LLC10

Aw, thanks, smilingbe. It means a lot...I get lost sometimes in the judgment (med seeker) I seem to get recently that there are more great nurses than bad. That makes me sad & upset as I am not, never have been, only ask when I really need it "seeker". It now gives me great anxiety whenever I am in the hospital that when or if the pain comes back, I will be forced to feel bad in asking and all that anxiety only worsens my situation. Then again, I see the ED FULL of people who: decide that a UTI is ambulance worthy, that pain they had for 4 weeks is now 100X worse on the weekend, a moderate toothache, has a bit of a cold, you know who I mean...so I guess when you are exposed to that daily, I might be leery, judgmental of everyone too but it's tough to make up 3 MIs though Lol. It is so wonderful to hear from nurses that truly care and are busting orifice trying to do the job of 4 ...I thank you.

Lol @ at pillow turning. I would NEVER ask for a nurse to fix my pillow. I could be half falling off the bed in a full body cast & I still wouldn't ask. I'll never understand pts asking for the most ridiculous of things. Granted with cardiac issues I'm always in with the oldies (most are wonderful fyi) but some think they are at the Ritz (for the price I really should be :)). Constant bell ringing or my biggest pet peeve...not using the call button at all and just yelling out "NURSE! NURSE!" 200x instead. Hence why my nursing career would last all of 5 minutes. I would have Ativan at the ready for every pt & their visitors or maybe it should just be given to the nurses upon each shift. Lol.

Thank you. After awhile of being in the hospital, you start to lose your mind. I don't know how nurses like all of you do it. I wouldn't last 5 minutes.

Oh I can't tell you how much your reply means to me, sissiesmama! Thank you. To think you're a nurse & you still were treated that way! Unreal. I oh so agree with you...as if I manufactured 3 MIs, 14 stents & a bunch of other surgeries just to get attention or meds. It would be easier to go to my local "street pharmacist" if I was only interested in narcs that don't actually work for me anyway.. Ha. I even had a nurse demand to see my groin scars because she didn't believe I had fem pop so here I am at 3 AM exposing my business to prove it. Lord help me, read my chart...I can come up with a better, more entertaining story then "Hey..wanna hear my Fem Pop story?!" Lol. Like you, I have overheard some questioning me, judging me...ugh. I'm no wimp but it is so awful to experience. As if I'm at home just plotting a way to get to hang out on the cardiac floor with (God love them) the senior citizen crowd, connected to 3 machines all the while Gertrude decides to push her commode on my side of the room & actually use it. True. Story. Sigh...Lol.

Thank you so much. I know I should have said something but part of me feels like I would get even less attention if I am known as the patient that "rats" nurses out. I know that's insane thinking that I would even hesitate...

Not sure if this is in the correct place but move me if needed. :) I have posted before that I love 99.9% of my nurses. Thought I could get some feedback on how to handle this particular situation. My mother is a nurse & I have run it by her but her being my mother...well you know. Lol. Just want to be sure I'm not a PITA patient like this nurse made me feel. Went to ED with uncontrollable chest pain. 42, F pt., severe CAD & PAD, 3 prev MIs, no drug use ever, not diabetic, not overweight blah blah blah...Let me add because I am on the younger side & female (these issues started at 37) I get the "Gosh, you don't look sick." Even my doc agrees that people make quick judgments based on the fact they usually deal with an older group. Was admitted, obviously, overnight with elevated troponin level blah blah blah. I pride myself on being a good patient. I never ring the call button. I am overly polite, I say thank you for everything. I don't ask for stupid things like snacks, drinks, a four course meal, fix my pillow etc. You're my professional educated nurse, not my maid. Jeez, I even give other pts that give nurses a hard time the side eye. Anyway, during the night, as much as I tried (right off the bat my nurse was not warm & fuzzy & that's ok) not to bother her, my chest pain would not let up. I needed meds to alleviate the pain. I had not had any since the ED many, many hours before so I wasn't being a "clock watcher". I knew I was not having an MI (or I would have had to call a code on myself to get someone in to me lol) just more pain than I was willing to deal with in the hospital. I did use the call light. They answer over the intercom, annoyed, that someone would be in. 25 minutes later she arrives, aggravated as if I had done something to her & asks me: "Do you really need meds?" I am a strong woman but I started to sob. She made me feel like I had bothered her & was some junkie loser. Once she saw I was so upset, she ran to get the meds and said: "Ok, ok here." and gave them to me as if she was doing me a favor. I know everyone has a bad night, day, week, year & I know that I am not the only pt on the floor. I sooooooo get that. I am not selfish & like I said, with my mom being a nurse...Christ...we had to have a bleeding amputated limb to go the doctor. Lol. Anyway, how do I handle this next time? Now, I tend to feel reluctant to go to the hospital (which could kill me) & that's awful because they are the closest to my home & in emergencies such as this, I have to go there. Not to mention, my heart problems aren't going away. It is progressing unusually fast and med resistant. Ugh. Thanks for letting me vent. Like I said most of the nurses I deal with are just great. I appreciate it but I swear if your floor has that one nurse that is angry at the world & quick to judge, I will end up her pt. Sorry so long. Thanks again.

