Wednesday August 31st 2022

nursej22, MSN, RN · Aug 31, 2022

Good morning.

Joe, good to see you were able to manage work okay. When I was growing up, our house was just across the road from railroad tracks, and I hardly even notice trains anymore, except for coal trains, because they're kind of smelly. I have to cross tracks to get to the interstate, and really long trains go by, taking coal from Montana to a port just north of the border. From there, I suppose it goes to China. We get long oil trains too, taking oil from North Dakota to one of two refineries that are near.

Tweety, that must be so frustrating about your mom. Home PT seems like it could help, if it's available or feasible.

Ado, our Summer has been really buggy. Lots of gnats in the air, that I inhale when jogging or biking, and lots of annoying, itchy bites. The spiders are building lots of webs now and flying things seem less.

Hi Dianah. I hope its not too hot for your walk with your friend.

I went to yet another appointment with yesterday, this time to see the pacemaker NP. I find him really condescending and talks to her like she's got dementia. He uses a lot of jargon, and she's not medically savvy, so I think she ignores him. Anyway, her rhythm is good and she doesn't need to see him for 6 months, or maybe never again. In reality, she's going to switch to my doc in November.I went by her house to help straighten out her meds. She's had so many changes in doses and frequencies!

I have most of the laundry caught up, the fridge cleaned out, and I'll do a good vacuum & dust today, and change the sheets. I work a half day today, then I'm off until next Tuesday. I'll be packing up personal stuff at work today, because our office with be moved next week. I still don't know what sort of work space I'll have. Management wants me to work remotely part of the time, but I just don't see how that works, when we use paper charts, and still use faxes to transmit stuff.

The weather remains hot and dry, except for some fog in the mornings. At least the dew helps reveal the spider webs when walking out the door!

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · Aug 31, 2022

Brief post here ~

What is the mixture that 'encourages' bowels? I remember the applesauce and prune juice....but what is mixed with it? Bran flakes or something? I have a bowel-centric spouse who takes enemas to be able to "get this out of me". He actually woke me up this morning to go to the drugstore to buy 2 large Fleets and 4 Fleets mini- enemas. Thought about metamucil, etc, but the directions say you have to drink the full amount of water, and you have to stay upright to keep the stuff from swelling in your esophagus, and I'm not sure hubby would follow the directions to a "T", so that's why I thought of the above home-made mix. I'm not sure if I can get him to take it on a regular basis, and I wonder if he will decline it, saying "It doesn't work". Anyway, appreciate your input....so to speak! THANX!

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · Aug 31, 2022

Good Lord.

After a full FLEET's administered, "Did you have any luck?" // "No" // "Did you even have anything in there?" // "I don't know. I may not." ?

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · Aug 31, 2022

Answer to a question from yesterday ... nope, seriously doubt he would use a cane. I'm always telling him and Nannie (if she is w/o her walker) to place their hands on woodwork, wall, furniture, counters; basically anything that is not liable to fall, to keep them from falling as they amble through the house. When I am on the sofa in the den and hubby is going to go upstairs, I watch him, especially if he is moving kind of in a loopy manner. (One step prior to reeling d/t ETOH).

So during the most recent fall, he landed on his cell-phone against his left hip. No, the phone survived without a scratch. BUT! You should see the bruise: it started out about 3" in diameter. The corner of the phone must've jabbed him pretty hard, because today it is deep purple and I guess he had a slow leak in some blood vessel, because it has spread to his left groin, and in the other direction to 1/3 of the way to his left buttock. And it is about 13" long and 4" wide. I said to him, "Boy your doctor will be po'd with you if he sees THAT!" His right armpit and ribs are really sore, too. I palpated around the ribcage, but he says it's not bones that are hurting. Hey, a bruised bone hurts like the beejeebers. He thinks it is also not muscle strain. (Hurts only when he coughs or sneezes but not if he breathes deeply.) I think another chest xray would not be out of line, but he gets "all-stove-up" when I mention going to the doc and/or having an xray. Heck, the xray is done at the Imaging Center and might take all of 10 minutes before he is out the door. BUT HE DOESN'T THINK ANYTHING IS WRONG! So that's that! Except I have to listen to the litany of his specific falls and what he hurt each time, and when. Kind of like you guys, reading me! But I do not discuss it a dozen+ times a day. (I don't believe I do, anyway) Half of it is he doesn't quite remember, and half of it is like, maybe, if not genetic, learned from Nannie's echoing her complaints. (but don't tell him I said so!)

