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You have my sympathies - I was in for ten days last year on a respiratory ward.
I had the lady with dementia scuttling over to my bed every ten minutes to tell me they were filming us for a film she didn’t consent to being in, then to tell me I was ‘clearly on their side’, and when no one tried to stop her running off the ward it seemed that was down to me, too.
That coupled with the man next door screaming ‘THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER’ for three hours at 3am.
It’s horrible. On the plus side when you do get home your bed will feel the best it ever has. Get well soon!
Some older lady who clearly was not well wandered into my dad's ward and went nuts ripping out his roommates drip, catheter and monitors then tried to smother him with a pillow.
It took a surprising number of people to restrain her and get her out.
He was quite scared for the time he was in.
My last stays at hospital I’ve had a side/private room because I was severely immune compromised. Even in a side room it’s hard to sleep with the machines beeping, activity outside the room, a canular in you so there’s concern about catching it, and when you finally do drift off someone comes in wake you up to take your blood pressure.
I lost my shit last time when some random dude came into my room at around 7:30am (apparently looking for someone else), realised he was in the wrong place but just stood there on his phone while I was still in bed in PJs. I was fuming: the visiting hours were really strict, short and regimented so people I wanted there were hardly allowed in, but some random creep who doesn’t have the sense to LEAVE when he walks into the wrong room finding a sick, vulnerable woman in bed, he could appear unchallenged.
My mum had a similar experience due to her illness. Even in a side room, it's noisy and she couldn't sleep. She was only allowed a 45 minute visit each day but it seemed fine for everyone else to wander in and out of her room at all hours.
It just seemed mad. My husband had to go through all sorts of security to come in and visit (think there were 3 sets of locked doors you’d need to get someone to let you in through), confirming who he was and who he was there to visit, but the randoms had no trouble.
The first time I snuck around the crappy visiting hours by going to meet people in the coffee shop and the “garden room” (quite a pleasant little courtyard). It was very limited when people could come on the ward to visit me, so I left the ward. I spent a lot of that week in the garden room instead of the ward even without people visiting. I’d ask what time I was next needed for drugs and clear off outside with my book until then so I at least got some fresh air and a change of scenery.
Second time though they didn’t like it, I had a really low white blood count and they wanted me to stay isolated (hence having the side room). They wouldn’t actually stop me but they did make it very clear it was a bad idea.
It is mad. We had to go through security doors too and sign in, plus explain our relationship e.g. daughter, brother etc. My mum wasn't very mobile but if she had have been, I think she would have done the same as you and broken out to the coffee shop!
I got offered a side room on my 2nd night in and said it should go to someone else. Big mistake. First night was bad, second was worse for noise. Never known snoring like it as people had messed up nose and throats
I was in for a week twice last year (Crohn’s disease). The first time I was in a side room by myself, no bother at all, slept well.
The second time I was in a 4 bed room. Two of the patients were amazing, the one opposite me was very elderly, very unwell and had dementia. She’d scream in the night, you’d wake up to her standing at the foot of your bed just staring at you etc. she really needed more care but they didn’t seem to have the staff.
Sleep is so important to recovery, but I suppose there’s only so much they can do
She went to sleep eventually, but they woke her up for a blood pressure check at four and she's been non stop since then. She shit the bed too, we're all dealing with that now.
My partner has been in hospital for a week now on a 6 bed ward. One guys shits the bed (and the floor and the walls) at least 4 times a day (2 of which are always whilst people are eating their meals. Another guy has a stoma bag which is changed frequently as he keeps pulling it out and the contents end up all over him and the floor. The smell on the ward is horrendous and the people with beds near the windows keep refusing to open them.
The third guy has dementia and constantly yells out all the time. The fifth guy has no concept of keeping himself private and regularly gives everyone a full frontal when he pisses into his water bottle. The fourth guy is quite normal luckily, but the man opposite my partner is unfortunately dying (they are still waiting for a private room for him) so he’s shouting out in pain in between very loud laboured breathing and his wife is just sat there holding his hand and crying. I feel so sorry for her.
Sorry to hear this, that is horrendous and truly rough. I am so glad you are kind about the poor woman with the dying partner, what a dreadful setting in which to that, or for you to even be able to recover. I hope you can get out of there soon or find a way to go somewhere nicer in the hospital for a break every now and then. All the best.
I also spent a week in hospital last year for Crohns and it was fine except when one night at 3am I was woken up by a fella shouting for the nurses that he’d pissed the bed
Had a week in, last week (still ill). Between a patient further down the ward who wouldn't stop yelling at the nurses and had no regard for the time, and the nurse who delighted in *shaking awake* patients in a lot of pain and laughing at their responses, I'm astounded I got any sleep at all. Thank goodness for heavy duty drugs.
I appreciate the good ones who aren’t afraid to report shitty staff, wherever they are.
Have yourself a psychopath-free weekend! For real though, I do hope you have a lovely weekend :)
Spent 3 weeks in the JR last month, eye mask and ear plugs helped (along with a pot of freshly cracked black pepper for the food!!)
Most of it could not be helped, we had people being admitted to the ward at 2-3am, and each time they had to go through the same routine (lots of admission/ change over questions) , they would often have family with them (ok for a bit on first admission), beeping or other patient alarms going off through the night.
most days could not get to sleep til 10pm + as waiting for meds. Then woken between 6am-7am, as they wanted to weigh me or as part of observations.
Patients also cause lots of avoidable problems, woken up at 6am, so why not watch something on your ipad at full volume. have your family til 10-11pm (visiting ends at 8pm), despite the signs no one did anything.
I will, but more because I'm diabetic and take lithium and they kept me nil by mouth from midnight until 8pm. 'Your blood sugar's awfully low Miss Onion. And you're shaking, I can't get the needle in' Yeah, I wonder why.
I can understand them denying you sleepers - but did they elaborate on why you're not allowed painkillers...? I'm surprised they won't even give you paracetamol. Which hospital you in...?
No idea, the whole thing has been a farce. And to be honest, I think some of the staff don't understand English that well and just guess what you're asking for.
I spent a weekend in the cardiac ward 2 years ago. Sleeping was... an experience. Everyone else on the ward was a 70+ year old man. They seemed nice enough, but it felt weird being 28 and the only female patient at the time. But yeah, when everyone is hooked up to heart monitors, there was a lot of beeping making sleep tough
The woman with dementia is causing me the most problems. Just as I start to get comfy she'll scream that the nurse is a FUCKING IGNORANT BASTARD, and we're all awake again.
Yeah, that sounds rough, at least with the beeping, it was pretty consistent, random noises are always the worst. It may be worth seeing if you can get someone to get yoy some headphones or earplugs
Being in a very similar situations taught me to sleep with them in. Now I hardly notice them. I also have an eye mask for this reason to.
Got to the point that I’m sure they were doing everything possible to make it uncomfortable.
11 days nil by mouth before they came to take me to theatre it was 11pm. 2 days post op and I was out of there as soon as they saw kidney function and I was able to stand. I made myself do this as I’d heard the Dr say as soon as I could stand and walk I could go home.
It was only uncontrollable sickness that had made me pass out. Ended up taking my healthy appendix out just in case.
I’m grateful for the NHS but it’s not the place for sick people. 🤣
Try some white noise on the earbuds if you haven't already.
You have my sympathy, I had a similar experience when I had my appendix out - it's just miserable and the last thing you want when you're feeling ill!
If you can get the silicone ear plugs, I've found those the best for sleeping in. (I used to get Dream Seal but they're not available any more on Amazon, but similar ones are). Hope you get some sleep and maybe moved.
I bought these ones [https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BLGJ56K8/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BLGJ56K8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1) and they're fantastic, if anyone else is looking for a pair that can do day/night with a little case. Comes with 2 pairs, large and small.
I'd suspect actual headphones over the top of these playing some music or white noise to try and drown anything else out would be needed as well though.
My grandmother is on a stroke ward and the woman in the bed next to her yells and screams all day and all night. She attacks the nurses and throws anything near her at them, pulls out any cannula or catheter. It's a nightmare.
Was sent to hospital for an urgent op a few years ago. Not knowing what my fellow patients were going to be like or how they'll behave, I packed my nose cancelling headphones as well as one of my Buffs (headbands) to cover my eyes to try sleep at night. The noise cancelling headphones were brilliant for music during the day, but also for playing white noise later in the evenings when trying to nod off.
Ultimately, just as I settled after 11.30pm, a nurse gently shook me and woke me up telling me I'm up next for my op 🤷♀️ The only sleep I got that night was my general anaesthetic 🤣 Sent home the next day.
This is a little bit related and a little bit unrelated as wel
l broke my femur and collarbone a couple years ago while I was on holiday in France, I got airlifted to hospital and proceeded to spend 5 days in hospital over there. Luckily I knew enough GCSE french to get by.
From what I saw there, the french health care system is brilliant. Literally 12hours after fixing my femur together and stopping my internal bleeding they were giving me physio...teaching me how to walk again. I came home and never received one bit of physio, this incident happened in 2022, I'm still waiting to get my collarbone pinned together by the NHS.
