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Melodie – Back for a Hospital visit
Hi All,
Last week I hit a bump in the road. On Wednesday I recognized on the way into work that I had some lower pain in my back and/or kidneys. Several hours later I began to wonder if the pain was related to the fact that I could not empty my bladder. I was drinking coffee and tea and cranberry juice but saw no output…after six hours this began to concern me. Upon leaving work just before noon I began to feel nauseas. After arriving at my in-laws and finding that although I had been taking in liquids, I still could not empty the bladder. I irrigated very well and the water came back but no urine. I called the hospital but of course could not get to talk with anyone so I went to the ER at the UW Hospital.
I arrived at the ER shortly after 1 p.m. and was soon removed from the waiting room as I was vomiting. After talking to the Urology Department, I was sent over for a CT scan and was told the scan showed the kidneys and bladder looked fine. By 6:30 I had vomited several times over and they were thinking it was perhaps some type of stomach flu. It seems that if I had the flu and I was dehydrated enough, there would be little or no output of urine. Because I was so dehydrated, they decided to admit me by 6:30 so they could put me on IV’s but could not put me in a room until 9:30. When I wasn’t being tested, I was on a bed in the hallway. When they say we are in a health crisis, they are correct. The ER holds about 40 patients, and they can put another 4 or 6 in the hallway. The wait time was 3-4 hours to be seen and I don’t think that is uncommon. Now, I am not complaining….just letting others know what they might expect to find in ER if they have to go there. There are just too many patients and not enough doctors and nurses.
Anyway, I did not expect to spend the night but according to the doctors, it was the best thing for me to do. I expected to be discharged the next day but by noon, my urologist had gotten a call from Radiology. Apparently after a second look of the CT scan, they noticed a small blockage in the colon which gave them reason to want me to stay another night to ensure there weren’t any serious problems. Once I had enough fluids in me and bladder and colon working as they should, I was good to go and was discharged Friday afternoon.
Anticipate being back to work on Monday, 3/17. I feel lucky I have insurance and there were no serious consequences. The doctors admitted they do not know if it was a flu virus or a result of the blockage that caused my problems. I’m just glad I am out of the hospital again and feeling somewhat back to normal, whatever normal is for me.
What I learned…it was 12 hours before I could produce any urine and was still OK…so I would guess the theory that I was very dehydrated must be the reason I had no output. Hope I can stay out of the ER now for the remainder of the year.
Hugs to all, Melodie
Melodie, Indy Pouch, U.W.Medical Center, Seattle, Dr. Paul H. Lange & Jonathan L. Wright11 Replies-
Melodie,
Glad its all resolved, you don’t want the flu bug thats around, it seems to be a big problem, lots of people with it here in quarantine. All in all a scary little episode for you. Sorry you had to lay in the hall,,nothing like being on display, I hate that,,,take care of you, Ginger -
Melodie…the green vomit is an indication of bile backing up into the stomach which means an obstruction whether it be mechanical or non-mechanical. Do not wait it out at home if you get it again…obstructions are dangerous either way and you certainly do not need dehydration. Hopefully this will be the only one you have.
Pat -
Pat,
Thanks for the info….now I can be better educated on bowel obstructions and maybe avoid any more of them…maybe.
Rick,
Of course if I knew then what I know now, I would have remained at home longer, if I had thought the issue could have worked itself out on it’s own…now I won’t freak out until I get over the 12 hr. limit….but I had no sweating, just a mild temp of 100…I started with green vomit so I’m thinking it was an obstruction.
We can all share and learn from one another. I’m upping my intake of prune juice.
Melodie
Melodie, Indy Pouch, U.W.Medical Center, Seattle, Dr. Paul H. Lange & Jonathan L. Wright
Melodie,
I am glad that you are back. How frustrating and concerning it was for you over that 24 hour ordeal.
There was a flu like bug that went around my office a couple of weeks ago. It was a good thing I heard about the symptoms from them before I actually got the bug myself.
I had a severe knot feeling in my intestines and a lower back throbbing. I ending up having a fever during two evenings that drenched my sheets (these were the same symptoms my co-workers had).
My urine output was nearly nothing during this time. It was a good thing I did know, because the Lovely and Talented One (my wife) was ready for me to hang out in the ER.
