RestlessHeart

I'm pretty sure that the members here cannot give medical advice or even legal advice. You really need to contact your personal doctor. . I wish you success going forward though

I was thinking the same thing

Years ago I had a Nurse falsify MY blood sugar in my records. I KNEW damn well she never tested it. She said it was something like 150 so she gave me 5U of "R" Insulin. UGH....in less than 15 minutes I took my own blood sugar because I didnt feel good. It was 37!!! I "pulled the red cord" and showed the RN who came in. OMG she lit that place up like the 4th of July. The DON wasnt real happy to say the least. I dont know if any of you have ever actually had a BS reading that low but it seriously kicks your ass and you have to be super quick to stop it. Sooooo, please please please dont ever guess-ti-mate the actual reading.

Whether you think you are or think you aren't.....you're right. I wish you luck and success

If ever given the chance, the need or the opportunity I would wish you could be my Nurse. I would be proud to take direction / education from you as My Nurse. I have horrible horrible pain issues and have had them form more than 20 years. Ive taken, almost literally every pain med out there. Morphine, dilaudid, fentanyl, nubain, demerol, codeine, oxy, vicodin et al. Nubain was the best for migraine. Morphine and dilaudid and fentanyl damn near killed me because the Nurse would not believe I was allergic. Oxy never did a thing. I could literally take a handful and go shopping. Codeine and Vicodin are the best, they dont kill the pain but they do make it tolerable so that I have some quality of life. I take vic now with a phenergan chaser (LOL kinda) and havent changed the dose in probably close to 10 years. It works....I dont question what works. What I do question is how some nurses treat "us". I had shoulder reconstruction twice and a torn and repaired ACL and Im tellin ya...nothing much touches that pain. Of all the surgeries Ive ever had...those were the worst. I had a nurse encounter each freaking time that was enough to land me in jail (jk) According to her anything more than Tylenol was not needed the 2nd post op. She would make me wait 5 or even 6 hours before giving me the pain med ordered. Back then they were almost always IM. We're not all junkies. I'll be the first to fess up....I have no pain tolerance to speak of. A hangnail for you is a surgery for me. IF I was a junkie, you denying me a pain med after surgery isnt going to change that, it wont make it worse or better. When we are denied adequate pain control OF COURSE WE act as what you call a junkie, we start clock watching, we may get demanding, angry or weepy. ALL we want is the hurt to let up. We know, those of us with Chronic Pain, RCPS et al that we will never not be in pain on some level. We just want it to be a little less, a little more tolerable. Please dont look down your nose at me / us. Dont be condescending, dont judge my pain according to your pain.

The State would love to hear this scheme....not to mention Medicare and other Gov't programs

Dont byte my head off for asking this. Im seriously curious. Ive been in the hospital so many times thru the years. Ive had 30 some surgeries blah blah blah but Im curious. Would it be plausible to ask the patient if he'd be ok waiting just a little while you grab a bite to eat or a drink? I know I always always always tried to give my Nurses space for that and would wait a little extra if it'd help them out a little. I suppose now that I see it in "writing" it doesnt sound good does it?

At the risk of getting my "membership" here handed to me on a platter..Id like to ask something. Please keep in mind I am not and never was a Nurse of any degree. I do have great respect for all of you in the Medical Field. My Medical side is only extensive as far as the patient view because Ive been one way tooooo many times. Anyway... I digress. Just be gentle ok? Im curious about the fluid restriction and how that comes about. How is it decided and who decides how much of a restriction is applied? Does it mean ANY fluid? Is it "touchy" (where a little too much or a little too little can be nasty?) My twin has kidney failure and when she was hospitalized and later in a Nursing rehab prior to going home they had her on fluid restriction. But...here's the thing I never understood. She would leave the clinic / dialysis and almost immediately drink 2, 16 ounce bottles of Mt Dew. Mind you she is a raging diabetic that believes you can eat or drink anything as long as you take the insulin. UGH. Anyway....I appreciate any responses...just be gentle. Have a super day and I wouldnt wish the treatment the patient OR the nurse received in this matter on ANYONE!!

I so love almost every one of your responses. I may have to start stalking you (so I can learn more of course). Thanks for speaking out.

