Progress Report Admission to St Vincent’s Hospital: 26 December 2017
Progress report 2nd admission to St Vincent’s Hospital Sunday 24 December 2017
Sunday
Returned to hospital after enduring two nights of unbearable pain at home. The pain meds - 3 x 5mg endone 3 hourly - were not doing much by themselves. There was not much relief and I spent most of my time lying on the bed. It had become harder to sit; the bones in the lumbar spine feel as if they are grinding on each other.
The RN at home called the Flying Squad and my GP for advice. I was to go back to St Vincent’s. The ambulance gave me morphine during the trip which made it easier. It took a long time to be admitted because of Christmas. I saw the neurosurgical team registrar under whom I was admitted. She outlined the situation around Christmas - no doctors etc. Oxycontin 40mg was added back at approximately 10pm which helped quite a lot. I was taken to the ward at 3 am. I did not sleep at all that night.
Monday
I called for endone at 7am but was told I could not have any as I had been written up for 60 mg (4 doses) instead of 120mg (8 doses) per day; contrary to the chart when I left on Friday. The nurse would have to get the house doctor to change it as it was obviously wrong. In the meantime I was without pain relief. At 8am I was given my oxycontin and at 9:45am the nurse decided to give me endone regardless and worry about the paperwork later. Around that time the neurosurgical team registrar corrected the error. She had spoken to me earlier and I had told her about the situation. She told me I could go home when I was satisfied with the pain meds. If I needed to see the pain team, I would have to wait until Wednesday. So far pain is sitting at 7/10, which I see as reasonable. I managed my morning ablutions with little pain. Only slight pain on getting on and off the bed. The test will be moving about - on and off the wheelchair, moving about the room etc. Things one doesn’t do in hospital.
Tuesday
I spend a restless night and woke at 5, needing endone and missing the early morning oxycontin. In hospital they still use the 8 2 8 timing regardless of whether the doctor wanted 3 times a day or every eight hours. I have a large 4 hours without oxycontin cover in the morning which is very painful. I showered while I waited for the doctor and apparently missed her. I forced the issue and announced I would go home regardless and the nurses arranged to have me speak to her. She agreed and patient transport was booked for 1 pm.
Sunday
Returned to hospital after enduring two nights of unbearable pain at home. The pain meds - 3 x 5mg endone 3 hourly - were not doing much by themselves. There was not much relief and I spent most of my time lying on the bed. It had become harder to sit; the bones in the lumbar spine feel as if they are grinding on each other.
The RN at home called the Flying Squad and my GP for advice. I was to go back to St Vincent’s. The ambulance gave me morphine during the trip which made it easier. It took a long time to be admitted because of Christmas. I saw the neurosurgical team registrar under whom I was admitted. She outlined the situation around Christmas - no doctors etc. Oxycontin 40mg was added back at approximately 10pm which helped quite a lot. I was taken to the ward at 3 am. I did not sleep at all that night.
Monday
I called for endone at 7am but was told I could not have any as I had been written up for 60 mg (4 doses) instead of 120mg (8 doses) per day; contrary to the chart when I left on Friday. The nurse would have to get the house doctor to change it as it was obviously wrong. In the meantime I was without pain relief. At 8am I was given my oxycontin and at 9:45am the nurse decided to give me endone regardless and worry about the paperwork later. Around that time the neurosurgical team registrar corrected the error. She had spoken to me earlier and I had told her about the situation. She told me I could go home when I was satisfied with the pain meds. If I needed to see the pain team, I would have to wait until Wednesday. So far pain is sitting at 7/10, which I see as reasonable. I managed my morning ablutions with little pain. Only slight pain on getting on and off the bed. The test will be moving about - on and off the wheelchair, moving about the room etc. Things one doesn’t do in hospital.
Tuesday
I spend a restless night and woke at 5, needing endone and missing the early morning oxycontin. In hospital they still use the 8 2 8 timing regardless of whether the doctor wanted 3 times a day or every eight hours. I have a large 4 hours without oxycontin cover in the morning which is very painful. I showered while I waited for the doctor and apparently missed her. I forced the issue and announced I would go home regardless and the nurses arranged to have me speak to her. She agreed and patient transport was booked for 1 pm.
I am not happy here. It is very hot and I have a bed next to the window and the sun heats up the glass which radiates heat into the room. I am wet with sweat. It is Christmas Day and I am feeling very hard done by: apparently the others in the room got lollies on their breakfast tray, turkey and pudding for lunch, fruit cake for afternoon tea and god knows what they’ll get for dinner. It’s not the goodies - it’s the neglect, being left out, I find disheartening, along with the need to bed for pain relief, needing to wait interminably for nurses to deign to recognise my call. I am feeling lonely and being left out just makes it worse.
I am finding it harder to stop weeping. I think it is the culmination of the past few weeks that is causing my weeping. I am not coping well with this continuous unbearable pain. On Saturday night I screamed out loud - very loud - for about 5 minutes while I was trying to complete my nighttime preparations for bed. I just couldn’t face it. I thought seriously of going into the bathroom and opening my arteries, just to stop the pain. I didn’t - only because it was too painful to move my legs at that point. I don’t go in for self pity; i usually have more control of myself. Perhaps I should let go occasionally - a good cry can be quite cathartic.
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