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Old 10-08-2020, 11:56 AM   #1
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Hospitals- not what they used to be

This past Sunday morning not long after midnight found myself in the hospital by way of the ER. Did the same thing last month, but this time I stayed, but not 'cause I like it. Did not seem busy at all but took forever to get checked in. I already knew what my problem was (is). Tuesday I swallowed a pill camera and had a recorder strapped on. The camera decided it liked the environment and hung out longer than welcome. Now trying to get it to move on without surgery, which will come later anyway. At some point I'll rant about the whole experience (without being overly graphic!
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Old 10-08-2020, 12:12 PM   #2
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Every day is a gift. Count your blessings for Today.

We can work on Tomorrow together.

I hope everything comes out fine!

Best of luck to you when you go in.

Hang in there!
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Old 10-08-2020, 12:12 PM   #3
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Sorry to hear of your woes, hope you get it all worked out () and enjoy a full recovery for your underlying issue ASAP.

"Hospitals- not what they used to be" I'm old enuf to remember and offer a "Thank Goodness for That!". They've never been and likely never will be a place one chooses to be, but hospital technology, practices, and procedures have certainly improved greatly over time and offer some great benefits compared to 'the alternative'.

Again, hoping you enjoy those benefits and are back on the road ASAP
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Old 10-08-2020, 12:47 PM   #4
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Sorry to hear of your woes, hope you get it all worked out () and enjoy a full recovery for your underlying issue ASAP.

"Hospitals- not what they used to be" I'm old enuf to remember and offer a "Thank Goodness for That!". They've never been and likely never will be a place one chooses to be, but hospital technology, practices, and procedures have certainly improved greatly over time and offer some great benefits compared to 'the alternative'.

Again, hoping you enjoy those benefits and are back on the road ASAP
Centex, I agree about the technology, practices and procedures have greatly improved, but cost cutting has considerably affected staffing, supplies, (don't forget your own tissues) and seemingly even hospital information, (I'm referring to a pamphlet that tells about services available) Where is the cafeteria and what hours are they open? A listing of TV channels? Various contacts? Current visiting hours? (The current sign indicating hours is incorrect) Don't get me started on communication, it is terrible, one shift does not know what the other is doing. No excuse for that in this day and age. Good thing my wife and I are still "with it", as we have caught several errors in a few short days. I feel for the patient without an advocate.
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Old 10-11-2020, 02:43 PM   #5
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Well, here I am in the hospital two days post op. The pill camera I swallowed prior to going in got stuck, so surgical intervention was necessary. But in the process the real problem was discovered. So I lost 8" or more of small intestine. Working to get my system going again, not uncommon. I have had some complaints about the hospital, but the surgical team was most impressive as well as radiology. And as far as the complaints, I am not a complainer, but sometimes you have to and doing so did get some results.
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Old 10-12-2020, 04:03 PM   #6
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Finally put me on a regular diet after being on fluids. If I tolerate that well they will cut me loose tomorrow or possibly Wednesday. The sooner the better, as you know what they say about hospital food, although the evening meal was not too bad. Lunch hardly edible. Thanks for being my sounding board, not through yet!

Tom
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Old 10-12-2020, 05:00 PM   #7
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Choice of words

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Finally put me on a regular diet after being on fluids. If I tolerate that well they will cut me loose tomorrow or possibly Wednesday. The sooner the better, as you know what they say about hospital food, although the evening meal was not too bad. Lunch hardly edible. Thanks for being my sounding board, not through yet!

Tom
I flinched when I read “cut me loose tomorrow”. Best of luck on your recovery and future camping adventures
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Old 10-12-2020, 10:12 PM   #8
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My wife had 1/3 of her colon removed during surgery for diverticulitis about 12 or 13 years ago. When they brought her back to the room after surgery, they’d misplaced her chart and would not give her any pain meds until they located it. She was in extreme pain for perhaps an hour, the kind no one would wish on a worst enemy.

I hope to never need any serious procedure; I’m a wuss when it comes to pain.
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Old 10-13-2020, 07:22 PM   #9
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I flinched when I read “cut me loose tomorrow”. Best of luck on your recovery and future camping adventures
Iowa Dave
Iowa Dave, Sorry about the choice of words! I do find that being in the hospital does tend to make one more graphic however.
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Old 10-13-2020, 07:29 PM   #10
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My wife had 1/3 of her colon removed during surgery for diverticulitis about 12 or 13 years ago. When they brought her back to the room after surgery, they’d misplaced her chart and would not give her any pain meds until they located it. She was in extreme pain for perhaps an hour, the kind no one would wish on a worst enemy.

I hope to never need any serious procedure; I’m a wuss when it comes to pain.
Mike, I am not one to take pain meds, traditionally they do not do much if anything to address the pain. But those administered through the IV drip seem to work better than pills. For pain like your wife endured, it would be better to be put in a coma. I know personally it can be very bad.
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Old 10-13-2020, 07:39 PM   #11
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Could those posting on this thread please include how many years of medical school and how many years of practice they have had?
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Old 10-13-2020, 07:41 PM   #12
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OK, they did turn me loose today. (Better choice of words Dave?) They say I am doing very well and I guess I am but it is going to take some time.