Welcome back.Rick
Hi Melodie….here’s something on ileus which is a non-mechanical obstruction which i believe you had……….http://www.upmc.com/HealthManagement/ManagingYourHealth/HealthReference/Diseases/?chunkiid=23625
Just my luck i had the mechanical kind!!! Pat
Hi All,
Made it back to work and so far, so good. Although my doctor could not say for sure, after review of the scan and all the vomiting, he felt more like it was the blockage that caused my problem vs. a flu virus. He told me the blockage can occur as a result of scar tissue…that sometimes something just gets trapped in there and the intestine kinda gets itself into a kink and things won’t pass as they should. I have been very careful about what I eat, drink and do my best to keep fiber in the diet and because I am on Levsinex (Hyoscyamine)to keep the bladder calmed down, that tends to constipate me so I counteract that by taking in omega fatty acids (fish oil) capsules twice a day and prune juice.
When I got into the ER area where the patients wait, I waited on a bed in the hallway while nurses would stop and apologize for the fact that they had no room to put me in…this caused me to ask about how loaded they were with patients…when I learned it was 3-4 hrs. and I had already waited for 2, I asked the charge nurse if I could walk over to Urology and talk to the nurses over there…of course she was OK with that idea since they were swamped. At Urology the nurse tried to irrigate just as I had done and nothing resulted but the water coming back out. So that was when it was determined I needed a scan. I was glad I took the initative and felt well enough to go over to another department as I think I got results faster than I would have had otherwise, given the situation.
Melodie, Indy Pouch, U.W.Medical Center, Seattle, Dr. Paul H. Lange & Jonathan L. Wright
Hello Melodie,
Glad to hear the problem resolved…
Take good care
Leigh
Leigh, 39
Dx July 2007
TURBT July 2007
RC/Neobladder ,Studer Pouch, September 2007
Erasmus Centrum Rotterdam
TNM Classification: pT4 N2 Mo
4 cycles aduvant chemo Gemzar & Cisplatinum
Hi Melodie
So sorry to hear about your setback and you were doing so well. Make sure you are 100% fit before you go back to work. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
(((((((( hugs to you ))))))) Maria xxx
[quote author=Melodie link=topic=1953.msg14578#msg14578 date=1205704505]
I was drinking coffee and tea and cranberry juice but saw no output…after six hours this began to concern me. Upon leaving work just before noon I began to feel nauseas.:.
By 6:30 I had vomited several times over and they were thinking it was perhaps some type of stomach flu. It seems that if I had the flu and I was dehydrated enough, there would be little or no output of urine. [/quote]For a minute there I thought I had missed something. To get dehydrated from Flu or gastroenteritis you have to be sick first with fever & poor intake or vomiting. Your vomiting began after pain and no output.
[quote author=Melodie link=topic=1953.msg14578#msg14578 date=1205704505] Apparently after a second look of the CT scan, they noticed a small blockage in the colon [/quote]
Glad they found the problem & you’re doing better.
-Warren
TaG3 + CIS 12/2000. TURB + Mitomycin C (No BCG)
Urethral stricture, urethroplasty 10/2009
CIS 11/2010 treated with BCG. CIS 5/2012 treated with BCG/interferon
T1G3 1/2013. Radical Cystectomy 3/5/2013, No invasive cancer. CIS in right ureter.
Incontinent. AUS implant 2/2014. AUS explant 5/2014
PediatricianGeez Melodie….thats a bummer. Very puzzling. Having a blockage is a sometimes result of this surgery and usually it straightens itself out as yours apparently did…I remember having the same thing…first the pain, then the nausea, and then green stuff projecting out of me. They had put an IV on me when i came to the hospital and i was still connected to all the tubes as it had only been 9 days since my original surgery. I suppose I was dehydrated also from the vomiting. Anyway i’m glad yours worked its way out…i wasn’t as lucky..part of my small intestine was firmly trapped under my ureter…thus my second surgery. But i must say the vomiting certainly got their attention.
Glad you’re doing better and will continue to do so…..big hugs…Pat
I’m glad the hydration helped solve your problem. The ER at the UW sounds almost as bad as the one here at the U of AZ. We have family in Bellevue and want to visit and I wondered what to do if Dick needed to see a urologist or the ER while we visited.
Our newspaper today had an article about the ER crisis here in Tucson. All of them are over capacity due to the influenza and Arizona ER’s have some of the longest wait times in the nation.
I’m sure you were doing your best to stay hydrated by drinking all the liquid you did and still you wound up with a hospital visit. Scary.
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