But...once I am "back on this planet" I want to be able to take control again. Of course I don't know beforehand how long it is gonna take. But when I am capable I want to have the option of being the one managing my D. To use your term, if I am useless, yeah they can play all they want. But once I am no longer useless, I am going to manage things. As most people with type 1 (at least those here at TuD) I do a better job than a hospital staffperson - I live with it 24/7
well, again, they hold liability while you're in their care. as I said, i hardly remember much of anything. i stayed on an insulin drip the entire time i was there - they don't just 'take it off' or out while you're recovering. when i was ready to go home and be discharged they removed the insulin drip, i took out my levemir and gave myself a shot. Is there some arbitrary test (like a DUI walk a straight line - touch your nose test..ha!) they're supposed to give everyone to determine when or if you're not 'useless' anymore. most people who have inpatient surgery are pretty much hooked up to pain meds.
The glucose/dextrose drip is usually an electrolyte mixture which has potassium and maybe other assorted electrolytes in it, in tandem with an insulin drip for a patient that is in DKA. It is usually started after the initial rehydration has been given. Or at least in pediatric patients. An insulin drip for patients that are post op or not in DKA don't usually get the electrolyte mixture. A problem I have seen more frequently in the hospital is the pharmacy mixing IV medications in a dextrose solution instead of normal saline. All sorts of IV medications are mixed in dextrose.
They just don't leave you anesthetized and don't test you or treat you. I might be not be able to verbalize a low or take something by mouth but certainly it is the job of the anesthesiologist to be testing for you while you are asleep and administering dextrose or glucose intravenously.
I think some pumpers are not aggressive enough with their own management, meaning they don't realize how much more they are going to need and under treat. I know for 1 of my surgeries and when I have had to take steroids I have had to increase my basal rates by 50-65%. Which sounds scary, even to my endo. But it worked.
Thanks for the insight. I wish they wouldn't automatically use dextrose as a base for IV meds. I don't think it would always be necessary to use dextrose instead of saline. Thanks again
Using this box to reply to another post. I believe that they will extubate when the patient starts to "fuss" with the tube. I can imagine my proving I was ready to have my pump back if I asked for my meter, started testing myself and voiced displeasure (or pleasure) with my results. If I asked to see my chart and expressed interest and reacted with either pleasure or displeasure - that would be a way to see that I was ready to handle my management. Or at the very least, have input on my boluses. I have had experiences where I couldn't have input (verbal) on my bolus amounts. Again a case of "one size fits all" when blousing - which isn't in my opinion a good approach.
I was thinking about this discussion, and it did seem to go off on a tangent regarding things like major surgeries. My concern is for those admissions where I am capable of managing my D. I want to be able to manage my D if I were admitted for things, like say pneumonia, a broken leg, non-trauma. I do believe that in those cases my recovery would be hastened by my intensive management - using my pump and CGM. I agree with Sarah regarding those times when I don't have full mental capacity. But to have a blanket prohibition on pumping is going overboard.
Thanks for everyone's contributions on this.