Complications
Lunch came and again I was not feeling hungry at all (anyone that knows me knows that I love my food) but I had to eat as I had to take a tablet before I was allowed to go home. I tried to force enough food down me to take the tablet.
About 40-60 minutes later I was sick and boy was I sick. I had a sharp amount of pain shoot through me and then was sick. It was green and there was a lot of it they ended up giving me a bed pan to catch it instead of a sick bowel. They weighed it each time I was sick it and about 1 litre a time was coming up. There was about 15-30 minutes between the times I was being sick. Each time the pain would ease for about 5 minuets and then build up to high levels again until I was sick again. The doctors were called and said I had to have an NG tube put up my nose and down my throat. I did not fancy this idea but if it was to help me I would give it a go, I was told that I would not feel the tube. I asked for my mum to be there whist they done it. But she did not quite make it just as she arrived they were just finishing it.
By the time there were putting the NG tube in me I was very ill, but when you are that ill you do not realise how serious you are. I remember 2 nurses coming in but I do not remember seeing them, only their figures. I warned them I had a terrible gag reflex. Even now as I write about this it makes me want to gag. The nurses were very good. They said that it would be easier for me if I sipped water as they were inserting the tube. I tried but as soon as the tube hit my throat I panicked. I could not sip the water. One of the nurses took the water to try and help me but I pushed it away. I subconsciously tried pulling my head back even though it was as far back into the bed as it would go. At one stage I could not breath that was so scary because I could not tell them.
When they stopped I caught my breath and asked them to try again but if we could try with a straw. We gave it another go with the straw and after a lot of gagging on my behalf but eventually we got there. I had my first NG tube and it is the only one they will ever get close to me with the intention of inserting it whilst I am awake I can assure you that. I hated it I could constantly feel it the doctor said that I would soon get used to it. I do wonder if she has ever had one herself because I never got used to it I could feel it vibrating every time I spoke and moving every time I moved. I actually stopped talking with it in. I felt I would be sick if I tried to talk.
As well as morphine I was given various anti-sickness injections. Later I found out that one of them is given to cancer patients when they are undergoing chemotherapy.
I wish I had a photo taken of me maybe looking at a picture would help me understand how ill I was. In my mind I was laughing and joking just hours before, therefore I could not have been that ill could I? The answer to that is yes I could be. My mum later said that I looked like death and my eyes were very dull. I remember complaining about how hot I was but when they took my temperature it was normal. They gave me a cold flannel to put on my head which felt so cooling as well as a fan. Looking back now I think it was because of the stress my body was going through that made me feel so hot. My mum said that my skin did not feel hot either. I am not sure how regular it was but I know that they checked my stats often during that day. One of the nurses came to take my blood and where I was so fed up and had enough I just flopped my arm onto the bed in front of her. I remember lifting my arm and it feeling so heavy. At that point the nurse said when a patient does that when she asks for blood she knows that they are really ill. Even at this comment I still did not think that I was really ill.
Anyway you know I said that the NG tube was inserted to stop me from being sick. Well it did not work I was still being sick it would come up all around the tube and then I would not be able to stop gagging as the tube moved which would make me be sick some more. All I was saying was that I wanted the tube out. The nurses said that the doctors had said I would have to keep it in.
I remember at one stage my neighbour popped in to my bay to say good bye and that she hoped that I got better soon. All the patients on the ward would ask my mum when she went out of the bay how I was, because I had the curtains shut.
I was taken down to x-ray with the tube still in. It showed I had a paralytic ileus (in layman terms my bowel had gone to sleep) the x-ray had shown dilated loops of bowel. A CT scan of my pelvis also showed that I had a large anterior abdominal wall haematoma extending from the left paracolic gutter to the midline.
When I came back from the x-rays the sister had finished her shift and had left me a note saying she hoped I started to feel better soon and that she was going. I think it was her that put the NG tube in but I may be wrong in this.
When you are in hospital they give you a horrible blood thinning injection and afterwards it feels like you have had a stinging nettle rub against you. Because of my haematoma they stopped this. I was still being sick with the NG tube and after a very violent bout of being sick I insisted that it was removed. The nurse said she will contact the doctor. I remember turning round to my mum and saying that if the doctor said I had to keep it in I would pull it out myself. Thankfully he said yes as it was pointless keeping it in if it was causing me distress and not helping with the vomiting. I ended up having the bilious vomiting for 24 hours post-surgery. Then it settled down.