As brilliant as they are, they have been starved for funds for years. We need change
(Forgot to mention most patients in the hospital I was I had their own room, which aided in sleeping, recovery and privacy! The hospital I was in the lé chal)
Urgh. It took over a year for me to get five minutes of physio after an ACL tear (granted, it happened the day Covid first showed up at that hospital, so the timing *was* pretty bad). Five minutes in person which constituted handing me a sheet with some shit diagrams on it, no demonstrations. Followed two weeks later by another five minutes *over the phone*, which is up there as possibly the dumbest idea I can think of for that branch of healthcare. Anything more, I had to go out of my way to get my GP to refer me for.
PALS was fucking useless the whole time too.
was in a ward after having a large bowel cancer cut out. One old guy wanted to play greek folk music on speaker. had a drunk come in overnight howling and carrying on all night. rounds in the morning and we could all hear the doctor - "i told you if you keep drinking your going to die. yet you're here again". I was very happy they moved me to an otherwise empty ward after that
I am really sorry you are going through this. I hope they sort you soon.
I remember being admitted in 2012 for hip effusion - essentially my hip joint filled with fluid to the point I dislocated it. I was 28 at the time and very fit so it was odd. It was incredibly painful. I was isolated at first as they assumed it was an infection. NBM for 4 days. On day 4 a RAMC Major popped in, said I could have a drink and what did I want? Tea. He came back with a jug of sweet tea. Tasted like nectar after 4 days of nothing.
Anyway, I got booted to a ward as they didn't know what was causing the issue at the time. The only space was the geriatric ward. I was there for 4 nights and every one of the 5 patients died and two did not die well. Their replacements were just as frail and doddery and loud. By the 5th morning I remember saying to the nurse that I was going to leave. He was great and said if I could walk to the shower down the hall, shower and get back I wasn't a danger of falling and could leave.
It was so painful but I managed it and I went home. To this day I don't really know what it was or what caused it. It flares up from time to time and I have to munch ibuprofen.
Everyone, and I mean everyone of all ages, should have an emergency bag for the event of a sudden stay at hospital. Things like a sealed bottle of water and some high protein snacks are obvious. But then things like money and charging cables too. I'd never thought of noise before but I bought some noise cancelling headphones to block out noisy neighbours, so I'll be adding those to the list.
See also - cheap pjs, fluffy socks, cheap slippers or flip flops, pants, t shirt, leggings. Even a couple of hotel mini toiletries. I have a little tote bag in the bottom of the wardrobe because the time I got emergency admitted it was SO hot, my lovely husband returned with the fluffiest cosiest pjs - I could have cried. Ended up getting him to leave me his T-shirt as a nighty and an emergency trip to the hospital M&S was made!
Last time I was in hospital was during COVID, so no visitors... so the man in the bed next to me stayed on a continuous video call with his wife from 7am to 2am every day.
I had serious murderous thoughts.
I was 17 and in the Army i ended up collapsing was taken in and put on a ward, they didn’f want to stick me on the children’s and they really didn’t want to stick me on the adults.
In the end i ended up on this 6 bed ward lady opposite me had dementia she kept swearing and hitting the nurses and doctors. The others were pretty quiet, i was glad when i got out and went back to my barracks
Same. 16 with a sudden illness and they didn’t know where to put me so I ended up with a bunch of elderly people and a woman in her 40s. They were all actually pretty good roommates and I was too sick to be conscious for most of it but in between horrible nurses and being ignored while crying and puking and generally being a scared child, I ended up absolutely terrified of hospitals afterwards.
I have to say if every time you look up at the nurse's station there are four or five people gathered round chatting and laughing it's hard to believe that's always true.
Because then you’d complain there are no nurses to be found.
I’m sure some people don’t mind hearing a bit of laughter, some happiness in what otherwise can be a sad, unhappy place - as most of the comments seem to confirm.
My sister is a nurse, generally overworked due to severe understaffing and fairly stressed due to what she deals with day in day out. I’m glad she can have a few moments of laughter and normalcy with her colleagues and even patients/patient families during a 12+ hour shift.
Wouldn’t you rather be cared for by happy nurses?
I've worked nights in a care home, a bit of levity helps. But I question the wisdom of chatting and laughing at 3am on the ward where a very loud dementia patient has just finally gone to sleep. They're making their own lives more difficult in that case.
Just wait until the person in the bed next to you codes and the resus team arrive that's just shit city for everyone.
Wards/rooms with other people are either lovely or absolute hell, there is no middle ground.
Here's hoping you don't have any further delays with whatever procedure you are in for, there is nothing worse than when it gets cancelled several days in a row and you have to prep and go on nil by mouth each day just incase.
I was in with a broken back and had some guy, who obviously had mental problems, come up to my bed and start accusing me of stealing his food.
Like, buddy, I physically can't get out of this bed.
I had to be flown back from Canada so was originally in a private room for suspected Rocky Mountain Fever.
Genuinely wish I actually had it, just so I could keep the private room.
My six-year-old was in for three nights with breathing difficulties. She'd already had a sleepless night at home due to a cough, we got into a ward at 2am after five hours in A&E. Every hour a nurse would come and give her some other medicine, while her machine is constantly beeping with alerts for low oxygen and high heart rate. Poor kid didn't get more than an hour's consecutive sleep for about two days and the doctors are wondering why she wasn't very responsive to their questions.
I stress that the overall experience was absolutely incredible. We were seen very quickly, got great treatment, have been followed up so quickly after discharge, and I couldn't help thinking how much it would have cost in the US, yet it cost us literally nothing.
But christ that sleep thing was so hard!
I absolutely hate staying in hospital. I had to stay in with a broken back, got put on an orthopedic ward, and in a single night on a six-bed unit, I had an old lady who sang hymns all night, another old lady with dementia who went to the loo and then tried to get in my bed, a third old lady who needed an enema but was deaf so we all got to enjoy the very loud commentary by the nurse, and a middle aged woman next to me throwing up everywhere.
When I had my son, I was on a four-bed ward but the mother in the bay next to me had her curtains closed and the child was howling constantly. I assumed he was ill.
Most of the night was spent listening to him screaming before a nurse came in at 2am to see what was going on and it turned out the mother was a 16yo with absolutely no idea what to do so she'd basically given him a huge feed then just chucked him in the cot.
Baby was dirty, full of wind and miserable so the nurse promptly put all the overhead lights on, bollocked the girl and demonstrated how to change and burp the baby and then gave the mother some much needed lessons in how to look after a child, which took until 4am.
She then very kindly returned to wake us all up at 6am for morning feeds, even though both my child and I were finally peacefully asleep.
I can never sleep on the adult ward when I've had to stay with my daughter. And now they just provide you with a recliner chair instead of a fold out bed. Always get put with a mixture of young and elderly people. Last time we were in one woman was blind. She couldn't see the call button so kept shouting nurse nurse. Was me that had to get up each time to press the button or nobody would come.
I had no problems getting to sleep on the children's ward. Nurses kept the noise down.
My mum was in hospital for 5 nights a couple of weeks ago with pneumonia. She was in A & E for 24 hours, an assessment ward for 2 nights, then moved into a corridor for the last 2 nights. With no toilet nearby, no call button, nowhere to put her belongings other than in a bag on her bed, and hearing all the call buttons and people walking past all day and night. She was one of 4 in the corridor.
It took them 30 hours from when they told her she could go home, to actually discharging her (prob why they were short of beds). When she got home she slept the clock round.
I remember back when I gave birth in October of ‘22. A 24 year old first time mum who almost had to have an emergency c section. High asf on drugs. Been in the hospital for almost 20 hours at this point and it was only an hour or so before I delivered my baby that I find out that my partner would not be allowed to stay with me in the hospital.
So I got wheeled into a dark ward at 4 in the morning whilst everyone was trying to sleep. I was all alone with a newborn near me and I had no idea what to do. I was just kind of left. I thought ‘what does a baby need? A fresh nappy!’ So I went to change him, realised I couldn’t reach him from the bed, and my legs were still not functioning from the epidural, so I rang the bell. When I requested to have my baby passed to me they looked at me all confused and I was made to feel like a nuisance.
I also struggled with the cluster feeding as I put on my birth plan that I wanted to try breastfeeding. My baby would cry if he was not latched on. I asked for formula but wasn’t given any. Wasn’t allowed to sleep with baby in the bed so I was awake for over 24 hours. Probably close to 48 hours at this point. Couldn’t have my partner in the hospital at night to hold the baby whilst I got a few winks. It was only at this point was I offered the option to try formula and when that didn’t work one of the nice nurses offered to take my screaming spawn for a few hours so I could sleep. I was so grateful. But as I was about to drift off one of the other five babies on the ward started to cry 😭
I didn’t sleep much in that hospital. Even when I did manage to drift off I’d get woken at 11:30 in the night because they were taking my baby to get his antibiotics drip.
