Worried about brother still in hospital after heart surgery

[pmabrett]

Hello, I am posting because my brother is in hospital after a heart bypass and I am worried. He has a very sharp brain but seems to be finding it hard to express himself. He was due home this weekend but has a cough and fluid on the lung plus a partially deflated lung. He was on Amiodarone medication for a 160 heart rate which took 24 hours to get back to normal but not taking anything now. His breathing is worse not better. He is being given a nebuliser twice a day for 15 minutes and told to drink a lot of water and go for walks but he is getting more exhausted following each walk. He overheard a doctor say he has a shadow on an x-ray they did yesterday but nobody is telling him anything. I am reading all sorts of things about pneumonia, embolisms etc and getting worried. Has anyone experiences any of these symptoms?

[devonian186]

You don't say how long he has been in hospital .

Someone needs to tell your brother what is going on and what the plan is, as not knowing is bad for everyone.

[Murderfan58]

Sorry about your brother. Are you his next of kin? If so then you can ask all the questions you want answering. If he has a spouse or partner and they are next if kin then they need to ask all the questions.

I know they should be telling your brother what is going on but they aren't so whoever he has out put done as next kin they have the right to find out what is going on. But you need to be polite but forceful if needed to get the answers. Don't be fobbed off.

I had to do this for my husband,mom ,dad and mother in law. When they where alive.

Hope you get answers today.

[Sljp0000]

Hi, sorry your brother is feeling so rough. I would go and talk to the ward sister and say you are not happy with his progress. Tell them that he's normally sharp and unlike this. It sounds like all the symptons I had after bypass surgery. They kept blaming it on fluid on the lungs and said I clearly had a low pain and recovery threshold. Theu told me to oush myself harder walking around and the fluid would clear. I tried so hard. They eventually discharged me with a saddle PE and thrombus in the heart. The only thing which would confirm it is a CT scan. I would try amd push for that.Of course, im no doctor, but it all sounds so familiar. I hope your brother gets well soon.

[Snoogs]

shadow on lung ?? GGO ? (Ground glass opacity) ? I got Covid approximately 8 months after my aortic surgery. On subsequent CT scans it shows as a gray shadow GGO on the image. Doctors said this is a result of having Covid in my case as well as many others. Not diagnosing however did your brother ever have Covid ?

[pmabrett]

Thank you all so much for taking the trouble to respond. I am next of kin but unfortunately I don't live in the UK so it has all been via a phone calls. I finally managed to speak to a Junior Doctor who seemed more helpful and knowledgeable than the Registrar! I think the problem is the liaison between staff especially when shifts change. One doctor asked him why he was still in hospital a week after his surgery. My brother had to explain his recent history. What a difference 24 hours makes. In the end he decided to take himself off pain killers and also managed a straight 5 hours of sleep (he was exhausted) and its done the trick he is much better today and feels less foggy headed. I was worried because I read so much about cognitive issues post surgery which some people never recovered from. Its a serious issue which affects so many coronary patients but seems to be dismissed as normal in hospital. He has been sent home and probably the best place so he can get some rest, although he lives alone so I will be phoning every two minutes I am sure! Thank you once again.