I HATE Hospitals!!!

These past few weeks I have spent enough time in the hospital to last a lifetime! I suppose it was necessary to be admitted for a few days when my appendix was removed but I would have really liked to have avoided these last two ER trips. One for strange intense back pain linked to a bladder/kidney infection, one for nausea, vomiting and constipation which happened last night. Upon arriving the triage nurse casually informed me that they had "just lost number two" so I would be getting a room soon. Lovely. From what I gathered from my nurses later she was an old lady who they didn't get a chance to implant a new pacemaker in before she passed on. And I had the privilege of getting sent to the same ER room she passed away in minutes earlier. Something about that just doesn't seem ethical and it certainly gave me the heebie jeebies.

It's not just that I hate hospitals and everything about them. It's the fact that the ER docs always insist on taking more and more blood and repeating the same labs they did a few days prior. Of course they always come back looking pretty good with the exception of slightly low potassium which I can only assume is the result of my excessive water drinking. I also hate how they tell me everything looks good except I'm just a little dehydrated. How on earth, is it humanely possible to be dehydrated when one drinks as much water as I do? I drink more water on a daily basis (and juice, milk, v-8, soy/rice/coconut milk,) than everyone I know does combined. I also NEVER drink coffee or anything caffeinated and yet the doctors and nurses never fail to ask if I drink a lot of coffee because of my high heart rate. The answer is always NO! I never drink coffee and have not even had a sip of it in the past five years. It would be really nice if they started reading my chart. NO I do not do drugs and never have. NO I do not even take any prescription drugs after surgery because I have a high pain tolerance. All I ever take is tylenol. Because that's about the only thing I'm not allergic to.

I am the type of person who has always avoided shows like 'ER,' 'House' and 'Grey's Anatomy' because they are anxiety producing for me. So to have to go to the hospital this much over the past few weeks has been draining not only physically but emotionally. I think I definitely suffer from white-coat syndrome. There's probably no remedy for that except to avoid doctors. Which is what I plan to do now for as long as possible. Wish me luck!