This nurse is an unlucky patient!

[sissiesmama]

Well, I have been in the hospital, or the ER at least, more than I would have liked to in the last 4 years with cardiac and BP dx, ect. The last time I saw my cardiologist, he informed me that my murmur had worsened and also I will be needing to be scheduled for a cardiac ablation. I saw him last Wednesday morning. I had been having some intermittent nausea during the week and had cut back on my exercise due to a nonspecific "yuck" feeling.

Thursday most of the day I tried to clean up a little around the house and finish up the yard. I guess I did too much, and tried to rest some after finishing. My dh and I were propped up watching tv that night a little after 9pm. I thought I had just gone to sleep and had some REALLY crazy dreams, that there were two strange men im my bedroom, and that someone kept trying to get me up and go somewhere...

I remember looking up from our bedroom out the window and seeing flashing lights, and then my dh telling me to get up and go somewhere. I wake up a little more and see there are 2 EMTs coming in. Long story short, I had had a seizure and stopped breathing. He called 911 and I had just become postictal when they were arriving.

So I get admitted to the ER where dh sups in the trauma room and get started on the battery of tests that come with needing to be in the trauma suite. We find out that my potassium was very low, 2.4 or so. The doc gave me some Klyte which I rapidly threw back up, and then started a IVPB of 40mEq instead.

As part of the tests, you submit to a UDS. I had no problem with that. After a while, the same ER doc that prev. been pretty nice came back in with "that look". First thing out of his mouth, of couse, "Where did you get the drugs?!?" My response, "What drugs?" So he tells me that my UDS had come back positive for PCP. When I tell him that I had not been around it, of course, he made the "stick face" and rolled his eyes. He was on the way out and I stopped him and asked if he would let me repeat the drug screen. Again he rolled his eyes, but did agree. So, instead of a clean catch like the first one, here comes the nurse with an in and out cath kit. I wasn't wild about that, but wasn't about to refuse it. It went to the lab.

Here comes the doc again and this time he asks who I got the urine from for the repeat test. I remind him that he ordered a cath collection for the second one. He says that the urines look like "they came from 2 different patients." When dh suggests that maybe the lab possibly made the error... the doc doesn't like that suggestion. He does call the nurse back in and made sure she cathed the right patient. She just laughed on the way out, apparently he was giving all the nurses a hard time.

So, finally I get d/ced and leave with my negative drug screen. Felt a little insulted, dh and I had both worked there in the ER, and dh still does supervise there. I was glad they finally got the correct screen on my chart at least and they didn't think I had been out purchasing some PCP just before my seizure activity.

Anne, RNC

[nyreaRN]

doc was an idiot. glad ur ok

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

please check with your states DMV as in some states with new onset of a seizure you can not drive for 6 mos.....we had a coworker RN who had a seizure at work and the ED reported the seizure and she could not drive for 6 mos. Hope you are searching for a cause and that you feel better

[sissiesmama, ASN, RN]

I wonder what caused it,, did you have a head ct? Maybe because of your potassium? I've never seen someone go into a seizure because of hypokalemia,, hmmmm

yes, I changed my name! :) I like this one better.

Could it be your meds? Shoot.... I hope yall figure it out .... Thats scary!!

I like it too! Cool! I did have a head CT and it was negative, thank goodness. The ER doc did say it could have been r/t the K level. It's been low before, when I had gotten a GI virus before, but I've never had seizures from the level.

Thank goodness they didn't start me on any kind of seizure meds or anything. I have to f/u with a neurologist in the next 3 to 4 weeks, but I am already awaiting an appt to see an intervent. cardiologist for an ablation due to some arrythmias still hanging on despite med changes. So, I'll probably see the neuro after I see my dardio. I'm ready to just not see ANY MDs for a while and just be a mama and wife!

Dh really was shaken up pretty bad after that night. He keeps his cool in a crisis and had minor emergencies with the boys before, but never anything like this. And now I look like "connect the bruises", from bumping into my bedside table and my IV starts in the ambulance. The EMTs that came knew me from working in the area, I used to cook sweets for them every few weeks or so before I quit working. The RN that had me in the ER was one that I was familiar with also, so we felt a little more comfortable.

SO glad to be back home and getting back to normal! Yesterday was our 11 yr olds birthday, so he had a friend spend the night and had cake and all that. Dh has been off, and watching to make sure I don't overdo. He'll go to work in the am and Christian to school, so I plan on enjoying my lazy afternoon just doing nothing and hanging out with my sweetie.

Anne

[Jolie, BSN]

Please consider contacting the ER manager and/or hospital administrator and reporting your drug screen experience.

