Well, my son is in the hospital!

He had an appt today with his gastro doctor, and the doctor said he needed to be admitted. He's lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks and his heart rate was 140. Could use some prayers.

sorry to hear that :( your in my prayers and hope all goes well and he gets better soon. x

Will say a prayer!

My thoughts are with you and your son. I hope he starts to get better soon!

Hey. I'm so sorry your son is doing so poorly. It sounds like he's pretty dehydrated. I know when my hubby was really sick and got dehydrated, he too developed tachycardia (fast heart rate), even when laying down. A couple of bags of saline later, his heart rate came down.

I know that when my husband was very ill, it was a relief for me to have him in the hospital in some ways. At least there, I knew he was getting the care he needed, whereas I constantly worried at home about what was the right thing to do - do I give him gatorade, even though it has so much sugar, do I give him pedialyte instead, what do I feed him, did he take all his meds . . .

The hospital is where he needs to be to get better. Hopefully that'll be soon. I know that he's on remicade, but I don't know what other drugs he's on. They'll probably rehydrate him, and start him on high dose steroids to get this flare under control. They may also put him on enteral nutrition, perhaps with a feeding tube - this should help him keep his nutritional status up, and maybe put on some of the lost weight. They may also get a colonoscopy and other tests to see how bad the inflammation is, to see if he needs a surgeon following his case - don't let this alarm you, the surgeon is just around in case these medical options don't put your son on the road to recovery. I am not sure if your son has been hospitalized before, so I know this could all be new and very scary, so I hope this gives you an idea of the things they'll probably do at the hospital.

Sending positive thoughts your way. Hopefully it'll be a short hospital stay with your son firmly on the road to recovery soon.

Hugs,
PV

PV, he was in the hospital for a month last year. He went through hell, but he was a lot better when he came home. They're going to do a colonoscopy, and a cat scan. I don't know what else. He takes other meds, but I can't ever remember the main one. It starts with an M. He also takes vitamins. Thanks for all your prayers and information.

Roni, yes, prayers do work.

Jessie's_girl, thanks to you too.

You mean blood? Not unless he's losing blood somewhere.

Thoughts and prayers are with you all. No doubt you are going to be worrying yourself senseless and going back and forth to the hospital
but try and give yourself a bit of time too (not easy I know) but even just 1/2 hour doing absolutely nothing will give you time to recharge your batteries. By looking after yourself you will be in a much better place to look after your son when he gets home.

hi, Postie sorry to hear this, your son is in the best place right now hopefully after the tests they will be able to get him sorted out poor lad. I had a similar experience last year and as PV states he could be quite dehydrated will keep you all in my thoughts. Please keep us informed and let your son know we are all rooting for him to get well real soon. Bev x

With all the compassion on what you and your son are going thru, and certainly my prayers are with you and yours.

Have you ask him if he wants you to stay with him at the hospital?  Because it is delicate balence with being there.  Is difficult to have someone there when you need to control your pain. 
Plus, I am torn between you needing to be there to advocate and care for him or him needing to find a way to do this on his own.

I know he is really sick, and it is a judgement call on what area is best for him and you. 

I am glad he has you to back him up.

Prayers and thoughts for your son.  It might make him feel better if he has his own pillow, it always makes me feel better.  How many times has he been in the hospital? The first couple times I was in my mother stayed with me 24/7, now I feel comfortable being alone and I prefer it, she just stops down to see me everyday after work for a few hours and watched TV with me. 

The first couple of times that I was hospitalized I really wanted to have someone with me because I was scared (didn't want to admit it cause I am a young man) and bored. Then when I was hospitalized for nearly a month I could see the toll after a few days that my wife was having spending her nights at the hospital and days at work. There was no reason that she had to try and sleep on a hospital pullout bed every night when all I was doing was sleeping or watching television. On the other hand, it was really nice to have her up there in the evenings to talk to and bring stuff from home for me to do. My parents also felt like they had to be there all the time but now they usually just stop in for a couple hours every day when I am there and help give my wife a break.
Don't get me wrong, I loved having visitors. It is just really hard to concentrate on conversations sometimes when you are in pain or really sick. It is also a little embarassing to hear some of the morphine conversations that I have with friends and family members. The best thing that you could possibly do is visit him every day ( sometimes a couple times a day in morning and evenings) and bring him a laptop up there. Most hospitals provide wireless access and it would give him something to do to break up the long hours spent doing nothing. It also helps him have something to do to get his mind off of the pain. Another good thing if you have one or can borrow one is to bring an ipod up so that he can listen to music, pod casts, or audio books on tape. My wife also brought me up my own pillow and a blanket from home to help make me more comfortable.(She is awesome)

Sending prayers your way. Hang in there during this tough time, Mom. Sometimes I think it's harder to be the loved one waiting than the one in the hospital, and I've been in both positions. Make sure you are taking care of yourself so you can be there for him when he needs you.