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Post by cadoodlebug on Aug 16, 2014 18:50:44 GMT
It seems like people are kicked out of the hospital these days before the doctors are ready to let them go. I remember 28 years ago when I had my son by C-section and they wanted to send me home one and a half days later. My doctor refused so I got the extra day. My mom remembered how most women stayed in the hospital up to a week after a regular delivery! About 35 years ago I was in the hospital 5 days with a kidney stone. Now they rarely admit you ~ just give you pain meds and send you on your way home to pass it.
When can you remember being in the hospital for more days than they would ever allow now?
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Post by rst on Aug 16, 2014 19:02:31 GMT
I think that when there is a predictable trajectory of recovery, getting home asap is great. Hospital infections, the disrupted sleep and routines, the cost -- all negatives.
I know our experience is not typical, but my son has been hospitalized for about 15 weeks this year alone. It's not fun or restful at all. Everyone is much happier at home, so long as we have the supports and equipment to make his recovery safe.
I often think that the 2 weeks post-partum in the olden days was maybe more due to the living conditions that many women would return home to rather than any medical necessity for care.
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oldcrow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,828
Location: Ontario,Canada
Jun 26, 2014 12:25:29 GMT
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Post by oldcrow on Aug 16, 2014 19:10:17 GMT
The last time I was in hospital for blood clots I was there for 6 days. That was about 7 or 8 years ago.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 18:18:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 19:15:14 GMT
There has been a lot of changes in society and in infectious diseases that can be easily transmitted in a hospital setting.
When I was born it was common for families to not have a car at all. Or a phone. There was no public transportation. And midwives were fewer than they had been for the generation that birth my grandma and mom. A newly delivered mother and baby were safer in the hospital for that first week. Should there be a sudden hemorrhaging or problem the time it would take them to get back to the hospital would be much longer than it is now. By the time I had my babies most people had not only one car but two. Everyone had a phone. A mom or baby with a problem could be back in the hospital in a matter of minutes.
We have also seen a growth in the number of drug resistant infectious diseases. The longer anyone remains in the hospital the greater they risk of exposure to something they didn't have before.
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Post by cahwoo on Aug 16, 2014 19:24:31 GMT
I had spine surgery in June this year and it was only supposed to be the surgery and then home. I couldn't wake up from the anesthesia so they had to keep me overnight. In the morning they couldn't get me out fast enough LOL. They said it was because insurance just won't pay. When I had my kids 45 years ago I stayed a week and then after my hysterectomy in the 80's I also stayed a week.
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Post by katiekaty on Aug 16, 2014 19:24:47 GMT
Hospitals are paid by DRG coding, has nothing to do with infection rates of the facilities, disrupted sleep etc. It's based on a standard rate of time to treat a particular group of diseases/illness, etc. Unless there are comorbidities or something occurs to prolong a stay, you get X amount of time and if you stay longer the hospital absorbs the cost. So, they want you out in the time specified for pay. Sounds cruel,but it really is how it is. It's not personal.
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Post by lindah on Aug 16, 2014 19:26:00 GMT
It is all about the insurance these days. Plus, a hospital is a good place to pick up an infection so it's best to get out of there asap.
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Post by hop2 on Aug 16, 2014 19:27:38 GMT
I had my second child late in the day, like 11:40pm I didn't even get all finished up with the rest of it ( nice way to put that huh ) until after midnight, got put in a room with a bed so I could sleep at around 1am. But that counted as a day and the '2nd' day after release time was not even 32 hours after the birth. It seemed like a whirlwind to me at the time.
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luvnlifelady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,428
Jun 26, 2014 2:34:35 GMT
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Post by luvnlifelady on Aug 16, 2014 19:31:15 GMT
I think I was in the hospital 3 days when DD was born 17 years ago. (vaginal birth)
MIL is having surgery on September 8th and I was shocked to hear it's outpatient. I think it's for her hip or back and they said to expect a 3 month recovery!
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imsirius
Prolific Pea
Call it as I see it.
Posts: 7,661
Location: Floating in the black veil.
