Re: Why stay in the hospital?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/25/2006 12:57:42 A.M. Central Standard Time, blueopal@... writes:

I craved oranges when I was preggers with my first

kid back when dinasoars walked the earth. One

good thing about me not being able to eat was I

lost almost 22 lb's ....then gained it back in a few

months. Oh well I'm an old bag and don't care.

Sherry

I know exactly what you mean. When I was prego, I wanted green beans, go figure. I also lost lots of weight after my surgeries and have now gained it and more back. It's really depressing isn't it?

[Guest guest]

I don't object to being in the hospital, just wondered why so long. I don't suppose anyone here managed to make it w/o pain drugs? I hate them. I'm sure I'd love the self-administered morphine drip, but I got horribly constipated just from one little Vicodin tablet (capsule?). They hadn't warned me that it was constipating. This was an outpatient surgery (partial meniscectomy). I'll never forget that day.

Ann

Why stay in the hospital?

Does anyone know what the purpose of staying in the hospital for 3-4 days is? Do they want to make sure you don't get an infection? Are you so out of it w/pain drugs they can't let you go? Is it because you get a lot of PT while you're there? Is it for the PMM? Is it so they can be sure you walk a certain amt? Bleeding? Clots? All of the above?

Thanks.

Ann

[Guest guest]

Hi Ann,

Ditto everything that Sherry says!...When I had my TKR, my whole leg

turned 3 shades of purple...After 2 days of being concerned about it,

I needed some reassurance, & so I insisted on having someone " do

something " to make sure that it wasn't a blood clot or

something...The nursing staff was wonderful, but their training is

limitted...My OS was wonderful, but again, his training is limitted,

meanwhile, MY WHOLE LEG WAS PURPLE!...So they rolled me down to

another room & did a test for clotting...No clots & happy ending. It

turned out that the bruising resulted from the tourniquette used

during the surgery...

Sorry, I don't mean to add to any anxiety you may have,,,but

knowledge is power... & power is what you'll need while feeling

helpless.

Oh,,,I was prescribed a medication(don't recall the name)to combat

the constipation...Good thing, 'cause I hate prune juice!

Bob

>

> I don't object to being in the hospital, just wondered why so

long. I don't suppose anyone here managed to make it w/o pain

drugs? I hate them. I'm sure I'd love the self-administered

morphine drip, but I got horribly constipated just from one little

Vicodin tablet (capsule?). They hadn't warned me that it was

constipating. This was an outpatient surgery (partial

meniscectomy). I'll never forget that day.

>

> Ann

>

>

> Re: Why stay in the hospital?

>

>

>

> Blood clots for one, infection and a host of other

> problems. Once you're home you will wish you

> had a few more days in the hospital especially if

> you had both done at once like I did. Being whacked

> out on IV drugs is a good thing. You will probably

> have a " happy button " so you can administer your

> own whoopee meds up to 2 times per ? hours. Once

> home and on oral meds you won't be able to eat

> hardly at all. The only think that tasted palatable to me were

bananas and cottage cheese which of course

> are constipating as are the pain meds. Oh you will

> appreciate being in the hospital believe me. Buy

> some prune juice before you go in. You will need

> it when ya get home.

>

> Sherry

>

[Guest guest]

I was happy to stay in the hospital. Although I had the nurse from hell. I had PT plus the CPM machine. And they got me up the next day. It was never a thought to go right home. The only problem getting home was getting into our Honda Pilot SUV. That was a trick, then going up four steps. But, I did ok, except for that nurse. Grrrrrr Lynn

How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.

[Guest guest]

I ended up in the hospital for 6 days, it was supposed to be two.

They run blood tests each day and I think your blood has to meet

certain criteria. Mine didn't and I ended up with an IV for a day or

so.

They would tell me each day that I was probably going to rehab that

day and then come back in the afternoon and tell me no. This played

havoc with any PT as the therapists assumed I would not be there, so

I missed out on quite a bit the first week. At least that does not

seem to have been a problem my hip is doing great.

Grace

Grace

>

> Does anyone know what the purpose of staying in the hospital for 3-

4 days is? Do they want to make sure you don't get an infection?

Are you so out of it w/pain drugs they can't let you go? Is it

because you get a lot of PT while you're there? Is it for the PMM?

Is it so they can be sure you walk a certain amt? Bleeding? Clots?

All of the above?

>

> Thanks.

>

> Ann

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, it's the same Red Cross! The same Red Cross that existed decades

before Clinton was born & made it possible for me to have several

surgeries back in the 1980's....(you never win an argument with the

ground)...HIV is horrible!,,,I've had several friends die!,,, & I

myself was in danger from a surgery in Chicago in 1982(When HIV was

just beginning to be recognized by the medical community)But I

continue to give blood to the Red Cross...Why?...Because somewhere,

someone, might need it!

