Reversed hospital experience and my war on schistosomiasis
Back in October I was admitted to hospital, It was a strange experience as I am more used to be the carer not the caree. It was also the 1st time in my entire life (including when I was born) I have been admitted to hospital.
It all started on a Monday, arguably the worst day of the week, I woke up stiff and sore all over. My throat was scratchy and I just felt generally bad. Instead of staying in bed and snuggling with the cats, I got up and went to uni. Throughout the day I felt like I was developing man-flu (that's how bad it was) however this did not prevent me from going to the cinema with the boyfriend after uni. I think I dosed off a bit and gradually felt worse. While waiting for the bus I developed rigors (shaking, exaggerated shivering) particularly in my arms, and wanted nothing more than my bed. That night I had a really bad fever and ended up sweating so much I soaked through the sheets and the mattress, which was discovered in the morning. I ached all over so badly. I was off Tuesday so did nothing, I did call my GP but there were no appointments until Thursday. As I had been in Africa just a couple months before I did wonder if I had picked up some exotic lergie. Tuesday night was similar to Monday with less sweat, I woke up repeatedly feeling freezing even though I was roasting and again I could not stop shaking. So when Wednesday arrived I called my mum and together we went to a&e.
After being told off by the triage nurse (it was not an emergency) I was seen by a lovely doctor who's face lit up at the mention of Africa (I'm guessing exotic diseases don't pop up much on a Wednesday morning at the Vic.) I was promptly sent for a chest x-ray, incase I had contracted TB (night sweats is a common symptom). Luckily it was clear. My urinalysis showed signs of infection with blood and protein present, I should also mention my lower back was agony. After a few phone calls and discussions with consultants it was decided I should be admitted at the brown-lee (infectious diseases unit). My blood was taken and given to me to take and a quick taxi ride later, I was in my own room and me and my mum realised we had only £10 between us with no cards. It was weird being the patient and not the nurse, It shed a new light on nursing for me. Some nurses were grumpy and moaned about their day to me, I would never do that to a patient as you don't want to add to their stress but I think it was because they knew I was in training. Overall the staff were lovely, some were better than others. The food was pretty gross, but with my killer sore throat and lack of being able to taste I managed to eat soft things like soup and mash (I had a draw full of biscuits and chocolate my parents had brought me which I couldn't really eat - they enjoyed it on their visits though). A cannula was inserted (man do those things hurt) and more blood was taken.
I think I would of died of boredom if it wasn't for a tv in my room and all day visiting times, I felt like I was in prison as I only left my room once during my 3 day stay.
My blood work showed I had a bad case of Streptococcal pharyngitis (Strep throat) and possibly a kidney infection. I was promptly put on IV antibiotics, oral would of probably been fine but I had recently been on some for tonsillitis (which i'm guessing didn't work as I got it again so soon). It was decided I had to stay for observation and while we waited for the more exotic blood work to get results.
The doctors were lovely, and seemed used to travellers, I was asked if I had cut up any goats or other animals, when i laughed and said no the doc. told me he recently had a patient who was a med student who had been in Africa who had cut up a donkey to fed to a lion. So I guess there are stranger things than cutting up a goat. The main thing they thought they would find with me was schistosomiasis (snail fever), as I swam in lake Malawi and pretty much everyone who does gets it, or so I'm told. My dad had a great time while visiting, as a frequent visitor to Africa he has always wanted something to be admitted to the brown-lee (yes I find this odd too), so he was vicariously living through me. As you get schistosomiasis from snails (it is also known as snail fever) he proceeded to shove pillows up the back of my t-shirt and got me to lie on the bed like a snail while he took pictures to send to my sisters.
I got my antibiotics as a bolus (they use a syringe with the cannula rather than connecting a drip, it feels cold and weird) apart from on my 2nd and final night, I was exhausted (being sick is tiring) it was around 9pm, I figured I was due my meds at 10 so I would wait up and then sleep afterwards. 10 came and went as did 11, just before 12 someone came in to gets my obs and I asked about my meds, I was told the nurse would be here shortly as she had been backed up as loads of patients needed IV medication. at 12.30 a nurse came in with a drip, she hadn't realised I had been getting boluses so had made it up with saline, it took 20 minutes to run through, it was cold, weird and a wee bit sore. After that I had to wait to get disconnected and to get a flush (just normal saline to clean the inside of the cannula). It was quite frustrating to have to wait, not because I wanted immediate attention, i know how busy wards can be, but because I know how to disconnect it and to administer a flush as it was now way past 1 and all i wanted to do was sleep, especially because I knew I would be woken up just after 7.