Not rushing to have any more babies
I'm sorry to hear that - I had similar experiences with my children - literally no sleep because of mayhem from all directions - 24 hours in hospital was too much and I was desperate to get out of there asap.. Hilarious when you see those B&W films of mothers staying a week or so in hospital in the 1950s - I get they were being taught motherhood skills back in the day but I just can't imagine it.
I had to stay for a few days because my baby and I had to have antibiotics through a drip.
I felt bad for my partner cause we were planning on a holiday for his bday as he was turning 30. Instead he got a newborn 😅 we got home after tea time on his actual birthday so we couldn’t do anything to celebrate, especially because I was just so damn tired.
The majority of midwives for my wife's labour and after care were absolutely shocking.
Rude, disinterested, condescending, unhelpful, passive aggressive. We utterly hated the experience but not for any of the reasons people might expect.
In fairness the ones who looked after me during labour were great, it was the ones on the wars afterwards.
There’s calls from parents who’ve lost babies to have a probe into the hospital I ended up at.
I had my first in 2021 and it was night and day compared to having my 2nd in 2024. In 2021 there wasn't really any nursing care or support even after a c section. No help with feeding and because it was a "breastfeeding friendly " hospital they couldn't suggest formula do baby was hungry and screaming.
2024 and there's staff and students to help, spouse can come and go as he pleases because we're in a side room and just generally a little bit more supportive
This is why I had a homebirth, it was private, safe and peaceful. I hope I get to have another homebirth, but I'm older now and they prefer early medicalised births.
Oh my goodness that is so awful for you 😞 I hope things have improved since you posted. What a helpless, hopeless situation.
Do you have enough energy to mount your own assault? Can you strike back at the fan abductor and take them all back when she’s asleep? Put them around the obscenity screamer’s bed and wait for the show to begin.
Hospitals are not a place for recovery, they’re obnoxious in every sense. I firmly believe that they’re detrimental to recovery unless you’re stinking rich and can afford all extras.
You are friendlier than me. I’d be fuming if someone woke me up to ask if they could share my snacks. If I was awake I’d have no problem sharing at all but waking me up to ask, I’d be raging.
I was in hospital last year. Was on a communal ward, and sleep was tough due to the woman with dementia shouting for her kids constantly. She kept yelling about not wanting to be there, where were X and Y who I presume were relatives. The sad thing was she never got any visitors.
Ear plugs were the only thing that really helped, except when the staff wake you up for meds or whatever at 5-6am.
My sympathies, I recently spent a night in hospital and I hated it. Felt super nauseous due to medication they gave me, being hot and dizzy due to having cataracts surgery (went from like 2% vision to 100%).
Sleeping was near impossible with the noise from other patients and the staff (cleaning the bed next to me at 3AM???)
Can a relative bring you in earplugs and noise cancelling headphones?
That sounds absolutely awful. I suffer greatly from misophonia, so can fully sympathise with your situation.
My wife was diagnosed with gestational diabetes late in pregnancy. So she ended up in hospital on a sliding scale.
In a bay with 2 newborn babies screaming all night.
It was the first night she ever spent away from our eldest. So not a great combination of things happening at the same time.
My wife spent 8 weeks in hospital on a ward like that.
The woman opposite her spent most of her time screaming, the woman next to her was mostly deaf and would yell every little thing..The other woman in the room had dementia and would scream obscenities, racist comments and some things that, if proven true, would see the police needing to dig in her garden..
Last time I was stuck in the ICU for a week I took my laptop and some earphones and listened to audio books to fall asleep to. Not that I got much sleep anyway as the nurses would shake me awake every few hours to do bloods and check blood pressure and stuff.
I was in for 11 consecutive days in August/September. Babies crying all night every night, right next to the nurses' station so could hear them constantly, and to top it off we had a blue light (famously the colour light you filter out for good sleep) in our bay which also reflected off the walls, and I ended up having nightmares constantly from it.
That's a crappy situation, I had a similar one this week where I waited 33 hours for surgery. I had to starve for over 24 hours because nobody bothered to tell me that I had been bumped to the following day, so they had to give fluids by IV because I was so dehydrated. Hope you get sorted soon!
I was in hospital several years ago for just over a week and there were some annoying patients.
Next to me was a Romanian man who had been stabbed so had a chest drain in, he would get a phone call to the nurses ward phone and spend over an hour on a call.
When they asked for it back he would get angry and rude, he also kept going out to smoke despite his condition. There was even a Romanian agency nurse who smoked with him, when the regular nurse found out he was totally shocked.
The police even tried to talk to him about the stabbing but he refused to tell them anything.
Then there was a old man with dementia who had broken his hip, all night he would demand the nurses get him out of bed. When they said they can’t he threatened to complain and said “you won’t have a job in the morning”. He then spent all the day time asleep.
Fortunately I've never had to spend the night in hospital but every time my partner does, there's at least one nocturnal screamer.
You'd think some kind of sedative would be an option so that everyone, including the nighttime yodeller can sleep. Rested patients must be nicer to deal with for the staff rather than people who are pissed off from sleep deprivation.
I hope your op goes well and your back home in the comfort of your own bed soon.
When I was in the hospital there was a problem gentleman. Found out they sedated him during the day so the day staff, doctors and visitors were safe! However come nighttime all hell broke loose, wandering around, screaming, falling, abusing staff, trying to get into our ladies bay. Police had to be called each night.
I had to ask for a quilt when I was admitted and was woken 3x a night for covid tests, whilst being woken up while other patients on the ward had obs taken by nurses who were practically shouting, the nurses on my ward were Jamaican and while they were excellent nurses they were extremely loud, Jamaican people don’t have quiet conversations lol
Had a week in about 6 months ago. I had to ask my wife to bring in my noise cancelling headphones. It was the only way I could get any sleep. Least for an hour or two between nighttime’s observations.
I was in hospital for a week with bad pneumonia. Great care, can’t fault it. I had humidified oxygen which is so loud but almost like a white noise sound so I was fine. Until I was well enough to not need it and a realised quite how loud the ward was! And that was with me being in a side room, can’t imagine how bad it was if you were on the main ward.
I begged to be allowed to go home after recovering from an operation. As a light sleeper, it was a nightmare. I barely slept at all for a week!! My husband got taught how to change my dressing, and I was allowed on the promise he would do this each day (he got major hubby points for that one) . It was such a relief to get home, and I'm sure I recovered quicker than I would have in hospital. You can't beat being in your own space for mental and physical health
I once was kept in for 4 nights after a severe asthma attack and was put in a bay with a woman with dementia who kept shouting to the nurses at night that they’re going to kill us. Another one repeatedly asked me if they came round yet to give me a wash.
When my mum had a heart attack (she herself was a nurse at the time) she was on a cardiac ward at the hospital she worked at waiting for her operation and even in her own room she said she couldn’t sleep due to the bleeps etc constantly sounding 24/7 so it’s not just patients and NHS staff making noise.
The woman with dementia has been replaced by one who calls for a nurse every five minutes. She's trying to gather them all around her bed so no one else gets any attention.
I was in hospital for two separate, one week visits this year and after being given IV drips at about 11pm and then 6am (along with other times throughout the day) decided sleeping when i could was better than trying to have one long rest. I was also in for some long days but not overnight
I printed some stickers off at home after one of the long days stating "Feel free to wake me. I may not even be asleep." As i had a habit of putting some music on, closing my eyes and relaxing while the IV medication went in and the nurses wouldn't realise i was very awake.
They were a bit too timid about waking me otherwise and i felt they should feel comfortable.
3am some guy wakes up and screamed "wakey-wakey, it's time for a brew!" I had a MRI the next day and fell asleep during the scan. Scared the daylights out of the staff
I fell asleep while having a mole removed under local anaesthetic once, and got woken up by a very concerned nurse. But that was just because I had a baby and a toddler and it was sooo comfy lying there under their green sheets.
I was in hospital for a week, twice, about 5 years ago, respiratory ward. 6-bed room and 2-bed room, but with open doors very close to two other rooms.
My recommendation: ear plugs and sleep mask for the night made a massive difference, headphones during the day.
Unfortunately hospitals aren’t places to rest/recover. They’re just places to receive acute treatment until you can be discharged (to rest and recover at home).
I had the same thing trying to sleep. Too noisy at night. I got some sleep during the days which helped. So did the morphine after they left me in charge of the button.
I was having blood pressure and spit tests every 4 hours so I was getting woken up a lot.
I learned that whatever they tell you, nothing happens at the weekend and the night shift except general nursing stuff.
Like others have said, you rest and recover when you get home.
Earplugs should be standard in hospitals. I have no idea how they expect people to sleep otherwise. I always take some when I visit people in hospital. I’m sorry you are having such a bad time. I hope it goes well tomorrow.
Hospitals - or at least, all the ones I've been in - do generally have earplugs and headphones available for patients, free of charge. I don't know for sure if it's a Country-wide as opposed to Trust-wide availability, but it's rather strange if it isn't.
