5 Nonessential Items I Bring when Hospitalized

If I know I'm going to be hospitalized there are 5 items I make sure I bring with me.  Some may seem silly, but they all contribute to a more comfortable stay.

1. Safety pins : I go to the VA hospital where we patients
are given “pajamas” instead of a gown to wear. Problems arise if the fly-snaps on the bottoms are worn out making them unable to fasten well.

I’ve had occasions when, while walking the hospital corridor, the fly-snaps suddenly gave way leaving the elastic waistband free to rapidly yank my fly wide open!. When this happened I couldn’t reach for my drawers fast enough!  They all too quickly fell to  my ankles.

So you see a safety pin or two will always be carried with me when I think I’ll become an in-patient.!

2. Cuetips: That’s right, cuetips. Do you know how frustrating it is to be someplace where you can’t swab your ears with a cuetip? When I get desperate, with out cuetips, there is no telling what objects might be shoved in my ear. 

3. Nail clippers:  Have you ever asked a nurse for nail clippers? You might as well ask the nurse to get you a Straight Razor.

4. Lip balm: In the hospital, my lips have dried out like worms crossing the highway at noon in the Mojave' Desert. Hospitals keep the air so conditioned that the humidity is very low. Therefore, I always keep lip balm on my packing list.

5. Tabasco or Hot Sauce: Yes, I bring my Louisiana Supreme hot sauce to the hospital. I learned in the army that otherwise unappetizing food can be made more palatable with a couple shakes of hot sauce.

Staying at hospitals can always be made a little easier with the “not so essential” items. That said, consider this post and then decide what your own are.

5 Disciplines that Might Diagnose Your Hypoproteinemia

Hypoproteinemia is not a diagnosis, it is a manifestation of some other cause.  Hypoproteinemia simply means low blood protein.  That said, the following disciplines, and possibly others, may get involved in finding the cause of yours. 


1. Rheumatologist - A Rheumatologist may check a number of areas of the body since autoimmune causes of low protein can be found in  multiple systems. Here is a list of some: Blood and blood vessels, Digestive tract (including the mouth) Glands, Heart, Joints, and Kidneys.

2. Gastroenterologist - Since the cause of your low protein might be digestive in nature, this type of doctor may want to examine you. He/she may scope your upper and lower GI tracts.  This discipline would probably do CT scans of your digestive tract first though.

3. Cardiologist: May look at heart issues in infants, children, the elderly, or others for issues causing low blood protein. It’s my understanding that weak hearts can cause protein loss. Also, there are some heart birth defects that cause  hypoproteinemia in infants and children.  Fortunately, doctors can fix some of these.

4. Hematologist: These doctors may look for clues in the blood for what might be causing a decrease in protein.

5.  Geneticist: This kind of doctor would look at your family history, and examine you for clues as to a genetic cause of your hypoproteinemia.

As always, this list is not the end-all list of specialists that might see you. Your low protein may cause secondary issues that might require even other types of doctors.

It’s for this reason that it’s extremely important to have a good primary care doctor who can, and will coordinate your care with all these specializations.

I’ll soon post some suggestions for primary care doctor’s that may come in handy for you, the patient.

I gratefully accept corrections and/or suggestions for this blog. Any input can be left in the form of a comment, or by signing my guestbook.

My Health Update

I've been feeling pretty poorly the last few days.  It started with a pretty bad sore throat which has gone away.  But it didn't just go away, the illness moved into my head and chest.  Arrgh!  I can't stand colds.

I have a full prescription of Doxycycline hyclate that I'm going to start taking.

Hopefully I'll start feeling better soon.

As far as my hypoproteinemia symptoms, they are on the stronger side.  I feel pretty bloated.  My edema is pretty high now. 

At the beginning of the year, I weighed less than 130 pounds.  I am now up to 185 at least..  I'm hoping my eating hasn't resulted in much of that weight being fat instead of fluid.