Jul 12, 2014 19:59:28 GMT
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Post by imsirius on Aug 16, 2014 19:34:07 GMT
My girlfriend's sister had a baby on Christmas Eve, late afternoon. (he was three weeks early) She didn't want to spend Christmas in the hospital, so convinced her dr. to let her go at 7am Christmas morning!!! Spent the day at home with the kids and family and then Christmas Day evening, started hemorrhaging, ended up back in for another 24 hours with her DH at home with 2 kids and a brand new baby.
I think they keep you here 24 hours minimum after a vaginal birth and 48 for a C section. I was in for 72 hours because I had a few complications with my C section when my son was born in the early 2000's.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Aug 16, 2014 19:36:50 GMT
I had my appendix out in kindergarten. I am pretty sure I was there at least a week, but I don't remember. But back then, it was kind of major abdominal surgery, and I still have the big ol' scar to prove it. These days, as long as it's not infected and doesn't rupture, I think that might be a laproscopic procedure. In and out in a day or two, I'd imagine.
Unless someone here has had their appendix out recently and knows differently.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 18:18:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 19:40:43 GMT
Two and a half years ago I broke my knee badly on a cruise ship. I had the dubious pleasure of having knee surgery in Miami to rebuild and repair it w one of the top knee surgeons in the country. I was in the hospital for 9 days.
I was paying for it out of pocket so perhaps I got released more quickly than an insured patient or not...I have no idea. I was definitely ready to go. I felt like the team (doctor, surgeon, husband, me) did what was best for me. That's all I ever want.
I got to ride in an ambulance straight to the airport...it was quite the adventure.
My last child was born 11 years ago but I was in for six weeks before and 6 days after. My issues, not his.
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Post by airforcemomof1 on Aug 16, 2014 19:44:23 GMT
My son was born in 1985 on a Thursday and I went home on Sunday. I could have gone home on Saturday, but he had to stay because of jaundice and I elected to stay, too. I just had back surgery this past Wednesday and was home in a matter of hours afterward.
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
Jul 12, 2014 21:58:10 GMT
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Post by pridemom on Aug 16, 2014 19:49:03 GMT
I was hit by a car at age five and was in the hospital for a week with a broken shoulder. Now they patch you up in ER and send you home.
My husband had spinal fusion surgery in January and they talked of sending him home next day. He stayed three due to issues and I was relieved.
My MIL was in a week for both babies, vaginal deliveries. My state requires mothers be allowed two days for vag and four for c-sections. I went home after three days with my c-sections.
I complained to a nurse friend about how you can no longer rest in a hospital. She said hospitals are not for rest, but monitoring. You rest when you go home.
How times have changed.
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caro
Drama Llama
Refupea 1130
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Jun 26, 2014 14:10:36 GMT
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Post by caro on Aug 16, 2014 19:49:25 GMT
When I had Ecoli and a heart attack last year I stayed in ICU for 6 days and only 2 days on the floor. Once I got to the floor it seems it was quick to get me out of there.
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Post by MZF on Aug 16, 2014 20:14:52 GMT
When I had d [HASH]1--he was 7 weeks early & had to stay in the hospital 10 days. The hospital was a little over an hour from our house, so they let me stay for 5 days. This was in 1980--I doubt that would happen these days.
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Post by M~ on Aug 16, 2014 20:22:37 GMT
Well, I also think advances in medicine play a large role in the time patients stay at the hospital. My grandmother told me once that her grandmother went blind due to cataracts. It was either people went blind or people went blind because of the surgery, so most people opted out from surgery.
Nowadays, cataract surgery is what? Outpatient?
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
Still peaing from Podunk!
Posts: 4,546
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Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Aug 16, 2014 20:30:56 GMT
My sister had a double mastectomy outpatient
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 18:18:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 20:39:59 GMT
My first baby had surgery the same day he was born so after my csection I stayed as long as the insurance company would allow - I think it was 4 nights. By my third csection, I was out in less than 24 hours.
akathy, it astounds me that double mastectomy is outpatient!
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Post by Merge on Aug 16, 2014 20:53:26 GMT
I stayed barely two days with my c-sections, and was glad for it. It's impossible to sleep in the hospital.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Aug 16, 2014 22:09:36 GMT
My sister had a double mastectomy outpatient I know a lot of procedures are out-patient now but that seems unbelievable.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Aug 16, 2014 22:11:04 GMT
I stayed barely two days with my c-sections, and was glad for it. It's impossible to sleep in the hospital. I was lucky in that I was in a 2-person room without the other person. They did put someone in my room but she wanted to smoke so they moved her.