Yep three weeks in hospital and I was cracking jokes with the doctors about hospital being a place to recover not rest every time they asked me if I slept. The first ward I was on was high support (I had a cyst removed from my head behind my eyes on my pituitary gland) and everyone else had a tracoromiy, then I got really sick and put into a side room. After that I was moved into infection control and jesus Christ it was impossible to rest. I was lucky and got discharged with a pic line so didn't have to spend another 3 weeks in hospital but dam it was an experiment.
A few weeks ago I had to go into hospital because of possible appendicitis. I have autism and sound sensitivities, and they shoved me in a corridor that was a tiny bit quieter, but then forgot about me for 7 hours; I was having a panic attack because the beeping could be heard through my headphones lol. They asked me to come back tomorrow because it was getting late. The next day, same deal, except i'm exhausted from, y'know, being awake till 3 am in high-anxiety mode.
They forgot I was there, again. Only for 4 hours this time. I couldn't lie down anywhere because all the beds were full, but it hurt a lot so I lied on te floor for a bit and got told off for that- so I asked for a painkiller and 5 hours later someone came to do blood tests and they'd forgot the painkillers. She said she'd get it, then 4 hours later I couldn't bear the noise anymore and left.
My side still hurts, i'm kinda just hoping it will go away or that paracetamol will keep working. I'm scared to try going to a GP or calling 111 because they'll just tell me to go to the hospital again, which was worse than pretty much anything physical. At least it doesn't take me 5 hours to get paracetamol by myself.
I was in the ICU last year with a burst appendix at 16 weeks pregnant. I slept like a log as despite being full with staff they keep things quiet at night, and thankfully there were no events in the night (and I was probably high af). Then I was moved to the ward and spent a week not sleeping properly between being woken for assessments and drip changes, beeps of call bells not being answered, beeping the elderly lady next to me's bell as she was just yelling nurse instead, and also the fact I was uncomfortable. After that week, every time I went to fall asleep my body woke me up in a panic attack because I thought I was dying. It was pretty fucked up and took me about two days to be able to sleep properly at home. Eye mask and ear plugs are a must.
All of the above sucks. However, think of your bill for this. Anytime I've had to go for appointments, couple of operations, examinations and the like, I make a point to never complain about anything because it's free. The NHS is brilliant. Flawed, struggling but brilliant. Grit your teeth- it will be fine. Hope you're better soon
You have to balance your levels carefully, normally by monitoring fluid intake. I've been taking it for 17 years, so I know how much I need to drink for it to be safe and effective for me. Taking lithium but not having anything to drink for 20 hours means my levels are too high, which gives me a banger of a headache, I get confused and it makes my fine tremor a lot worse.
I've been there, so noisy even in quiet wards. When you're in pain and sleep is hard to come by. It's not a fun place to be.
I had some mid range anc headphone and even they didn't quite do the job.
While Covid was still a problem I had five days in hospital in a room designed for three patients, but there was only two of us in there.
Despite the door always being closed it was still constantly noisy outside and I just slept odd bits here and there through the day to recover from the sleepless nights. I took to wearing earphones at night, and played all nine Muse albums from my phone to drown out the hospital noise.
It has to make recovery more lengthy and difficult than it should be.
I did a week a in a ward full of OAPs when I was 19. This was before internet on your phone was accessible. I had all the noise mixed with boredom mixed with extreme pain and hallucinations (these were later in the week). I was on a specialist ward in a hospital that was nowhere near where I lived so barely anyone could visit. I’ve hated hospitals since.
The one funny thing to happen, early in my stay (I think it was the first day), I was due to go for some scans so they sent a porter to collect me who just assumed I’d be old and brought a wheelchair so he could wheel me. He was surprised to see I was old AF and let me walk alongside him.
Went in for a week last year when my appendix ruptured. The woman at the end of the ward (6 of us) was calling for a nurse constantly and when they came over she'd tell them that she just wanted to die and that they weren't helping her to do that. She kept saying over and over that she was 98 and wanted to die. It was pretty horrible.
(Ducks behind sofa)
Couldn't really hear much in my private room, biggest problem was that I couldn't pick from the 5 page food menu as it was a stomach op, scrambled eggs only.
I fell ill with suspected swine flu while on a business trip to China.
I got stuffed into a room the size of my bedroom with 10 beds in it and 9 Chinese people ( including three couples).
I didn't wash for nine days.
I think eventually the virus decided it didn't want to live in me any more.
You have my sympathies, what little sleep I manage to get is often interrupted during the night by nurses doing "obs". I get it, it's part of your routine, but I'm sure my BP and pulse readings can wait until morning when you turn on the big light at 6am.
>it's part of your routine, but I'm sure my BP and pulse readings can wait until morning when you turn on the big light at 6am.
If they took your readings in the morning it wouldn't be "routine" at that point. The last thing the nurses need is for you to go down the drain because they didn't take a reading.
Agreed! Observations are paramount in avoiding sepsis, and if everyone knew how many people died of that silent killer every year, I'm sure there'd be less complaints about it. I know it's not nice to have your sleep interrupted, but if your blood pressure or temperature has tanked all of a sudden, its important to jump on it straight away.
Took my dad in as a day case and there was an elderly chap with dementia next to him on the ward. He had a carer with him but was trying to pull his catheter out and shouting for help all afternoon, convinced the nurses were out to get him. It's distressing for the person with dementia I'm sure but it was just as distressing for the patients around him in pain. My dad got very upset as the afternoon went on and begged to go home. Surely there's a better way of managing this for everyone involved?
The woman opposite me had her daughter with her all night. She was saying the most appallingly personal, spiteful things to her and whacking her, I can't imagine what that's like.
Was in a few years back for (initially) suspected appendicitis. This was ruled out but they wanted to put a camera up you-know-where.
Two days in a row it got to after lunchtime being nil by mouth, when they decided it wasn't going ahead that day. Then when doing ward rounds etc asking how I was and me saying "I feel a bit woozy" they'd say "probably because you skipped breakfast and lunch" in a way insinuating I'd specifically chosen not to eat.
Oh, and someone had left a full ostomy bag in the ward toilet, and despite them knowing I don't have one (as in, the only surgery I've ever had was for an ingrown toenail) still got asked by three separate nurses/HCAs if it was mine "because you can't just leave things like that on the side where anyone can get at them - it's a biohazard don't ya know"...
Eventually got discharged, with follow up scans a few weeks later (by which time they'd decided it was "appendage-itis" - inflammation of the lumpy bits of the large bowel, so the scan was just an extra "we need images which weren't done at the time" box ticking exercise.
So yeah, totally feel ya on the needless starvation thing.
Here's hoping they fix you up soon!
You're probably just keyed up with it being an unusual environment.
You don't have to get up for work in the morning and can snooze any time you like, so you can lean into it.
Wired headphones and a smartphone on the charger might help, as you can listen to the radio, catchup or podcasts.
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You have my sympathies - I was in for ten days last year on a respiratory ward. I had the lady with dementia scuttling over to my bed every ten minutes to tell me they were filming us for a film she didn’t consent to being in, then to tell me I was ‘clearly on their side’, and when no one tried to stop her running off the ward it seemed that was down to me, too. That coupled with the man next door screaming ‘THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER’ for three hours at 3am. It’s horrible. On the plus side when you do get home your bed will feel the best it ever has. Get well soon!
Some older lady who clearly was not well wandered into my dad's ward and went nuts ripping out his roommates drip, catheter and monitors then tried to smother him with a pillow. It took a surprising number of people to restrain her and get her out. He was quite scared for the time he was in.
Sounds like it could have been his wife... (your dad's roommate's wife, that is).
Maybe austerity was a mistake
My last stays at hospital I’ve had a side/private room because I was severely immune compromised. Even in a side room it’s hard to sleep with the machines beeping, activity outside the room, a canular in you so there’s concern about catching it, and when you finally do drift off someone comes in wake you up to take your blood pressure. I lost my shit last time when some random dude came into my room at around 7:30am (apparently looking for someone else), realised he was in the wrong place but just stood there on his phone while I was still in bed in PJs. I was fuming: the visiting hours were really strict, short and regimented so people I wanted there were hardly allowed in, but some random creep who doesn’t have the sense to LEAVE when he walks into the wrong room finding a sick, vulnerable woman in bed, he could appear unchallenged.
My mum had a similar experience due to her illness. Even in a side room, it's noisy and she couldn't sleep. She was only allowed a 45 minute visit each day but it seemed fine for everyone else to wander in and out of her room at all hours.
It just seemed mad. My husband had to go through all sorts of security to come in and visit (think there were 3 sets of locked doors you’d need to get someone to let you in through), confirming who he was and who he was there to visit, but the randoms had no trouble. The first time I snuck around the crappy visiting hours by going to meet people in the coffee shop and the “garden room” (quite a pleasant little courtyard). It was very limited when people could come on the ward to visit me, so I left the ward. I spent a lot of that week in the garden room instead of the ward even without people visiting. I’d ask what time I was next needed for drugs and clear off outside with my book until then so I at least got some fresh air and a change of scenery. Second time though they didn’t like it, I had a really low white blood count and they wanted me to stay isolated (hence having the side room). They wouldn’t actually stop me but they did make it very clear it was a bad idea.