The timing of this event could have been better, and worse also. Last week we were set to use the Escape for only the second time, departing from our home in TN to NYS for personal business and then stopping on our return trip at our Daughters in Chambersburg PA. Sometime before the end of the year we'll be swapping trucks, she has an F250 and we have a 2017 F450 with a tow body. Her trailer is a 36 footer and definitely needs more truck. We will then sell the F250 and buy a smaller truck. That is the plan anyway!
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Old 10-13-2020, 08:00 PM   #13
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Hi Glenn Baglo
I never had any medical school training but I can identify everything that is edible on a deer or a pig. After working 6 years on the hog kill at chain speed of 535 per hour with a 20% sunshine bonus (642 an hour) I did get pretty fair with a 10 inch knife working over my head all the way down to my knees. It was a giant anatomy lesson every night. When a hog came through that had a huge liver that was hard like a rock my favorite thing to do was to alert the federal meat inspector by calling out “ALCOHOLIC HOG” .
Iowa AFL/CIO Amalgamated Meat cutters and Butcher Workmen of the World (Lifetime) Dave
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Old 10-13-2020, 08:11 PM   #14
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Old 10-13-2020, 09:07 PM   #15
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OK, they did turn me loose today. (Better choice of words Dave?) They say I am doing very well and I guess I am but it is going to take some time.
Thanks for that (relatively) good news update. Wishing you a full and as speedy-as-possible recovery. Think positive, it can't harm
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Old 10-13-2020, 11:28 PM   #16
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I have zero years of medical school and about a half-century of practice....
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Old 10-14-2020, 07:46 AM   #17
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Pill camera. Well that's a new one on me. Had to look that up. Here's what I found:
  • The device, the capsule endoscope, is 1-1/8 inches long and 3/8 inches wide (26 mm x 11 mm), the size of a large pill. It is composed of a battery with an 8-hour lifespan, a strong light source, a camera, and a small transmitter.
Used for a Capsule Endoscopy. I will go no farther than that. Glad everything came out ok.

Might as well chirp in here with my own recent hospital experience, though it was not anywhere close to yours. Last week had to be driven to the emergency room of the big VA hospital in Albuquerque. First off, let me say they were great to me. I got royal treatment.

There were only 2 people ahead of me in the waiting room and because of the pandemic most of the chairs were cordoned off, but I got escorted in after only fifteen minutes. After the initial interview with a nurse was moved to a bed in one of the examination rooms. Everyone was masked of course.

They hooked me up for a battery of tests, EKG, took blood, did several pressure tests, etc., and then the most amazing thing was they wheeled a cart into the room that actually was an x-ray machine. At first I thought it was used for housekeeping. Nurse placed a plate behind my back (I was sitting up) and the thing, aimed at my chest and about 7 feet away, took an x-ray.

That was amazing. It turns out because, I think, only one doctor was on duty, I did spend about 4 hours there. Nancy went home but they called her when I was finally ready for release. I left feeling much better than when I came in. I got tested, inspected, injected, and corrected.

Oh, what was my problem? Evidently it is something people of a certain age might know about. Nothing lethal. The last couple of days I was experiencing an unexplainable, serious spinning in my head, and great instability. The room wouldn't stop spinning. Doc said it would go away naturally and not to be too worried but it could be an inner ear infection. He ruled out stroke.

It was Vertigo.
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Old 10-14-2020, 10:37 AM   #18
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Myron, Spot on with the pill cam description. The lights on it were incredibly bright. Previous to the pill cam I swallowed a dummy pill. The theory being that if the dummy went through ok then the real one would follow. The dummy was larger than the real one, however, the real one got stuck. They check via Xray or cat scan to see what the pill progress is. I want the real one for a show and tell (mantlepiece?)
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Old 10-14-2020, 10:53 AM   #19
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A necklace might be a nice conversation starter.
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Old 10-14-2020, 11:04 AM   #20
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Pill camera. Well that's a new one on me. Had to look that up. Here's what I found:
  • The device, the capsule endoscope, is 1-1/8 inches long and 3/8 inches wide (26 mm x 11 mm), the size of a large pill. It is composed of a battery with an 8-hour lifespan, a strong light source, a camera, and a small transmitter.
Used for a Capsule Endoscopy. I will go no farther than that. Glad everything came out ok.

Might as well chirp in here with my own recent hospital experience, though it was not anywhere close to yours. Last week had to be driven to the emergency room of the big VA hospital in Albuquerque. First off, let me say they were great to me. I got royal treatment.

There were only 2 people ahead of me in the waiting room and because of the pandemic most of the chairs were cordoned off, but I got escorted in after only fifteen minutes. After the initial interview with a nurse was moved to a bed in one of the examination rooms. Everyone was masked of course.

They hooked me up for a battery of tests, EKG, took blood, did several pressure tests, etc., and then the most amazing thing was they wheeled a cart into the room that actually was an x-ray machine. At first I thought it was used for housekeeping. Nurse placed a plate behind my back (I was sitting up) and the thing, aimed at my chest and about 7 feet away, took an x-ray.

That was amazing. It turns out because, I think, only one doctor was on duty, I did spend about 4 hours there. Nancy went home but they called her when I was finally ready for release. I left feeling much better than when I came in. I got tested, inspected, injected, and corrected.

Oh, what was my problem? Evidently it is something people of a certain age might know about. Nothing lethal. The last couple of days I was experiencing an unexplainable, serious spinning in my head, and great instability. The room wouldn't stop spinning. Doc said it would go away naturally and not to be too worried but it could be an inner ear infection. He ruled out stroke.

It was Vertigo.
Our son has a vertigo problem. When it hits him he is disabled for days.
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