nurse robot health nut

my job is taxing. a certain kind of busy i think you can really only understand if you have worked as a floor nurse. it is emotionally and physically draining.

wednesday night was one of those nights were i literally did not stop for 10 hours [you realize that i literally do mean literally, right?] i had nine patients, one drug seeker [this is a more politically correct way to say drug addict] who was receiving 25 mg of Demerol every 2 hours, until he so dramatically put on his show and i was forced to call the doctor at 0400 and request additional pain medication. he was then receiving 50 mg Demerol every 2 hours [on the minute too, he watched the clock], and he has a Dilaudid PCA pump, receiving the max dose possible. i would quietly open his door and sneak in the room (so to wake/disturb as little as possible). as soon as he saw me he would start moaning and grimacing. then the second i would leave he would stop [i maybe waited by the door listening to check his intentions]. at the end of the night he told me i was a good nurse, this is one of those times i don't really appreciate the compliment. i understand that he was in pain, but it is hard giving drugs to a drug addict. it just does not feel right. it's not why i became a nurse.

lately i have been having a reality check with how people really neglect their health. i had one patient who had hypertension [which is usually preventable by diet and exercise in the first place], so his doctor prescribed him medication for it. he was noncompliant with his medication for whatever reason, i'm assuming he just didn't think he needed it. when i had him he had just gotten a peritoneal dialysis catheter placement, he had gone into End Stage Renal Disease and was now having to receive dialysis three times a week. all because he did not take care of his body and did not follow medical advice. he learned his lesson the hard way. he was young. i told him it was not too late and he can turn his life around. i tried my best to teach him how.

another patient i had the other night had a history of type II diabetes. type II adult onset diabetes is usually preventable through diet & exercise as well. i know it can be hereditary, but is much more set on by lack of a healthy lifestyle [which is as foreign as chinese to a surprisingly good amount of people]. this patient was morbidly obese, and when i was taking care of her she had just had her right leg amputated above the knee. why? because she had developed ulcers on her legs, which does happen with diabetics, but can often be prevented from getting so bad they have to amputate, by seeing a doctor regularly and taking care of herself the best she can: loosing weight, being active, etc. this woman was relatively young as well, but she was wearing a diaper and could not even clean herself. she was completely helpless and looking ahead to sedentary life of poor health and inactivity. all this because she did not take care of her health.

it is so sad to see patients like this. a percentage of my patients have extensive medical histories, oftentimes every single disease they suffer from is preventable. [high blood pressure, high cholesterol, COPD, shortness of breath, need for a CPAP/BiPAP because they have an extra one hundred pounds weighing down their lungs, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and a surgical history of double and triple bypasses]. let me clarify: these diseases and ailments are not always preventable, i know that. but in the cases of many, they are.


please evaluate your lifestyle. now is the time to prevent and protect your health. check your blood pressure often, keep it less than 120/80. monitor your weight/BMI. study diseases like diabetes, know the symptoms. be aware of your health so you can recognize symptoms, so you can prevent not treat. be active every day. it is crucially vital to your health. stop eating "manufactured edible products" with enriched white flour and high fructose corn syrup and ingredients you can't even pronounce. eat FOOD. eat foods that are made in a kitchen, not a laboratory. eat fruit. eat chicken. eat fish. eat vegetables. drink water. it is simple if you let it be! please, help yourself.