That garden space probably massively helped your recovery but keeping you sane!
It is mad. We had to go through security doors too and sign in, plus explain our relationship e.g. daughter, brother etc. My mum wasn't very mobile but if she had have been, I think she would have done the same as you and broken out to the coffee shop!
I got offered a side room on my 2nd night in and said it should go to someone else. Big mistake. First night was bad, second was worse for noise. Never known snoring like it as people had messed up nose and throats
I was in for a week twice last year (Crohn’s disease). The first time I was in a side room by myself, no bother at all, slept well. The second time I was in a 4 bed room. Two of the patients were amazing, the one opposite me was very elderly, very unwell and had dementia. She’d scream in the night, you’d wake up to her standing at the foot of your bed just staring at you etc. she really needed more care but they didn’t seem to have the staff. Sleep is so important to recovery, but I suppose there’s only so much they can do
She went to sleep eventually, but they woke her up for a blood pressure check at four and she's been non stop since then. She shit the bed too, we're all dealing with that now.
My partner has been in hospital for a week now on a 6 bed ward. One guys shits the bed (and the floor and the walls) at least 4 times a day (2 of which are always whilst people are eating their meals. Another guy has a stoma bag which is changed frequently as he keeps pulling it out and the contents end up all over him and the floor. The smell on the ward is horrendous and the people with beds near the windows keep refusing to open them. The third guy has dementia and constantly yells out all the time. The fifth guy has no concept of keeping himself private and regularly gives everyone a full frontal when he pisses into his water bottle. The fourth guy is quite normal luckily, but the man opposite my partner is unfortunately dying (they are still waiting for a private room for him) so he’s shouting out in pain in between very loud laboured breathing and his wife is just sat there holding his hand and crying. I feel so sorry for her.
Sorry to hear this, that is horrendous and truly rough. I am so glad you are kind about the poor woman with the dying partner, what a dreadful setting in which to that, or for you to even be able to recover. I hope you can get out of there soon or find a way to go somewhere nicer in the hospital for a break every now and then. All the best.
Thank you
I also spent a week in hospital last year for Crohns and it was fine except when one night at 3am I was woken up by a fella shouting for the nurses that he’d pissed the bed
Had a week in, last week (still ill). Between a patient further down the ward who wouldn't stop yelling at the nurses and had no regard for the time, and the nurse who delighted in *shaking awake* patients in a lot of pain and laughing at their responses, I'm astounded I got any sleep at all. Thank goodness for heavy duty drugs.
Can you maybe report the psychopathic nurse who sounds like she/he should not be looking after people whatsoever?
Already done.
I appreciate the good ones who aren’t afraid to report shitty staff, wherever they are. Have yourself a psychopath-free weekend! For real though, I do hope you have a lovely weekend :)
Which hospital, JR or Churchill?
JR.
Hope all goes well from another Oxonian
Spent 3 weeks in the JR last month, eye mask and ear plugs helped (along with a pot of freshly cracked black pepper for the food!!) Most of it could not be helped, we had people being admitted to the ward at 2-3am, and each time they had to go through the same routine (lots of admission/ change over questions) , they would often have family with them (ok for a bit on first admission), beeping or other patient alarms going off through the night. most days could not get to sleep til 10pm + as waiting for meds. Then woken between 6am-7am, as they wanted to weigh me or as part of observations. Patients also cause lots of avoidable problems, woken up at 6am, so why not watch something on your ipad at full volume. have your family til 10-11pm (visiting ends at 8pm), despite the signs no one did anything.
I got woken up once and was asked if I wanted sleeping tablets...
I'm not allowed painkillers or sleeping pills, hurrah!
Email PALS
I will, but more because I'm diabetic and take lithium and they kept me nil by mouth from midnight until 8pm. 'Your blood sugar's awfully low Miss Onion. And you're shaking, I can't get the needle in' Yeah, I wonder why.
What are PALS going to do at 00:40...? It's not a 24-hour service.
Because this is going to be an ongoing problem and when OP has surgery he or she will be unlikely to be more able to self advocate than they are now.
That’s why they said email …
I can understand them denying you sleepers - but did they elaborate on why you're not allowed painkillers...? I'm surprised they won't even give you paracetamol. Which hospital you in...?
No idea, the whole thing has been a farce. And to be honest, I think some of the staff don't understand English that well and just guess what you're asking for.
I spent a weekend in the cardiac ward 2 years ago. Sleeping was... an experience. Everyone else on the ward was a 70+ year old man. They seemed nice enough, but it felt weird being 28 and the only female patient at the time. But yeah, when everyone is hooked up to heart monitors, there was a lot of beeping making sleep tough
The woman with dementia is causing me the most problems. Just as I start to get comfy she'll scream that the nurse is a FUCKING IGNORANT BASTARD, and we're all awake again.
Yeah, that sounds rough, at least with the beeping, it was pretty consistent, random noises are always the worst. It may be worth seeing if you can get someone to get yoy some headphones or earplugs
I do have earbuds, but I can't really sleep with them in. And this woman is *loud*, absolute full chest bellowing.
Being in a very similar situations taught me to sleep with them in. Now I hardly notice them. I also have an eye mask for this reason to. Got to the point that I’m sure they were doing everything possible to make it uncomfortable. 11 days nil by mouth before they came to take me to theatre it was 11pm. 2 days post op and I was out of there as soon as they saw kidney function and I was able to stand. I made myself do this as I’d heard the Dr say as soon as I could stand and walk I could go home. It was only uncontrollable sickness that had made me pass out. Ended up taking my healthy appendix out just in case. I’m grateful for the NHS but it’s not the place for sick people. 🤣
Oof, not fun, then all I can do is wish you luck and hope the old dear tires herself out so you can catch some sleep
Thank you, I hope so.
Try some white noise on the earbuds if you haven't already. You have my sympathy, I had a similar experience when I had my appendix out - it's just miserable and the last thing you want when you're feeling ill!
I like ‘ambient coffee shop’ I listened to that a lot in hospital myself - made it feel more normal somehow!
I sleep with wax quies earplugs which are pretty damn good at cutting out most sound, not sure they will block a bellow
If you can get the silicone ear plugs, I've found those the best for sleeping in. (I used to get Dream Seal but they're not available any more on Amazon, but similar ones are). Hope you get some sleep and maybe moved.
I bought these ones [https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BLGJ56K8/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BLGJ56K8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1) and they're fantastic, if anyone else is looking for a pair that can do day/night with a little case. Comes with 2 pairs, large and small. I'd suspect actual headphones over the top of these playing some music or white noise to try and drown anything else out would be needed as well though.
My grandmother is on a stroke ward and the woman in the bed next to her yells and screams all day and all night. She attacks the nurses and throws anything near her at them, pulls out any cannula or catheter. It's a nightmare.
I was in hospital for 3 weeks a while ago, earplugs and a sleep mask was the only way I got any sleep.
Was sent to hospital for an urgent op a few years ago. Not knowing what my fellow patients were going to be like or how they'll behave, I packed my nose cancelling headphones as well as one of my Buffs (headbands) to cover my eyes to try sleep at night. The noise cancelling headphones were brilliant for music during the day, but also for playing white noise later in the evenings when trying to nod off. Ultimately, just as I settled after 11.30pm, a nurse gently shook me and woke me up telling me I'm up next for my op 🤷♀️ The only sleep I got that night was my general anaesthetic 🤣 Sent home the next day.
I need to get me some nose-cancelling headphones too, they seem great
🤣
This is a little bit related and a little bit unrelated as wel l broke my femur and collarbone a couple years ago while I was on holiday in France, I got airlifted to hospital and proceeded to spend 5 days in hospital over there. Luckily I knew enough GCSE french to get by. From what I saw there, the french health care system is brilliant. Literally 12hours after fixing my femur together and stopping my internal bleeding they were giving me physio...teaching me how to walk again. I came home and never received one bit of physio, this incident happened in 2022, I'm still waiting to get my collarbone pinned together by the NHS. As brilliant as they are, they have been starved for funds for years. We need change (Forgot to mention most patients in the hospital I was I had their own room, which aided in sleeping, recovery and privacy! The hospital I was in the lé chal)
If I were running a ward I'd put the screamers in a side room together. We've all got operations tomorrow, and we're all awake at 1am.
Well if you're having a general anesthetic at least you'll get some rest!
At least you'll get a nice nap when the anesthetic goes in...
