Thursday, July 19, 2007
A bit of a downer again
Derek phoned a little while ago to say that he hasn't been able to keep his food down, and that the nurses inserted a tube through his nose to empty his stomach. He says that he's feeling a lot better. His team of nutritionists and doctors will assess the situation in the morning. There is a possibility of a partial blockage somewhere - only partial apparently, because the ileostomy bag is receiving some output from Derek's intestine. We'll know more in the morning.
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4 comments:
This is exactly what happens to JH : twice they started to give him normal food again (nothing really solid, just noodle soup, yoghurt and mashed fruits), but even when the ileostomy bag did produce stuff, it was not enough, so his belly was filling up like crazy and got really painful.
So twice they put the tube in his nose for a day or two, and then started it over again.
Sometimes, the hole seems to have a blockage as you say, then, they put a tube in it to help the flow. It doesn't hurt much, and the patient feels the relief.
Today, they are supposed to take the nose tube off for the second time, and tomorrow try the food for the third time, but this time, they are going to move really really slowly.
And they feed him with intravenous stuff, because he was really getting too weak after 10 days praticaly without eating.
It seems to be more common than you would think - the bowel system is very upset with all those changes, and takes it time to go back to normal.
But it does, in the end. We are looking at another 4 or 5 days in the hospital, but I am getting used to the idea now.
It is comforting to read the post by Laurence and learn that Derek's current problem requiring the nasal-gastric tube is not uncommon in such situations...also good to know that medical specialists nations apart are in agreement re treatment options..
Give Derek our best,Karl, and please keep the flow of information coming.It is appreciated.
Thanks for your comment, Laurence. I've printed it out and will take it to Derek. I'm sure he'll sympathize with JH (and you), as do we all, and I also think that this might give him a bit of comfort. Unfortunately the comfort comes from knowing that JH as well as he are in the same lousy situation.
Yes, I agree, to share your misery makes you feel less lonely ! I printed a lot of your blog and Derek's blog too, and took it to JH in hospital.
You will be happy to know that the nasal tube is gone, and that he can now drink water. They are moving real slow on this one, because they sure don't want him throwing up all over again. But he feels much better now, and doesn't feel nauseous any more.
In exchange for the tube in the nose, he won a tube on the side : they put a needle in him, right through the skin, to empty some liquid that was inside and shouldn't have been. They directed that with a CT scan. It was not infected, as we first feared, but it had to be emptied anyway.
My english is not precise enough to give you much details, but the bottom line is : hold on ! It does get better, even if some days you feel like hell ! Doctor are wonderful, on both sides of the Atlantic as Ralph says, and they do have solutions for a very large range of problems.
Let's keep in touch.
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