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7895. arkymalarky - 1/11/2014 10:17:29 PM rillian, this should be in health (I'll repost there), but we have very few options here and even if you find what you want, being able to get her in would be a huge challenge. Right now she's in the hospital, but she's delirious and cannot do anything without two or three people helping. She's bedfast since Thursday and has to be watched constantly to keep her from pulling out her IV. This all came about just Wednesday night and we haven't been at work since. It's a long drawn out process, that in some ways is just now starting. Up to now family and hired help has been able to live with her at home and up until recently one person could manage to help her. Over the last two or three weeks that has changed dramatically and it takes at least 2 at all times. Now, since Thursday night, she can't even get by with that. The only reason I'm here today is because Stan's brother's there today. Will be back on duty tomorrow. It's just what happens when you get old. She was extremely healthy until she wasn't, had surgery to fix the problem, and lost oxygen during the surgery and got dehydrated and got a uti and it's been a downhill rollercoaster ever since.
One thing that I would strongly advise, is watch doctors in elderly people and the medications they give them, because she was being given the wrong medication (diuretic and bp meds which worsened her dehydration and dropped her already below normal bp), and when she got off of it it was too late and she needed the surgery but it was too little too late. No choices are good ones. The healthcare system in this country for average people is a disgrace and the lack of concern for patients is appalling. My dad, 82, went to an endocrinologist who was rude and unfriendly until he found out Dad was an emeritus.
excuse typos. Voice to text on my phone. 7896. Trillium - 1/13/2014 4:26:00 AM Thanks Arky. Hope things improve. I spent the day helping someone whose flu complications were getting scary... they seem to have resolved tonight.
UTIs can cause confusion. One friend's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's that came on very suddenly ... turned out it was a UTI instead. The old gentleman was totally delirious, and told his son all about a train trip that he supposed that they were on together. I've had one client insist that his hospital bed was a recliner (he was annoyed because I wasn't getting the feet of the bed to go down the way he expected!) It can be amusing, but needing three people 24/7 is hard. Good luck with it, and I hope she recovers her clarity and comfort. 7897. arkymalarky - 1/13/2014 8:23:24 PM Thanks. She's much better today. If they can control her infection and dehydration her mental sharpness comes back. 7898. arkymalarky - 1/13/2014 8:24:00 PM The problem is maintaining control at home. 7899. wabbit - 1/18/2014 5:08:39 AM I lost a close friend to amyloidosis last week. He was only 59. From the time he was diagnosed to his death wasn't more than about six months and he was pretty miserable most of that time, largely due to chemo. He lost a lot of weight and had no appetite, nothing tasted good. He collapsed and was on life support for two days. He fought as best he could and his wife and children were with him. He was a good man, he'll be missed by many. 7900. judithathome - 1/18/2014 7:52:55 PM Sorry to hear that.
I read the FAQ...didn't find any description of "symptoms"...do you know what his were? I mean, what sent him to the doctor in the first place?
I can understand the symptoms of chemo...I meant the primary ones that made him seek a diagnosis. 7901. wabbit - 1/18/2014 8:28:31 PM He had primary amyloidosis. He was tired all time, which was unlike him. Also edema in his ankles, dizziness, diarrhea, weight loss, and sometimes his arms were numb. The numbness was what really got him, he thought it might be his heart, but when they found very high protein in his urine, they checked his kidneys and got to amyloidosis.
The problem is the symptoms gradually build up and are easy to ignore for anyone who tends to be stoic, as he was. The doctors were talking about a stem cell transplant after he finished chemo. 7902. judithathome - 1/18/2014 8:43:42 PM Thanks...except for the ankles, I have every one of those symptoms...I'm guessing a lot of people have some of those but just chalk it up to general aging.
The thing with the numbness scares me so much I no longer drive. 7903. thoughtful - 1/21/2014 4:35:05 PM So sorry to hear that, wabbit. He was very young.
I've heard of amyloidosis, but only via House....it was always one of their go-to diagnoses like sarcoidosis. 7904. judithathome - 1/21/2014 7:55:27 PM Exactly!! 7905. Jenerator - 1/21/2014 11:41:46 PM Sorry for your loss, wabbit. 7906. thoughtful - 1/25/2014 3:47:38 AM Hubby was considered the 6th brother in a neighborhood family of 5 boys...the oldest passed away many years ago. Today we found out the youngest has an inoperable cancerous brain tumor...they estimate 3 months, but who the heck knows? So sad. Death is never easy, but especially uncomfortable when the victims are your contemporaries or younger. I feel especially badly for his wife....it's not easy to become a widow at any age. So sad. 7907. wabbit - 1/25/2014 8:10:34 PM Thank you, t'ful and Jen - my condolences on your loss also, Jen. 7908. robertjayb - 2/8/2014 11:27:43 PM On Death:
Pleased to see in today's paper a NYTimes article on gains being made for death with dignity. It cites a Gallup Poll from May where 70 percent of respondents agreed that when patients and families wanted it doctors should be allowed to
"end the patient's life by some painless means."
Now legal in New Mexico, Vermont, Montana, Oregon (the first in 2008) and Washington with strong campaigns in Connecicut and other states.
With my NPH condition under control (knock wood) I fully expect to last out the family norms which should give me several more years. Before the implant surgery and while attending Parkinson's support group meetings I began to think of avoiding the fates I saw looming around me.
I hope the movement continues to grow and that it reaches Texas. Of course, New Mexico is nearby.
There is an advocacy group called Compassion and Choices. I must check them out.
7909. robertjayb - 2/9/2014 12:24:54 AM On Life
Try not to miss Paul Krugman's takedown of the wingnuts' latest "falsehood in the "ever-mendacious campaign against health reform.
7910. arkymalarky - 2/9/2014 5:41:43 AM watching want stands mother and his family are going through, it makes you just believe there has to be a better way. 7911. alistairconnor - 2/11/2014 12:33:49 PM A "no shit, Sherlock" moment...
Researchers find direct link between sugar and cardiovascular disease | EurActiv A high sugar diet greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of body weight, according to a new study by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, which is the biggest one of its kind to date and has included more than 10,000 people followed for up to 14.6 years, concludes that people who drink, for example, one soft drink per day increase their risk of cardiovascular disease by one-third. Previously, scientists have said that sugar as empty calories could make people overweight and obese, and by doing so increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Now the researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States have concluded that added sugar - which is found in for example sodas, desserts, sweets, fruity drinks - is directly linked to cardiovascular disease, independent of its effect on the body weight.
7912. arkymalarky - 5/23/2014 6:23:25 PM Well, they gave dad the wrong medicine last night. He's going to be okay, even after throwing up all night long, but I hope heads will roll. 7913. judithathome - 5/23/2014 8:10:24 PM Sheesh.... 7914. arkymalarky - 6/4/2014 4:09:48 PM they reported the incident, conducted an investigation, and fired the young man who made the mistake, and the whole thing set dad back 3 days because he was tired and dizzy and couldn't eat. Now he's doing great. I hate the guy got fired, but you can kill people with a mistake like that.
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