Hi everyone, my name is Dan and I just joined you all. I apologize if I am being presumtuous by jumping right in with a question, but my Mom is in a crises and I need all the help I can get.
Crohns runs in my Mother's family-my grandmother battled with it, my uncle has had symptoms since his youth (now he's near 70 yrs old), my aunt just had emergency surgery to remove part of her intestine in the last 2 months, confirming she has crohns, and my mother has been battling digestive issues for the past 4-5 years, but has yet to be diagnosed.
About 3 months ago my mother was prescribed an antibiotic for a UTI, which we figured out later inflamed her small intestine; she was unable to eat, then unable to handle clear liquids by the time she went to the ER. She has chronic diarrhea more often than not. One of her tests showed a blockage of sorts that turned out to be basically a dead spot that nothing could pass thru (due to the inflamation). Having some family experience, I pushed the doctor to administer flagyl, which worked well on reducing the inflamation and she made a rapid recovery-able to eat and drink to gain strength.
She was out and under the care of both a gastroenterologist and family doctor. The flagyl, while i know is not a miracle cure, has worked in every instance (4-5 times total), but my Mom just went into another episode. Last friday she felt a little under the weather but didnt realize why. By saturday, she had trouble getting out of bed and couldnt hold food down. She started taking the flagyl pills and trying to reach either doctor. She improved some on monday and was able to finally get the doctor to call in a script. Monday night she got much worse and could not even keep water down.
She checked herself into the hospital tuesday and they were set to operate, even though they had no clue what to look for. Instead though, the doctor actually read her chart (in the past, this has been a rarity) and began treating for crohns by giving steroids, flagyl, and assorted vitamins. It is not working this time though, and my Mom says she is incredibly bloated around her belly, making her look and feel 9 months pregnant. The hospital staff claims the bloating is due to her body not absorbing the potassium supplements, but having looked for this issue and asking a friend (who has been an RN for 30 years), noone has ever encountered this problem.
It has been a week since my Mom has eaten anything. Each time she drinks the clear liquids, it sends her to the bathroom. She is getting meds for nausea, diahrrea, the inflamation, pain in her abdomen, plus fluids and vitamins, but none of these have improved her condition that she can tell.
I apologize for the long post, but i am truly hoping someone will read this and have a memory sparked and offer some ideas or wisdom to offer. I need to get her out of the crises point before we can think about long term treatment. The last couple years have been nearly unbearable for her, and she is close to giving up. I know things could be worse, but they are getting pretty bad. Thank you all in advance for any advice you have to give!
Crohns runs in my Mother's family-my grandmother battled with it, my uncle has had symptoms since his youth (now he's near 70 yrs old), my aunt just had emergency surgery to remove part of her intestine in the last 2 months, confirming she has crohns, and my mother has been battling digestive issues for the past 4-5 years, but has yet to be diagnosed.
About 3 months ago my mother was prescribed an antibiotic for a UTI, which we figured out later inflamed her small intestine; she was unable to eat, then unable to handle clear liquids by the time she went to the ER. She has chronic diarrhea more often than not. One of her tests showed a blockage of sorts that turned out to be basically a dead spot that nothing could pass thru (due to the inflamation). Having some family experience, I pushed the doctor to administer flagyl, which worked well on reducing the inflamation and she made a rapid recovery-able to eat and drink to gain strength.
She was out and under the care of both a gastroenterologist and family doctor. The flagyl, while i know is not a miracle cure, has worked in every instance (4-5 times total), but my Mom just went into another episode. Last friday she felt a little under the weather but didnt realize why. By saturday, she had trouble getting out of bed and couldnt hold food down. She started taking the flagyl pills and trying to reach either doctor. She improved some on monday and was able to finally get the doctor to call in a script. Monday night she got much worse and could not even keep water down.
She checked herself into the hospital tuesday and they were set to operate, even though they had no clue what to look for. Instead though, the doctor actually read her chart (in the past, this has been a rarity) and began treating for crohns by giving steroids, flagyl, and assorted vitamins. It is not working this time though, and my Mom says she is incredibly bloated around her belly, making her look and feel 9 months pregnant. The hospital staff claims the bloating is due to her body not absorbing the potassium supplements, but having looked for this issue and asking a friend (who has been an RN for 30 years), noone has ever encountered this problem.
It has been a week since my Mom has eaten anything. Each time she drinks the clear liquids, it sends her to the bathroom. She is getting meds for nausea, diahrrea, the inflamation, pain in her abdomen, plus fluids and vitamins, but none of these have improved her condition that she can tell.
I apologize for the long post, but i am truly hoping someone will read this and have a memory sparked and offer some ideas or wisdom to offer. I need to get her out of the crises point before we can think about long term treatment. The last couple years have been nearly unbearable for her, and she is close to giving up. I know things could be worse, but they are getting pretty bad. Thank you all in advance for any advice you have to give!
