How to Pass Time in a Hospital

So, I have been thinking about this a lot lately, how do people spend their time during long hospital stays? I was hospitalized last year for eight days straight and I thought I was going to go crazy. I probably would have without my laptop!

Therefore, I am going to help you come up with ideas to pass time in a hospital. If you have more suggestions than I was able to think of, please comment and post them so that I can update this list. I want to make sure our members have suggestions. Also, if you can think of things to do in a pediatric hospital, let me know. But, for now, this is the list for the adults who are hospitalized.




According to Carepages, LINK HERE: http://cms.carepages.com/CarePages/en/ArticlesTips/HelpfulTips/BetterYou/pass_the_time.html

"Staying busy can be strong medicine for someone facing a long or extended hospital stay. Here are some ideas to keep boredom at bay. Use them for yourself or suggest them to someone in need. These tips also work well for someone recovering at home.

Take an online class. Have you ever wanted to learn how to scrapbook or speak fluent Italian? Now’s your chance. The Internet has plenty of online resources. Here are a couple to get you started:

Learn to play an instrument. The therapeutic effects of music have long been established. Depending on your mobility and situation, strumming a guitar or even simply picking up a harmonica can both soothe and distract [side note: this may not be the best thing to do at a hospital around a lot of sick people trying to rest]

Play board games or cards. A heated game of good old-fashioned Monopoly or Scrabble can take everyone’s mind off things for a few hours. And a deck of cards can be enjoyed together or solo (hellooooo, Solitaire).

Start a website journal. CarePages.com (that’s us) makes it easy to create a free website to share your journey, post photos and stay in touch with everyone. Create a website in minutes. [I use www.blogger.com]

Write letters. There’s nothing quite like getting a hand-written letter in the mail. While email and texting are instant, the flavor and fragrance of a real letter can be priceless (not to mention the anticipation of letter opening). Now that you’ve got some time, why not put pen to paper? Don’t forget to say “write back.”

Load up on brain food. Sudoku and crossword puzzles can be found everywhere these days. And studies show brain exercisers can sharpen mental acuity and even ward off age-related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s.

Watch movies. If hospital cable doesn’t tantalize you, create your own entertainment by downloading and watching movies on a laptop or iPod. Portable DVD players do the trick, as well.

Decorate your hospital room. Many hospitals have “Art-Cart” programs that provide a rotating art collection from which patients can choose for their rooms. Inquire at your facility or help get a new program started. [I have done this during Easter and my nurses loved it]"

Here are the thoughts that I've gotten from members or thought of myself, without reading this list. I apologize for duplicates:

1. Make friends with other patients
2. Make phone calls and talk to friends
3. Play around on the Internet
4. Read the news
5. Read books
6. Do a crossword puzzle
7. Play board games
8. Play card games (like solitaire)
9. Play video games on your laptop
10. Have friends and family visit for a distraction
11. Bring your own clothes from home to change into because gowns are awful
12. Play games on an IPAD
13. Read your Kindle/Nook/etc
14. Walk around the hospital and get some exercise
15. Watch TV (but it always seems like nothing is ever on)
16. Connect with friends through Facebook/Social Media
17. Text your friends
18. Sleep through your hospital visit
19. Watch Netflix
20. Watch movies on Laptop
21. Decorate your hospital room
22. Listen to Music (with headphones, of course)
23. Make your own Youtube videos about your illness
24. Make and write your own blog about your experience in the hospital for others
25. Write reviews for the hospital nurses, doctors, and staff online
26. Talk to the x-ray tech and ask what’s the weirdest thing they’ve ever seen
27. Write stories, long or short
28. Write poetry
29. Play video games on your Nintendo 3DS
30. Skype with loved ones who can’t see you at the hospital
31. Complete a puzzle
32. Learn to knit


If you can think of anything I might have missed, please comment with a suggestion. I hope this will give you enough ideas to stay busy the next time you are hospitalized. I know that I will be loading up a to go bag!

