I am beginning to be concerned about my choice of a family doctor. I have been with this guy for many years. He was in the family practice residency program at our hospital and all the staff loved him. When he graduated the hospital was changing insurance plans and there was quite a shake up and many of the staff went to him as a doctor since we loved him so much as a resident student. It was right at the time when my girls didn't need a pediatrician anymore, yes they still qualified as children but were older kids so we were looking for a new doctor. So I would say that was in 1990???? Anyway, that's off the subject but today I am tired enough I'm not sure what the subject is. Oh, medicine. The office called today and he said instead of taking Nifedipine that he was changing it to Lasarton. So I said, I am already on that! So they checked and sure enough I was. And guess who put me on it. Yep, he did. So they are calling out another medicine.

Charlie supposedly will be discharged tomorrow. He isn't happy about it. the only good thing about it is that I don't have to get up, get dressed and go to the hospital and walk down those long hallways to get to his room. But the silly guy. Doctor put him on a regular diet today and he orders a fully loaded sausage omelet along with salsa in the omelet for breakfast. And he wonders why his belly didn't do well. People have asked if I should ask for home health. What would they do???? His incision is fine, our blood pressure cuff you put on the wrist and push a button, he loves to use the spirometer, so he does that very faithfully, he empties his own ileostomy bag. What would they do? It would just make me feel uneasy about having some one see that my house is a mess and that Charlie is weird and chooses not to have his bed on a bed frame. The mattress set is on the floor. I don't mind changing his ostomy bag, it is a nice time where I sit by his side on the bed and we feel like a couple doing things together. It is a time for us to talk.

doydie,
Unfortunately so many doctors/staff do not take the time to even look up your records which are all on the computer. In fact, my doctors/staff hardly look at me as they keep typing everything in the computer. Sometimes my Endocrinologist (he is also my PC doctor) takes the time to check the thyroid area before I leave.

I can understand your reluctance to have someone come in and disturb your comfort zone. Since both you and Charlie have most things under control. She/he would probably be more in your way.

Leaving the care of the hospital can be overwhelming for some and feel more secure having a home health care person come in . When I left the hospital after rectal cancer surgery, I had someone come for one day and informed her the next day I would not be needing her services any longer.

Hoping all goes well with the discharge.


Gerry

Aw, Doydie! I can totally understand you not wanting to have a home health nurse come to your home. It's hard having people we don't know come to our home. You and Charlie seem to be handling everything on your own. I am sure if things become too much for you to handle, the surgeon can get authorization from your insurance to have someone come in.

Today was discharge day. He is doing well at home, ate a small meal and did OK for supper. He tried to go down to his man cave but for some reason, he prefers to be up here when I turn off the TV. It's the uncomfortable love seat, to squishy, but he comes up here when i go to my office to slow down. I don't mind it, he is closer to me if anything should happen.

I have no idea how in the world his ostomy bag lasted as long as it did but I did change it today before we left. For one reason, I had the use of a hospital bed which I could put in high position. No bending down! His aide was there to help him dress and she just stayed and watched we change it. She had never seen a bag being changed or a stoma. She was amazed at how easy it was to change it. i offered for her to touch it to see how moist it is but they wear gloves if they are touching a patient in any way. As always, I love to teach whether it be a new nurse, patient or aide.

doydie,
Glad all went well today. I am amazed how he seems to be handling the gallbladder surgical incision, along with the bag. You are also quite amazing yourself. God put both of you together. He knew beforehand Charlie would need a loving nurse, who would get the chance to refresh her skills. "What a pair"; God love you both !!!!!


Gerry

Our only problem last night was the getting in and out of bed thing. He managed to get in bed OK but getting out was another problem. His cell phone is right next to his bed and he can call me. He is worried that me pulling him up is to much on me. I just pointed to my wedding ring and told him that's what is all about. Several years ago when he bought his present mattress set, he didn't want it on a bed frame, so it all just sits on the floor. And although we love each other, we love each other better if we sleep in different rooms. My sound machine is pretty loud to block out his snoring but I did hear him when he called out to me this morning. He stayed up and I went back to bed. But when I got up he was sound asleep on the couch.

Aw!!! That was so sweet of you to show him the wedding ring. I would imagine that after the 2 surgeries, getting in and out of bed would be extremely difficult for him as his abs are probably sore and weakened. He'll have to be careful about hernias when trying to get up and down like that. Does he have a hernia belt? That might be something that you can ask the surgeon to write a prescription for so Medicare will pay for it. He doesn't need a hernia on top of everything else he has been through.

Is his mattress on a box spring or just on the floor? A box spring might help or even a platform bed. DD26 has a platform bed and when I was house sitting/dog sitting for her, I could not sleep on that bed as I had a hard time getting off of it. Since Charlie is used to being that low to the ground, elevating the mattress even a little bit may help him in getting in and out and help prevent a hernia.

I know many people of have slept for a month or so in their recliners as it was the most comfortable for them. My recliner is great but isn't sleep comfortable. It's only TV watching comfortable.

I will continue to keep you both in my prayers.

tkrik:
Good advice. An Abdominal binder/surgical support would be a good idea. I had a fairly large abdominal incision with my rectal/colon surgery. You "hit the nail on the head" about the hernias. This past November, I had three Ventral Incisional Hernias repaired. Since I am on meds, I also strain a lot because of constipation; but strain in general can produce these abdominal incisional hernias.

doydie:
This might be worth looking into. I was not aware at the time of my rectal surgery that abdominal hernias could occur due to the incision and straining. Unfortunately, after hernias are repaired; recurrence is a problem. Elevating the mattress or a recliner might make getting in an out easier.

I completely understand the separate bedrooms. (Do you remember the song;"What's Love Got to Do With It" ?) We need our sleep too...


Gerry

They make hernia belts that are specific for people with ostomies. The manufacturer is NuHope. http://www.nu-hope.com/beltlit.pdf This is a PDF file to their brochure.

Gerry - You are right. Having abdominal surgeries puts us at risk for hernias. I'm sorry for all that you have gone through. I hope that you are on the mend and doing much better. Are you taking anything for the constipation? I have found that MiraLax works great and isn't harsh on my system like other laxatives.

tkrik,

I take three full doses of Miralax daily. It makes going out even for a few hours fearful of accidents. Since my spinal surgery plus PN, etc., I take 60mg's Oxycontin every 6 hours plus break thru Percocet. My GI doctor said as long as I am on Opioids, I will be on Miralax. (Last week I included a full 10oz. of Mag Citrate which was all I could do not to heave it back out.)


I thought your mentioning the binder to doydie was really a good idea; as well as Charlie's straining. As I previously mentioned, I was not aware of the potential (had never heard of this before) Ventral Abdominal Incisional Hernias were even a possibility. I do hope this info may help Charlie avoid the possibility of the hernias. Both Charlie and doydie have been through so much; avoiding this possibility is so important.


Gerry