Having a bad day

[jody]

It's been a while since I've been on but everyone here is such a good support I just wanted to talk. My dad who is on dialysis and has been for over 5 years now is having some tough times. He is small to begin with and has lost 17 pounds in the past 4 months. He has been having some problems with shortness of breath and was seen by his doctor last week. they did a chest x-ray and nothing unusual showed up on his x-ray. His doctor has lowered his dry weight again and thinks he has fluid build up in his lungs. Is this the same as CHF? There has never been any mention of congestive heart failure so I'm not sure what this means. My dad says they just need to take more fluid off during dialysis. Today when my dad was at dialysis, his blood oxygen was in the 80's so they had to put him on oxygen the last hour of his dialysis treatment. What does this mean? I have been telling my dad that he should eat to get his strength back (he really can't afford to loose weight) My dad doesn't like to eat much because he is afraid it will throw off his dialysis session and they will take too much fluid off. My dad seems down and with winter coming he seems to get more down in the dumps. I just feel guilty because I can't be there as much as I would like and I just want everything to be ok. I thought I understood everything with diaysis but I'm just sad and confused. Does anyone have any advice for me?

[I Am Blessed]

Re: Having a bad day

Call your Dad's doctor and leave a message for him/her to call you back because you have questions. Write down all your questions so you have them ready; it's possible that more questions will pop up once the doctor tells you what is going on and what to expect. There might be a whole lot of dynamics going on at the center where he is receiving his treatments. Perhaps your father is feeling like he's being run through a mill and no one cares to explain to him what is going on or even notice that he is losing weight. Surely the weight loss is being reported to the nephrologist. I don't know, but it's best to get in touch with his nephrologist and make sure that he is aware of all that is transpiring at the center with shortness of breath, weight loss, etc. All of these happenings might be overlooked by the staff who thinks their job is just to hook up and unhook these patients, taking no thought of following through with reporting stats. I don't know the protocol of how these things are reported, but I know this, you have questions and you need to hear the answers from the horses' mouth (the neph). Keep calling until you get answers. Your Dad is probably cold, and miserable and no wonder he's not looking forward to anything. Winter months? Mercy! I hope things can look better for him. My father was on dialysis, too, so I feel for you in caring about him and not wanting him to just give up. Dad was okay from day to day dialysis but he began to have TIA's (mini strokes) which kept setting him back. A cat bite didn't help his situation either and is what sent him over the edge with his function getting to the point of having to go on dialysis.

[jody]

Re: Having a bad day

Thank you I am Blessed for your kind words and advice. I think I will just do what you have suggested. I worry sometimes that there is more to the story than my dad is telling me sometimes. I often wonder if there is something else going on that he just isn't telling everyone. I know this sounds so selfish but it seems that when a lot is going on in my life, everything else starts to go wrong. I feel horrible for even admitting to this. Thank you again

[cicero]

Re: Having a bad day

There is no telling what your Dad knows that you don't. It is always good for two to attend the Dr conferences as both can get their own account of whats going on and then they can get a better understanding of the exact things the Dr. said. Will he let you do this.
Not a Dr at all, but I'm not sure O2 usage is a side effect of Dialysis. But some diseases of the lungs are. They then have the O2 usage problem they bring to the table.
17 lbs in 4 months is a problem and can be as simple s he is not eating. But it needs an answer and one soon.
You do have to feel healthy for dialysis to work its best, so there needs to be some work here.
Good luck
Cicero, a father and grandfather.

[halsonzammy2]

All of these happenings might be overlooked by the staff who thinks their job is just to hook up and unhook these patients, taking no thought of following through with reporting stats. Pressure Washing

[shara1234]

I think you should not panic at this time, you need to calm down and talk clearly about your father's illness with your doctor. I believe they will have the best options for you. hope good things come to your family subway surfers quordle