After that my bowel started working and boy did it work. It was at night the first time I thought I needed a fart but followed through. I was so ashamed I called the nurse and told her. She helped sort me out. I went back to bed and 15 minutes later I needed to go again. I got up but as I moved off the bed it happened again. How humiliating messing myself twice in the space of 15 minutes. The nurse suggested I wore the hospital pants and brought the commode in next to my bed. The pants were adult size training pull ups for toddlers. All I can say it was the same colour of my sick very green, watery and extremely smelly. I kept apologising to the nurse about how bad it was. Her reply was do not apologise I have seen worse. I really do not know how they do it I could not stand it and it was coming out of me.
I remember the above happening but I cannot remember at what point it happened. This is where everything really blurs into one. I do remember walking backwards and forwards to the loo all day I joked about wearing a trench in the floor from my bed to the loo. I cannot remember if this happened before the above or not because I said to the same nurse at one point during the night (I think) that I was shattered walking backwards and forwards. And a commode was mentioned then as well so I may have had the commode by my bed twice during this time.
That night my neighbour was readmitted. In total she was in hospital for 3 weeks so we because hospital friends, I think it was partly because we ended up going through very similar things.
On 21st February I was sitting in bed when I overheard the nurses talking as they were making a bed. They were talking about a patient in another bay that was biting on purpose. I think it may have been the same person that kept screaming all through the night. Hearing them talking about that brought it back to me. I tasted latex going over my teeth when I had my X-ray when I was ill. I was and still am mortified at this. I suddenly said to the nurse “when I had my X-ray I almost bit you didn’t I? I remember the taste of latex” she said yes I almost did. I apologised again but now it had been confirmed I felt even more mortified. She said do not worry though I was not aware of what I was doing. Even still they work so hard they do not deserve people biting them. You see what had happened was as I was moved onto the X-ray I found it very painful and when I am in a lot of pain I bite into a pillow or something so I went to bite down but her hand was where I went to bite. I felt and tasted her latex glove against my teeth and managed to stop myself before I bit down. I heard her say “please do not bite me”. I still here that in my head now I just feel so bad about that even though I did not know what I was doing that is no excuse. If I had not over heard them talking I would not have remembered.
Between 6.50am and 3.00pm I had been for a poo 8 times. Between 1.50am and 6.50am I had been 6 times and believe me it was not a small amount and each time was a very watery, smelly green.
At 3.00pm that day I was put in the isolation room on the ward because they did not know why I was going do often and it could be contagious. They sent a sample to the lab. I was also given a stool chart to record how often I was going and what texture and colour it was. In the space of 31 hours I had gone 23 times.
I did feel lonely in the isolation because there was no one to talk to. But I had my own toilet and shower which was a bonus. Also it was quiet at night I could ask the nurses to close the door and it would shut out the woman who was screaming. I could also have the window open without having to worry about other patients. This must have done me good being put in there because I had the best night sleep I had had in a long time.
I was still on the fluid drip and starting to get a reputation of being a pain to cannula and to take blood from. The cannulas would last a maximum of 2 days. It would take several attempts to get blood.
One night I was chatting to one of the midwives on duty and asked her how come I felt so bad. She said that a paralyzed ileus is a big thing to have gone through. She said that her neighbour had it and had told her that it was more painful than when she gave birth. I told her I will try to remember that when I was in labour. She also told me that I would be at my most fertile now everything has been cleaned out.
One night I had no energy at all and really needed help to get to the loo. At one stage that night I could not even pull up the adult nappy I was wearing and had to get the nurse to do it and help walk me the short walk back to my bed. After that I decided nothing would embarrass me. I had hit rock bottom, the only thing with hitting rock bottom is you cannot go down any more the only way is up.
I could not leave the isolation room even though I was in the clear so my old neighbour would stand in the door way and we would chat. I think being in the room on my own although boring was doing me great wonders. I came off the drip, I was eating very little but to be honest I did not fancy anything on the dairy-free menu. And I would have thought that my stomach had shrunk it had been a while since I had eaten a proper meal.
By 24th February 2013 my condition had settled with a conservative amount of intravenous antibiotics, hydration (fluids) and analgesia (pain relief). I was feeling much better and when the doctor came round she said that I could go home later that day. I was over the moon. An hour or so after this I was starting to feel a little queasy but I just put it down to the excitement of going home after 6 days in hospital so I ignored it. I was told that I should have a very low threshold about coming back. I was given Diclofenac, Paracetamol, Metronidazole (antibiotic) and Co-Amoxiclav (antibiotic). I was signed off work for a further 2 weeks. An appointment was to be made for me to see the gynaecologist.
