Texagain

Here is a link to a disturbing article about a woman who died following a home colonic treatment and the resulting lawsuit. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/colonsuit.html For those who don't want to read the whole thing, here is an excerpt: The complaint also alleges that Years to Your Life Health Center falsely advertised colonic irrigations as "painless" procedures which provided health benefits including an improved immune system and increased energy, as well as relief from indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, body odor, candida, acne, mucus colitis, gas, food cravings, fatigue, obesity, diverticulosis, bad breath, parasitic infections, and premenstrual syndrome. In 1997, the FDA warned Girouard about safety violations and warned Tiller Mind and Body, Inc. (another defendant) about illegal claims and manufacturing violations. Colonic irrigation has no rational role in the prevention or treatment of any health problem. The Colon Therapeutics Web site actually states that "there are no proven medical benefits from colonics." Yikes!

Our APU, LD, OR, and Level 3 are all on the same floor, but our level 2 is one floor up as is the GN and PPU. We have 3 infant stabilization units in LD and each SU can handle 4 kids.

My cousins in law pick peas (and other things, seasonally) in West Texas. Generally, the only 'facilities' available are Port-a-Potties, picnic tables, and a water spigot. A hand-washing station would go a long way toward better health for all of us.

Cargal posted: "did anyone see the multiple ads at the right side of the screen for colon hydrotherapy? Is there a 900 number" It would be interesting to take that colon cleanser ad apart. I'm sure they are claiming many, many (dubious) health benefits. I'd like to see what the ingredients are, also.

When folks start talkin' toxins, I always ask "What toxins?".

Go Barb, Go Barb! :chuckle

At our facility, we have had about three 22 week survisors over about 6 years (that I know about- we were HIPPA before HIPPA was cool). One came back to visit. She was 8 months old, weighed about 8 lbs, and, as I chatted with her mom briefly, I watched her eyes roll around continuously and independently of each other. She still had o2, apnea monitor and G-tube. I did not ask the mom what kind of problems the child had. She was, however, a pretty little baby and seemed well cared for and loved. While my facility does not perform elective VTP's, we do lose pregnancies with some regularity. We are a regional specialty hospital with between 650 and 800 deliveries a month, and of course, lots of high risk pregnancies/deliveries. If we get, say, and 18 week PROM, we will evaluate everything and support the parents decision. An 18 week PROM with no fluid and no hope of fluid may choose a different course of treatment that an 18 weeker with a slow leak and an AFI of 4. There are families that want everything done, and some that are willing to accept a loss and move on. You simply cannot judge people in these positions for their decisions. When faced with such heart wreching decisions at work, you should first be thankful it's not you lying there. Some here know that I have an ex 23 weeker who will be six this month. At the time of my hospitalization at 18 weeks, I was also taking care of my elderly father who was greatly debilitated with Parkinson's disease. I had modified my home to include a handicap equipped apartment for him that included flooring, shower, commode, hospital bed, and wheelchair access, and was still paying for the modifications. And I had an almost 2 year old. Imagine the pure torture of feeling that you had to choose between 2 children and a parent. I had one memorable PROM patient whose baby had his foot stuck in her cervix which acted like poor cork for 4 long, leaky months. He managed to keep enough fluid to give him a fighting chance. He wound up on ECMO for a time following his delivery. I saw him when he was 2, and he was an unusual looking (from uneven development from the low fluid), but very alert fellow. He was seeing an ortho for his deformed foot and other bone problems. In the end, people need all the facts with which to make their very best decisions. Then they need to proceed, knowing they have made the best decision possible for themselves. Perhaps what someone else chooses to do is not what you would choose, but there are most likely other factors that you may not even be aware of influencing their decision.

posted by BarbPick: "If this is so, then why does "go lightly" work so well in a day for endoscopy? They take pictures to prove how well it works, I always thought G I Doctors had strange tolerance...yuk" Because you intestinal tract does have stuff in it- food, that is the process of being digested.

Thanks, Agnus. You are entirely correct.

