Laura faints

I caused some commotion this morning on the Heart tower.  We were seeing our first pt who had an ED, but in the portion of the chart I read, it was described as bulimia.  I knew that individuals with this condition were often normal weight, so we gowned up (she had a wound with MRSA) and went in  because she asked for a list and a discussion on high protein foods.  We were in there for longer than I anticipated, and I was having trouble with how small she was (she was anorexic in addition to bulimic).  I didn't want to leave the room in the middle of the conversation because I assumed she would be sensitive to that, but I was so worked up, hot, and sweaty that I began not to see straight.  Thankfully, the wall softened my fall so I didn't hit the hard floor headfirst.  

There's a new rule amongst the RDs at Mission: if a pt screens for a low BMI, Laura is not allowed to go in to the room.  Sigh.....

A notable piece of information worthy of passing along (or something I missed this semester in class) was a particular importance of albumin.  If albumin is out of normal range (presumably low), fluids are not distributed appropriately throughout the body.  This is a required state for effective hemodialysis; if fluid is distributed in the wrong areas, pts will not have optimal results in dialysis.  For this reason, pt consume high pro diets to keep albumin high, and if that's not happening, they can receive IV albumin.  Maybe you'll be able to confidently answer that question during diabetes week when asked why a renal pt on HD gets IV albumin.  

Asheville is chilly.  I saw my breath this morning on the walk to Mission!