Question for you all…
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Melinda A., …..you’re welcome. I think that I was just as relieved , as I knew you would be, to see some evidence that John’s BG numbers may be from the meds. Hope that is the answer.
Glad to hear that his doctor is reducing the diabetes meds.
As for the scans…the MRI contrast may still affect the kidneys….but it did sound like there were a couple ways around it. If they’d agree to do it…I’d personally go ahead with hemodialysis after the scan with contrast, just to be able to get the scans a little closer together and get better pictures. But, I don’t know how eager the docs would be to do that.
Meds are just plain weird…..in that sometimes, the side effects are bad enough to warrant some other action. I just spent another night of nightmares……which had suddenly started a number of years back. Quite by accident , when I was reading about one of the drugs I take for heart issues, I discovered that it can cause nightmares. I have to take the drug….but it sure makes for some long nights. You just never know what kind of side effects these drugs will have.
Julie T.
Thanks for taking the time to research the side effects of his meds, especially as they relate to the concerns that I had. Great information. Great information. John’s gp reduced the nighttime dose of diabetes meds and he started that regimen last night. We will talk to his psychiatrist about the effects of his other meds on blood glucose levels. Your post, along with Lainy’s, really calmed my nerves as the next appointment at City of Hope quickly approaches. I agree about the MRI contrast being different form the CT contrast. What you suggested was exactly what was done for his last scans…a combination of them both.
Lainy, I agree 100% with your comment about letting our guys have the fun moments/events to enjoy, while we cross our fingers, say some prayers and wait for the call that everything is going well.
Much appreciation to you both.
Will keep you all posted.
Melinda AMelinda,
Suddenly something struck me and I decided to do some trolling on the web to see if my hunch might be right. Those drugs that John is taking ….one or all of them could be the cause of the low blood sugars. I forgot the “rule”….whenever there’s a new symptoms….it could be a side effect and look to what you are taking for drugs.
Remeron : ONe thing I read said it can reduce blood glucose levels and if you are also on another drug (I can’t read my writing), then diabetics should be closely monitored for blood sugar levels.
Zoloft: A Review
in peoplage age 60 + esp, but some younger, it was noted that those taking the drug for less than a month and also take Seroquel and have depression may have reduced blood sugar levelsXanax: This depresses the central nervous system and as such, acts as an appetite suppressent and thus lower intake of food for some and could cause hypoglycermia if you continue to take diabetes medication or shots in the same amount as before. While this drug may not directly cause low blood sugar….it sounds like it sure could cause a reduction of appetite, which John was also battling, right?
There’s enough from what I saw on the web to make me think that John’s low blood sugar episodes may be caused by his medication. There’s a lot to read about those drugs and blood sugar levels and I just scratched the surface. One of the above also indicated it raises blood sugar…..so like a lot of things…it could have more than one side effect. It would be good if you did google searches for the three drugs since I’ve found the above….read for yourself. If it is one or all of the drugs…..and he needs these medications…I would suspect they tell you to just monitor BG very carefully and very often…maybe even setting an alarm in the night to wake up at least once to test his BG. I know I’d do that myself just to be sure I wasn’t getting into trouble and not waking up to know it. I’ve had a couple middle of the night lows in the lower 40s….and it’s really scary……I woke up ONLY because the sweat was pouring out of every pore in my body…running like a river down my face….my back …everywhere soaking wet. I thought that maybe this was my first and only hot flash….LOL……but then it struck me that maybe I shoiuld check my BG…and it was 42. I don’t think I’ve drunk juice so fast in my life!!
))))Hope this gives you a little peace of mind. I know that I’d like to see a scan…..but in the meantime…..it looks like there’s some reason to think this is caused by one or more of those meds.
Melinda,
Contrast Scans: Just a point to add about contrast scans and kidneys. I’m assuming that John is having a CT with contrast????????
If so…..this may be of help to get scans more frequently.
I was having what was thought to possibly be an allergic reaction to the contrast of the CT scans….and the radiologist overruled the oncologist and said no way they would try it again, even with steroids in me ahead of time to try to quell a reaction.