From March until Today

I was diagnosed with gastroparesis at the end of March. I hope this blog will help me keep track of everything and help me to feel better. Now, for some background.

I was hospitalized from March 28, 2012 until April 5, 2012. The doctors preformed a gastric emptying test, after preforming several blood tests, a cat scan (with dye and a barium swallow), and an MRI. All of the other tests came back normal except for elevated lipase levels and an ovarian cyst. The doctors determined that I had liver stones, which would explain the lipase levels.

My symptoms came out of nowhere. I couldn't keep food down, not even water. I was so sick and dehydrated that they admitted me to the hospital right away. I had a pretty good hospital experience until the night before I was released. I should explain.

I am a very hard stick and I have no veins left. I am usually a pretty good sport as I'm not scared of needles in any way but keep in mind that I've had a right elbow surgery, a left and right knee surgery, my appendix out, and my gallbladder out. I've also had several nerve blocks for my knee. So, with all of these surgeries comes lots of scar tissue. I don't have a lot in the way of veins anymore. When the nurse came in to change my infiltrated IV, she had to use a sonogram machine to find another vein. Then, she hit a nerve while trying to find a vein for my IV. I screamed. I've never screamed so loudly. I sobbed for hours. That had to be the worst shooting pain I've ever experienced. Remember that I had been in the hospital for a week before this, so I was bruised and sore everywhere. This event just exacerbated that. As it turns out, I found out later, I didn't even need the IV anymore. She was poking me based on the charge nurse's instructions. The charge nurse was later reprimanded by my very angry doctor. My blood pressure went down from 154/112 to 120/82 with fluids and medication. I always have high blood pressure when I'm in a lot of pain.

I was hospitalized again, overnight, on May 25th to May 26th. I received more fluids, pain and anti nausea medicine. My blood pressure was 150/111, and was still high when I left.

Well, yesterday I had my first colonoscopy. The doctor wanted to make sure that everything was normal and that I didn't have any other issues hiding like Crohn's Disease. Everything turned out to be normal. However, the anesthesia caused me to sleep all day. My blood pressure was high again but back down to 120/80 after I received fluids and medication.

One of my biggest problems is not being able to keep anything down, not even water. I can't keep my medicine down or food. I feel like I'm being conditioned not to eat because every time I do, it burns in my stomach horribly and then it feels like I've been sucker punched in the stomach. The pain is so intense and then I start throwing up. I HATE throwing up. I try not to, but this is persistent. Also, it's usually stomach acid, which irritates and burns my throat. Even the smell of food triggers it. I'm not sure what to do about it. I've been on a gluten free diet for a few months and that does help, but not enough. I eat bland, easy to digest foods. Lately, I've been on a liquids only diet because it's the only thing I can stomach. When I do manage to digest and keep down food, it stays in my stomach up to five days.

The doctor I'm seeing now is making me see a motility specialist. I'm scared that I may need a severe treatment like the pacemaker or a gastric bypass and worst case - a feeding tube. None of the "solutions" to this problem are really solutions. They are so life changing that I want to make sure before I attempt any of them. However, I am getting quite desperate. I miss food. I love cooking, it relaxes me and I can't even do that anymore. I can't play my favorite zombie games either, because I'll get motion sick. I haven't been able to leave my house (bathroom) to even go on a short car ride to the pharmacy. I feel like I'm on house arrest, almost. The antinausea meds, I'm taking phenergan AND zofran, aren't really helping. I'm on Levsin now, too. The doctor didn't want me to take Reglan because of all of the side effects.

I'm mainly just stressed out because I don't know what the future will hold for me. I feel like I've had so many tests and they always come out normal even though I know what's going on with me is far from normal. I have lost about 15 pounds and counting. My stomach is swollen and I'm consistently and constantly in pain. The pain gets overlooked by my doctors because the pain medicine they could give me would slow down digestion more and the nausea is a problem that needs to be controlled first. I hope this medicine helps.