I heard a commercial for "Colon Cleanse", a product that claims to remove the 10-15 lbs of 'sludge' that supposedly collects in the colon over time. The proof that it worked was in the large, ahem, stools that one would pass when using the product (according to the radio commercial). The primary ingredient was psyllium husk (if I recall correctly). Well, no wonder. Nothing like a bulk forming laxative to increase the amount of stool passed. Am I the only one that knows this? I personally don't believe that 'sludge' collects in the colon in anything but very small amounts at best. I mean, if it were true, how would the nutrients from the food you eat pass through all that sludge to get into your bloodstream and nourish you? Perhaps someone who work in GI can tell us more about what they have seen. Really, these kinds of claims need to be viewed with a critical eye. I'm not saying what you read didn't have any truth to it, I'm just saying I don't really believe it.

How many weeks? If they were alive and perfect (healthy?), why did they die so quickly? I'm sorry you are feeling so sad about it.

"She's told me I'm picking a different future for myself by resisting a change that I'm deliberately avoiding. (Which happens to be TRUE.) " Well, this is true for me also, so maybe she meant you a pass this message on to me! Let me speak to you: At times you are extroverted, affable, social, while at other times you are introverted, wary and reserved. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety, and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. Disciplined and controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. You have a great deal of unused capacity, which you have not turned to your advantage. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a strong need for other people to like you and for them to admire you.

Personally, I would never have a home birth. My personal experience included a perfectly normal hospital delivery (short and sweet with excellent care) followed 2 years later by a completely disastrous delivery with practically every complication possible. I understand the desire to have a pleasant birth experience. Who doesn't want that? Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. A birthing center would be an acceptable alternative for me (except I won't be doing *that* again!). Full court medical backup would be a requirement. JMHO

There is another thread on the board somewhere called "Would I be considered a difficult patient?" that asks a similar question, but from the other side. In my case (and I've had one of each), I don't care how the kid gets out as long as all are O.K. I sometimes feel there is too much emphasis on the delivery, when the delivery is an extremely small part of being a parent. JMHO

Purplemania- I don't think her situation is anything like Stephen Hawking.

Maybe I am the one you are thinking of as I worked in an IVF clinic for about 5 years. The description by Chaya is quite accurate. I enjoyed the work immensely and left only because I had a medical problem myself that sidelined me for a very long time. Aside from a few, ahem, O.K., I'll just say it , crazy patients (one of whom defaced the lobby because it had pictures of children on the wall), it was one of the two jobs I enjoyed the most- the other one being the job I have now.

We verify too. Not just the syringe, but the order in the chart, the MAR and the bottle(s) for insulin with the syringe in it. It's better than making a mistake.

I don't find service and health care contradictory at all. I never fail to be surprised at how nurses will say it's so important to drink 8 glasses of water a day and gripe about filling a water pitcher. I don't like working with unpleasant people, myself. I've been at the bedside for almost 6 years and have been a patient twice (once for over six weeks). I think my expetience on both side of the rail make me better at my job.

I forgot to add, the nurse on my unit who has been there the longest just got her 25 year pin and we have lots in the 12-15 year range. That may be why I like my coworkers so much. They have been there a long time and have alot of pride in the hospital and thier jobs. Also, we recently went all-RN. The only LVN's left are in school.

I've worked for HCA for almost six years. My orientation was 12 weeks on the unit, plus a bunch of other stuff like a 2 day breast feeding course. I have noticed that orientation takes as long as it takes for you to practice at a comfortable level. If we have someone who is not doing very well, their orientation is extended non-punatively. I love working for my hospital. It's the best job I've ever had, nursing or non-nursing. I have great pay, great hours, and fabulous co-workers. They are always available to help. My NM is super, too. I plan to work there until they sweep my dry, dusty bones out the door. Now, I'm not saying all HCA's are like that- I don't know that. And I'm not gonna tell you where I work because I don't want all of you coming after my spot! LOL. I hope you like your new job. Getting a raise before you start is a good sign.