I was upset that the scan would not be able to show as much without the contrast and they might miss something. So, after a lot of consultation back and forth between the two doctors (this was at Mayo) they decided on the following:
A CT of my chest (lung) without contrast
and
An MRI with contrast of my abdomen and pelvic areaI don’t know if the MRI contrast is as hard on the kidneys or not, but you might ask about that. But, I know when they did the CT with contrast, they had me drink a bottle of water before hand…and insisted that I drink several bottles before the day was out besides that to flush the stuff. They have not done that either time I’ve done the MRI with contrast, which is why I suspect it doesn’t have the same effect. I know it is a different contrast material. I’ve done this twice now.
What I read on line is that the MRI contrast can have a bad effect on the kidneys in the case of very serious kidney disease, but they can choose a form of the contrast that has the least amount of potential damage and….it is possible to do “hemodialysis” right after the scan to eliminate the stuff from the body that way to help protect the kidneys.
My creatinine was at 1.2 and my GFR is at 47 (both out of normal range….creatinine slightly elevated and GFR indicating kidney damage….from the adjuvant Gem/Cis chemo).Julie T.
Atta Girl, Melinda. I know events like the ones you have just had can be stressful but it is a different kind of stress and in the long run gave you something else to think about. I am glad you did those things. Like I keep saying, life is for the living and we simply cannot live and let those other life things slip by.
The week before Teddy relocated there was a Shrine Golf Tournament and of course he could not gold but I’ll be hornschwaggled, what ever that means, if he didn’t arrange for a dear friend to take him to the lunch so he could see all the guys! I held my breath at home for 2 hours! But it was part of his life and I was so glad he went.
Wow! John is on a lot of antidepressants and here I didn’t want to be on 5mg of Lexapro. But I can tell my moods are changing again so want to go back on. I mean when I start crying at commercials on TV that is too much!
I can’t wait to hear what the Docs say and blessings to you too, Melinda and of course to John!Thanks Lainy and Julie for your very detailed messages. John went to his GP this morning as part of his four month follow up schedule. He went out to breakfast afterwards, so that is encouraging. Yes Julie, I am very worried about the changes that I see with him most recently. In particular, that the glucose fluctuations could be a result of new activity with his liver. Lainy, I agree that major surgeries can cause fluctuations in glucose readings and bouts of depression. He is taking Remeron, Xanax and Zoloft and is under the care of experts. We will ask his oncologist next week if we should speed up the ct scan or if waiting till Sept 21 is ok. His last CT scan was 5 months ago. He can only have them every 6 months as the contrast is hard on his kidneys.
I am a bit more relaxed than I was at the time of writing my post. Since then we had two large parties at my house for the volunteers of a trauma intervention program and just this weekend a 75 person family reunion in 104 temperature. LOL Glad that they are both over and maybe now we can rest a bit easier and not add that level of stress to the mix.
Thank you both for your responses. They were much appreciated. I will keep you posted after we see the docs in the coming weeks. You’re right Lainy. he has indeed come too far to let this go on too much longer without checking into it.
Blessings to you both. and all of the wonderful people in this forum.
MelindaJulie, all good points and I forgot about my Type II Diabetes. It has been very sporadic since my surgery. I just go with the flow so to speak and hope it evens out. Like you would say….GAH~!
Melinda,
I can “hear” the worry in your words. I am also a type II diabetic, so have had some experience with at least one of your questions.
1. Blood sugar lows:
There are two things that could be going on…one sort of okay…and the other not
A. With the lack of interest in food, your husband could have dropped enough weight that it is making a difference in his blood sugar and if he takes any medication or insulin, it could need to be adjusted downward
or
B. In the month before I was diagnosed with a 4-5 cm intrahepatic CC tumor, I was having very good blood sugar numbers….staying well within the lower range of normal. Then one wee before the tumor was found, I had a blood sugar low…..in the very low 40s and it took three hours and a lot of sugar to bring it up to 100. It turns out that is a sign of something brewing in the liver that isn’t good.
So, it could be just lack of eating very much that has reduced his need for as much meds…..or something more serious. It bears checking out.2. More frequent BMs or Urination:
A. Unless there is something pressing on the bladdar, I can’t imagine what would cause more frequent urination related to CC. If this is a new symptom, then the first thing I’d do is do a urinary tract infection test. You can ask the GP for one in office….or go to a large grocery store, Walmart or similar store to get a home test (usually two to a box) and do the test at home to satisfy your curiousity. You just urniate on the strip and check the strip for color changes against the sample on the box. I’ve done one several times and they’ve been accurate each time, even though my symptoms were fairly mild.