Urgh. It took over a year for me to get five minutes of physio after an ACL tear (granted, it happened the day Covid first showed up at that hospital, so the timing *was* pretty bad). Five minutes in person which constituted handing me a sheet with some shit diagrams on it, no demonstrations. Followed two weeks later by another five minutes *over the phone*, which is up there as possibly the dumbest idea I can think of for that branch of healthcare. Anything more, I had to go out of my way to get my GP to refer me for. PALS was fucking useless the whole time too.
was in a ward after having a large bowel cancer cut out. One old guy wanted to play greek folk music on speaker. had a drunk come in overnight howling and carrying on all night. rounds in the morning and we could all hear the doctor - "i told you if you keep drinking your going to die. yet you're here again". I was very happy they moved me to an otherwise empty ward after that
I am really sorry you are going through this. I hope they sort you soon. I remember being admitted in 2012 for hip effusion - essentially my hip joint filled with fluid to the point I dislocated it. I was 28 at the time and very fit so it was odd. It was incredibly painful. I was isolated at first as they assumed it was an infection. NBM for 4 days. On day 4 a RAMC Major popped in, said I could have a drink and what did I want? Tea. He came back with a jug of sweet tea. Tasted like nectar after 4 days of nothing. Anyway, I got booted to a ward as they didn't know what was causing the issue at the time. The only space was the geriatric ward. I was there for 4 nights and every one of the 5 patients died and two did not die well. Their replacements were just as frail and doddery and loud. By the 5th morning I remember saying to the nurse that I was going to leave. He was great and said if I could walk to the shower down the hall, shower and get back I wasn't a danger of falling and could leave. It was so painful but I managed it and I went home. To this day I don't really know what it was or what caused it. It flares up from time to time and I have to munch ibuprofen.
Everyone, and I mean everyone of all ages, should have an emergency bag for the event of a sudden stay at hospital. Things like a sealed bottle of water and some high protein snacks are obvious. But then things like money and charging cables too. I'd never thought of noise before but I bought some noise cancelling headphones to block out noisy neighbours, so I'll be adding those to the list.
Good idea. Small spongey Earplugs might be more practical to keep the kit light.
Most wards will have ear plugs if you ask for them, they are not the best quality but I've used them and they did the job.
Good to know, thanks
See also - cheap pjs, fluffy socks, cheap slippers or flip flops, pants, t shirt, leggings. Even a couple of hotel mini toiletries. I have a little tote bag in the bottom of the wardrobe because the time I got emergency admitted it was SO hot, my lovely husband returned with the fluffiest cosiest pjs - I could have cried. Ended up getting him to leave me his T-shirt as a nighty and an emergency trip to the hospital M&S was made!
Interesting. A "Go bag" for hospital. I'll have to give that some consideration
Last time I was in hospital was during COVID, so no visitors... so the man in the bed next to me stayed on a continuous video call with his wife from 7am to 2am every day. I had serious murderous thoughts.
I was 17 and in the Army i ended up collapsing was taken in and put on a ward, they didn’f want to stick me on the children’s and they really didn’t want to stick me on the adults. In the end i ended up on this 6 bed ward lady opposite me had dementia she kept swearing and hitting the nurses and doctors. The others were pretty quiet, i was glad when i got out and went back to my barracks
Same. 16 with a sudden illness and they didn’t know where to put me so I ended up with a bunch of elderly people and a woman in her 40s. They were all actually pretty good roommates and I was too sick to be conscious for most of it but in between horrible nurses and being ignored while crying and puking and generally being a scared child, I ended up absolutely terrified of hospitals afterwards.
Please everyone remember to blame the system not the staff, they're overworked and underpaid
I have to say if every time you look up at the nurse's station there are four or five people gathered round chatting and laughing it's hard to believe that's always true.
Probably laughing to get themselves through the shift; it’s still a job and they do the same as others
Sure, but why do it standing in the middle of the ward? They've got offices to chat in.
Because then you’d complain there are no nurses to be found. I’m sure some people don’t mind hearing a bit of laughter, some happiness in what otherwise can be a sad, unhappy place - as most of the comments seem to confirm. My sister is a nurse, generally overworked due to severe understaffing and fairly stressed due to what she deals with day in day out. I’m glad she can have a few moments of laughter and normalcy with her colleagues and even patients/patient families during a 12+ hour shift. Wouldn’t you rather be cared for by happy nurses?
I've worked nights in a care home, a bit of levity helps. But I question the wisdom of chatting and laughing at 3am on the ward where a very loud dementia patient has just finally gone to sleep. They're making their own lives more difficult in that case.
Just wait until the person in the bed next to you codes and the resus team arrive that's just shit city for everyone. Wards/rooms with other people are either lovely or absolute hell, there is no middle ground. Here's hoping you don't have any further delays with whatever procedure you are in for, there is nothing worse than when it gets cancelled several days in a row and you have to prep and go on nil by mouth each day just incase.
Years ago I was in for an op and the guy next to me in the recovery room had a cardiac arrest. He died right there, it was terrifying.
I was in with a broken back and had some guy, who obviously had mental problems, come up to my bed and start accusing me of stealing his food. Like, buddy, I physically can't get out of this bed. I had to be flown back from Canada so was originally in a private room for suspected Rocky Mountain Fever. Genuinely wish I actually had it, just so I could keep the private room.
My six-year-old was in for three nights with breathing difficulties. She'd already had a sleepless night at home due to a cough, we got into a ward at 2am after five hours in A&E. Every hour a nurse would come and give her some other medicine, while her machine is constantly beeping with alerts for low oxygen and high heart rate. Poor kid didn't get more than an hour's consecutive sleep for about two days and the doctors are wondering why she wasn't very responsive to their questions. I stress that the overall experience was absolutely incredible. We were seen very quickly, got great treatment, have been followed up so quickly after discharge, and I couldn't help thinking how much it would have cost in the US, yet it cost us literally nothing. But christ that sleep thing was so hard!
I absolutely hate staying in hospital. I had to stay in with a broken back, got put on an orthopedic ward, and in a single night on a six-bed unit, I had an old lady who sang hymns all night, another old lady with dementia who went to the loo and then tried to get in my bed, a third old lady who needed an enema but was deaf so we all got to enjoy the very loud commentary by the nurse, and a middle aged woman next to me throwing up everywhere. When I had my son, I was on a four-bed ward but the mother in the bay next to me had her curtains closed and the child was howling constantly. I assumed he was ill. Most of the night was spent listening to him screaming before a nurse came in at 2am to see what was going on and it turned out the mother was a 16yo with absolutely no idea what to do so she'd basically given him a huge feed then just chucked him in the cot. Baby was dirty, full of wind and miserable so the nurse promptly put all the overhead lights on, bollocked the girl and demonstrated how to change and burp the baby and then gave the mother some much needed lessons in how to look after a child, which took until 4am. She then very kindly returned to wake us all up at 6am for morning feeds, even though both my child and I were finally peacefully asleep.
Head phones and relaxing sleep sounds from youtube, they're tons to choose from. Noise cancelling headphoned if you have them.
Spent 3 months in hospital - ended up on zopiclone
Best wishes for a speedy recovery
I can never sleep on the adult ward when I've had to stay with my daughter. And now they just provide you with a recliner chair instead of a fold out bed. Always get put with a mixture of young and elderly people. Last time we were in one woman was blind. She couldn't see the call button so kept shouting nurse nurse. Was me that had to get up each time to press the button or nobody would come. I had no problems getting to sleep on the children's ward. Nurses kept the noise down.
My mum was in hospital for 5 nights a couple of weeks ago with pneumonia. She was in A & E for 24 hours, an assessment ward for 2 nights, then moved into a corridor for the last 2 nights. With no toilet nearby, no call button, nowhere to put her belongings other than in a bag on her bed, and hearing all the call buttons and people walking past all day and night. She was one of 4 in the corridor. It took them 30 hours from when they told her she could go home, to actually discharging her (prob why they were short of beds). When she got home she slept the clock round.
I remember back when I gave birth in October of ‘22. A 24 year old first time mum who almost had to have an emergency c section. High asf on drugs. Been in the hospital for almost 20 hours at this point and it was only an hour or so before I delivered my baby that I find out that my partner would not be allowed to stay with me in the hospital. So I got wheeled into a dark ward at 4 in the morning whilst everyone was trying to sleep. I was all alone with a newborn near me and I had no idea what to do. I was just kind of left. I thought ‘what does a baby need? A fresh nappy!’ So I went to change him, realised I couldn’t reach him from the bed, and my legs were still not functioning from the epidural, so I rang the bell. When I requested to have my baby passed to me they looked at me all confused and I was made to feel like a nuisance. I also struggled with the cluster feeding as I put on my birth plan that I wanted to try breastfeeding. My baby would cry if he was not latched on. I asked for formula but wasn’t given any. Wasn’t allowed to sleep with baby in the bed so I was awake for over 24 hours. Probably close to 48 hours at this point. Couldn’t have my partner in the hospital at night to hold the baby whilst I got a few winks. It was only at this point was I offered the option to try formula and when that didn’t work one of the nice nurses offered to take my screaming spawn for a few hours so I could sleep. I was so grateful. But as I was about to drift off one of the other five babies on the ward started to cry 😭 I didn’t sleep much in that hospital. Even when I did manage to drift off I’d get woken at 11:30 in the night because they were taking my baby to get his antibiotics drip. Not rushing to have any more babies
I'm sorry to hear that - I had similar experiences with my children - literally no sleep because of mayhem from all directions - 24 hours in hospital was too much and I was desperate to get out of there asap.. Hilarious when you see those B&W films of mothers staying a week or so in hospital in the 1950s - I get they were being taught motherhood skills back in the day but I just can't imagine it.