About 40-60 minutes later I was sick and boy was I sick. I had a sharp amount of pain shoot through me and then was sick. It was green and there was a lot of it they ended up giving me a bed pan to catch it instead of a sick bowel. They weighed it each time I was sick it and about 1 litre a time was coming up. There was about 15-30 minutes between the times I was being sick. Each time the pain would ease for about 5 minuets and then build up to high levels again until I was sick again. The doctors were called and said I had to have an NG tube put up my nose and down my throat. I did not fancy this idea but if it was to help me I would give it a go, I was told that I would not feel the tube. I asked for my mum to be there whist they done it. But she did not quite make it just as she arrived they were just finishing it.
By the time there were putting the NG tube in me I was very ill, but when you are that ill you do not realise how serious you are. I remember 2 nurses coming in but I do not remember seeing them, only their figures. I warned them I had a terrible gag reflex. Even now as I write about this it makes me want to gag. The nurses were very good. They said that it would be easier for me if I sipped water as they were inserting the tube. I tried but as soon as the tube hit my throat I panicked. I could not sip the water. One of the nurses took the water to try and help me but I pushed it away. I subconsciously tried pulling my head back even though it was as far back into the bed as it would go. At one stage I could not breath that was so scary because I could not tell them.
When they stopped I caught my breath and asked them to try again but if we could try with a straw. We gave it another go with the straw and after a lot of gagging on my behalf but eventually we got there. I had my first NG tube and it is the only one they will ever get close to me with the intention of inserting it whilst I am awake I can assure you that. I hated it I could constantly feel it the doctor said that I would soon get used to it. I do wonder if she has ever had one herself because I never got used to it I could feel it vibrating every time I spoke and moving every time I moved. I actually stopped talking with it in. I felt I would be sick if I tried to talk.
As well as morphine I was given various anti-sickness injections. Later I found out that one of them is given to cancer patients when they are undergoing chemotherapy.
I wish I had a photo taken of me maybe looking at a picture would help me understand how ill I was. In my mind I was laughing and joking just hours before, therefore I could not have been that ill could I? The answer to that is yes I could be. My mum later said that I looked like death and my eyes were very dull. I remember complaining about how hot I was but when they took my temperature it was normal. They gave me a cold flannel to put on my head which felt so cooling as well as a fan. Looking back now I think it was because of the stress my body was going through that made me feel so hot. My mum said that my skin did not feel hot either. I am not sure how regular it was but I know that they checked my stats often during that day. One of the nurses came to take my blood and where I was so fed up and had enough I just flopped my arm onto the bed in front of her. I remember lifting my arm and it feeling so heavy. At that point the nurse said when a patient does that when she asks for blood she knows that they are really ill. Even at this comment I still did not think that I was really ill.
Anyway you know I said that the NG tube was inserted to stop me from being sick. Well it did not work I was still being sick it would come up all around the tube and then I would not be able to stop gagging as the tube moved which would make me be sick some more. All I was saying was that I wanted the tube out. The nurses said that the doctors had said I would have to keep it in.
I remember at one stage my neighbour popped in to my bay to say good bye and that she hoped that I got better soon. All the patients on the ward would ask my mum when she went out of the bay how I was, because I had the curtains shut.
I was taken down to x-ray with the tube still in. It showed I had a paralytic ileus (in layman terms my bowel had gone to sleep) the x-ray had shown dilated loops of bowel. A CT scan of my pelvis also showed that I had a large anterior abdominal wall haematoma extending from the left paracolic gutter to the midline.
When I came back from the x-rays the sister had finished her shift and had left me a note saying she hoped I started to feel better soon and that she was going. I think it was her that put the NG tube in but I may be wrong in this.
When you are in hospital they give you a horrible blood thinning injection and afterwards it feels like you have had a stinging nettle rub against you. Because of my haematoma they stopped this. I was still being sick with the NG tube and after a very violent bout of being sick I insisted that it was removed. The nurse said she will contact the doctor. I remember turning round to my mum and saying that if the doctor said I had to keep it in I would pull it out myself. Thankfully he said yes as it was pointless keeping it in if it was causing me distress and not helping with the vomiting. I ended up having the bilious vomiting for 24 hours post-surgery. Then it settled down.
