Mom is in the hospital in Urgent Care. - Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia Message Board

dorri · 02-12-2009, 10:40 PM

She's been diagnosed with congestive heart failure again. Her Atrial/fibs are still there and her chronic high blood pressure is still not under control. That is what the first ER doc thought she had, congestive heart failure, but because she got better he changed his diagnosis to A/fibs and referred her to a heart specialist. She has an echo on the 27th. While the doctor last time was more hopeful, the ER doctor today told my sister that nothing can be done to fix it, and that she will continue to get worse with each attack. I'm glad she is going to a Specialist and I do hope their is some hope left for her.. She is in urgent care right now, and her feet are very swollen and she has fluid in her lungs again. This time her fluid isn't draining off as fast as the last time. I'm really quite worried and live hundreds of miles away from where she is, so if something should worsen I will have to find a way to see her.
One of the drugs she's on for her heart causes swelling in the hands and feet, this drug is supposed to control the A/fibs and her blood pressure, but it doesn't seem to be doing either? She is also on an additional heart drug but nothing is helping. I hope she gets in to see the specialist sooner.
I'm so sad and wish she would get better.

p.s she was a little more with it in the last two weeks but still was forgetful and confused. I don't know what to think anymore?

Gabriel · 02-12-2009, 11:03 PM

I am so sorry your Mom is back in the hospital. I do understand that helpless feeling of being hours away. It is difficult to deal with not knowing exactly what is going on.

I do hope your Mom gets some relief from her episode and improves. Hopefully the heart specialist can come up with an action plan that will be beneficial to her. Keep us informed and know I have you and your mom in my thoughts and prayers...

love, deb

dorri · 02-12-2009, 11:28 PM

Thank you Deb, and yes, I do feel helpless but I'm hanging on to the hope that mom will get better. She is so unhappy and that isn't changing and inspite of our efforts to make her happy, there is nothing we can say or do to make her happy. Even after they fixed her up the last time and released her from the hospital, she had nothing positive to say, all negative, she is so unhappy and some of it does have to do with her health that she must still be aware of. If only we could help her?

caringsister54 · 02-13-2009, 05:27 AM

Dorri

I'm sorry that you are as upset as you are. And yes, being away from them does play havoc on our health and mind. While there is a specialist she could see you have to steel yourself that the diagnosis will be the same.

My mother has gall stones, deverticulitis, hiatal hernia, aortic stinosis, problems with her colon and hemorioids. Sister stood on her head through all this and the doctors told us awhile ago (3 years or more) that while each is minor to do anything would prove to be a negative. Whatever mind my mother had at the time would be loss to some degree through the anesthesia and it wasn't worth that. we would be in a gamble of whether she came through surgery fine but ended up a vegetable.

We chose to just have her the way she was, Sister had her for longer than it may have been and that was enough.

Unfortunately this is all the hard decisions and while you are fretting, I'm sure your sister has it worse to actually be there, here the diagnosis and have to be the one to make the on-the-spot decisions in her care.

As your mother ages each month, her heart is more taxed and the fluid will just keep returning -- there becomes a rhythm to the hospital visits, etc.

Please just know that each of us has an end of the towel and we're wrapping you in our embrance. Please share with us your thoughts, concerns and pain but we'll always tell you the truth so you will be able to mentally adjust for what's ahead. We wouldn't be good friends if we couldn't do that for one another.

Love to you always
CaringSister54

dorri · 02-13-2009, 09:03 AM

Thank you for the advice CaringSister. I guess that's the hardest part bracing myself that mom may continue to grow steadily worse.