I know some of the weight is muscle thoug because I've been exercising all summer.  Some of the nurses at the hospital the last time I was there were making comments like, "Look at Mr. Taverne... all buff!"  And, "Boy you been working ou. t huh?"

I didn't know working out would make my butt bigger.  I can't fit into my 140 lb pants anymore.  Ane, I'm not happy about that.

I'll stop typing now.  I hope you, where ever you are, are doing well.  Please feel free to post comments.  If you want I'll share your story here.

Chronically Aflicted - Pay Attention to Moments

A Protein losing enteropathy is pretty tough to deal with.  I know what it’s like to attend family functions only to lay on the couch with my legs elevated while everyone else visits having a great time.

I understand the feeling of not being able to eat because excess fluid in my belly makes it hard to breath.

This is why it’s so important for people like us to grab onto the moments when we feel pretty good.  We know that such moments are not to be wasted because they are few and far between.

Maybe you are chronically ill with another affliction, this applies to you too.   Actually, this is just as important for the perfectly healthy, though they may not realize it.

Is this an advantage we have over them?  We learn the value of moments.  I saw a TV show this week where a man told a woman to take pictures of moments, not people.  

That’s what we need to do… pay attention to moments and not take them for granted.

Positive Outlooks Improve Quality of Life

First of all, why maintain a positive outlook? A positive outlook, regardless of your situation can improve your quality of life no matter how ill you are.

When recently hospitalized at G.V. (sonny) Montgomery Veteran’s Medical Center, I met Len. He was my roommate, and he had multiple Sclerosis.

When I first entered the room, I thought, “Great, a guy who is ‘out-of-it’ and I don’t have to worry about what he wants to watch on TV, I can change the channel at will.” But I was wrong, he is very much with it.

His mind is sharp as a tack. His body however was another story. You see, he couldn’t move anything from the waist down. He could barely move his arms. The nurses had to do pretty much everything for him.

Furthermore, he isn’t exactly what I would call old; only 54, but his life’s endeavors seem to be forever anchored to his hospital bed.

You’d think Len would be unhappy and bitter, wouldn’t you? He isn’t. He is one of the most gracious people I’ve met. He regularly converses with the nursing staff as if talking to siblings. That said, when the staff orders-out for lunch or dinner, Len often has them order for him as well, and he often buys.

Additionally, he absolutely knows what shows are on TV as well as what time and channel. He said watching TV is one of the only things he can do, so he tries to enjoy it as much as he can.

I asked him how he manages to keep such a positive attitude. He said he used to feel sorry for himself. He used to be angry, but eventually, he realized his negative emotions were solving nothing.

He decided to make the most of his situation, and turned his attitude around. Isn’t that the only thing any of us can do? We have to decide to be positive. We have to decide to make the most of our situations. Think of the things you CAN do, instead of missing the things you used to do.

Sometimes the realities of life are cruel, and it’s up to us to change our attitudes which will improve our quality of life.

Hospital Woes Overcome (humorous)

If you are hospitalized alot, maybe you can identify with this article I wrote a few years ago.

Hospitals are wonderful places, aren’t they? Where else can you go where it is common practice to get jabbed with needles, be expected to expose yourself without question, and talk to highly educated people about the consistency of your poop? I say there is no other such place.

Now I realize that for many, hospital stays can mean the difference between life and death, but I’ve found through my many experiences that hospital stays can also be a real drag.

First of all, when I go to the hospital, I no longer expect to get good quality sleep. If you had ever spent time in hospitals, then you know what I am talking about. The carts with the squeaking wheels moving up and down the halls at all hours, the intercom that seems to squawk something every ten minutes, and the janitors with the floor buffers whirling outside my door seem to grind my much needed rest into little ashy piles of soot that get blown away by frigid Yukon-like winds emanating from the arctic ventilation circle mounted in the ceiling above my bed.

