hosp2

2016 started off nothing like i’d planned really. On Monday (the 4th) I set off to the Doctors to get some scripts and last minute things because I was FINALLY set to fly home to Melbourne on Wednesday (the 6th). Only thing was, I was feeling a bit sick, and the Doctor checked my BP & wasn’t happy, then decided to give me an ECG, and then ended up calling an ambulance and sending me to hospital.

8 things I learnt from my hospital visit.

Ambos are very amusing, I think they try to distract you with the funny.
When your BP drops & you basically faint, you can’t be modest. My gown was off of me so fast.
My BP dropping was the worst feeling I have ever felt in my life. I thought I was dying.
If given the choice of food at hospital, if a sandwich is an option, go for that.
Magnesium drips hurt like a bitch. Seriously, most painful thing they did out of everything!
It’s hard to do stuff with cannulas in both hands. Add to that one being connected to a drip, whilst also being hooked up to a heart monitor and then also wearing a cam boot for a broken foot, well, going to the toilet was like a 3297 step proceedure.
Be wary of what underwear you choose to wear. You know how they always say to wear clean underwear in case you get hit by a bus? While mine were clean, I was wearing THESE. And no, I wasn’t on my periods, but they were the first clean ones I had pulled out. So whenever I had to get out of my gown (which was quite often) they would be faced with ‘Cunt Dracula’.
Hospital rubber gloves filled with ice make the best ice packs, which help with numbing the cannula area if it’s causing pain.

hosp

What happened?

1 ambulance ride
30 hours in hospital (12 in the Emergency Department, 18 in Coronary)
2 blood test through needles (left elbow pit, left arm)
A 14g cannula left hand
A 18g cannula right hand
Many ECGs & then constant heart monitoring.
10+ Blood Pressure tests (I stopped counting)
1 x-ray
A CT scan with contrast dye.
An Echo test
4 x fluid drips
A magnesium drip

What’s not wrong?

Pretty much everything! Apart from the crazy BP crash & an elevated heart rate, after being in there for awhile, everything seemed fine. My BP went back to normal, my blood sugar was fine. They thought it may have been a blood clot in my lungs, but the Contrast CT scan came back normal. Because of family history and the fact my heart was racing so fast, they did an echocardiogram and turns out everything there was fine. All the blood and urine tests came back fine. The only thing they could come up with was…

What IS wrong?

My magnesium level is severely low. This can affect your heart and your BP. Yep, all along it was my magnesium, so they hooked my drip up to a magnesium bag and after that, they were happy to discharge me, and let me fly home to Melbourne the next day. I now have to take 4 magnesium tablets a day, and check up with a doctor in a week. Now I just need to find a GP I like here in Melbourne. So yes, I’m home in Melbourne, FINALLY!