Caregivers’ chat

medtran49 said:
Now I'm in the hospital. I've been sick since Monday a week ago and kept getting worse. No idea what it might be but I'm sure I caught it here while being with Craig. As well, have a UTI and have blood in my urine. Have had pain in my back that has been steadily worsening and today it just exploded around 11 a.m., like 10 out of 10, I was nearly screaming, didn't hurt that bad with labor, toughed it out until about 4 and then told craig he had to take me to ER. Figured I had a fever as well as I had chills, it was 102. Now, I'm sweating ad the fever is breaking with all the meds. First time in a week that I've been hot.

I've had a CT scan abdomen and back, a chest xray, ekg, arterial blood gas, urine and blood cultures, covid test, and various other blood tests, and a whole bunch of meds. They are keeping me at least overnight.
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Wow, looks like you hit the jackpot. I hope the UTI was caught in time. That can keep a person in the hospital for a while if sepsis sets in. That happened to my dad.

I hope you get home before Thanksgiving.

CD
 
Morning Glory said:
Oh my! You certainly don't need that right now. I hope its simply an infection. That should clear up quite fast with antibotics. Is Craig OK on his own at home?
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I hope and pray that he is. I'm sure he either reheated leftover pot roast or picked something up tonight. I'll talk to him tomorrow about not cooking anything from scratch, either pick up take out or frozen dinner type stuff. I was in too much pain to talk to holim about much of anything earlier.
 
caseydog said:
Wow, looks like you hit the jackpot. I hope the UTI was caught in time. That can keep a person in the hospital for a while if sepsis sets in. That happened to my dad.

I hope you get home before Thanksgiving.

CD
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I had already told him a couple of days ago that we weren't doing Thanksgiving Thursday. I had been quite ill already, nausea, haven't been able to eat hardly anything or drink much because of the nausea, complete exhaustion, sleeping the vast majority of the last few days. I took a covid test last Friday that was negative. Did that because I had a lab appointment that day. Went ahead and did that. Results were a few bad things that I've never had before.

Doc just came in. I have pyelonephritis, which means infection has gone up into kidneys, which explains the lab results.
 
medtran49 said:
Doc just came in. I have pyelonephritis, which means infection has gone up into kidneys, which explains the lab results.
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Ahhhh, good they’re able to put a name to it, and doing a quick read, sounds like something that can be treated fairly effectively. Hoping you’re on your feet soon!
 
medtran49 said:
I had already told him a couple of days ago that we weren't doing Thanksgiving Thursday. I had been quite ill already, nausea, haven't been able to eat hardly anything or drink much because of the nausea, complete exhaustion, sleeping the vast majority of the last few days. I took a covid test last Friday that was negative. Did that because I had a lab appointment that day. Went ahead and did that. Results were a few bad things that I've never had before.

Doc just came in. I have pyelonephritis, which means infection has gone up into kidneys, which explains the lab results.
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Glad to hear the Drs were able to diagnose and put a name to it. I had to Google pyelonephritis - it sounds very painful. Hope the meds kick in and you are quickly on the road to recovery. It certainly has been a tough few months for you and Craig. You both are in our thoughts - sending healing vibes your way!
 
medtran49 said:
Now I'm in the hospital. I've been sick since Monday a week ago and kept getting worse. No idea what it might be but I'm sure I caught it here while being with Craig. As well, have a UTI and have blood in my urine. Have had pain in my back that has been steadily worsening and today it just exploded around 11 a.m., like 10 out of 10, I was nearly screaming, didn't hurt that bad with labor, toughed it out until about 4 and then told craig he had to take me to ER. Figured I had a fever as well as I had chills, it was 102. Now, I'm sweating ad the fever is breaking with all the meds. First time in a week that I've been hot.

I've had a CT scan abdomen and back, a chest xray, ekg, arterial blood gas, urine and blood cultures, covid test, and various other blood tests, and a whole bunch of meds. They are keeping me at least overnight.
Click to expand...
Oh dear you both aren't spared anything either, hope you feel better soon.. what a situation! I hope you have help around, am sorry to hear this! :hug:
 
OH.MY.GAWD!!!!
medtran49 as the caregiver in your family this has got to be so difficult for you, sending many, many, many healing thoughts your way.
DH and I were just talking about that last night... I've got to make sure to stay healthy and strong enough to pick him up, which I know I can.
And CraigC stay safe buddy.
 