Additionally, there are the middle-of-the-night-voices that also keep me from sleeping soundly. Such as the chatty voices of nurses and clerks who don’t seem to have anything to do but chat. Then there are those occasional mournful voices of suffering patients crying for help. I often hear those voices floating up and down the halls, gently drifting in and out of rooms as if belonging to spirits of patients long since forgotten. It’s too bad for those poor souls when, strangely, their call buttons seem to quit working during the graveyard shift.

Another problem I have with hospitals is that they don’t put enough food in my meals. I’m sure the demand for hospital food doesn’t result with patients fighting amongst themselves for the delicacies they serve, and I know patients who despite being unable to eat are brought trays of food anyway, so why not offer seconds to those of us still hungry? Yes, I’m still hungry after eating since a serving of mystery meat is not much larger than a postage stamp.

Another problem I have with hospitals pertaining to food has to do with the ease and speed in which I am unsympathetically placed on a salt restricted diet. Have you ever had scrambled “hospital” eggs? Let me tell you, they “need” salt! Keeping that in mind, I sure would like to know how those “eggs” are made. Are they eggs at all? I mean they look like they were cooked while being churned through a hot hamburger grinder. Oh how figuring such puzzles helps to pass in-hospital time.

I have discovered that I might be put through some fairly unpleasant procedures while in the hospital. Take the colonoscopy for instance. I don’t care how dignified a person might believe himself to be, but once the preparation for such a procedure begins, dignity goes out the window.

When I had mine, I thought I would take the procedure like a “man”, with maturity, dignity and poise. But once I began drinking the “go-lytely”, I felt like a protesting-face-making six year old as my wife stood there saying, “You’re not getting up from there until you finish!” And, that’s just the preparation!

The next day, I found myself side lying on a gurney, surrounded by at least 3 men and 2 women, with my back side roughing up with goose bumps thanks to a chilly wind blowing across it’s vast hairy nakedness.

Unfortunately, sometimes one procedure can force the necessity of another procedure. You see, following that colonoscopy I developed the worse case of hemorrhoids that I have ever had. I suffered with them for 5 days before my doctors agreed to surgically remove them.

Now aside from its location, this (as you might guess) was a very different procedure. First of all, prior to my colonoscopy, the doctor didn’t actually look at the area to be scoped. Prior to the ‘roid removal procedure however, I was surprised to discover how willing and how interested at least 8 different doctors were to look, discuss, and laugh at the size of my ‘roids. Let me tell you, bashful they weren’t. They spread my cheeks for me and everything!

Secondly, I was going to be under general anesthesia, meaning I was going to be put to sleep. I was glad of that, because I was only sedated during the colonoscopy which allowed me to feel some unpleasantness, and during this hemorrhoid removal surgery, they would actually be “cutting” on a very sensitive (yet already painful) part of my body.

As I lay there on the gurney, I wondered how such a procedure would be performed. My question was answered after I surveyed the room. I noticed that the actual surgical bed had a huge mound of foam sitting on it in addition to a log like cushion. I figured I would be unflatteringly placed in a jack-knife position mooning God and everyone. I thought to myself, ‘I only thought my backside was showing during the colonoscopy’. That said, I can’t tell you how glad I was to be knocked out prior to my positioning.

Another problem I have with hospitals is IV pumps. They can be really annoying! That said, just one time I’d love to blast one of those beeping IV pumps to smithereens with a shotgun. In the hospital, they seem to love keeping me tethered to one at all times. Now I know getting fluids can be important, but it seems like the nurses forget that I do have a functional mouth and I can utilize it to swallow water! But what do they do? They hang a bag of saline the size of Rhode Island, set the pump at 50 milliliters per hour and expect me to live with dragging that dead weight in and out of the bathroom for the next 16 hours! It’s just plain ridiculous!

After seeing so many doctors, I’ve discovered that bedside manner is a direct reflection of their integrity as well as personality. That said, I am not impressed with doctors who are supposedly listening to my breathing when they quickly move the business end of the stethoscope from place to place on my back as if trying to trap a run away Mexican jumping bean.