Shandy- that reminds me of something. Had a patient referred because the previous Doc (GP) noticed 2 cx's upon the patient's first exam. She was a young girl, seemed a little slow, was accompanied by her father htat day, and said she was getting married soon. Anyway, she indeed had two cx's and two uteruses (sp?). The Doc was beginning to try to explain to situation to the patient and her dad, when the patient blurted out "Oh my god. I don't want to have twins." She was not pregnant.

I try to be professional at all times during exams, but this one from a couple of years ago still stands out in my mind. I was assisting during an annual in a clinic. The patient was a young attractive woman with big implants. When the Doc did the breast exam, perhaps it was just my particular view, but I noticed that the patient's unusually large and gravity defying breasts were individually much larger and rounder than the Docs head. This struck me as funny and I started to giggle (silently!) and had to leave the room suddenly and go have a laugh. The Doc chased me down around the corner- she thought I was sick or something-and let me cool off a little and we completed the exam. For some reason I still get a smile out of that. I've also had two(!) experiences of males in the exam room fainting during the female's exam. One suffered a head injury and was hospitalized, the other we caught. This was early in my career and I was unprepared. Now I always keep one eye on any extraneous people in the room (I'm in the hospital now). My own DH almost fainted during the birth of our first child, but the sharp eyed nurse caught him before he hit the floor. Finally, I actually fainted following a blood draw - my own. In all fairness, I was sick. I remember having the blood drawn, then moving to another chair while someone else was having their blood drawn. The next thing I know, there were all these faces in my face. I said "I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep." They said "No, you did more than that." The moral of this story is, I guess, 'Your blood is fine with me. My blood, however, is a different story.'

To OBNURSEHEATHER- Hey we are allowed to do that!

Actually, this happens with some frequency on my unit- we have alot of long term bedresters (APU). It's not a big deal. We handle it different ways. Sometimes, we are happy to not take care of the pt, and accept it happily. Sometimes, mid-shift, for example, it's just not practical to change. In any case the charge nurse or super investigates and it is almost always the nurse who decides. Once, I didn't want to change, so the super told the pt that all our nurses were competant to take care of her and she'd just have to live with me for a few more hours that day. It's more typical that there is a personality conflict as opposed to a skills question. Also, it seems our APU's who do that also do it in the NICU.

Something similar happened to me once- A nurse I work with, I'll call her 'Mary' didn't (and still doesn't) like me for some reason. Even today, she always calls me by a wrong name, and I've worked with her for 5 years now. I quit correcting her-LOL. Anyway, 'Mary' paid way too much attention to my job and constantly pointed out any errors I made. I heard from another nurse that 'Mary' was telling everyone that I had been sent to peer review for poor nursing skills. Nothing even remotely close to this has ever happened to me, and I was very angry that 'Mary' was spreading these kinds of rumors about me. First, I told 'Mary' that if she had any complaints about my work, to put them in an email to me. This seemed to make her feel good rather than bad because I was not hostile about it but presented it in more of a light of making me aware of my mistakes. It also took away her gossip fodder because she would now be embarrassed for talking about me behind my back when I had asked her to come to me first. Then, I made an appointment with my NM to let her know that there was a problem between us, but more importantly, I gave the NM my plan for avoiding problems with 'Mary'. I told the NM that I told 'Mary' that if she had complaints about me to send me an email (paper trail) and told the NM that I will no longer have any conversations with 'Mary' at all other that to give and receive report, but I will not tell 'Mary' that this was my plan, and that from now on if we worked together, I would sit on the completely far opposite side of the station so as to avoid any conversation at all with 'Mary'. Mary never knew what happened. She tried to engage me in conversation, but I was always busy or far away. She seemed to follow me around for a while, but got no feedback from me. Eventually she moved on and started harrassing another nurse. It seems to be a pattern for her. I have never received an email from her, and the NM became aware of of 'Mary's wierdness. And of course, it helps to have a good NM. I heard from another victim, who was written up by 'Mary', that the NM threw away the write up. 'Mary' lost alot of her credibility. Anyway, protect yourself from wierdos.