Nancy
Well-known member
A couple of things have happened today that make me happy. Joe is in the hospital (see Small Talk) and is facing an upper GI scope in-hospital.
1.) The Gastro doc without any prompting from us, mentioned taking Joe off coumadin and putting him on Heparin for bridging AND using antibiotics prior to the procedure to protect is valves. I see this as a very positive sign that docs are starting to adress the issue of protecting ACT patients like Joe. He's already had several infarctions recently. Want to try to avoid any more if at all possible. And, well, you know my position on antibiotic prophylaxis.
2.) Joe's getting some IV Lasix. During the ER visit, I mentioned to the ER doc (who was very smart about heart valve stuff, by the way) that Joe needed to be on an extremely low sodium diet, 500mg or less. He took it seriously.
Today, the nurse who ordered Joe's IV Lasix asked the pharmacy if they could mix it with a Dextrose vehicle instead of a saline vehicle. The doc approved it, and the pharmacy agreed.
This will certainly help with the 6-8 pounds that Joe always gains in the hospital simply because they always use a normal saline solution which is way too much sodium for Joe. He always comes home in about stage 2-3 CHF from the saline vehicle. And it takes a very long time to get that straightened out.
NO ONE, in all the years he's been going to hospitals, has EVER suggested that, not even the large teaching hospital locally.
So we'll see how that works for him. It wouldn't probably work for those who are diabetic.
3.) His potassium level was very high in the ER. Instead of just cutting the dosage, the ER treated it aggressively to bring it down with several injected things. Apparently, Joe's Lasix wasn't working well, and the potassium he normally takes was building up to a dangerous level. It's been high in the past, but never treated so fast. I appreciated that. I felt he was better protected. So again, a first for that.
We'll see how the rest of the stay goes. But it's nice when people are doing positive things.
1.) The Gastro doc without any prompting from us, mentioned taking Joe off coumadin and putting him on Heparin for bridging AND using antibiotics prior to the procedure to protect is valves. I see this as a very positive sign that docs are starting to adress the issue of protecting ACT patients like Joe. He's already had several infarctions recently. Want to try to avoid any more if at all possible. And, well, you know my position on antibiotic prophylaxis.
2.) Joe's getting some IV Lasix. During the ER visit, I mentioned to the ER doc (who was very smart about heart valve stuff, by the way) that Joe needed to be on an extremely low sodium diet, 500mg or less. He took it seriously.
Today, the nurse who ordered Joe's IV Lasix asked the pharmacy if they could mix it with a Dextrose vehicle instead of a saline vehicle. The doc approved it, and the pharmacy agreed.
This will certainly help with the 6-8 pounds that Joe always gains in the hospital simply because they always use a normal saline solution which is way too much sodium for Joe. He always comes home in about stage 2-3 CHF from the saline vehicle. And it takes a very long time to get that straightened out.
NO ONE, in all the years he's been going to hospitals, has EVER suggested that, not even the large teaching hospital locally.
So we'll see how that works for him. It wouldn't probably work for those who are diabetic.
3.) His potassium level was very high in the ER. Instead of just cutting the dosage, the ER treated it aggressively to bring it down with several injected things. Apparently, Joe's Lasix wasn't working well, and the potassium he normally takes was building up to a dangerous level. It's been high in the past, but never treated so fast. I appreciated that. I felt he was better protected. So again, a first for that.
We'll see how the rest of the stay goes. But it's nice when people are doing positive things.
Debbie
