Woman in hospital bed opposite is driving me up the wall

[mullerfruitcorner]

I've been in hospital for best part of 9 weeks so I am probably being a bit unreasonable as I'm home sick, I miss my baby at home and I'm really poorly.

Woman opposite me came in last week to have her gallbladder removed. As soon as she came in she was demanding everything from the nurses. We all know we have a buzzer and we have to wait our turn but I had just come out of a nasty 20 minute seizure and she was shouting over saying 'she's finished now you can come to me'
She wanted a cup of hot water.. it's been like that the whole time and the nurses and us in this bay are getting fed up.
She constantly picks her nose and eats it. All the time. I've shouted so many times (during meal times) that it's disgusting and we don't want to see it as all of us in here are vomiting already. She replies with 'sorry it's annoying'

She has on multiple times shoved her fingers down her throat and made herself 'sick' and also poured her orange juice into the bowl and told the nurse she was sick to get IV anti sickness. She constantly spends the whole time itching her arse crack, she pulls the blanket off her and has no issue with having her legs wide open and we can see what she has for breakfast.
She hasn't left her bed once apart from to go to the loo. She hasn't showered at all, the nurses keep pushing her to shower but she doesn't want to. They've even offered a bedside wash and that was a no.

(She is fully mobile) I said to her yesterday 'shall we go for a little walk and brush our teeth?' She said she forgot to bring a toothbrush with her. They have spare here. She's been in for 6 days. She keeps complaining of chest pains and each time she has to have an ECG then a doc to review.
The infuriating thing is she only decides to get chest pain when I'm having a seizure. She only pretends vomits when somebody else is being sick.

I can't draw my curtain round and not see her as I need to be in eyesight of the doctors and nurses if I have seizures. (Up to 6 a day).

Everyone in the bay is getting tired of this. The nurses can see what she's doing. They told her she's medically fit to go home days ago but she won't leave as she has a new ailment.
There's probably nothing I can do. But I'm so close to losing my rag at her picking her beak and scratching her arse when we are all trying to get better. Trying to eat. We all have to touch the same finger monitor when they do our obs and I don't want to touch her germs, bogeys or arse crack particles. Small bay of 4 people.

What the hell can I do. It's making me so wound up but I can't do a thing about it.

I hear you op and it must be utterly fucking horrendous.

You have been in hospital for nine weeks, you are poorly and you have your baby at home.

You want to get better and go home.

You do not need to be subjected to or what you are witnessing in the opposite bed to you.
Which is absolutely none of your choice and which is out of your control.
It must be so fucking horrendous and I think you are really brave.

Lots on here seem to think you’ve got to just accept it and put up with it as the person opposite has mental illness or LD. Whether they do or they don’t it sounds fucking grim
and although it is shit , there doesn’t sound like there is an awful lot you can do.
Personally, I would speak to PALS.

I for one could not cope with it. I personally am unwell with mental illness and so there is no discrimination to your fellow patient but I have a serious anxiety disorder as well as Emetophobia and OCD This would tip me over the edge.

As I say, I would maybe speak to PALS for sure. Put a laptop screen up , pull the TV down and put on the headphones. Anything ANYTHING to drown out the noise and to stop you witnessing stuff.

Please keep posting. I am sending you get well wishes and warm hugs 😘💕

As a fellow emetophobe, this too would put me hugely off.
Nose picking and arse raking would put me right off.
How can one person be allowed to impact so negatively against a ward full of others?
It’s not fair - anyone would be repulsed by witnessing such grossness.
Imagine having to eat witnessing that behaviour?
Bleurgh.

Same here.. There has been an explosion of “ It’s mental health “ or some syndrome or another to excuse bad behaviour- As you say, some people are just gross in their habits.
Rooting as some call it- urgh, even that term is pig like.. Pigs “ Root” horses “ Pigroot” but humans ought not.

I think what’s gross is your post.especially the last part.a term used in the medical field for mental illness or of ld is not something for you to be so f gross over.I wonder whether you’d say it if a cancer patients tumour was rooting in the persons body.or be so grim towards peoples symptoms.
cleary this woman has issues.if not mentally or ld then still issues. Whether it’s just being overly gross as you calllnit,people do not behave this way.unless there is something fundamentally wrong.

I have complete sympathy for op.watching these kind of behaviours must be awful.I’m sure she’s not having a ball doing them either.
but we can also have compassion for others who are going through there own if very different struggles.
and it will be to do with funding,or lack of help or resources.this lady obviously needs some supporting.for whatever it is she is unwell with. The fact she hasn’t left shows that some where down the line she is being failed in that acces to support her leaving.
no one keeps people in hospital.Deff NOT at the moment.if she is there there is a reason.

What kind of hospital still takes temperatures using a thermometer that goes under the tongue? We've used ear probes for decades, with disposable single use caps. The sats reader is cleaned with Clenill in between each patient use.

If Basingstoke Hospital is brand new, yet they are using archaic equipment, and keeping patients in for days following a straightforward gallbladder operation, then I would be extremely worried, if I was a patient there.

OP you have my sympathies, but you have posted so much identifying information about this fellow patient, it makes me feel uneasy. If she was my relative, I would be livid.

Dynamaps do have thermometer probes to use with rigid covers but we rarely use them and certainly never for someone who had seizures.

As I've said, many times, I have changed little details such as location, medical issues, age, and loads more. I'm not stupid.. the ONLY thing I have kept accurate are her behaviours. But not enough changes to make it a completely different scenario.

As many people do, to remain

And yes, they do use under the tongue probes. When I'm seizing they also put them under my arm.

They have a box of plastic straw like things in a box on their trolley where the IBS machine is. They dip the probe into the box and it's covered with a thin layer of plastic then they take the temperature. Then they discard the plastic cover and go to the next patient and repeat.

If you're in a medical setting and you use probes I'm highly surprised that you don't know this.

To remain somewhat anonymous*

If you have changed so many details that could change a lot of opinions .i would usually wait until a seizure stopped before I took obs.

They do..

I have cardiac seizures which are totally different to epileptic seizures. They present differently. I'm on a heart hand held monitor and just as I'm coming out of it they check my obs.

This isn't the point at all of the thread. Everything about me I have said hasn't been changed. I have changed some minor details about the woman doing the disgusting things we have to look at.

Loads of them
I've had surgery and babies many times they still use them if they aren't happy with in ar

I'd pull the curtains around her for a start and staple the edges together!
Can your wear ear plugs?
Handcuff and put a sock in her mouth?😀😀and
Seriously though,I really feel for you and hope she gets moved on soon and your condition is successfully dealt with.
💐

Must be just the trust I work for because we only have the ear sensors, not the probes. There are still infection prevention measures in place, whatever device is used though, it's not used for multiple patients without a new cover for each person.

OP I hope you are okay and have been transferred to a more appropriate ward. I also hope gallbladder lady has recovered enough to be discharged home.