B. As for more frequent BMs….again…..that doesn’t make sense that they are more frequent and is something important to discuss with your doctor. Are they also normal in color and consistency…or did that change also? If so…even more reason to check with your doctor. There are “poo” tests that they can do to check for various bugs that inhabit the gastro-intestinal tract.
Is is very possible that more than one thing may be going on to create the symtpoms you mentioned.3. Unwillingness to eat…feeling full early:
A. Yes, it is common for those with depression to be uninterested in eating.. They can also eat to excess due to the depression. If he hasn’t been eating very much, he may have shrunken his stomach enough not to be able to handle as much food.
B. Or, something could be pressing on his stomach, causing him to feel full. This could be adhesions from surgery even.
C. Or, a bacterial bug, such as H. Pylori, could be inhabiting his gut, which can make your stomach feel “full”….and can cause some bowel symptoms.
D. Or, did he have chemo (I can’t remember off hand). I have had continuing trouble with my stomach, during and following chemo. I’ve taken the generic of Prilosec during chemo and since, because the chemo still screwed up my stomach even with the Prilosec. I’m trying to wean off of it now….because we tried doubling the dose and the symptoms became worse….which were vague abdominal discomfort and bloating….where I didn’t want to eat or felt that I couldn’t eat much and then ate a full meal anyway. It has been weird.If this were me, I would try to push up one or both of those appts…..or start by seeing my GP to do whatever testing is needed to rule these out. If his last CT was about a month and a half ago, it’s unlikely that any CC recurrence has grown that fast to be big enough to cause trouble with his stomach, but I also know the anxiety caused by the fear of a recurrence of CC. I would have a very hard time waiting until that scan date. The oncology surgeon may not want to move up the scan….but you could always ask and tell him of these concerns. He may have some other ideas as to what is causing your husband’s problems. I don’t think it’s all in his head though…..depresssion might be responsible for the lack of desire to eat….but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it causing urinary and BM frequency issues.
These are just some things that came to my mind when I read your post. Definitely address these issues with one of his doctors.
Julie T.
Hi Melinda. Don’t know if this will help or not but have to tell you my story. The end of April I had a total Colectomy and really sailed right through it and the 3 month recovery HOWEVER, I have developed an over active bladder, men can get it too. I have been tested, scanned and last week had the big one , a Cystoscopy at the hospital. The Urologist thought I had a dropped floor as they call it. I said OMG, guess at this point I am lucky when the roof doesn’t cave in! Well, turns out just the active bladder. Have you seen the commercial on TV where the little red bladder takes control of the woman’s life always pulling her to the loo? I so totally relate. In fact 2 days ago the Urol put me on that pill but it takes a week or 2 to kick in. I have heard that big surgeries such as hubby and I had can lead to this, might ask the Doctor about it.
On the depression . When I was fighting the Colitis I had 2 years ago I could not do the potty descriptions without crying and he put me on generic Lexapro. I had NEVER been on any anti depressant ever and he order a very small does of 10 grams. It really worked good and I had no side effects at all and I usually do with Meds. I went off a month ago so can now cry at movies again. But it might be worth a call to the ONC>
I wrote this lengthy example as I do feel a big surgery can cause all of this. But again, you know not to do any changes without consulting his ONC. Best of luck. Hubby has come too far to not go all the way!Hello all, things have been going relatively smoothly since my husband’s resection in May, 2014. I have written about his possible chemo brain and his frustration with lack of mental clarity and memory. He is seeing a psychiatrist and a counselor to deal with depression and anxiety.
My question to you all is whether there is a connection between increased frequency of bm’s and urination and recurrence of bdc. His sugar levels have been erratic lately as well, often going low which he has never had since being diagnosed as type 2 diabetic many years ago. He is struggling to find pleasure in eating and has to force himself to eat and maintain his weight. This last symptom is very similar to what he experienced prior to his bdc diagnosis in April 2014.
We see his oncologist at the end of this month for labs, but his blood work was normal up until they found his tumor incidentally. We see his surgical oncologist at the end of September and will have a CT scan with contrast then to look for tumors.
Anyone have any info to share on these new issues that have arisen? I know that depression could be the cause of his unwillingness to eat. The bm and urination increase is new though as is his eratic glucose levels.
Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Melinda
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