To "treat" myself today ? I bought 5 powerball tickets for tonight's drawing ? because the odds of winning ... what is the amount ...$137,000,000...is ONLY something like 1 in an outrageous number like 250,000,000,000. ? So do I feel lucky, punk? Well, do I ? // Go ahead and make my day, Powerball!

I'm signing off because sometimes it seems I could blather on forever. But I will spare you that ... for now! ? (smack!)

nursej22, MSN, RN · Aug 31, 2022

I found a recipe on line for "Home Remedy for Constipation" :

1 cup of prune juice, 1 cup of applesauce, and 1 cup of oat or wheat bran.

Mix together, store in fridge or freezer.

Start with 1-2 tablespoons each evening with a glass of water. After 2 weeks increase to 3-4 tablespoons.

I worked in a nursing home that used some sort of mixture like this, but I think it had figs in it too.

Editorial Team / Admin · Aug 31, 2022

7 hours ago, No Stars In My Eyes said:

What is the mixture that 'encourages' bowels? I remember the applesauce and prune juice....but what is mixed with it? Bran flakes or something?

Oh, you're giving me a flashback to my days of the high school job in a nursing home kitchen. We mixed up BAP by the 10 gallon bucket! 8 containers of prune juice, 4 cans of applesauce, and 8 boxes of bran flakes (all huge food service sizes). Serving size? A 2oz scoop. I cannot even begin to tell you how many residents wrote on their menu for the day to get a double serving.

Editorial Team / Admin · Sep 1, 2022

Hello all!

It's our anniversary today: 47 years! We discussed whether to get out (in the heat) and do something commemorative. Then decided 'not today.' We have an outing to Disneyland scheduled in a week, that will do the trick. So I got to watch two episodes of Time Team, and we did the online jam, and I did some reading, and it's been a quiet day.

I will meet S in about an hour and a half, though the temperature right now is 109 degrees. I think we will be OK, as we will be walking in shady areas. And I know how to sweat. ? ?

nursej22, sounds like a GOOD plan, for your sister to see your Cardiology Provider. Sad to say, some ppl do NOT have bedside manner, though they may have other Provider skills. You are just a bundle of energy, aren't ya?? Good on you, getting all those chores done!!

No Stars, sometimes the bruising is small-ish but as ppl move around, it spreads and looks larger. e.g.: bruising at a groin angiogram site. Once the pt stands up and moves around, "the bruise got really big down my leg!!" Well the bruise is actually the same area as before, it just moved down the leg, from gravity. It is not getting worse, just changed. ? Hope he heals up quickly (and doesn't fall again). I recall (years ago, like over 40 years ago) giving Petrogalar as a laxative, or "a black and white" = milk of mag and cascara cocktail. ?

Joe, good to hear J is starting to feel better. What kind of food did the restaurant serve (the one you were at with the church group)? We live 1/10 mile from a train track, and yes we are very used to the noise. HOWEVER, if I was sitting outside and the train was any closer than that, well, I would find it mightily disturbing to conversation!

Have a good evening!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2022

Good evening!

The concoction sounds dreadful. I'm happy eating a high fiber diet and never having that issue.

Happy Anniversary Dianah and D!

Joe, glad that J is feeling better.

Stars, I know your husband has a bum knee and really should be using at least a cane, but I get it. He will do what he wants.

J22, it is interesting to see how some people talk to older. Hope your sister gets the care she needs.

Speaking of stubborn my mother did have home PT but didn't like people coming into to her house and I'm not sure how many visits she got. But when she leaves the rehab she'll get some home PT and RN to watch her CHF and hopefully she will comply with them. I talked to them tonight and they seem well. She has no symptoms from covid and are letting my dad visit. The moved her to a private room but still on the covid wing.

I floated and started my day with a bad IV and another patient with a BP of 70/30...and he had covid.

Back tomorrow for more fun.

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Sep 1, 2022

Happy anniversary, dianah!

Hubs and I went to choir practice. My workday was spent on zoom calls and meetings that mostly felt like a waste of time. Last night we celebrated Gma's 92nd bday. Also the 5th bday of stepdaughter's twin girls.

I talked to a lawyer yesterday about stepson and he wasn't very encouraging. Had a text exchange with stepson that started out OK but then got weird.