Another good post. Sheeeeeesh I need to come here more often. Ive been a patient recovering from back surgery. A failed one I might add. I am not a "dug user" of any thing illicit. But have had 30 some surgeries to keep me upright and walking with some kind of quality of life. I am one of "those" patients who need more pain meds, or more often anyway to deal with my pain. One of the things people like "us" worry about is going into withdrawals because a NEW nurse doesnt know "our" history and will fight giving us what is "ordered". Ive had a nurse refuse a pain med (back then it was 125mg of demerol and 50mg of phenergan) because it was 15 minutes early and shes headed to report. I remember waiting for 90 minutes and being in tears because I hurt so bad. Ive since learned.....never tell a Nurse you're a Pain Mgmn Patient. Never tell em that your pain is 10 /10, they claim that's a dead give away for drug seekers. Never tell them what works or better yet what doesnt. Dont tell them your pain is thru the roof....they wont believe it and will say you're histrionic and there enters a whole new ballgame that wont have good results. Also, dont spend time telling them about what you'd call an allergy because the nurse will pound that home!!! Learn fast and hard that there is a difference between Allergy and Sensitivity. It is very hard on everyone involved. Before I get flamed here let me add....I know some great nurses, in fact most are very suited for the job they do and they take a beating for it. I love to give kudos to ANY Nurse or even DR that will give me an even shake with my pain. Ive had nurses, LPN and RN alike....even the DON that would sit at my bedside and just talk to me. THAT lowered my pain level the best and didnt leave me feeling like pond scum. So....with all that said (Im in a hella lot of pain lately) I give to each and every one of you that pays attention and listens to their patience major applause and kudos. YOU are the best of what seems to be a dying breed. PLEASE PLEASE dont give up on us.....we're human just like you....the only difference is we hurt so bad all the time and usually thru no fault of our own. My pain is a PIA for you and your attitude or judgment is a PIA for us.

Awwww Man...I wish I could like this post about a million times. Ive seen and dealt with so many Nurses like the OP. I always do my best to "lay a little education on them" rather than pick a fight (not in the literal sense of course) Ive been judged by the best in this type of situation minus the drama and "fit-pitching". "WE" collectively know what people like the OP think of us or of our pain. Do you REALLY think we dont hear or see the whispers? Do you think we dont feel it in your facial expressions or attitude? You cant know our pain, our history, our event causing Chronic Pain et al. But then you wouldnt believe it anyway because you've already decided that we dont need all that medication and you're going to be different and stop the "nonsense". Being reasonable is one thing, being judgmental is an entirely different beast. I would reckon that MY doctors know me better over the years than a nurse ever could.

And you've come back for all the right reasons. Ive read your postings on and off since like forever ago. Great news on the remaining clean and free from the demons. Anyway I just wanted to say CONGRATS!! [ATTACH=CONFIG]24584[/ATTACH]

Kooky, I just wanted to tell you I love your nic, I giggle jus' a lil everytime I read your posts. I also wanted to say your posts all seem so well thought out and well placed. Im glad you contribute here. Hmmmm, Im 'sposed to be stalking someone else on AN....I forget who...Sooo I think Ima stalk you (or is it called creeping) LOL Have an awesome week, stand strong

Id do everything in my power to make sure you were never ever allowed to treat anybody I know or love. Your post smacks of judgement and your words show it.

So many things seem to influence calling in sick a lot. Where I am, with a mix of Nurse and laypeople, it's usually the nurses who call in...a LOT. But, we've also found that if there is any form of confusion or trouble on the floor the amount of call in escalates something crazy. We actually have one nurse who cannot, for the life of her job come to work every day. I dont believe she has worked a full 40 hour week since she started 5 years ago. She misuses FMLA as much as humanly possible. She works half shifts so she can relax at home, she'll leave work early because she has a cold or "flu" but when she gets home will call FMLA and claims her back is spasming. She causes a fair amount of dissention in the unit. We're a small department and can scarcely afford to be even further limited like this. With her gone so much the work load gets further divided because we have to absorb most of her work as well as our own. It really brings the rest of the unit down and stress levels climb