shellina
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He was blessed!
What a beautiful tribute to Jeff. He was very lucky to have such wonderful and caring parents. May Jeff rest in peace and may GOD bless your family at this difficult time.
I had to take my husband, Al, to the ER last night. He was very confused and agitated for the past week. I felt he was a possible danger to himself or me. In my opinion, hospice was doing nothing to help. So, we temporarily revoked hospice and he is inpatient getting some much needed fluids, pain meds, care, etc. He will likely be released tomorrow and we are going with a different hospice company.
Anyhow, the reason for my post is to ask if anyone else had a loved one who had very low blood sugar due to disease progression. Last night in the ER his blood sugar was 43. He is not diabetic and not hypoglycemic. His sugar has always been normal. They have given him glucose and it is now in the 70’s. Has anyone else had this issue?
Krish, my husband is end stage CC and he is on 150 mcg of Duragesic patch in addition to Dilaudid every 4 hours. Does your dad say if he is in pain? Another thing to consider is that the patient needs some meat on their bones for the patch to work. Many patients go off the patch at the end because they have lost too much weight.
Hi Marion,
Thanks for your reply. It’s true, he could be anemic. But, they just did a blood test to check for ammonia and I believe they checked his red blood cells too. I am assuming it is likely disease progression. He does not want any treatment. He saw his dad and grandmother suffer and chose no treatment. As for the stent, the one he has is working. It is flowing well into the bag. The hospice doc thinks there may be another duct blocked. He has had stent replacement. He just doesn’t want a new PTC with a new stent. He said it was the worst pain he ever experienced.
Shelley
Hi Lainy, you have sent me the signs before. So, I guess this must be #10, loss of circulation. I just do not see any mottling. His appetite is really decreasing too. I get so confused though because it is such a roller coaster. One day he is doing well. Then the next day he is really bad. Every time I think it’s time to take off from work, he surprises me and has a few really good days. When I try to talk to the hospice nurses, they just tell me that no one ever really knows. I understand that. I just want to know if I should be home. Right now he can still get things for himself.
My husband had gout a month or so after diagnosis. Thankfully, for him, it was more of an acute case of gout. He no longer has any pain associated with gout. His father had pancreatic cancer and he had severe gout. He always said the gout was much more painful than the cancer
Pam,
Thank you for your kind words. I know you just lost your sweet Lauren. Like everybody else I followed your blog and prayed each day for her. I am so incredibly sorry for your loss.
Hugs, Shelley
Thank you all for your responses. Since you have all been through this, I knew I would get the best info and advice. Yes Lainy, could you please email the article to me?
Yesterday I was going to tell you that it sounds like Cholestramine. My husband took it when he was itching very badly. It helps with binding the bile to whatever she eats for digestive purposes. In other words, it helps with the flow. It is used to treat itching caused by excess bile and it helps with jaundice. My hubby no longer needs it since he now has an external drain for the bile. However, it was a GOD send when he did use it. We would mix it with juice. It is also used for other reasons such as high cholesterol and sometimes for diarrhea.
Great. Thanks for the advice Lainy, Linda and Marion. He seems to be less confused now. But, his hospice nurse is coming by to check on him first thing tomorrow morning.
Hello Sam,
My husband was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in December 2012. He started having pruitis in September and his liver function test was out of whack. At first they thought it was his gall bladder and we kept getting sent around to doctors for surgery to remove the gall bladder. Needless to say, it was not the GB. He presented to the ER in early December due to jaundice. They put in a stent and a biliary drain bag and thankfully that has helped him tremendously. Just like your mum, it took two attempts to put in the stent. My husband is only 57. His tumor is inoperable. He was his father’s caretaker about 12 years ago when his father was dying of pancreatic cancer. He saw what his dad went through with treatment and my husband also chose no treatment. He felt he would rather have quality of what is left rather than quantity. Right now it has been 7 months since he first started having symptoms and 4 months since diagnosis. Although we have hospice coming to the house once or twice a week, my husband still gets around okay. He has lost about 40 pounds but seems to be maintaining his weight right now. If it were not for the biliary drain bag, you would never know he was sick. Anyhow, we were told 6 to 12 months without treatment. We’re already looking at 7 and we’re still looking pretty good. I sincerely hope your mum does as well as my hubby has done without treatment. God bless you and your mum.
Shelley
The hospice doctor came by the house last night to look at my husbands edema. He said the edema is caused by portal hypertension. At this time it is only cosmetic and to elevate the legs when sitting and try to take some short walks. He is hesitant to prescribe a diuretic right now. He wants to wait to see if it goes down with his suggestions. Doesn’t really want to add another drug to the already compromised liver.
Thanks to everyone for your responses. I don’t know any of you and yet I feel like I have known you forever. This forum is a great support system and God Bless you all.
Hello again. I haven’t been able to write again because my husband has been in and out of the hospital. We have been to the ER eight times in the past two weeks. He is currently inpatient. His pain seems to be out of control and he is vomiting. They have worked quite a it on pain management. They have him on Fentanyl patches with Dilaudid for break through pain. He seems to be more comfortable . Now we are trying to determine the cause of the vomiting. They are only giving him clear liquids while he is in the hospital. As soon as he comes home and eats light, he ends up throwing it up. Yesterday he also had diarrhea. To me, it seems that he can no longer digest food. He says it feels like it sits in his gut and then eventually he has to throw it up. I know that when people with cirrhosis or end stage liver disease are near the end, they can no longer digest food. Has anybody had any experience with this? He seems to be going downhill fast. He sleeps all day. And today he seems confused. I asked the nurse to request lab work to check his ammonium level.