Luckily I was discharged that day, although I didn't have my results back yet, I was given an eight day course of oral antibiotics and told to take it easy. I had to miss the Blue concert I was looking forward to but there was no way I was up to it.
I went to a schistosomiasis clinic yesterday, I have it. I knew I would so wasn't too bothered as I knew it was one day of treatment to get rid of it. My friends all think it's hilarious and keep making snail jokes, most of which are kinda witty I must admit.
Praziquantel is horrendous! (It is also used by vets).
I had to take two doses of 1750mg, 6 hours apart. I took the 1st dose just before going to uni (not my brightest idea) I felt very slightly nauseous and then a bit spaced out (which my friends found funny, and made for a slightly more intense lecture). After that came the crash, at about 2, I was knackered but had class til 5 so what can you do. In class my lower back started to get really sore, I thought it was the chairs but it didn't go away, just got worse and worse, it felt like my kidneys were going to explode. The nausea got worse. I still ate dinner and attempted to see my friends play but had to leave during it because every few minutes I thought I was going to be sick, I was starting to feel a bit faint too. I got home and went straight to bed, after some paracetamol and a foot massage I was able to sleep. Fitfully. With a few trips to the bathroom and anxiety dreams about my kidneys. Woke up this morning with no back pain (hurray) still felt nauseous and had abdo/stomach cramps but as my mouth tasted disgusting I thought I'd try to eat something...tangerines taste exactly the same on the way back up as they do going down. I decided lying still was my best option so had a nap until about an hour ago.
I'm still nauseous, I still have cramps, all I want is fruit juice but don't know if I should risk it.
But swimming in lake Malawi, under the stars, under the blazing sun, while watching the sunset was completely worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
It all started on a Monday, arguably the worst day of the week, I woke up stiff and sore all over. My throat was scratchy and I just felt generally bad. Instead of staying in bed and snuggling with the cats, I got up and went to uni. Throughout the day I felt like I was developing man-flu (that's how bad it was) however this did not prevent me from going to the cinema with the boyfriend after uni. I think I dosed off a bit and gradually felt worse. While waiting for the bus I developed rigors (shaking, exaggerated shivering) particularly in my arms, and wanted nothing more than my bed. That night I had a really bad fever and ended up sweating so much I soaked through the sheets and the mattress, which was discovered in the morning. I ached all over so badly. I was off Tuesday so did nothing, I did call my GP but there were no appointments until Thursday. As I had been in Africa just a couple months before I did wonder if I had picked up some exotic lergie. Tuesday night was similar to Monday with less sweat, I woke up repeatedly feeling freezing even though I was roasting and again I could not stop shaking. So when Wednesday arrived I called my mum and together we went to a&e.
After being told off by the triage nurse (it was not an emergency) I was seen by a lovely doctor who's face lit up at the mention of Africa (I'm guessing exotic diseases don't pop up much on a Wednesday morning at the Vic.) I was promptly sent for a chest x-ray, incase I had contracted TB (night sweats is a common symptom). Luckily it was clear. My urinalysis showed signs of infection with blood and protein present, I should also mention my lower back was agony. After a few phone calls and discussions with consultants it was decided I should be admitted at the brown-lee (infectious diseases unit). My blood was taken and given to me to take and a quick taxi ride later, I was in my own room and me and my mum realised we had only £10 between us with no cards. It was weird being the patient and not the nurse, It shed a new light on nursing for me. Some nurses were grumpy and moaned about their day to me, I would never do that to a patient as you don't want to add to their stress but I think it was because they knew I was in training. Overall the staff were lovely, some were better than others. The food was pretty gross, but with my killer sore throat and lack of being able to taste I managed to eat soft things like soup and mash (I had a draw full of biscuits and chocolate my parents had brought me which I couldn't really eat - they enjoyed it on their visits though). A cannula was inserted (man do those things hurt) and more blood was taken.
