Dad now got infection
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Andie….it is so good to hear that your Dad haaconquered this hurdle.
Congratulations.
Best wishes,
MarionHi Andie,
That is great news indeed! Hopefully the billirubin will continue to drop and that your dad gets some more good news with his blood test results.
Best wishes,
Gavin
Dad is coming home today! The antibiotics have kicked in, the bilirubin has started to drop and he’s not constipated anymore, so hopefully things are looking up.
He’s got to go back next Friday for a check up and to have his bloods done. They have capped his drain off but are not going to remove it until next friday depending on his blood results.
Best wishes to everyone
Andie…I am happy to hear that your Dad is feeling much better. Constipation is a huge problem and has been discussed many times on this board. Is it possible for your Dad to move around a bit? Inactivity coupled with medication can really slow down the digestive system. Stool softeners before each meal might be helpful and, tons of liquids. At times we had resorted to suppositories (Kris calls it her “bullets”; anything to keep things moving. You might also want to look at some of our JeffG’s postings regarding bowel movements as he was our expert on this.
I feel for your Dad. These hospital stays can really wear you down. Hopefully, things will go smoother now.
Best wishes,
MarionHi Andie, for the most part sounds like a better report! Trapped wind? That was a wonderful expression. I remember when I had my kids, like 90 years ago, they had these little tubes they inserted, painlessly, you know where and the wind got to escape. It was such a relief. Andie, how much more delicate can we be????? We are hoping for dad to continue to get much better.
Dad is still in hospital. They started him on some stronger antibiotics which seem to have helped whatever infection he is fighting. They have sent his blood and bile to be cultured but they are hoping these strong antibiotics given direct in the vien will do the trick. His temp has been normal the last 24 hours and he doesn’t seem to be sweating as much. The only problem is they have made him very constipated and he is suffering from trapped wind, so much that he actually thought he was having a heart attack Saturday night and had to buzz the nurses, something my dad would only do if he was in extreme pain. They have given him some peppermint water and some tablets to try and help but it’s not doing the trick at the moment. My Dad has an illestomy bag through having colon cancer so I’m not sure if this is causing it to be worse.
The good news is that they sent him back down to theatre to put a dye through the stent and everything was working fine so hopefully when they cap the drain of today and take his blood for bilirubin it will have fallen,
He is getting very fed up and the 3 day max stay for his stent replacement is now looking at least another 4 days. This now means his chemo will have to be put back yet again. The other good news is that it hasn’t grown when they compared his xrays from his last scan taken when they put the stents in.
Hi Andie
I am so sorry to hear this about your Dad. It must be such a blow for you all that this has happened and he can’t start his chemo as planned.
I am sure that they will sort out how to deal with the infection, even if, as Kris says, they just keep trying different antibiotics.
I hope that he manages to keep eating and that he feels better really soon.All my thoughts and best wishes
Jemima
Stents and drains sometimes do lead to infections and it is good you were looking out for it and your dad is now in the hospital. I had one infection that they never did figure out but finally got rid of by throwing so many different antibiotics at it. Finding the cause of an infection can take time between growing the right cultures and everything.
Weight loss can be for several reasons. Have you talked to the doctor about it? It could be cachexia which is not uncommon for cancer patients or it can just be something like diareah or dehydration. Your dads doctor will be able to give more insight.
Hang in there. Being in the hospital is so boring and I am sure your dad is just going stir crazy. Hope he comes home soon.
Kris
Dad had stent unblocked and two more added Wednesday. He looked a bit clammy on the Thursday after they had clamped his drain and his temperature went up slightly. The same happened Friday and they decided to move him to the surgical ward (Dad had been on the medical ward as this was the only bed available) where they have put the drain back on. His bilirubin went up to 329 and then went down to 300. His WBC also went up, then down and is back up again. The antibiotics they had given him haven’t been working as expected so they have now changed them and have took blood and bile samples to try and grow the culprit. They are flushing his external drain tonight.
He is sweating a lot and a little breathless. He still has an appetite which is good and is drinking alot but is losing weight. Could this be due to the nutrients not reaching my Dad due to the bile?
At first they thought the ducts in the liver were inflammed and this was causing the bilirubin to rise, the antibiotics for this haven’t worked. If the blood tests come back negative they are taking him back down to look at his stent as there may be a dried blood clot or the stent might have moved.
Has anyone had or heard of this before?
Thank you in advance
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