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 16, 2014 22:40:31 GMT
I had DS by emergency C sect in 1997. I was there about 45 hours. I had him at 11:25 pm and was discharged at 8 pm two days later. After being on bedrest for 15 weeks, laboring for 27 hours, and an emergency c sect and DS in NICU. All I wanted to do was go to bed, but we had an hour drive home and then had to get him settled. I was crying by the time I got to bed, I was in so much pain. That was SO not a good idea.
With DD, I was there for 3 days. They sent us home but almost had to read it her. When they were discharging her, I changed her diaper for the first time and saw how yellow she was. They said they already had the paperwork done, have her checked by her pediatrician in the morning. Her bili was 19.5 and they hospitalize at 20. And she had lost 2 lbs since birth. The ped told me to be prepared that she would be re admitted in the morning. Her bili was so high, she was lethargic and wouldn't eat. She wasn't admitted, but only because I force fed her with an eye dropper. She was then labeled a failure to thrive baby for the next 6 months. All because they didn't check her bili before discharge. Yep, I'm still a little bitter about it.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Aug 16, 2014 23:02:53 GMT
I work in a hosp. It is ALLLL about insurance coverage and DRGs. Nothing to do with infectious diseases. Rarely does someone get something from being IN the hosp. Like you catch something from someone else there. Most likely its community acquired.
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Post by 2peafaithful on Aug 16, 2014 23:22:19 GMT
Kathy that is awful. I can't fathom how they could do that. I know it comes down to insurance but seriously that is just horrible. I had gastric bypass in 2003 and had a 6 day hospital stay. My surgery was open (not lap) and at 400 lbs my recovery was challenging and one of the staff told me it was OK to drink juice (I questioned them that it had sugar in it and I wasn't to have any) but they assured me it was natural sugar and I would be fine and that made me so sick. I was so ready to leave the hospital. There are time we need to be there but I find them depressing and a hard place to recover. My mom recently started volunteering in one and is in the ICU and really enjoying it. She has a lot to offer and I am so glad she found a area she loves.
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Post by whipea on Aug 16, 2014 23:42:58 GMT
Been about 10 years, but was in for 12 days for appendix. I drove there myself on a doctors directive but did not think I would be there more than a day or two. But of course there was weirdness. First, my appendix and intestine were twisted so it was slice and dice surgery and have I have a pretty long scar. Then I had an allergic reaction to the pain killer and ended up in the ICU which I don't remember. But I do remember afterwards being in a regular room and it was creepy and awful. Between the hallway people noise and being jarred from a drugged sleep every two seconds for one thing or another, I could not wait to get home.
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trollie
Pearl Clutcher
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Jul 2, 2014 22:14:02 GMT
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Post by trollie on Aug 17, 2014 0:00:35 GMT
Yep
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Deleted
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Oct 9, 2024 18:18:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 0:06:27 GMT
I was in Japan for my appedectomy and I was in for about 3 weeks. Not kidding! I was hit by a truck the following year (off my bicycle) and I was in for 2 weeks. That is just normal for there. A C section is a month's stay. No questions asked.
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Post by tinafb on Aug 17, 2014 0:11:33 GMT
I was hospitalized numerous times as a teenager with asthma-related issues. Basically, whenever I got a cold, it would irritate my asthma and I'd end up in the hospital. The longest stay was a week for pneumonia.
Now my son is very much like me as a teenager, though he's had pneumonia more times than I have. He's never even been to the ER for his asthma though. The meds we have now are so much better, both the preventative and the "rescue" ones.
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Post by gryroagain on Aug 17, 2014 0:15:33 GMT
DD had sinus surgery in Korea, and was admitted for 3 days, she had the same surgery here in the us, outpatient. She really didn't need the 3 day stay, IMO, but the change to it being outpatient in 2 years and half a world away was pretty mind blowing. They told us in Korea it was because of a rare, but serious clot issue- just in case they keep them for a while. When I mentioned it in the us, they looked at me like I had 3 heads and said that would never happen, go home.
Korea has nationalized health care, and there are private "top up" policies. Is that the difference- without a monetary reason to fill every bed as soon as possible, they are more careful? Or were they far too over careful? I can't say. It was surprising though.
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