# My experience as a patient



## VFlutter (Aug 4, 2012)

I am writing this post about an experience I had last night; it was my first time ever being a patient. Let me start off my saying I am in now way trying to brag or anything I am actually very embarrassed and ashamed that this happened and of what my family and friends had to go through.My Mother had to get a call from the ER saying I was a patient and they couldnt give any information besides telling her I was unresponsive. Even more so that I was taken to the hospital I do clinicals at which does not reflect well on my character. But I still feel like it is worth sharing what happened and may help me piece together the details of what happened. 

A little background: I rarely ever drink and when I do it is usually a few beers with friends watching a game; I would consider myself a “light weight” and never really get drunk. I have also been on a diet lately and have really cut down on what I have been eating.  This particular day I worked a 12-hour shift and I only ate a light lunch and then did not eat anything else that day. We had planned to go out to dinner before the concert but that fell through so we just went straight to the concert. 

I will keep the beginning of the story short because I really don’t remember anything after like 8:00 that night. It was my friend’s concert at a local bar so he got free drinks and we got a discount off our tab so we were all drinking a lot. At some point we decided to do shots of Bacardi 151 and I had multiple of those. My friends are not really helpful with what happened next, apparently I disappeared for a while and they could not find me (No clue of someone got more drinks or what). I vaguely remember sitting down and them brining me water. I then threw up a little and they wanted to take me to the bathroom. So one of them helped me up but then lost hold of me and I fell straight backwards and hit my head on the concrete floor. At that point I went unconscious/unresponsive and questionably seized. A friend who is a Nurse turned me to my side and they called 911. Apparently I was put on a spine board and rushed to the ER down the street.  

The next thing I remember is waking up in the ER around 2-3 hours later. I was naked (They cut off my brand new $200 jeans, so much for that), immobilized with a C collar, and had bilateral 18g in my ACs. I was being wheeled into CT when I woke up. It was very frightening because at that point I had no idea where I was or why. I figured out I was in the hospital but not why. While I was in the trauma bay there was a gun shot victim next to me and I kept hearing them yell for blood and saying he was going to code and at first I couldn’t figure out if they were talking about me and started freaking out. After that I was in and out of consciousness and can remember talking to some nurses and doctors and answering questions. Apparently I was a little rude at times but to find humor in the situation it was a little funny. I kept telling them to “Clear my C spine, this collar is annoying”. Then asked “Can you hook a brother up with some Zofran”. And the gem of the night, when they asked me what the date was…. my response “Obviously July because this doctor is horrible”. 

So when it was all done I spent about 6 hours in the ER getting various scans, tests, and lots of fluids. My BAC was .228 but no real injuries except for a concussion. My head is killing me right now. It was a frightening and embarrassing experience. I really regret what happened but I am thankful it wasn’t worse, Im glad they didn’t intubate me. Thanks for letting vent about this and taking the time to read this.

Moral of the story Bacardi 151 = bad idea


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## NYMedic828 (Aug 4, 2012)

Glad you are ok.

2nd moral of the story, anyone who spends $200 on a pair of jeans is a sucker. 

(no offense)


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## VFlutter (Aug 4, 2012)

NYMedic828 said:


> Glad you are ok.
> 
> 2nd moral of the story, anyone who spends $200 on a pair of jeans is a sucker.
> 
> (no offense)



I wonder if I can take them back and say they were defective. They just tore perfectly down the seams. Haha


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## bigbaldguy (Aug 4, 2012)

I'm also glad you're ok. I think most of us have nights like this. Maybe we didn't end up in the ER but in some cases (at least one for me) we probably should have. Thanks for sharing this with us.


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## Veneficus (Aug 4, 2012)

the rum is always gone...

The moral of the story:

drink something higher class than Bacardi...


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## firetender (Aug 4, 2012)

*Thanks for living this one out...*

...so we don't have to!

I stopped drinking rum when I was 17, first year of college and woke up two Sunday mornings in a row bathed in vomit on the elevator floor of my dorm!

The lesson I got out of your story, and a hearty Thanks! is how much of a difference it makes if you, as a provider, keep the patient advised on what's happening. Even while popping in and out of awareness, if consciousness doesn't quite say it, it's good to have someone nearby saying "You hit your head and passed out. We're in the (hospital, ambulance -- fill in the blank) now doing this..."

Had people been there for you in that way (if they weren't) do you think it would have lessened the trauma (psychological) you experienced that night?

How bad did the not knowing feel at the time?


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## shiroun (Aug 4, 2012)

bigbaldguy said:


> I'm also glad you're ok. I think most of us have nights like this. Maybe we didn't end up in the ER but in some cases (at least one for me) we probably should have. Thanks for sharing this with us.



x2. We've all :censored::censored::censored::censored:ed up every so often, nothing to be ashamed of. I had it happen with tequila. But being that I was underaged (as were the people i was drinking with), they didn't call the police, and I woke up in a pool of vomit the next day. Be grateful that your friends did what they did, and just be a little more cautious next time.


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## NYMedic828 (Aug 4, 2012)

Side note, I am a bit of a health nut/body builder so drinking really isn't my thing but on my 21st birthday my friends forced it upon me. I drank a vodka cranberry followed by an entire fish bowl in like 10 minutes.

All I remember was at one point I had to throw up in the bathroom and it was red from the cranberry but in my stupor I thought I was vomiting blood and dying. :lol:



Bring the jeans back they may not even notice if you box them lol.