I've been struggling with my DH's forgetfulness, brain fog, confusion over the simplest things that were not an issue a few months ago.
I've been trying not to share with him any detailed things that just frustrate him.
He knows that there's something wrong, mentally, but won't bring this up to the doctors, I don't want to push that too hard, nor do I want to go behind his back and discuss it with the doc's without him in on the conversation.
For the past 3-4 days, he has been very confused, and when he asks me to explain this or that to him, he becomes so agitated, he goes into a "funk" - depression I suppose, I retreats to the bedroom for an entire day and night.
I am the main caregiver if you will to both my mother and now husband.
I'm running out of steam!
 
kaneohegirlinaz said:
I've been struggling with my DH's forgetfulness, brain fog, confusion over the simplest things that were not an issue a few months ago.
I've been trying not to share with him any detailed things that just frustrate him.
He knows that there's something wrong, mentally, but won't bring this up to the doctors, I don't want to push that too hard, nor do I want to go behind his back and discuss it with the doc's without him in on the conversation.
For the past 3-4 days, he has been very confused, and when he asks me to explain this or that to him, he becomes so agitated, he goes into a "funk" - depression I suppose, I retreats to the bedroom for an entire day and night.
I am the main caregiver if you will to both my mother and now husband.
I'm running out of steam!
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It could actually be depression. He's dealing with some big health issues right now, and that can cause depression. For a man his age, it can be hard to admit that he may be depressed. Men of his generation were taught to "tough it out." Try and get him to talk to a doctor about what's going on. He may only need a mild medication to get back to feeling normal.

CD
 
I hear what you´re saying, kaneohegirlinaz. I know where you are at.
I´m leaving the USA on Friday, unexpectedly, because my mum is once again in hospital, confused, aggressive, disoriented, and my disabled brother is unable to cope. I don´t know what to expect, but it´s probably the worst. When I went over to the UK in February, the situation was not good, but at least I got to help out my family a little. There´s no easy way, unfortunately, but it is what it is.
E hoomanawanui, which is what I shall have to do for the near future.
 
caseydog said:
It could actually be depression.
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Absolutely. Both my parents have had heart surgery in the past - typical problems associated with aging (leaky valves, etc).

Both times, the hospital made sure the family understood to watch out for signs of post-op depression, because it’s very common, especially in older patients. They even had a counselor talk with us and explain what to look for and to take action if appropriate.

Neither of my parents (both in their mid-to-late ‘70’s) were the type to ever attend any kind of support group or anything, but they both did have some difficulty emotionally dealing with the whole episode.

kaneohegirlinaz - I can’t recommend a way to go about it, but I’d really try my best to get him to talk to his doctor about it. I’m assuming you attend his appointments with him; it may be necessary to prod him a little in front of the intake nurse (or the doctor). Sometimes, all it takes is someone else pushing the door in a little bit to get the conversation going.

You may even want to see if you can pull the nurse aside after she first checks you in and whisper in her ear that you’d like the doc to bring it up. That can help. We’ve had to do that with my mom with several issues.
 
karadekoolaid said:
I´m leaving the USA on Friday, unexpectedly, because my mum is once again in hospital, confused, aggressive, disoriented, and my disabled brother is unable to cope.
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Very sorry to read this - please keep us posted as time permits. Best wishes to your mum, you, and your family. Safe travels.
 
Thanks guys!
Our Cardio EP doc didn't talk about post-op depression, but DH's PCP has brought up him seeing someone and DH emphatically refuses.
He says that I'm his best psychiatrist, "I'd rather just talk to you about it." He just doesn't realize when it's bad and he gets so angry at times, I don't want to poke that bear. Sometimes it's best to just nod your head and say, "yes dear".
The PCP did put him on some meds, but now with his new heart meds, he can't take those, they interact badly.
We have a follow up appointment with the local Cardio on the 10th, I'll bring it up as to which other meds could be used.
And yes TastyReuben I attend all appointments with both DH and my Mother.
caseydog yes, he is of that generation of men that would tough 💩 out.
Maybe that's how I could approach it, I can only take so many "bad days" and he could try something else for my sake.
 
karadekoolaid said:
I hear what you´re saying, kaneohegirlinaz. I know where you are at.
I´m leaving the USA on Friday, unexpectedly, because my mum is once again in hospital, confused, aggressive, disoriented, and my disabled brother is unable to cope. I don´t know what to expect, but it´s probably the worst. When I went over to the UK in February, the situation was not good, but at least I got to help out my family a little. There´s no easy way, unfortunately, but it is what it is.
E hoomanawanui, which is what I shall have to do for the near future.
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Mahalo!
Safe travels.
 
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