[Ackman12]

The first time I was admitted to the hospital I met this woman who proclaimed herself "queen of the horses." She would gallop around the unit like she was a horse. The nurses and orderlies had a hard time catching her, until that day she was caught. They had to have five people restrain her. She screamed and bit at one of the nurses.

We had a mug that we would take with us to the cafeteria. My mug had become so stained with coca-cola that one of the techs said "Ackman12 you need to clean your mug!" I didn't listen, and just continued on my way.

On my last night there, I proclaimed loudly that it was my last supper. The others looked at me as though I had horns growing out of my head.

What are some of your stories?

[Travelinglady]

Actually, you folks will have to wait until my book about them comes out--which I hope will be sometime in this century.

[Katielolxxx]

Blacked out for 3 days after my brother passed away from taking a crap load of pills. And my mom realized Something was wrong, so she took me to the hospital, which only made things worse because on top of being on drugs.. They hopped me up on more drugs , which didn't help. Considering I hit the nurse , and somehow ended up in the back room of the hospital ('sound proof room' ) with a security guard outside the door. After yelling and screaming , I was put in restraints, and somehow woke up 3 days later in an inpatient facility .. Rooming with a coke ***** who liked showing everyone her boobs.

My fellow inpatients know me as the bratty coffee girl. You couldn't have any beverage with caffeine in it on the unit except during visiting hours and it had be consumed in that hour or it had to leave with your visitors. You could also sweet-talk your pdoc into prescribing 8oz of coffee for breakfast and/or lunch. Well, since I didn't ever have visitors and I am very much a coffee drinker, I asked nicely if he would do this for me. He obliged and I was prescribed 16oz caffeinated coffee per am. It took 4 days until the order FINALLY made it to dietary. Let me tell you, I was a complete raging b---- about my damn coffee. I mean, I'm in a psych ward. All I have control over is my coffee. GIVE ME MY COFFEE! One of the orderlies was nice enough to go to the cafeteria every day to get me my coffee until dietary finally got their s--- together and brought it with my tray, though they messed it up and brought 8oz instead of 16oz. Whatever! It's still caffeine.

I know, it sounds so trivial but...you stay inpatient for 8 days without your vice! When I was discharged, the first thing I did was drive past Starbucks and get a Venti Caramel Macchiato.

The man with one arm had all the power and dexterity of two men, with five arms.

mm.

hospital stories...

well, i've actually met some quite deecent people in hospital- a war veteran, who told me all about the old days which was facinating, and also a few really nice nurses

1 i remember mostly, her name is diane.. every time i go in their, she remembers me- and makes me feel as welcome as possible.

our local hospital also has a radio station and sometimes the djs go round with the trolley to the wards, and i've had a few songs played on that- in fact when i was really young, i actually spoke a little through the microphone and i've a tape of myself talking to the presenters

i've also less than perfict experiences- when i went in once, the lady in the bed next to me yvonne actually died in the night- and that was terrible to watch.

hmm what else..

oh yeah, their was 1 time where the nurses wanted to cheer up the ward, so we had like a little lottery- they made us cards with numbers on and then gave out little prizes to the winners (sweets from the vending machine, cups of coffee) just a bit of fun really.

their was also another patient called erric, and often when we were bored i'd qquiz him about history, or current events, or something.. just to pass the time

i remember every evening it used to be at 10 pm that the staff changed shifts, and i'd like to listen in to the switch- hear about all the patients (even me) to see what they had to say, and also because i was curious i guess

i also made lots of use of my hospital tv, most of the time either watching cartoons, or chat shows.. dunno why those 2 particular types of show- i guess because i was pretty limited in choice

i could go on for ages about my experiences in hospitals- i've been to them so much, that i actually don't mind them anymore... my only real big fear of them are the rooms when the lights click off- no really... they look all.... i don't even know how to describe it!

it just horrible

Originally Posted by shattered sanity

i remember every evening it used to be at 10 pm that the staff changed shifts, and i'd like to listen in to the switch- hear about all the patients (even me) to see what they had to say, and also because i was curious i guess

WOW. Nurses are not supposed to do shift report where patients (or anyone) can hear them. That is such a HIPAA violation. I hated it when they even came around with the med cart and would ask me questions about how I was feeling or how the meds were working. Like, really? Can we go somewhere private for this where not everyone else can hear?

