Is There a Doctor in the House? (In regard to my mom)

I assume being so deep into the illness she has tried fecal implantation? My mother also has a liver disease going on 20+ years but she is doing well for now aside from some bouts of not feeling well.

Good luck Reldra.

originally posted by: rickymouse
It doesn't sound too good for her with the septic Pneumonia. I am not a doctor, but I know some things about diseases. Some medicines raise your risk of getting pneumonias. That is a side effect. The medicine is probably necessary in her condition though, the long term infection isn't such a good thing to have.

She is only sixty three, kind of young to be having all those problems. I would see if you could find someone to reevaluate her meds. There are special doctors that do that. There could be some recognizable problems to someone who does that sort of thing. I can't remember what the name of those specialists are.

Well, it is the 1/4 iof a functioning liver part that will do that at any age. Hip replacement is normal for her age.

I think all the meds she takes are necessary, but you never know.

After the initial hip surgery, the incision became infected while at the physical rehab home. There was a machine that has an attachment that supplies oxygen to the incision. The workers did not know how to work the machine and it kept shutting off. Same machine was used after the hip replacement was removed and an anti biotic spacer inserted. Different recovery home, same machine, workers did not know how to work the machine.

I called and at one point I googled the customer service number for the machine. The aides were given instructions. I come to find the next day that after shift change, the instructions were not passed along. Sigh...

I will check back. I would think an actual doctor is a member here.

a reply to: reldra

Hey Relda: I am only qualified as an EMT 1st Responder is disaster life support, and not qualified to make an assessment. But, I can make an observation. Just an observation...thats all.

I am so very sorry you and mom and the rest of the family are going through this. But, you have to do the best for you and the rest of them and mom.

Doctors are not Gods, and yet we put them on pedestals. Perhaps, we shouldnt? You need to think it through, decide what YOU feel is the best recourse. If it goes against the grain or advice...it still is your choice.

I see so many variables here and what if's...that it seems wherever you may go or whomever counsel you seek...will keep you confused. There is a higher power. Search yourself and the situation you find yourself in. Each new extra day becomes important...and that may be the way to look at it. Day by day through the grace of God.

I see life and death all the time. And as traumatic as it can be...it is a part of our human existence and something we all must journey through, start to finish and beyond.

You will get as many opinions on which way to go, as there are books on shelves in libraries around the world. But ultimately, the answer is in you and yours...and what you and family feel is best, and needs to be done.

The best observational only advice I can give you is to persevere ahead, one day at a time. One hurdle over the next. Take each day as a blessing, each hour as a positive move forward. Do what you feel you can.

Apparently Mom's been incredibly fortunate and blessed. Maybe for her, maybe for you. God never places more on us than he knows we can handle.

I know its not much, but I hope I helped a tiny tiny bit in making you feel a little bit better. If I did...then Im glad.

God Bless you and all of yours...

Peace, Love n Light to you...Always

MS

originally posted by: reldra
I will check back. I would think an actual doctor is a member here.

We did have one. A conservative type IIRC. Somebody got under his skin ... he spoke his mind ... and got banned for it. Shame ... huh?

a reply to: mysterioustranger

You're right, some people do put doctors on pedistals. They are only human and they do have limitations on what they know. The amount we know is now increasing with the creation of new technology that allows us to actually test more to see if past practices are actually right. There was not always adequate evidence to prove something was right, correlation was used a lot to diagnose and even now they still use it. There has been a lot of wrong reasoning over the decades, but it is getting better.

Some doctors do have big heads, but the majority of them are just people doing what they were taught to do. It would be nice if things were different and profit was not such an issue but we got what we got.

I'm glad we have EMTs now, they can save a lot of lives. When I was young there were only ambulance drivers that hauled people to the hospital.

a reply to: reldra

I haven't read thru all the replies so forgive if this is a repeat

Colloidal Silver

I am an ex infection control nurse but this is not about pharma meds.

Colloidal Silver

My experience.

I have a fungal infection of the fingernails for several years. Took a $200 med twice with no results. Went to dermatologist with no results. Read Colloidal Silver killed fungus. Took it once a day for 3 weeks (probably didn't need it that long) but it totally went away and have never had another problem...That was 14 years ago.

Returned from France in 2003. Was staying with daughter and about 30 minutes after I got to her house...son in law got hit on his motorcycle by an ATV. Major knee damage with open wound. Doc said there were 5 organisms and one actual bug. After surgery he was put on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks with a warning he would get diarrhea.

When he got home I had him take colloidal silver and a probiotic along with his 4 x daily IV antibiotic.

Went to Dr. 2 weeks later and doc couldn't believe all infection was gone but insisted he stay on antibiotic two more weeks. When asked about diarrhea...Dr was surprised he had none.

Colloidal silver is a great antibiotic if you can get a drop or two to your mom daily. Look it up. Should not be given over long periods. The ones currently available are much more purified than what I took. I still keep it on hand.

Read an article a while back where our astronauts at the space station were not allowed to use silver but eventually gave in and purified their water (urine in part) with silver. Cant find the article but here is the american spin on the use of silver.

