Hey folks, welcome to the new whine/general topic thread. Feel free to use this thread to discuss anything that is on your mind. Caregiving- related stuff, life after a loved one's death, your own emotional wellbeing. Whatever..........anything on your mind.
Yep, .....................yep, yep. La de Da!
Okay, on to next thread.
I think I remember that my dad couldn't tolerate the nasal g-tube. That was likely why the decision was made to do an abdomen peg in his case.
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There's a recent article on npr.org with the title "Infectious Theory Of Alzheimer's Disease Draws Fresh Interest." It might be of interest to some of you, thought I'd share.
I remember my Dad having a G-tube (nasal) while in hospital for Aspiration Pneumonia, but it was removed one he was released, but with his disease of PSP (Premature Supranucular Palsy), he had to be on a very strict diet of soft foods and thickened fluids for the rest of his life, and as you can imagine, my very British Father attempting to drink his Life Sustaining Cup Of Tea THICKENED, Ugg, he'd rather drink sour milk! That was the one thing he wouldn't allow us to serve him, he demanded his tea the way he wanted it, so everyone had to be very diligent about sitting near him and monitoring the way he needed to drink small sips, and tilt his head down when swallowing. Unfortunately it was the Aspiration Pneumonia that took him in the end, God Love Him!
Permanent tubes can provide total nutrition but are more difficult to use and maintain and must be changed at the hospital every three months. Proper care is essentail because they have a tendency to clog easily. Long term feeding can be done at home with competent caregiver.
I have a J tube and can totally manage it myself. You fill a bag with formula by prescription, hang it on an IV pole or similar thread the tubing through a pump, prime the tubing so you done push air in attack to the end of the tube and turn on the pump and it does it's thing over night while you sleep. The important thing to remember is to keep the tube flushed with water before or after feeding because the formula sets up like strands of spaghetti.
This may sound complicated reading it here but multiple lay people have been able to assist me when I was too ill myself. Many nurses are not trained to do this so I have done some supervising when an inpatient.
It is the patient's choice when to do the feedings and it can be done during the day in what is called bolus feeding where you simply pour a measured amount of formula into the tube several times day. For me overnight is the most convenient.
Even with a feeding tube in place aspiration can occur which means the patient needs to sleep at a 30degree incline. No problem for me as I sleep in a recliner.
As far as your friend's DH is concerned I think she made the right decision at the time depending on what his other comorbidities are and his general quality of life. She can always ask them to remove it. It is OK to change your mind this was not a decision that can't be undone.
If the cause is a temporary condition, not a progressive decline, I think there's a very good chance that when the person recovers, the g-tube can come out.
I know my dad came home from hospital and rehab stay with his still in place, so that was about 6 weeks of having it. By time he came out of rehab, I don't recall that he was using it anymore. I used to flush it to keep it clean but I don't remember giving him feedings that way. He slowly gained weight and was able to eat soft foods just fine... so then they took the g-tube out and that was in 2014. It's never been needed since.
He had walking pneumonia then vomited and aspirated - was in ICU two weeks with a nasal tube - moved out of ICU but failed the swallowing test and she had to make the decision for feeding tube - he's otherwise showing improvement and getting PT
mom feels better when you're there
granted some can survive without much attention and there are plenty of lonely souls at hoca
I did a late night bed check on the Viking tonight - I gave her some water, we said our prayers and she fell asleep in a cheerful mood dreaming of pancakes for breakfast -
I would have preferred to stay home tonight but I'm glad I went instead
At this point you may remember that line from Desperate Housewives "if life has taught me anything, it's that blind faith is not my friend."
And how depressing that I've already forgotten the speaker. Teri Hatcher. Thank God! - I was about to book myself in...
And this bit "they couldn't really tell if this was causing the sore through friction or was because of her discomfort"
H'm. Well, let's have a little think about it, shall we? Why would a little old lady all of a sudden take to wriggling forward in her chair, given a) that she hasn't before and b) for her, it takes considerable effort that she'd rather spend on snoozling. Would our money be on discomfort forcing her to move, ya think..? And might that be because nobody's checked on her positioning or that her incredibly expensive bit of kit is being maintained properly..?
I don't know how you haven't hit anyone.
I was only coming on to complain about all dresses being vile and ugly and surely to God some highly paid designer can manage to sew up an entire seam without feeling the need to leave unexpected bits of you hanging out - what's with all the midriff and shoulder gaps? Don't they get cold? Have they no fear of draughts?
Though I did see one I liked a LOT until...
"Oh. No. That's Katherine Hepburn, isn't it?"
'Deed it was. Sadly, I in no way resemble the marvellously stylish Ms Hepburn plus I doubt if the fabulous dress is still on sale. Maybe it should be.
It still raises my BP to think back how angry I got when I couldn't get anyone's attention when mom developed a fungal rash during her nh stay with sepsis last year - grr
does the roho have to be inflated ?
I can't imagine anyone checking a cushion at hoca and now that you mention it, I should try to figure out the expected life of mom's which is not air filled but contains mineral oil - I always ask staff not to put her footrests on her chair so as not to puncture it so instead they get thrown on the floor - one is now broken and more than once I've found the padded leg rest twisted backwards with her leg against the metal rod 😡
I hope they are able to treat the sore quickly, and that your mom is getting a protein shake to help the sore heal
And if I was not there in the morning checking I STILL wouldn't know anything about it and they STILL wouldn't be checking her chair. Trust us. Yeah.😠
typical evening chaos in the tv room - short staffed again
occassionally, hoca will use an outside agency to cover when they are short- tonight I noticed an older woman sitting in the corner so I assumed she was a new resident - no, she was from the agency
your post made me cry
who can explain any of this