After that my bowel started working and boy did it work. It was at night the first time I thought I needed a fart but followed through. I was so ashamed I called the nurse and told her. She helped sort me out. I went back to bed and 15 minutes later I needed to go again. I got up but as I moved off the bed it happened again. How humiliating messing myself twice in the space of 15 minutes. The nurse suggested I wore the hospital pants and brought the commode in next to my bed. The pants were adult size training pull ups for toddlers. All I can say it was the same colour of my sick very green, watery and extremely smelly. I kept apologising to the nurse about how bad it was. Her reply was do not apologise I have seen worse. I really do not know how they do it I could not stand it and it was coming out of me.
I remember the above happening but I cannot remember at what point it happened. This is where everything really blurs into one. I do remember walking backwards and forwards to the loo all day I joked about wearing a trench in the floor from my bed to the loo. I cannot remember if this happened before the above or not because I said to the same nurse at one point during the night (I think) that I was shattered walking backwards and forwards. And a commode was mentioned then as well so I may have had the commode by my bed twice during this time.
That night my neighbour was readmitted. In total she was in hospital for 3 weeks so we because hospital friends, I think it was partly because we ended up going through very similar things.
On 21st February I was sitting in bed when I overheard the nurses talking as they were making a bed. They were talking about a patient in another bay that was biting on purpose. I think it may have been the same person that kept screaming all through the night. Hearing them talking about that brought it back to me. I tasted latex going over my teeth when I had my X-ray when I was ill. I was and still am mortified at this. I suddenly said to the nurse “when I had my X-ray I almost bit you didn’t I? I remember the taste of latex” she said yes I almost did. I apologised again but now it had been confirmed I felt even more mortified. She said do not worry though I was not aware of what I was doing. Even still they work so hard they do not deserve people biting them. You see what had happened was as I was moved onto the X-ray I found it very painful and when I am in a lot of pain I bite into a pillow or something so I went to bite down but her hand was where I went to bite. I felt and tasted her latex glove against my teeth and managed to stop myself before I bit down. I heard her say “please do not bite me”. I still here that in my head now I just feel so bad about that even though I did not know what I was doing that is no excuse. If I had not over heard them talking I would not have remembered.
Between 6.50am and 3.00pm I had been for a poo 8 times. Between 1.50am and 6.50am I had been 6 times and believe me it was not a small amount and each time was a very watery, smelly green.
At 3.00pm that day I was put in the isolation room on the ward because they did not know why I was going do often and it could be contagious. They sent a sample to the lab. I was also given a stool chart to record how often I was going and what texture and colour it was. In the space of 31 hours I had gone 23 times.
I did feel lonely in the isolation because there was no one to talk to. But I had my own toilet and shower which was a bonus. Also it was quiet at night I could ask the nurses to close the door and it would shut out the woman who was screaming. I could also have the window open without having to worry about other patients. This must have done me good being put in there because I had the best night sleep I had had in a long time.
I was still on the fluid drip and starting to get a reputation of being a pain to cannula and to take blood from. The cannulas would last a maximum of 2 days. It would take several attempts to get blood.
One night I was chatting to one of the midwives on duty and asked her how come I felt so bad. She said that a paralyzed ileus is a big thing to have gone through. She said that her neighbour had it and had told her that it was more painful than when she gave birth. I told her I will try to remember that when I was in labour. She also told me that I would be at my most fertile now everything has been cleaned out.
One night I had no energy at all and really needed help to get to the loo. At one stage that night I could not even pull up the adult nappy I was wearing and had to get the nurse to do it and help walk me the short walk back to my bed. After that I decided nothing would embarrass me. I had hit rock bottom, the only thing with hitting rock bottom is you cannot go down any more the only way is up.
I could not leave the isolation room even though I was in the clear so my old neighbour would stand in the door way and we would chat. I think being in the room on my own although boring was doing me great wonders. I came off the drip, I was eating very little but to be honest I did not fancy anything on the dairy-free menu. And I would have thought that my stomach had shrunk it had been a while since I had eaten a proper meal.
By 24th February 2013 my condition had settled with a conservative amount of intravenous antibiotics, hydration (fluids) and analgesia (pain relief). I was feeling much better and when the doctor came round she said that I could go home later that day. I was over the moon. An hour or so after this I was starting to feel a little queasy but I just put it down to the excitement of going home after 6 days in hospital so I ignored it. I was told that I should have a very low threshold about coming back. I was given Diclofenac, Paracetamol, Metronidazole (antibiotic) and Co-Amoxiclav (antibiotic). I was signed off work for a further 2 weeks. An appointment was to be made for me to see the gynaecologist.