Had another cath, had another awesome nurse & remembered this thread. :) I know...I hear the complaints and have determined (in my professional patient opinion) the ones that do the most complaining are usually the least sick in the entire building. I think this is hilarious: I did recently have a nurse ask if I really needed the pain meds on Day 2 of post-op after having femoral bypass on both legs because I asked 5 minutes too early I guess. Drug seeker, I am. Lol. I guess you have to be Chuck Norris to be her patient. Lol.

Thank you both! Have had so many caths I lost count, stents galore, have had both legs bypassed with my PAD, my carotids are screaming at 70 & 80% occluded but other than that...I'm a picture of health. Lol. Maybe someday they could have a section for awesome patients too. :) Maybe new nurses could learn/experience a few things from grateful, rational pts (selected, not an open format) that could answer questions from the other side of the bed. For instance: I always get asked the question "What does it feel like to have a MI"? Granted, it's different for a lot of women but I came up with a spot on feeling (also asked other MI people & they agreed) that anyone can relate to...Ya know that feeling when you happen to swallow something hot very quickly? Like you take a gulp of coffee, swallow & then realize it's MUCH hotter than originally thought? Seems like it takes forever to move down your throat & like you swallowed a brick? That feeling? 100% the same feeling at the beginning of an MI! Now the next time that happens to you, you will think of me :). The hot coffee not a MI of course. Thanks for listening to my rambling.

I have been meaning to do this so here goes: A quick note to thank AWESOME nurses because let's face it...how many pts (mom is a nurse hence the fancy med abbreviation :))really understand & are grateful for you? 2 years ago, at 38, I had a sudden heart attack. I am not overweight, diabetic, a smoker or touched drugs in my entire life. I found out I had severe genetic heart disease. I want to thank nurses everywhere for taking care of pts like me medically & emotionally. I know it's a tough job, I've seen it. The ridiculous demands, rude pts... like the one who thought the nurse was her personal slave & waitress. Um, no. I am/was appalled at the behavior of these people & I will say "sorry" for them. I would be fired in about 2.1 milliseconds dealing with some of them. Lol. I had such a great staff that I had my family bring in a catered dinner for all of the nurses during my first heart surgery. You would have thought I was Oprah handing out cars...how sad as pts we don't treat our nurses better? Who are you going to call when the chest pain comes back? Ya...I think I'll go the extra mile:) Have I had a bad nurse? Sure. My first nurse in the ER mid 1st MI asked me: "Are you sure you're not a drug addict? You know we are going to find out, right?" I replied. "Yes, I'm sure. HA. After my second surgery, I asked my nurse for pain meds, (fyi- I am not a clock watcher & don't like to trouble busy nurses so I waited as long as possible) she sighed & told me she didn't even get to eat her lunch so....Lol. True story. So please, know that not every pt is a junkie or looking for a fix....some of us are 100% truly appreciative like me and are in pain, not making it up. Anyway, I truly appreciate all the good nurses and know that not everyone gets a chance to express it. Little things like when I had Fem Pop surgery, I couldn't move & had an itchy shoulder. Omg. The itch was worse than the surgery pain. Lol. I felt so bad asking for her help. You would have thought God himself came through the door...she scratched my shoulder & I was in heaven. Little things. You think she went to school to scratch my flippin' back? Hell no....but she did it & I will never forget it. I even see the nice things you do for other pts...it never goes unnoticed. So from the bottom of this crappy heart...thanks. Truly.