No Organization will ever be perfect....But for Pete's sake,,,

<sigh>

Bob

P.S...If my rant offends anyone, well, I really don't care..

Feel free to e-mail me at know_jack@... if you have a different

opinion...But please, let the politics go.....Clinton left office

years ago...Blood is still being donated & people's lives are still

being saved...

>

> Yes, it's the same Red Cross.

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherry,

Yes, life would be very boring!...And who needs 'boring'...It's much

more fun to hear opinions that differ from mine, because it forces me

to re-evaluate what I feel/think/take for granted....Keeping in mind,

of course, that anyone who disagrees with me must, obviously, be

mistaken....

Or not!!!...:-)

I'm going serious here for a moment,,,,I've been reading

your 'threads', & you've been giving some wonderful advice,,,

Thanks!

Bob

>

> Life would be pretty boring if everyone agreed on

> everything.

>

> Sherry

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherrie.

Sherry

Re: Why stay in the hospital?

Hi Sherry,Yes, life would be very boring!...And who needs 'boring'...It's much more fun to hear opinions that differ from mine, because it forces me to re-evaluate what I feel/think/take for granted....Keeping in mind, of course, that anyone who disagrees with me must, obviously, be mistaken....Or not!!!...:-)I'm going serious here for a moment,,,,I've been reading your 'threads', & you've been giving some wonderful advice,,,Thanks!Bob>> Life would be pretty boring if everyone agreed on> everything.> > Sherry

God bless all our heros

PMSM

LCPL JOSH

India 2nd plt.

Stay in the know. Pulse on the new .com. Check it out.

[Guest guest]

It's the medical mistakes that are so prevelent in the

U.S that scare the daylights out of me. Most of which

that are caused by laziness and people being in to

much of a hurry and NOT WASHING THEIR HANDS

BETWEEN PATIENTS.

Sherry

Sherry

Re: Why stay in the hospital?

In a message dated 8/27/2006 1:24:05 A.M. Central Standard Time, mdavisonnetvision (DOT) net.il writes:

I wondered about that.

Sorry to burst the bubble of those of you who think that if you donate your blood before surgery, that's the particular pint they use in surgery-- it doesn't always happen that way. Different hospitals have different policies-- if it's important to you that you receive a transfusion of the blood you donated personally, and no other, ask at the hospital if that's their policy. I understand the fears of people "catching" HIV, Hepatitis B or C, or another blood-transmitted disease, but any medical institution using human blood has to test for these things before use... in fact, in the US, they have to make and confirm the tests before the blood is credited for the surgery-- that's the law.

[Guest guest]

I know about platelets & clotting fibrinogen, but isn't it true that the more blood you have circulating, the more likely it is to clot? And whole blood does contain platelets.

Ann

RE: Why stay in the hospital?

First of all, it's the platelets, and not the red blood cells that cause clotting. When a platelet collides with a rough surface (such as a scrape or cut), it breaks, releasing fibrinogen, which is the catalyst for clotting.

Your blood pressure is one of the signs the medical staff use to decide if you need a transfusion or not.

I went through 2 separate hip operations, and didn't need the blood donated (2 pints)... the two pints were "credited" from the first surgery to the second, because they weren't needed-- when they weren't needed for the second, either, they remained as part of the blood insurance plan for my family until the end of the second year after surgery (another advantage of socialized medicine in Israel-- you can make blood donations annually, and insure your family members for the same quantity).

Sorry to burst the bubble of those of you who think that if you donate your blood before surgery, that's the particular pint they use in surgery-- it doesn't always happen that way. Different hospitals have different policies-- if it's important to you that you receive a transfusion of the blood you donated personally, and no other, ask at the hospital if that's their policy. I understand the fears of people "catching" HIV, Hepatitis B or C, or another blood-transmitted disease, but any medical institution using human blood has to test for these things before use... in fact, in the US, they have to make and confirm the tests before the blood is credited for the surgery-- that's the law.

For those who were so surprised at the idea of autotransfusion (returning the blood from your surgery to your body), this had become standard practice in recent years, not only due to the risk of the cross-infections mentioned above, but also because of compatibility issues. When I was in school we learned about bloot types and Rh positive and negative... nowadays there are 12 or more antigen, antibodi and cell factors that are tested, too, so compatibility issues arise, even when the blood type is the same.

Greywolf - RTHR-2003; LTHR-2004

mdavisonnetvision (DOT) net.il

From: Joint Replacement [mailto:Joint Replacement ] On Behalf Of Ann Sent: 26 August, 2006 11:30 PMJoint Replacement Subject: Re: Why stay in the hospital?

I'm not a doctor, or a physiologist, but it seems to me that if they put blood into you when you don't need it, it would increase your BP and risk of clotting (less room for more RBC's). Anybody?

Ann

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