Notice they don't mention it for anything else...poor Big Pharma would be decimated.

My best to you and your Mom. She is too young to leave you.

Oh Honey, I am so sorry your Mom is having to deal with all of this. You are a wonderful Daughter and trying to do the best for her. I will pray that everything works out ok. Much love and light! Please keep us updated on what's going on.

Sending good thoughts and good vibes to you and your mother reldra.

a reply to: stabstab

I am not sure what that even is...

a reply to: mysterioustranger

Thank you for your time in comforting. I will perservere ahead. May the Goddess bless you as well.

a reply to: Snarl

Well, he must have broke the T&C multiple times.

a reply to: liveandlearn

I thank y ou for your response, but colloidal silver has been found to be actually dangerous. Be careful out there.

a reply to: Night Star

That is the cutest picture I have ever seen. Big squishies Night TY

a reply to: gimmefootball400

TY so much.

I'm sorry your dealing with this.....I'm not a doctor.....but wanted to let you know I'm sending positive healing thoughts to your mom....and keep looking for a doctor that can help ! Hopefully a new one comes into your life tomorrow !

Ugh I'm sorry Reldra. Not a doctor but here goes.

Lost my Dad to liver disease when I was about 25 after caring for him for a few years (ramped up from a couple times a week to daily). One thing I would have done differently was to get him away from his primary care doctor who was old and in my opinion not really on top of his game at the onset. Old family doctors are great for certain things, but they're also prone to being lazy and set in their ways and may not know the best treatments available/have too much of a relationship to be hard enough on the person who needs care.

They gave my Dad 6 months to a few years, longer if he could get on the transplant list. I think there are multiple reasons they give you such a wide range with the prognosis (and this is after pinning down one of the doctors). If they say they are going to live for 2 years and they pass before, it creates problems, and if they say they are going to live for a few weeks it creates problems. They can't know for sure, so they do the best they can. I think this is to help them, the person who is sick, and the people who are caring for them who might need to plan for their loved ones care longer than they may anticipate. Also probably lawsuits.

I don't know if I think taking her out of the hospital is the best idea. I think probably not considering all the things that are going on. We bounced between a nursing home/rehab facility and the hospital and it was a nightmare. I don't think his stubbornness about not dying in or staying in a hospital/care facility helped (thought I get it). I was unable to keep my job and keep the appointments, so I lost my job. Getting fluid drained, meeting with a ton of people, coordinating and driving and dealing with lawyer stuff was more than a full time job. I'm glad to see you guys have some of the lawyer stuff taken care of.

My Father got an infection while he was in the hospital, and died from it. My take is that being in the hospital in some ways increases your risk for infection, but when you're in the hospital for something serious like this you're already at a higher risk for infection and are more susceptible. I don't think taking your mother out is cut and dry. I don't think you should personally.

Are there any better hospitals? I wouldn't entirely blame the hospital, sometimes the Docs are really crappy at responding in a timely matter (why I think primary matters A LOT).

Hospitals, in general, have only added to her main problem upon admittance, historically speaking.

I think it's true that in some ways it's riskier for her to be in a hospital (not right now of course, she needs treatment) but what are her other options? Where would she go?

My Father didn't have any other relatives in the State (parents divorced) so when he was hospitalized I met with his lawyer and we signed me up for all the crazy crap you don't want to sign up for, but I'm an only child and love my Dad so I figured it was best for me to be making decisions if he couldn't. If you feel like whoever is supposed to be making decisions isn't working their butt of consider fighting them. This is the US, out healthcare sucks, and unfortunately from what I saw you really have to get in there and throw some weight around and make it clear you're not just sitting on the sidelines.

How bad does your Mom get when the ammonia levels get high? I have some funny stories that really aren't that funny, or at least I wouldn't share with people because it would piss me off if they laughed without getting it hurt too. Just know it isn't her if she ever gets mean.

I feel an enormous amount of guilt from the experience, but you really can't prepare yourself for all the eventualities. Do your best and make it obvious someone is paying attention wherever she is. And talk to her. There were a lot of things left unsaid between my Father and I that we said when he got sick. I'm sorry you're going through this, it made me feel so desperate and scared and small.

Don't give up hope. My cousins dad basically blew through his liver and kidneys with alcohol and heroin, they gave him 6 months and it took 10 years to catch up. I really believe there is something to positive thinking, so I'll think some good thoughts for you and your Mom.

Reldra I truly do wish you and your Mom the best.

If there is any possible way, she should have a friend or relative with her for at least an hour on each shift, long enough to meet the staff and be able to converse with them. A personal advocate is always better than a hospital-supplied advocate. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. What you are facing is a conflict between people who think in terms of protocol and numeric test results and variations in human physiology. When the numeric test values show abnormal levels, a protocol is applied. Sometimes those abnormal levels can be perfectly normal for that particular patient, making the protocol potentially harmful to the patient. So it is good to have someone there who knows what normal is for your Mom in different circumstances and is willing to speak up to the staff.

I'm not sure where you live, but is your Mom in Indiana? I know that sounds like an odd question, but there's a point to it, I promise.

a reply to: DAVID64

We are in Buffalo, well suburbs