I'm glad that the situation worked out OK for you, but had the doc not repeated your test, you could have faced serious implications with your health insurance (most will not pay for services necessitated by illegal activity), your employer, the BON, your spouse and children if DFS became involved over a social work report of (+) PCP in a urine drug screen.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

Glad you are alright. That ER doc was a jerk. I deffinately would be contacting his superior.

[sissiesmama, ASN, RN]

Please consider contacting the ER manager and/or hospital administrator and reporting your drug screen experience.

I'm glad that the situation worked out OK for you, but had the doc not repeated your test, you could have faced serious implications with your health insurance (most will not pay for services necessitated by illegal activity), your employer, the BON, your spouse and children if DFS became involved over a social work report of (+) PCP in a urine drug screen.

Jolie - I know it!! If I hadn't worked in the ER at this facility before and seen a UDS come back wrong and then lab just say "Oops, we reported the wrong one..." I wouldn't have even known to say anything and request another one. Dh was trying to calm me down a little, he knew it wasn't correct. I mean, like if it was positive for opiates or benzos, something like that, I could see. And I know you don't have to "look like" a certain type or whatever to be positive for a certain drug, but even in all my years as an ER nurse, I can only remember one patient the cops brought in that was on PCP, and one other that brought it into the ER when he was shot in a fight.

I am grateful the ER doc let me recollect the specimen, even though I wasn't happy about the cath. I wasn't about to refuse it - I would have looked like an idiot then. Brian said, "Oh, now I bet when I come back to work on Monday I'll be giving a drug screen too. They'll make sure I wasn't peeing for you the first time." Joking, of course, but who knows!

It could have had consequences for dh and me both, like you said, with DFS, BON, any one of them could have really taken that and run with it. I'm just glad he listened and it's over - the proof's in the pudding, as mama says, the correct UDS is on the chart. Dh or I will probably talk to the ER manager in the AM to make sure everything's in order.

Anne

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

Hey Anne, I'm worried about you now. Sounds like some scary health problems you have there.

That's terrible about the incorrect drug screen, that's terrible. Just what you need on top of everything else!

[sissiesmama, ASN, RN]

Hey Anne, I'm worried about you now. Sounds like some scary health problems you have there.

That's terrible about the incorrect drug screen, that's terrible. Just what you need on top of everything else!

Hey! Thanks! I am a little worried myself, and I know dh is. Since we found out from the card. that I needed to have the cardiac ablation, I have really been stressing. I don't know if the stress level increasing could contribute to the seizure episode or not. I have no idea about what to expect as far as the ablation goes. The only thing I know is that they do it in the cath lab, I think. Fear is always my worst enemy, especially the unknown!

One thing all this might help would be is that we are in the process of filing for disability for me and I have received a denial. Hopefully this last week with everything that has gone on will help with my appeal in a few weeks.

[lamazeteacher]

I sure hope you'll make an appointment to see a neurologist about the seizure.

I've had to go to the ED seldom, but I learned some time ago that it's best to have my own physician on alert first (unless something needs suturing). When I go in, I ask them to call him. That way, no idiot gets to do what you had done to you.

I went in once with what I suspected was a twisted ovarian cyst, and filled out the questionnaire I was given, which included BM activity. Much to my surprise, presenting in acute pain which had a specific site on my LLA, I was given instructions to go home and take an antidiarrhea med (after indicating normal BMs on the questionnaire). That convinced me that I'd never go in without my own doc there.

P.S. I saw an oncologic gynecologist the following day, and total hyst the day after. Guess what it was? A twisted ovarian cyst!

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

All I have to say is:

"fill out the patient satisfaction survey and give them (him)#%^&"

otessa

[sissiesmama, ASN, RN]

All I have to say is:

"fill out the patient satisfaction survey and give them (him)#%^&"

otessa

Your reply made me smile. My hubbie has worked at this facility for almost 20 years, and I started there approx. 19 yrs ago before I finished nursing school as a ward clerk and in medical records, so I think when they were telling me about the patient survey, they just assumed if I did it, they would get "glowing" remarks. Which, I did get excellent care and they were very good about my dh and 11 year old being in the room even though I was in one of the trauma rooms. If I asked for something, ice or whatever, there was no problem.

I read the narrative after I got the paperwork and when I got to the UDS results, I just shook my head. Said something like, "...Dr. to bedside to discuss DRAB findings. Positive for PCP, benzos, and tricyclics...Pt requested a repeat screen..."

If I hadn't been a nurse in that ER one time when this same scenario happened to another patient, I wouldn't have known to even say anything at all, even though dh and I both knew it was incorrect. I'm glad they did listen, at least, and got my clean UDS with only having to have an in and out cath. Small price to pay to get that straight.

Anne

[dnp2004]

I would hate to see what would happen if you were a regular patient!!! You would be another casualty surrounding this 38 year WAR ON DRUGS.