Finally, let me set the record strait by saying I am grateful to the staff employed at the hospital I use for taking such good care of me over the years. It remains a sad truth, however, that unavoidable discomforts will present themselves each time I’m a patient. I will, therefore, keep my past experiences in mind and be confident that hospital woes can most certainly be overcome.

Make the Most of Your Hospital Stay

Making the most of your hospital stay requires you to keep in mind why you are there in the first place. You may be there to heal from an accident, recover from an illness or have some surgery performed on you and then be observed for a time.

These primary reasons for being hospitalized should be your primary focus while you are there. This means that following the directions of your doctors and nurses should be paramount to you. Keeping this in mind, the hospital staff is available to help you while you are there.

It’s a mistake though, to assume someone is always available to answer your call button depressions immediately, every time you press it. Remember there are probably 20 or more other patients on the floor and a minimum of staffing to care for all of you. This doesn’t mean however that the staff should continually ignore your calls.

Neither does this mean it’s okay for you to call the nurse every 5 minutes for every little thing. To minimize the need for pressing the call button, try to request everything you think you’ll need while the nurse is in your room making rounds. Usually before they leave the room for checking IV’s and giving medications, they’ll ask if you need anything. This is the time to make your requests: extra blanket or pillow, water, to see your doctor and the like.

If you feel you are ignored by the hospital staff, don’t be afraid to ask a nurse why this is so. However, you should use a nonjudgmental voice and indirectly phrase the question withholding blame. For example, you could say something like, “You guys must be really busy huh? I’ve been calling for a nurse for 30 minutes. Do you think you have time to get me some ice water?”

Phrasing your discontent this way does not put the staff on the defensive, instead it aligns you with the staff as a pleasant and understanding patient they will want to help. Conversely, constantly voicing your angry disapproval might put off their answering your calls in the future. That said, not many people have a truly intrinsic desire to help crabby people.

As for me, the hospital staff is a constant source of human interaction that helps me cope with being hospitalized, so I don’t limit my interactions to the nursing staff and doctors alone. That said, I also carry on a light hearted banter with the maintenance and cleaning personnel that come in and out of my room. This type of give and take does a good job chasing away in-hospital depression.

Another aspect of being hospitalized where attitude can help is the infamous hospital food situation. Okay, so you suddenly find you’re stuck in the hospital which means you’re at the mercy of that hospital’s cooks and your doctor’s dietary rules. Let me suggest you utilize this time as a learning experience.

Although hospital food may not always taste the greatest, you can get a good idea of proper food portion sizes, and eating it might help you discover your ability to eat foods that are low in saturated fat and prepared with little or no salt. Furthermore, if you realize and accept that your diet does matter in the continuum of your health, you might adjust your diet at home accordingly.

When you’re in the hospital, you may find getting restful sleep to be a difficult proposition. With nurses going in and out of your room at all hours, janitors running floor buffers, loud squeaking wheeled carts moving up and down the halls, cabinet doors and drawers opening and closing and people talking, sleep can be as elusive as a hiding phantom.

I’ve found getting angry over this situation to be counterproductive. I surely can’t relax and sleep if I’m angry, so instead I consciously tell myself that Maintenance to the hospital must be performed, people must talk, and my not being in my own bed at home can’t be helped. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t let yourself get angry either. Instead, try to be understanding and your sleep will come naturally, regardless of nearby noises.

Another way to make the most of your hospital stay is to bring a “Notebook of Strategic Memory” and a pen with you to the hospital. I have found doctor’s names, and their departments impossible to recall without writing them down. That said, there have been many occasions when I wanted to ask the nurse to contact a particular doctor for me only to realize I couldn’t remember his/her name.

The Notebook of Strategic Memory also comes in handy when questions arise and the doctor is not around. I jot the questions down as they arise, then pose them to the doctor at a later time.

