AFIB, Diapers and hospitals

[ThomasInWVa]

Last Saturday, I woke up early with a racing heart. Felt lousy. Knew I was in afib and had to get to the ER as I was out of breath. Got out of my night diaper and plastic pants and put on a new diaper. Completely forgot to put my usual underwear over it. Grabbed some cutoff sweatpants over the diaper and a t-shirt. 

Wife got me in quickly. They put me on IV meds and it it helped a little. Wasn't going to go into cardiac arrest. 

Because of Covid, wife had to stay outside. And they couldn't admit me there, I had to be transported about 40 miles away to the regional hospital. 

Normally that diaper would have been fine until evening if I pushed it but that IV fluid runs right through! That and the way I was sitting on the er bed meant I was soaking the bed by the time the transport arrived. My wife was able to pack a case of diapers and other stuff. 

I was able to change at the regional hospital but no shower as I was wired up. Plastic pants were not allowed and they only cath for a medical reason and incon isn't sufficient.

The diaper situation sucked. They brought in a stack of disposable pads to catch leaks, which were frequent.

As I was ambulatory, I could change on my own. That helped.

They offered hospital diapers but I declined as mine were better. I was a bit surprised what one RA suggested when I mentioned how uncomfortable I was late the first night. She said I didn't need the diapers as the pads will work just fine and that's what most bedwetters do. 

I didn't think it was something I would do - until the next night.

Lucky for me, they changed my meds late Saturday and I was off the IV. This helped cut down on the very heavy urination. 

But at about 9pm on the Sunday, I had to get out of the diapers. They were hot and itchy. I had no shower since Friday evening and baby wipes only do so much. I was able to sleep some though it was different to wet the bed without any diaper or underwear. 

So for the remainder of my stay until Monday afternoon after the Carioversion (zap). I was pads only. They made sure they were changed every 4 hours or so. I did the changes. They made sure housekeeping cleaned the floor when I leaked. Went through a stack of gowns too.

Feeling better now but that's my recent hospital diaper adventure. Not something I recommend.

[feralfreak]

get used to have your blood checked for your inr, and stay away from green veggies like brocoli and things like that, or at least be sparing with them, my mom had afib late 2017, also if you need to take an antibiotic be sure to tell the clinic managing your coumadin levels because antibiotics can make you MUCH more sensitive to coumadin

[ThomasInWVa]

On 6/27/2020 at 1:07 AM, feralfreak said:

get used to have your blood checked for your inr, and stay away from green veggies like brocoli and things like that, or at least be sparing with them, my mom had afib late 2017, also if you need to take an antibiotic be sure to tell the clinic managing your coumadin levels because antibiotics can make you MUCH more sensitive to coumadin

Thanks. I'm not taking any antibiotics right now. Just a blood thinner and meds to regulate the heart rhythm.

I've haven't read anything about broccoli being an issue for afib. I'll look into. I'm back on my keto diet and fasting for 15-18 hours a day to loose weight fast. Also eliminated all carbs from my diet as my blood sugar levels were quite high. 

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

I had a dose of A-fib the second day after the quad CABG and did not feel a thing. They had me on Amarodione and Cumadin for awhile, They dropped the Amarodione after a month. The Cumadin was a beast because they had to test my blood every week for dosage, FINALLY that get dropped in favor of Xeralto. I con't get the antibiotic as they want to use those things sparingly  since we are running out of new ones. My last known attack was March 15 and I did not even feel anything. I had a loop recorder inplant in February. I do not know what it has been since April. I should talk to the cardiologist and see what has happened since then, if anything. The A-fib is an annoyance because apart from that everything was aces up. Make recovery look like a stroll next door. Smoked the rehab off the charts. Healed up like it was nothing. Thought I would get off scot free but NOOOO that damn A-fib showed up to spoil a spotless recored Grrr...!

[feralfreak]

4 hours ago, ThomasInWVa said:

Thanks. I'm not taking any antibiotics right now. Just a blood thinner and meds to regulate the heart rhythm.

I've haven't read anything about broccoli being an issue for afib. I'll look into. I'm back on my keto diet and fasting for 15-18 hours a day to loose weight fast. Also eliminated all carbs from my diet as my blood sugar levels were quite high. 

be careful, keep some protein handy at all times, and some kind of sugar, you can have your blood sugar drop to dangerous levels fast and then you have minutes to self rescue, moms drops like that and i have to run in and help her.

[babymaggie]

I have had AFIb as a secondary problem from another medical issue that I have. However, I was sick of going into AFIB and read that many adults do not get enough magnesium. I decided to try taking magnesium supplements and since I started those in 2013, I have not had a single episode of AFIb. Now this may not work for everyone but for me it was worth a try. I am also on Warfarin, the generic for Cumadin and will be on that for life.

[feralfreak]

18 hours ago, babymaggie said:

I have had AFIb as a secondary problem from another medical issue that I have. However, I was sick of going into AFIB and read that many adults do not get enough magnesium. I decided to try taking magnesium supplements and since I started those in 2013, I have not had a single episode of AFIb. Now this may not work for everyone but for me it was worth a try. I am also on Warfarin, the generic for Cumadin and will be on that for life.

my moms magnesium is the same way, every time hers was low she had afib, she has to take coumadin too, it surprises me how being just a little off on something we might think as so minor can be a major issue, or even a life threatening issue.