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Thread: Andrew's tips for your hospital stay

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    Default Andrew's tips for your hospital stay

    Ok, let's face it. No one likes being in hospital, especially when you're sick and don't know what's going on. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I thought I'd pass on a few tips that can make your stay a little more tolerable. As I type I realise that it'll probably be a friend or relative that reads this first so feel free to print this page (print button is at the top-right) and take it with you next time you visit. Note that this is from my own experience so don't come crying to me if any of these tips backfire or don't work :-)
    Let the doctor's and nurses do their job BUT make sure you know what's going on. what things mean and always ask why, You'll find that after a few times you won't need to ask because they'll automatically start telling you.

    Don't panic. Yeah, easy to say isn't it. You're lying there with a thousand tubes in you and weird machines that go 'ping' every ten seconds so you can't get a wink of sleep and I'm sitting here listening to my favorite album in front of my PC with a cup of coffee. It is easy to say and I won't pretend that it's easy to do. The more you freak out the worse you'll feel and the longer it'll take to get out of hospital and go home.

    EVERY bit of progress you make will be small but it's in the right direction. The first bit of progress that I think I made was being able to wee again as my kidneys slowly started coming back online. I remember the doctor holding up the wee bag and saying "We all get very excited about urine around here".

    EVERY three steps you make in a positive direction will be marked by two steps backwards. It's not a failure, it's the way it is. You've still made a step forward. Don't give up.

    When you're up to it, give the doctor's and nurses as hard a time as you can. By this I mean talk back (nicely), make faces (funny), play practical jokes, give 'em hell. What this will hopefully do is both endear you to them and speed your exit from the ward!

    Take strength from everyone that comes to see you. They care about you even though often they won't be able to express it. Know that they are there to support you. Also, while I'm on the subject of visitors, DON'T let them stay too long. I let one guy hang around for three hours. It took me days to recover from that. It's surprising how draining just talking to someone can be when you're seriously ill!
    If you feel hungry, eat, eat and eat some more. When I was on dialysis in hospital, the doctors were trying (successfully I might add) to take weight (fluid) off me. Just for kicks and giggles I decided to see if I could thwart them. I came to an arrangement with the lovely lady that brought the meals which enabled me to consume any unwanted meals in addition to my own. My body was screaming for food. I was recovering so I guessed it was burning whatever it could get. Anyhow, despite me consuming vast (and I mean VAST) quantities of food, those darn machines still took the weight off me like I was doing nothing :-) Regardless, eat as often as you can of the foods that you're allowed. If for example, you have kidney involvement, salt would be a big no-no. I often found my dinner orders heavily edited by the hospital dietitian if I forgot what I was and wasn't supposed to eat!

    Give yourself some time and space to recover. You have a serious illness and things are going to take time whether you like it or not. On a very personal note, when I was on my back for five weeks with a trachea tube in my throat and thus unable to talk, I found myself communicating more and more with myself and with God. If this isn't your thing that's fine I won't preach at you. My advice would be to use the time to get in touch with yourself and communicate with your inner being. I know I sound like a hippie but it's a positive thing you can take out of a negative situation.
    Make it your business to know as much as you can about your symptoms, your disease and the treatment, the medications, their names, what they do and more importantly their side effects. Prednisone for example can turn you into and axe-wielding, homicidal maniac with a HUGE appetite for any kind of food whatsoever. Don't believe me? Just ask my wife and my parents!
    Forum Administrator
    Diagnosed March 2003.
    Currently but not permanetly residing in Canberra, Australia.

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    Quote Originally Posted by andrew View Post
    EVERY three steps you make in a positive direction will be marked by two steps backwards. It's not a failure, it's the way it is. You've still made a step forward. Don't give up.
    Thanks, I needed to read that! It's so true.... definitely discouraging to realize you've taken that step or two back, but if you can focus on the one step you made forward, it makes a huge difference.

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    Too right it does

    The nurses drilled that into me when I was in hospital and I've never forgotten it.

    I'm glad it helped!
    Forum Administrator
    Diagnosed March 2003.
    Currently but not permanetly residing in Canberra, Australia.

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