You can do everything in a hospital bed. From going to the bathroom, bathing, watching TV, eating and even exercising, the hospital staff can remove every reason why anyone ever needs to get out of bed. I say if you are able, and you have your doctor’s permission, get out of bed and go outside.

Don’t use your hospital stay as an excuse to live in your bed. I used to do this, but I’ve found I get better faster when I get out, regularly, for sun and fresh air. If you are like me, then not only will going out help you physically, it could also improve your attitude which could improve the other aspects of your hospital stay.

Video Explains Protein Function

What are proteins for? This video does a good job explaining them. While watching, don't blame me if you feel your brain growing with knowledge.

Anatomical Position and a Few Medical Terms (Video)

Not my best vodeo I know, but it does explain Anatomical position and some basic medical terms.  I know I could have done a better job on this, but I wasn't feeling like doing all the editing.

Note, I didn't go over much lower extremity stuff, but I will if requested.  As alwayx, question or comments can be left by using the comment link below.  You can also sign my guestbook if you're feeling up to it.

A Note to my Russian Federation Visitors

.
.
.
I have noticed a number of Russian Federation visitors here at my blog.  I want to thank all of you for visiting, and for Elena who signed my guestbook.  I hope all of you are living well and send my best regards for the future.

5 Things to Know about Your Medications to Avoid In-hospital Errors

As a professional patient,I speak from the pulpit of experience when I say make learning about your medications a priority.

Insist that you and the doctor are clear on exactly what medications you’ll be given. Furthermore, you should be familiar with what your medication’s general purposes are, as well as the dangers associated with their improper administration.

Why do I make these recommendations? Because people (including medical professionals) make mistakes. The following story illustrates this fact.

While a patient at G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VAMC this past weekend, I avoided a hazardous situation because I asked my nurse what pills she was giving me.

I knew from speaking with my doctor that I was prescribed Lasix at 60mg, 4 times a day intravenously. This is all the Lasix (Furosemide) I was to be given while in the hospital. However, among other pills, the nurse was handing me the same Lasix dosage in pill form. Now add that up and it’s 480 mg/day.

Lasix is a potassium losing diuretic that can cause people’s potassium level to drop which could cause a serious (even fatal) cardiac incident.

I refused the extra doses because I was aware of:

1. What medications I was taking
2. How much I was supposed to take
3. How It was to be administered
4. Why it is given
5. What could happen if I took too much

You have to be your own advocate. You have to be aware there are nurses out there who don’t think for themselves. That said, they seem to be drones who don’t pay attention to anything except how to do the least amount of work, and how long till quitting time.

Unfortunately, some nurses have a bad attitude. They think they‘re above the patient‘s reproach, because patients don’t know anything. The following story illustrates this nicely. It also happened during my latest hospitalization.

Many of my nurses always administer my Albumin piggy-backed with saline flush bag. They do this because they think it is easier to prime the tubing with saline(Albumin is really thick), and so the tubing flushes clean automatically with saline after the albumin empties.

The problem is, many times when they do this, I get all saline, and none of the Albumin. Saline (fluid) is THE LAST THING I need when I’m going for diuresis (fluid reduction)

I tried avoiding this error by suggesting we clamp off the saline tubing like other nurses do. To make a short story shorter, she said, “If patient’s know so much, what am I here for.” with quite a note of sarcasm.

I know getting the saline pumped into me wasn’t dangerous, so I didn’t push the issue and allowed her to do it the way she wanted.

Guess what happened? 30 minutes later the Albumin was still in the bottle on the IV pole. I called that nurse back to my room and let her know I was not one of those patients who doesn’t know what’s going on.

My point is, if you are able, you should involve yourself in your care. Don’t passively assume your nursing staff will make no errors. Simply knowing what, how, why, when and how much will go a long way toward reducing the risk of inpatient medication errors.

If you’d like to discuss this further, or have a related story to tell, use the comment link below this post. I’ll make it a point to post your thoughts on this site. Thanks.