I liked playing Wii bowling with some of the other patients. My last night inpatient I got to stay up about 30 minutes past lights out so this girl and I could finish our game, which was kind of amusing since we'd already taken our sleep meds so we were pretty groggy and making all kinds of mistakes. I don't mind the inpatient unit so much. If I didn't have to worry about making money, paying bills, and feeding my kitties, I'd almost prefer it. At least I have people to talk to when I'm in there, and no one treats me like crap.

we should make this in to a pole.

have you had more good experiences in hospital, or bad experiences

[Kelti]

H have always gone to the same mental health hospital. It never ceases to amaze me how ppl can feel totally different about the same exact environment. I love this facility. Just stop and think here what the average visit to the psych hospital really is like for the average woman. Well, here is a list of things we do not have to do while hospitalized ::
No cooking
No dishes to wash
No Laundry to do
they chase you down to give out meds. They come to me, I don't go to them
A shower anytime before 10 pm
No bathroom to clean
Clean scrubs every 12 hours. Clean bedding laundered by some one besides me
Provided:
soap, shampoo, deodorant, comb, lotion, tooth paste and tooth brush
get to have cell phone every am.
Good group therapy and damn good pdocs and the staff if fantastic.
I think I want to live there...
Kelti...

[ThisWayOut]

most my experiences were pretty bad, and more traumatizing than much of my outside adult life... I'd rather not re-visit them... there is no therapy, they just push meds and drug you up at even the slightest sign of distress... NOT helpful for learning how to handle discharge.

[jjm51]

kelti-

just wanted to say i bicycled toured (solo) thru ireland the summer of 1986...

it was awesome. everything is really green and i think the irish might be the nicest people i have met on my many travels.

i went all around. even made it up to sligo!

my most prized possession was the 2 'donegal' caps i bought in your county.
the guiness was killer too.

as far as hospital stories go i'm still upset i didn't get a skull cap zapper like frankenstein did when i got my ect. lame.

in my first group session when in the hospital i said; 'this sure isn't like the bob newhart show is it?' i thought it was a pretty funny. it got a few laughs from those who understood the reference.

my last stay i befriended a gay guy. i don't really have any gay friends. the guy was a blast. we went on daily walks and i learned so much about the gay community and 'history' of the gay rights movement. that was cool for a straight guy like me.

overall though i highly dislike being in the hospital. i have been 3 times. the level of care varied greatly at each place. plus, there were some very ill people which did not help me feel any better. one nurse even said to me; 'john, what are you doing in here?' that was kind, but also scared me.

hoping i never have to go back...

john

Originally Posted by Kelti

H have always gone to the same mental health hospital. It never ceases to amaze me how ppl can feel totally different about the same exact environment. I love this facility. Just stop and think here what the average visit to the psych hospital really is like for the average woman. Well, here is a list of things we do not have to do while hospitalized ::
No cooking
No dishes to wash
No Laundry to do
they chase you down to give out meds. They come to me, I don't go to them
A shower anytime before 10 pm
No bathroom to clean
Clean scrubs every 12 hours. Clean bedding laundered by some one besides me
Provided:
soap, shampoo, deodorant, comb, lotion, tooth paste and tooth brush
get to have cell phone every am.
Good group therapy and damn good pdocs and the staff if fantastic.
I think I want to live there...
Kelti...

We were never allowed to have our cell phones, or access to computers. That was annoying for me, but then again there was no one to call or anything so no big deal, I guess.