Orbs 'r' Us

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I’m finally out of the hospital!

Landed in there Dec. 13 to regulate my sugars and was finally released Dec. 31!

18 DAYS!!

NO my sugars are not regulated and I am no further ahead!

I did learn how to give myself injections but not how much to give…they are still working on that.

My gripe is the incompetence of the dietitian [s] and our lack of good doctors!

The Diabetic Specialist I saw [Dec. 4] sent a letter stating what insulin I should be started on and the dosage.

That’s what I started with and this was written on my hospital chart. The nurses keep LOTS of notes and how it is progressing! It was taking longer than usual and dosages had to be adjusted.

Then my doctor left for his xmas holidays in Edmonchuk!

Finding it too hard to relate back and forth by phone I was asked to switch to the doctor on call…BIG MISTAKE!!

I should have gone home and waited for my doctor to get back!

Did you know that there is a type of insulin that is being used that regulates the sugars real good and works wonderfully?

The only down side to it is…only the rich can afford it and those who are lucky enough to be covered by a “Company” Health Plan [not our regular health plan]!

That is what the IDIOT doctor [one on call] switched me to!

Switching medication puts you back to the beginning…square 1!

All the nurses knew it was the expensive one and kept asking me if I could afford it [NO…I couldn’t] and I kept telling them to check with the drug store to find out.

Yup…no one checked!

And yes the expensive one worked!

And yes it wasn’t covered!

The idiot doctor tried to cover his a-s by saying that he was only picking up after my doctor and didn’t know that I had seen a specialist…after all why do nurses keep records of what’s being done to you if NO ONE reads them?

THANKFULLY my doctor came back!

Back to square one again! We started again with the previous medication…which takes longer! Only the rich get good help!

When you are admitted into the hospital you are asked lots of questions about the drugs you are on, what you are allergic to and what you don’t like to eat. This included the fact that I have an irritable bowel problem which needs NO help in moving!

So when you receive your meals you are sure that this is covered by your special diet and all that is on it is what is good for you. My tray card read “DIABETIC DIET…ALLERGIC TO EGGS” and I felt safe that’s what was on it…all being good for me!

WRONG!!

The portions were small enough to cover the amount of food to be eaten but my pills [that I was taking] stated high blood pressure with cholesterol problems [heart operation]. My roommate [at that time] was having high cholesterol problems also and should have been on a different diet than me.

NOPE…EVERYBODY GOT THE SAME FOOD!

For my diet it is better to eat small meals with snacks to help regulate the sugar.

Even as stupid as I am about sugars I know more than the nurses do about diabetes!

I got great desserts with my meals!

I had assumed that what was on the tray was low in sugars and fats…wrong!

My enemy was the Dietitian[s]!

Somebody forgot to tell them that there is sugar in fruit and some foods and low fat does not mean sugar free!

When I complained about the amount of sugar in my evening snacks [8 grapes, 4 strawberries, 2 watermelon slices, 2 honeydew melon slices, 2 cantaloupe slices and 2 slices of cheese]…I was told “these are made up especially for you and that’s all I was getting”…it was up to me to refuse them. So I did!

The doctor [on call] had the nerve to give me s—t for eating them [desserts] and his word of advice was to walk it off! I did a lot of walking! Walking [and fruit] also helps the bowels to move [which I did not need]…so finding a toilet that wasn’t already being occupied became a challenge!

Here is some of the meal contents: a boiled wiener/sauerkraut, salty soups, hot cereal with brown sugar [already on it so no choice with other sugar], creamy mashed potatoes, processed sandwich meat [salami] on buns, brown beans/tomato sauce and my all time favorite…baked EGG surprise.

The big surprise would have been my ALLERGIC reaction to the EGGS! THANKFULLY I do not have an allergy to EGGS [remember I did not write that on the card…the dietitian did]…I just don’t like to make a meal out of them! But that’s not the point…I COULD HAVE BEEN ALLERGIC [the kitchen staff goes by a list prepared by the dietitian]!

My roommate and I always joked about guessing what the food was because of the blandness…so bland was the egg surprise that I had already consumed half of it before I figured out what it was!

I’M SURE GLAD I DON’T HAVE ANY FOOD ALLERGIES!

BUT I AM ALLERGIC TO SOME DRUGS…so I kept a close watch on my medication!

The nurses were great but too run off their feet…thankfully I didn’t need a lot of care!

Our hospital is acute care along with long term patients. The long term care takes most of their time and it didn’t help that many of the nurses were sick with colds!

Long term patients should have their OWN staff!

THEY NEED MORE NURSES for the acute ward!!

18 days is a long time to spend time alone with nothing to do! I read many an article in the magazines provided and I hope I don’t have to go back because they now need more books!

To all out there who invest in magazines…donate them when you are done with them to your local hospitals! Lots to read for women…hardly any for men or those who do guy stuff!

I will also gladly donate my time to paint murals in the rooms…white walls SUCK!! Nothing to look at if you’re laid-up and can’t get out of bed!

So I am now returning to the hospital twice daily for sugar checks and injections…sugar is still high so the dosage is still unknown.

The only good thing that came out of being in the hospital for 18 days was that I lost 13 pounds.

Now I get to watch the loose skin flapping as I wave my arms…

My b—ching is done….

Have a great New Year!