Hospital Update

[PerpetuallySad]

Hey All,

Just an update. Spent the night in hospital with mum as she had severe chest pain when breathing in. Lots of scans and blood tests later we know the following;

- pain is from fluid on the lungs, which has reduced (but still prevalent) since her last scan in September

- she still has ascieties in her tummy, despite being on diuretics, they can’t increase these further as already at max dose

- her liver and spleen are very swollen

- she had a blood test for blood clots which came back as a positive, but they think it was a false positive as the CT scan showed nothing

- her liver function tests didn’t look any worse or better than before. However they said it is clear her liver is still decompensated, but at this time there isn’t much more they can do.

- a and e consultant will send referral for gastro specialist to see her more urgently than her scheduled early Feb appt, and suggests we ring tomorrow to chase them too

I guess I’d love to hear some thoughts or suggestions for next steps? I’ll ring her specialist tomorrow to push for an appointment, and they said they aren’t prepared to aspirate it as the risk of infection is too high. How worried should we be? She is still decompensated; we’ve removed booze (6 months free next week) and her diet is much better but considering she still can’t walk or really move, it’s difficult to do more

[PerpetuallySad]

i should also say both the ambulance team and the consultant in a & e asked if I was medically trained because you’ve all done such a good job in educating me that I clearly know what I’m talking about haha

[RugbyMama]

It sounds like you're asking all the right questions and doing the right things. I'm sorry to hear she isn't getting much better.

Would they manually drain the fluid in her ascites? Or is the infection risk too high? I know ow you've mentioned previously they are unlikely to consider her for a transplant.

[PerpetuallySad in reply to RugbyMama]

They said at the moment the infection risk is too high, with an expectation that the fluid would just build straight back up.

Because of her age, and limited mobility linked to other health issues, she just isn’t a candidate sadly

[Ericabear]

So very scary and an thinking of you. My husband had fluid on his lung a year ago, Hepatic Hydrothorax, we are not in the UK but it was drained through his back which must have been so uncomfortable, but thankfully did the trick but from memory they drained around 6 litres so they had no other choice. He ended up on a second diuretic for a good few months and fingers crossed we have had no more repeat episodes. I do hope they sort something for your Mum. Xx

[PerpetuallySad in reply to Ericabear]

Oh my gosh that’s such a huge amount. We hopefully will see the consultant again asap and they can advise further!

[Roy1955]

Sadly the time comes when all a Dr can do is keep their patient as comfortable as possible.How old is mum?

[PerpetuallySad in reply to Roy1955]

She is 67 but had an accident a few years ago so is totally unable to walk due to intense pain in her lower back and legs.

[Onesmallstep1969]

Hi. You're such a good son. Your Mom is lucky that you are there by her side. As for her health, I will say this. Make sure that she is not below normal in Vitamin D. If she is not at a good Vitamin D level, her recovery will be harder to attain. Second, make sure that her teeth are cleaned while she is in the hospital. The bacteria in the mouth pours down the throat and causes pneumonia. She doesn't need that to worry about on top of all the the things she's battling.

Your Mom is 67. That's not old. Here's hoping that her health turns around.