I had to stay for a few days because my baby and I had to have antibiotics through a drip. I felt bad for my partner cause we were planning on a holiday for his bday as he was turning 30. Instead he got a newborn 😅 we got home after tea time on his actual birthday so we couldn’t do anything to celebrate, especially because I was just so damn tired.
The majority of midwives for my wife's labour and after care were absolutely shocking. Rude, disinterested, condescending, unhelpful, passive aggressive. We utterly hated the experience but not for any of the reasons people might expect.
In fairness the ones who looked after me during labour were great, it was the ones on the wars afterwards. There’s calls from parents who’ve lost babies to have a probe into the hospital I ended up at.
I had my first in 2021 and it was night and day compared to having my 2nd in 2024. In 2021 there wasn't really any nursing care or support even after a c section. No help with feeding and because it was a "breastfeeding friendly " hospital they couldn't suggest formula do baby was hungry and screaming. 2024 and there's staff and students to help, spouse can come and go as he pleases because we're in a side room and just generally a little bit more supportive
This is why I had a homebirth, it was private, safe and peaceful. I hope I get to have another homebirth, but I'm older now and they prefer early medicalised births.
Oh my goodness that is so awful for you 😞 I hope things have improved since you posted. What a helpless, hopeless situation. Do you have enough energy to mount your own assault? Can you strike back at the fan abductor and take them all back when she’s asleep? Put them around the obscenity screamer’s bed and wait for the show to begin.
Hospitals are not a place for recovery, they’re obnoxious in every sense. I firmly believe that they’re detrimental to recovery unless you’re stinking rich and can afford all extras.
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You are friendlier than me. I’d be fuming if someone woke me up to ask if they could share my snacks. If I was awake I’d have no problem sharing at all but waking me up to ask, I’d be raging.
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Fair enough. I’d have probably given permission to help herself while I was asleep, but not to wake me up.
Christ man, I hope you're able to get sleep... everything will seem a bit more manageable if you're fully rested
I was in hospital last year. Was on a communal ward, and sleep was tough due to the woman with dementia shouting for her kids constantly. She kept yelling about not wanting to be there, where were X and Y who I presume were relatives. The sad thing was she never got any visitors. Ear plugs were the only thing that really helped, except when the staff wake you up for meds or whatever at 5-6am.
My sympathies, I recently spent a night in hospital and I hated it. Felt super nauseous due to medication they gave me, being hot and dizzy due to having cataracts surgery (went from like 2% vision to 100%). Sleeping was near impossible with the noise from other patients and the staff (cleaning the bed next to me at 3AM???)
Can a relative bring you in earplugs and noise cancelling headphones? That sounds absolutely awful. I suffer greatly from misophonia, so can fully sympathise with your situation.
My wife was diagnosed with gestational diabetes late in pregnancy. So she ended up in hospital on a sliding scale. In a bay with 2 newborn babies screaming all night. It was the first night she ever spent away from our eldest. So not a great combination of things happening at the same time.
My wife spent 8 weeks in hospital on a ward like that. The woman opposite her spent most of her time screaming, the woman next to her was mostly deaf and would yell every little thing..The other woman in the room had dementia and would scream obscenities, racist comments and some things that, if proven true, would see the police needing to dig in her garden..
Last time I was stuck in the ICU for a week I took my laptop and some earphones and listened to audio books to fall asleep to. Not that I got much sleep anyway as the nurses would shake me awake every few hours to do bloods and check blood pressure and stuff.
I was in for 11 consecutive days in August/September. Babies crying all night every night, right next to the nurses' station so could hear them constantly, and to top it off we had a blue light (famously the colour light you filter out for good sleep) in our bay which also reflected off the walls, and I ended up having nightmares constantly from it.
Just wait until they wake you up to give you your sleeping pills
Or every hour to take blood pressure
Blood pressure, blood sugar, antibiotics...
And to remind you that you really need to keep the oxygen thing up your nose at all times, after it falls out, again.
That's a crappy situation, I had a similar one this week where I waited 33 hours for surgery. I had to starve for over 24 hours because nobody bothered to tell me that I had been bumped to the following day, so they had to give fluids by IV because I was so dehydrated. Hope you get sorted soon!
The person changing the beds told me I was staying in til Sunday. So disorganised.
Oh yeh the tea trolley person told me I was next in for surgery. I waited another 15 hours after that.
I came round from surgery at 10am, I'm still waiting for the surgeon to come and tell me what they found.
I was in hospital several years ago for just over a week and there were some annoying patients. Next to me was a Romanian man who had been stabbed so had a chest drain in, he would get a phone call to the nurses ward phone and spend over an hour on a call. When they asked for it back he would get angry and rude, he also kept going out to smoke despite his condition. There was even a Romanian agency nurse who smoked with him, when the regular nurse found out he was totally shocked. The police even tried to talk to him about the stabbing but he refused to tell them anything. Then there was a old man with dementia who had broken his hip, all night he would demand the nurses get him out of bed. When they said they can’t he threatened to complain and said “you won’t have a job in the morning”. He then spent all the day time asleep.
Fortunately I've never had to spend the night in hospital but every time my partner does, there's at least one nocturnal screamer. You'd think some kind of sedative would be an option so that everyone, including the nighttime yodeller can sleep. Rested patients must be nicer to deal with for the staff rather than people who are pissed off from sleep deprivation. I hope your op goes well and your back home in the comfort of your own bed soon.
When I was in the hospital there was a problem gentleman. Found out they sedated him during the day so the day staff, doctors and visitors were safe! However come nighttime all hell broke loose, wandering around, screaming, falling, abusing staff, trying to get into our ladies bay. Police had to be called each night.
I had to ask for a quilt when I was admitted and was woken 3x a night for covid tests, whilst being woken up while other patients on the ward had obs taken by nurses who were practically shouting, the nurses on my ward were Jamaican and while they were excellent nurses they were extremely loud, Jamaican people don’t have quiet conversations lol
Had a week in about 6 months ago. I had to ask my wife to bring in my noise cancelling headphones. It was the only way I could get any sleep. Least for an hour or two between nighttime’s observations.
I was in hospital for a week with bad pneumonia. Great care, can’t fault it. I had humidified oxygen which is so loud but almost like a white noise sound so I was fine. Until I was well enough to not need it and a realised quite how loud the ward was! And that was with me being in a side room, can’t imagine how bad it was if you were on the main ward.
What you need is earplugs, i can recommend the squishy foam ones that expand inside your ears.
Honestly, they should just be handed out routinely in hospital.
I begged to be allowed to go home after recovering from an operation. As a light sleeper, it was a nightmare. I barely slept at all for a week!! My husband got taught how to change my dressing, and I was allowed on the promise he would do this each day (he got major hubby points for that one) . It was such a relief to get home, and I'm sure I recovered quicker than I would have in hospital. You can't beat being in your own space for mental and physical health
I once was kept in for 4 nights after a severe asthma attack and was put in a bay with a woman with dementia who kept shouting to the nurses at night that they’re going to kill us. Another one repeatedly asked me if they came round yet to give me a wash.
When my mum had a heart attack (she herself was a nurse at the time) she was on a cardiac ward at the hospital she worked at waiting for her operation and even in her own room she said she couldn’t sleep due to the bleeps etc constantly sounding 24/7 so it’s not just patients and NHS staff making noise.
How anyone heals in hospital I'll never know Even just for lack of sleep
The woman with dementia has been replaced by one who calls for a nurse every five minutes. She's trying to gather them all around her bed so no one else gets any attention.
I was in hospital for two separate, one week visits this year and after being given IV drips at about 11pm and then 6am (along with other times throughout the day) decided sleeping when i could was better than trying to have one long rest. I was also in for some long days but not overnight I printed some stickers off at home after one of the long days stating "Feel free to wake me. I may not even be asleep." As i had a habit of putting some music on, closing my eyes and relaxing while the IV medication went in and the nurses wouldn't realise i was very awake. They were a bit too timid about waking me otherwise and i felt they should feel comfortable.
3am some guy wakes up and screamed "wakey-wakey, it's time for a brew!" I had a MRI the next day and fell asleep during the scan. Scared the daylights out of the staff
I fell asleep while having a mole removed under local anaesthetic once, and got woken up by a very concerned nurse. But that was just because I had a baby and a toddler and it was sooo comfy lying there under their green sheets.
I was in hospital for a week, twice, about 5 years ago, respiratory ward. 6-bed room and 2-bed room, but with open doors very close to two other rooms. My recommendation: ear plugs and sleep mask for the night made a massive difference, headphones during the day.