I think I would of died of boredom if it wasn't for a tv in my room and all day visiting times, I felt like I was in prison as I only left my room once during my 3 day stay.
My blood work showed I had a bad case of Streptococcal pharyngitis (Strep throat) and possibly a kidney infection. I was promptly put on IV antibiotics, oral would of probably been fine but I had recently been on some for tonsillitis (which i'm guessing didn't work as I got it again so soon). It was decided I had to stay for observation and while we waited for the more exotic blood work to get results.
The doctors were lovely, and seemed used to travellers, I was asked if I had cut up any goats or other animals, when i laughed and said no the doc. told me he recently had a patient who was a med student who had been in Africa who had cut up a donkey to fed to a lion. So I guess there are stranger things than cutting up a goat. The main thing they thought they would find with me was schistosomiasis (snail fever), as I swam in lake Malawi and pretty much everyone who does gets it, or so I'm told. My dad had a great time while visiting, as a frequent visitor to Africa he has always wanted something to be admitted to the brown-lee (yes I find this odd too), so he was vicariously living through me. As you get schistosomiasis from snails (it is also known as snail fever) he proceeded to shove pillows up the back of my t-shirt and got me to lie on the bed like a snail while he took pictures to send to my sisters.
I got my antibiotics as a bolus (they use a syringe with the cannula rather than connecting a drip, it feels cold and weird) apart from on my 2nd and final night, I was exhausted (being sick is tiring) it was around 9pm, I figured I was due my meds at 10 so I would wait up and then sleep afterwards. 10 came and went as did 11, just before 12 someone came in to gets my obs and I asked about my meds, I was told the nurse would be here shortly as she had been backed up as loads of patients needed IV medication. at 12.30 a nurse came in with a drip, she hadn't realised I had been getting boluses so had made it up with saline, it took 20 minutes to run through, it was cold, weird and a wee bit sore. After that I had to wait to get disconnected and to get a flush (just normal saline to clean the inside of the cannula). It was quite frustrating to have to wait, not because I wanted immediate attention, i know how busy wards can be, but because I know how to disconnect it and to administer a flush as it was now way past 1 and all i wanted to do was sleep, especially because I knew I would be woken up just after 7.
Luckily I was discharged that day, although I didn't have my results back yet, I was given an eight day course of oral antibiotics and told to take it easy. I had to miss the Blue concert I was looking forward to but there was no way I was up to it.
I went to a schistosomiasis clinic yesterday, I have it. I knew I would so wasn't too bothered as I knew it was one day of treatment to get rid of it. My friends all think it's hilarious and keep making snail jokes, most of which are kinda witty I must admit.
Praziquantel is horrendous! (It is also used by vets).
I had to take two doses of 1750mg, 6 hours apart. I took the 1st dose just before going to uni (not my brightest idea) I felt very slightly nauseous and then a bit spaced out (which my friends found funny, and made for a slightly more intense lecture). After that came the crash, at about 2, I was knackered but had class til 5 so what can you do. In class my lower back started to get really sore, I thought it was the chairs but it didn't go away, just got worse and worse, it felt like my kidneys were going to explode. The nausea got worse. I still ate dinner and attempted to see my friends play but had to leave during it because every few minutes I thought I was going to be sick, I was starting to feel a bit faint too. I got home and went straight to bed, after some paracetamol and a foot massage I was able to sleep. Fitfully. With a few trips to the bathroom and anxiety dreams about my kidneys. Woke up this morning with no back pain (hurray) still felt nauseous and had abdo/stomach cramps but as my mouth tasted disgusting I thought I'd try to eat something...tangerines taste exactly the same on the way back up as they do going down. I decided lying still was my best option so had a nap until about an hour ago.
I'm still nauseous, I still have cramps, all I want is fruit juice but don't know if I should risk it.
But swimming in lake Malawi, under the stars, under the blazing sun, while watching the sunset was completely worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Comments
Post a Comment