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## JPINFV (Aug 4, 2012)

Veneficus said:


> the rum is always gone...
> 
> The moral of the story:
> 
> drink something higher class than Bacardi...




May I suggest


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## BigBad (Aug 4, 2012)

up until the 4th paragraph i thought you were a female.    what male spends $200 on jeans?


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## Tigger (Aug 4, 2012)

Nothing good ever comes from 151. Hey at least you weren't in the ED as John Doe, had that happen to a friend.


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## NYMedic828 (Aug 4, 2012)




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## VFlutter (Aug 4, 2012)

firetender said:


> ]
> 
> Had people been there for you in that way (if they weren't) do you think it would have lessened the trauma (psychological) you experienced that night?
> 
> How bad did the not knowing feel at the time?



I am not sure how much it would have helped, for all I know they probably did try to orient me but I do not remember. However, I do remember being alone for long time until my family got there (my friends didnt get to ride on the ambulance so it took them a minute to get there and at first they would not let me back with me because they were not family) . At one point they wheeled me out into the hallway and left me there for what felt like forever. The ER was very busy so I was the least critical trauma 

At firs the not knowing really scared me but once I realized I was at the hospital I calmed down. Not knowing why I was there did not really bother me at the time. The worst was when the patient next to me was dying and I could not figure out if it was me or him they were talking about, I was still struggling to stay awake during that time which made me think I was dying or something.

And about the jeans....Don't hate that I have style haha


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 4, 2012)

Next time (and there WILL be a next time)... Try one of these.


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## bigbaldguy (Aug 4, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> Next time (and there WILL be a next time)... Try one of these.
> 
> View attachment 1199



Douglas Adams was a god.

RIP


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## Anjel (Aug 4, 2012)

Rum gets me every time. 

I drank two fish bowls and 151 shots and passed out. But remembered to have my friends put me in the recovery position, before passing out.

The hospital can be scary. Hopefully this will help you understand more what your patients are going through.


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## Veneficus (Aug 5, 2012)

JPINFV said:


> May I suggest



a finer choice than bacardi...


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## VFlutter (Aug 5, 2012)

I think it is safe to say I will be moving on from Bacardi for the foreseeable future.  

I just read through my discharge paperwork and it says "Grade III Concussion" as my injury. I am still feeling pretty crappy today, headache, dizziness, nausea, etc so hopefully that will go away soon.


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## 281mustang (Aug 5, 2012)

Although I've never been in a admitted to a hospital I've always wanted to experience the ER/EMS from a patient's perspective, minus the whole injured/sick part.

Most of us have been in similar situations, I however seem to be resistant to the negative effects of alcohol for the most part. I can pass out with the room spinning and I still wake up the next morning ready to go. 

I've only ever had one hangover, and that was from almost 24 hours of binge drinking combined with being out in the sun all day. My roomate on the other hand will wake up wanting to off himself after two beers the night before. Sucks4him.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 5, 2012)

You're lucky you didn't wind up chewing plastic. I know medics who regularly intubate drunks. (and no, I'm not one... And no, they don't work in my current system)

I bet your next clinical rotation there will be fun.


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## SSwain (Aug 6, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> .....I bet your next clinical rotation there will be fun. .....



Just tell them you wanted to see how it feels for the PT....so , you know, you can adjust your manners to offer more comfort to them.....


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## the_negro_puppy (Aug 6, 2012)

Sh1t happens...learn from it. The more you drink the easier it will be to cruise the line between buzzed and maggoted


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## VFlutter (Aug 6, 2012)

This pretty much explains how I feel


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## johnrsemt (Aug 7, 2012)

I have found out what it is like to be the patient in the hospital that I worked in the ED (anaphalyxis); the hospital that I did Medic school rotations in (anaphalyxis);  the hospital that the medical director works at and we took most of our patients (anaphalyxis and concussion {2 different trips}); and the hospital here that is our medical director and closest hospital (asthma & pneumonia, same trip got to spend 4 days).

  THey were all very professional, even if I did get laughed at;  but I was laughing with them.

   I would rather have not had any of the experiences.


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## VFlutter (Aug 8, 2012)

So I just got a copy of my EMS/ER report...I feel like a huge :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored:. Apparently when I first woke up ( I was GCS 8 on arrival) I was combative with the paramedic and did/said some things that I would never normally do. Do you think I should send a Thank you card/ Apology to the paramedic? Or just move on and hope he understands that I was out of it and not myself. 

I just feel horrible that I was one of those patients we all hate. It kind of scares me because I honestly am a very nice and caring guy and would never act like I did under normal circumstances.


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## CritterNurse (Aug 8, 2012)

An apology card may not be a bad idea. Who knows, you may have to work with that paramedic later, and a little courtesy hopefully will go a long way.


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## Sandog (Aug 8, 2012)

Maybe he bought the pants after a fifth.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 9, 2012)

Sandog said:


> Maybe he bought the pants after a fifth.



When describing those pants, he should have taken the 5th.


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## mycrofft (Aug 10, 2012)

Typical alcohol toxic psychosis. If you drink to get drunk, then you may have repeats of this episode. Only next time it could be a fall out a window, or out of a moving car.

The nursing director of my third job, a very preppy/PC sort of person, knowingly took amoxicillin despite a self-decribed "mild allergy", came in with florid anaphylaxis, and the IV benedryl caused her to hallucinate and rave. After she was stripped and draped in a sheet. If she can recover from that, you can recover from yours, but quit drinking like a 17 y/o.


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