out of her chair. My question is...could these seizures be caused by drug withdrawals? To me it makes more sense than Epilepsy since there is absolutely NO family history of it and the seizures seem to coincide with her admittance to the hospital or lack of narcotics. We're looking wondering if this is something we should advise the doctors of or if it's insignificant. Thanks for reading.

Congratulations on getting the job at the nursing home. I was interested in working at Duke or Durham Regional as well but the thought of working for the LTC or Hospice facilities in town sound so much more appealing right now. I'm continuing my education and the less travel the better until I graduate as a RN. Thanks for the reply and good luck with your future.

Hi Adorblepuppy, I just came across your post and was interested to know if you got a job at Duke. Regards,

Hi Bella Luna, I'm also a student at ACC (couldn't change my username). I love ACC and hope to be accepted into the program for Fall 2010. I attended an informational session yesterday and the department head stated that if you have 11-12 points you pretty much will get in. It becomes competitive when students only have ten points. With ten points, they look at application date. Right now they have 73 or 75 slots (I can't remember) to fill for Fall and about 150 applicants. I would imagine most of those applying hold 10 points. I hope this helps and best of luck to you.

Thanks caliotter3. The first test is usually the worse but I really don't want to earn a bad grade. I know what I have to do and it looks like there's going to be a couple of really long nights in my future. Good luck with your bio class and please send positive vibes my way.

From where I'm sitting it looks like you're doing a heck of a lot better than they are. Maybe a gentle reminder might help humble them a bit. :nuke:

Monday is test day. My first biology test of the semester and I have no idea what to study for. The instructor told us to memorize a ton of images from our text book, be prepared to draw carbon chains, fatty acid chains, etc, and learn a little more 200 definitions. Ugh. I want to poke my eyes out. She won't indicate what her tests are like (format wise). We have no idea if we just need to learn the labels to the images or learn what the labels mean too. No study guide and no test review either. I feel like I'm drinking water from a fire hose. I have about 12 pages of typed notes including images to study. And I know I've forgotten a few things. I smoked Chemistry, Algebra, my little CNA class. Why the heck is this one so hard??

Thank you for the reply. I found out in early June that I have Chiari I. I went to my neurologist for my annual checkup for migraines and confessed my new symptoms. He recommended accupressure. I didn't think that was a valid solution so went to see my PCP, who is fantastic. My PCP ordered the MRI in June that identified a 6mm herniation. He then referred me to a new neurologist. At the end of July I took a nasty fall from my horse that left me with a severe concussion and a sprained neck. After I was well enough to travel I went to see the new neurologist. He ordered a new MRI and identified an 8 mm herniation. Along with the headaches I have tinninitis (sp?) in both ears but mainly the right one, hearing loss in the right ear, loss of reflex in my right leg (knee and ankle), vertigo, dizziness, problems with speech, (sometimes I feel like I have cotton balls in my mouth when I try to speak) and the list goes on. Sooooo, we'll see what the neurosurgeon has to offer up. I'm not too jazzed about surgery. I would expect that to be a very last resort. I, like you have scoured the net and have read so much about the disease. I should be able to come up with my own set of questions. I'll figure it out. Thanks again for your post. It's nice to be able to share with a fellow "chiarian"

Hi everyone, I was formally diagnosed with Chiari I yesterday (8mm herniation, 34 y/o.) and am in the process of being referred to a neurosurgeon. I need a little help deciding what to ask the surgeon when we meet. I'm not 100% convinced that surgery is the answer right now. I do suffer from headaches almost on a daily basis, but they're not quite as bad as the migraines I get. I have fullness in my right ear and tinnitus in both ears. I'm sensitive to sound and light and get headaches with I exert myself, (ex: walking fast, picking up heavy objects, sneezing, coughing, etc). I experience some balance issues but they're not severe. I've lost some sensitivity in the right side of my face and just discovered yesterday that that the reflexes in my right leg and not as sharp as they are in my left left leg??? Not sure what that's all about. Having said this, I kind of feel like I'm being a wimp compared to others who have severe symptoms such as gait issues, severe balance issues, fine motor control issues, etc. Not sure if I'm really a candidate for surgery so I need some really thought provoking questions to go to my neurosurgeon with. Thanks for your help!!

