For those who have received good news i am so happy for you and for those who are still going through it; i say to my partner "are your struggling today" I'm hoping for the best outcome for you.
I have been caring for my partner since last year. He has had his stomach drained 4 times been hospitalized as many times, has had blackouts, has had a stent implanted, now has a constant persistent hacking cough and producing horrible phlegm, has an umbilical hernia, regular nose bleeds, a very irritating itching (when he scratched he bleeds) If he could find peace from the coughing and painful stomach it could make all the difference to his quality of life because he has no energy and i always breathless. He is jaundiced and has lost half of his previous weight.
I care for him and work a full time job as well. I starting to feel very tired now, where initially i felt i could cope. I am totally disappointed with the GP service as i feel they are passing the problem on to the hospitals because they won't see face to face at all. They rely on our self diagnosis over the phone and prescribe the medication accordingly. When i explain how bad he is they just say that if he is unwell he should go to A&E. The ambulatory hospital appointments are very few and far between and are also over the phone, i just feel as though we are being left to get on with it all.
If anyone has advice on how or if there is anything that can be done to stop the coughing or to reduce his hernia that would be so helpful in itself. He always says that he could get on with things if it wasn't for the cough and constant tiredness.
As you all know it's so hard to watch loved ones go from seemingly healthy to unable to managed everyday tasks; it's heartbreaking!.
Thank you
Written by
Berteais
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Hi Berteais, I'm sorry that you and your husband are having such a challenging time. Could I suggest contacting your specialist team for advice? I know it can be tricky to contact them - a couple of suggestions are to email the consultant secretary or to contact the liver specialist nurse? I hope that some of the other forum members are able to offer their support.Warmest wishes
Thank you very much, it just seems that after having the stent put in nothing else is important. I had to book an e appointment, and we/I had a conversation with the hospital - ambulatory care telephone consultation i believe it was. When explaining all of his current symptoms it seems that i should take him to A&E if he is unwell - this is what i was told buy the nurse i spoke to.
If you arn't able to contact his liver doctor directly I think I would follow instructions to take him to A&E. It sounds like he is really suffering with decompensated symptoms and needs to be seen by liver team, this coughing could be a sign of development of hepatopulmonary issues, itching is a sign of too much bilirubin in his blood together with jaundice.
If my hubby were to present like this I know that I would be contacting his specialist's secretary for an urgent face to face appointment. He needs to be seen a.s.a.p.
Thank you very much Ayrshirek. I will contact the specialists again and insist that he is seen straight away. He is not in any kind of condition to be sitting in A&E and as i said i had a long conversation with the hospital last week, this is the team who are dealing with him, this was a scheduled call. When i informed them in detail about his overall condition there seemed to be no need on their part for a face to face even though i informed her that he needs to be seen and that a phone conversation does nothing to treat him.
I really appreciate your message and advice about this and will try to arrange that they seem him or i will have to get him to A&E.
Hi and sorry that you are having such an awful time. Hacking cough and mucas can sometimes be due to stomach acid coming back up the oesophagus and causing irritation ( Acid reflux). Gaviscon Advance really helped me or one of the PPI's off the GP for a short course until acid under control. If that is the cause diet and stress may be the reason. All the best.
Hello doris22, thank you for your best wishes and possibly and i do say possibly the answer we need. You have no idea how much i appreciate your suggestion and will definitely try this. May i ask without sounding stupid what a PPI's is? . I will let you know if this helps with his condition and I hope you are ok and well. Many kind regards.
Hello again doris22. I went to the chemist and spoke to them about the possibility of Gaviscon helping with my partners condition. He said it was mainly for heart burn. He recommended that he was assessed first as some people reacts differently to medicines, however, i really appreciate your suggestion. Our hands were forced early this morning as his condition was not improving and i called an ambulance. The paramedics said he has a chest infection and that the antibiotics he was on before would not have been enough. They were brilliant and the hospital have been great so far and have found he has low hemoglobin and are preparing him for scans and an ultrasound. He has had 2 blood transfusions and sounded much better when i spoke with him this afternoon. Kind regards and my best wishes to you.
Thanks for your reply. Hopefully now things will improve greatly. Gaviscon Advance is helpful for heartburn yes, but if you have silent reflux (no heartburn symtoms) it can be even more helpful if you have the reflux cough that can happen with that. Not all pharmacist are aware of this. Let's hope the different antibiotics do the job this time. Wishing you all the best.
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