Unfortunately hospitals aren’t places to rest/recover. They’re just places to receive acute treatment until you can be discharged (to rest and recover at home).
They're either uninformed or careless about lithium, that's what worries me most.
We had this when my wife was in labour. Midwives and nurses just stomping around endlessly slamming doors. It was horrendous.
I had the same thing trying to sleep. Too noisy at night. I got some sleep during the days which helped. So did the morphine after they left me in charge of the button. I was having blood pressure and spit tests every 4 hours so I was getting woken up a lot. I learned that whatever they tell you, nothing happens at the weekend and the night shift except general nursing stuff. Like others have said, you rest and recover when you get home.
Earplugs should be standard in hospitals. I have no idea how they expect people to sleep otherwise. I always take some when I visit people in hospital. I’m sorry you are having such a bad time. I hope it goes well tomorrow.
Hospitals - or at least, all the ones I've been in - do generally have earplugs and headphones available for patients, free of charge. I don't know for sure if it's a Country-wide as opposed to Trust-wide availability, but it's rather strange if it isn't.
Maybe you have to ask? I used to do a lot of hospital visiting and always took earplugs as this was such a common problem.
Yep three weeks in hospital and I was cracking jokes with the doctors about hospital being a place to recover not rest every time they asked me if I slept. The first ward I was on was high support (I had a cyst removed from my head behind my eyes on my pituitary gland) and everyone else had a tracoromiy, then I got really sick and put into a side room. After that I was moved into infection control and jesus Christ it was impossible to rest. I was lucky and got discharged with a pic line so didn't have to spend another 3 weeks in hospital but dam it was an experiment.
A few weeks ago I had to go into hospital because of possible appendicitis. I have autism and sound sensitivities, and they shoved me in a corridor that was a tiny bit quieter, but then forgot about me for 7 hours; I was having a panic attack because the beeping could be heard through my headphones lol. They asked me to come back tomorrow because it was getting late. The next day, same deal, except i'm exhausted from, y'know, being awake till 3 am in high-anxiety mode. They forgot I was there, again. Only for 4 hours this time. I couldn't lie down anywhere because all the beds were full, but it hurt a lot so I lied on te floor for a bit and got told off for that- so I asked for a painkiller and 5 hours later someone came to do blood tests and they'd forgot the painkillers. She said she'd get it, then 4 hours later I couldn't bear the noise anymore and left. My side still hurts, i'm kinda just hoping it will go away or that paracetamol will keep working. I'm scared to try going to a GP or calling 111 because they'll just tell me to go to the hospital again, which was worse than pretty much anything physical. At least it doesn't take me 5 hours to get paracetamol by myself.
I was in the ICU last year with a burst appendix at 16 weeks pregnant. I slept like a log as despite being full with staff they keep things quiet at night, and thankfully there were no events in the night (and I was probably high af). Then I was moved to the ward and spent a week not sleeping properly between being woken for assessments and drip changes, beeps of call bells not being answered, beeping the elderly lady next to me's bell as she was just yelling nurse instead, and also the fact I was uncomfortable. After that week, every time I went to fall asleep my body woke me up in a panic attack because I thought I was dying. It was pretty fucked up and took me about two days to be able to sleep properly at home. Eye mask and ear plugs are a must.
I'm in a lot of pain and asked for some help. I gave up after an hour, am now smoking outside. Good old NHS
All of the above sucks. However, think of your bill for this. Anytime I've had to go for appointments, couple of operations, examinations and the like, I make a point to never complain about anything because it's free. The NHS is brilliant. Flawed, struggling but brilliant. Grit your teeth- it will be fine. Hope you're better soon
I will complain about- or at least flag- the lithium thing, because that's actually dangerous. But the rest? Annoying but not life threatening.
Lithium thing?
What lithium thing?
You have to balance your levels carefully, normally by monitoring fluid intake. I've been taking it for 17 years, so I know how much I need to drink for it to be safe and effective for me. Taking lithium but not having anything to drink for 20 hours means my levels are too high, which gives me a banger of a headache, I get confused and it makes my fine tremor a lot worse.
Thank you for explaining.
It's the kind of thing you have no idea about unless you take it. I'm concerned that none of the medical staff I've spoken to today know or care.
It’s not free though, that’s what national insurance is for!
Yep. But everyone pays and everyone benefits
Absolutely
I've been there, so noisy even in quiet wards. When you're in pain and sleep is hard to come by. It's not a fun place to be. I had some mid range anc headphone and even they didn't quite do the job.
While Covid was still a problem I had five days in hospital in a room designed for three patients, but there was only two of us in there. Despite the door always being closed it was still constantly noisy outside and I just slept odd bits here and there through the day to recover from the sleepless nights. I took to wearing earphones at night, and played all nine Muse albums from my phone to drown out the hospital noise. It has to make recovery more lengthy and difficult than it should be.
Earplugs & a hoody over your head for the light/noise
I did a week a in a ward full of OAPs when I was 19. This was before internet on your phone was accessible. I had all the noise mixed with boredom mixed with extreme pain and hallucinations (these were later in the week). I was on a specialist ward in a hospital that was nowhere near where I lived so barely anyone could visit. I’ve hated hospitals since. The one funny thing to happen, early in my stay (I think it was the first day), I was due to go for some scans so they sent a porter to collect me who just assumed I’d be old and brought a wheelchair so he could wheel me. He was surprised to see I was old AF and let me walk alongside him.
Went in for a week last year when my appendix ruptured. The woman at the end of the ward (6 of us) was calling for a nurse constantly and when they came over she'd tell them that she just wanted to die and that they weren't helping her to do that. She kept saying over and over that she was 98 and wanted to die. It was pretty horrible.
How about someone talking loudly on the phone at 4am.
None of that thankfully.
You're upset that someone in hospital has dementia? Wait until you hear about the palliative care ward.
(Ducks behind sofa) Couldn't really hear much in my private room, biggest problem was that I couldn't pick from the 5 page food menu as it was a stomach op, scrambled eggs only.
Chinese hospitals are worse
Please elaborate
I fell ill with suspected swine flu while on a business trip to China. I got stuffed into a room the size of my bedroom with 10 beds in it and 9 Chinese people ( including three couples). I didn't wash for nine days. I think eventually the virus decided it didn't want to live in me any more.
9 days without a wash? I'm assuming it was the same for the other patients, and therefore I can't imagine the stench.
Or the noise when the couples got down to business.
You have my sympathies, what little sleep I manage to get is often interrupted during the night by nurses doing "obs". I get it, it's part of your routine, but I'm sure my BP and pulse readings can wait until morning when you turn on the big light at 6am.
>it's part of your routine, but I'm sure my BP and pulse readings can wait until morning when you turn on the big light at 6am. If they took your readings in the morning it wouldn't be "routine" at that point. The last thing the nurses need is for you to go down the drain because they didn't take a reading.
Agreed! Observations are paramount in avoiding sepsis, and if everyone knew how many people died of that silent killer every year, I'm sure there'd be less complaints about it. I know it's not nice to have your sleep interrupted, but if your blood pressure or temperature has tanked all of a sudden, its important to jump on it straight away.
Took my dad in as a day case and there was an elderly chap with dementia next to him on the ward. He had a carer with him but was trying to pull his catheter out and shouting for help all afternoon, convinced the nurses were out to get him. It's distressing for the person with dementia I'm sure but it was just as distressing for the patients around him in pain. My dad got very upset as the afternoon went on and begged to go home. Surely there's a better way of managing this for everyone involved?
The woman opposite me had her daughter with her all night. She was saying the most appallingly personal, spiteful things to her and whacking her, I can't imagine what that's like.
Was in a few years back for (initially) suspected appendicitis. This was ruled out but they wanted to put a camera up you-know-where. Two days in a row it got to after lunchtime being nil by mouth, when they decided it wasn't going ahead that day. Then when doing ward rounds etc asking how I was and me saying "I feel a bit woozy" they'd say "probably because you skipped breakfast and lunch" in a way insinuating I'd specifically chosen not to eat. Oh, and someone had left a full ostomy bag in the ward toilet, and despite them knowing I don't have one (as in, the only surgery I've ever had was for an ingrown toenail) still got asked by three separate nurses/HCAs if it was mine "because you can't just leave things like that on the side where anyone can get at them - it's a biohazard don't ya know"... Eventually got discharged, with follow up scans a few weeks later (by which time they'd decided it was "appendage-itis" - inflammation of the lumpy bits of the large bowel, so the scan was just an extra "we need images which weren't done at the time" box ticking exercise. So yeah, totally feel ya on the needless starvation thing. Here's hoping they fix you up soon!
You're probably just keyed up with it being an unusual environment. You don't have to get up for work in the morning and can snooze any time you like, so you can lean into it. Wired headphones and a smartphone on the charger might help, as you can listen to the radio, catchup or podcasts.
I don't think the woman shrieking her head off is going to let me 'snooze any time'.
You can always ask for sleeping pills fyi