I'll be sure to do that now that I know one of my barn mates knows the EMS team who helped me. I still can't get over how small our world is. :loveya:

How is this for coincedence. I was talking to the new boarder this past Tuesday, (she had on an EMS shirt) and discovered she was on call the afternoon of my fall. Her best friend was one of the EMS techs who helped me. She also gave me the name of the head EMS guy who helped me. I asked her to thank them for me. Our EMS is going through a rough time right now and a letter may not make it to this team. I will write letters to the Duke team! The head ER Doc was also a hb rider. She stopped riding a few years earlier due to the risks. That was one of the conversations that made me cry. I thought she was encouraging me to stop riding. The morphine was doing a number on me! :wink2:

Have you considered contacting your local news station or even a local newspaper and going to them with a story. I'm sure the public would be interested in hearing about a hospital who doesn't hold it's communities best interest at heart. I would go so fast it would make their heads spin. They don't have to know where the story came from. And maybe they could cover other hospitals in the same area who do or do not provide the service.

I'd like to post a thank you to the professionals who helped me after taking a nasty fall from my horse in late June. It was on a Wednesday afternoon, my husband and I were leaving the next day to pick our daughter up from Surf Camp. I went to the barn (4 miles from where we live) with the sole purpose of feeding our mare. When I got to the barn I decided it would be a good idea to take a short ride, bareback, because I wouldn't be able to ride again in 4 whole days. We trotted and walked to a nearby pond then turned around and walked back to the barn. I had my mare in another trot and began pulling on the reins to slow her back into a walk, when I lost my balance. I accidentally kicked her in her side. She took off and I came right off her back. I landed head first on the hard NC clay ground which was covered in small rocks. I tried to get up and didn't have any control over my arms. I also couldn't focus on anything. My world was spinning in a way I had never experienced. I tried to call my horse but gibberish came out. I lay down on the ground and called my husband (I never ride w/o my phone). On the way to the barn my husband called to make sure I was still awake. I don't have any recollection of the phone call or the 6 minute conversation we had. Upon his arrival I asked him how he got there. Apparently I thought he just materialized. I also asked him about 5 times if my eyes were dilated. I have no recollection of this conversation either. At that point he called the Orange Co. EMS. The EMS were there in no time. They were so careful with me and very compassionate. Never once did they admonish me for not wearing a helmet. I've been riding for over 20 years and have never worn a helmet. I bought one as soon as I was able to drive again. They talked to me often and made me feel relaxed as we drove to the hospital. Upon arrival to the hospital, I was taken to a resuss (sp?) room (only b/c it was the only room available). My poor, poor husband was devastated when he got there. A sweet nurse must have noticed his panicked look and reassured him that I had not coded. The doctors and nurses were extremely thorough in their examinations and helped me understand what had happened to me. There was a lady ER Doctor who was fantastic! For some reason I would just begin crying and she helped me understand what was going on. She held my hand and looked me directly in the eyes when she talked to me. She was very comforting. There was also one nurse who stood out to me. She seemed new because she really didn't have a lot to say, but she was good. After she removed my cath. I had to urinate sooo badly. I was so embarrassed. She joked around with me about having to go right after the cath. was removed. She helped break the tension. All the staff were great. All the way down to the gentleman who wheeled me back and forth to CAT scan. I suffered a sever concussion and a sprained neck as a result of the fall. I've made almost a full recovery. I'm going on a big trail ride with my uncle next month. I will be wearing my helmet! Thanks again to the professionals who helped me out. I was ashamed that I hadn't been more careful and sorry that they had to spend their time on me when I know there are more critical situations out there.

Took my second CHM 131 test last night. (made a 91 on my 1st one) 3 hours long and finished 2 out of 3 pages. Thank goodness I wasn't the only one. We're being tested on electronegitivity, oxidation/reduction, oxidation states, balanceing reactions, molecular conversion, naming compounds, polarity, naming formulas, limiting reactants and the list goes on... We're supposed to finish the test after lab on Monday. Please pray for me.

I grew my hair out so I could donate it. Last year in CHM class the guy behind me kept pulling mine out! What the heck? I finally asked him what he was doing with all my hair. He just said he liked it. It was long and shiney. I also must add that he was hispanic and I'm white with dark blond hair. It was neat to him. Different. One day he got up the nerve to ask what kind of shampoo I used. Poor guy. I think he'd be devistated to see how short and colored it is now. :scrm: