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Please help- my mom is in coma

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Posted 6/25/2008 10:10 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone, I am new here and hoping to get some answers/support here.
My mom got into hospital because of a problem with her intestine ,she has a growth between her small intestine and the colon,had vomiting and lost appetite ,she had it for the last 5 months and lost A LOT OF WEIGHT. She was in a very bad condition when came to hospital, after she refused to go to hospital before,no matter how we tried to convince her.
After 2 weeks in hospital, which meanwhile she got fluids and did tests,all her tests were ok and there was nothing wrong, except to the growth that was stuck there, but due to the poor health condition, the doctors did not know if to do a surgery or not. From here to there, after 2 weeks, she got Jaundice,very light,and the doctors said that the liver is function well and they have no idea how it happen or what is the reason.
She had high levels of bilirubin and was just a little bit yellowish. During the week that passed, she did not get any treatment against the Jaundice, the doctors were trying to find out what is the reason. They did ultrasound to check if there is anything there, and the liver was clean and clear. The yellowish color almost gone, and the doctors said that the liver gets better. Then after couple of days, she was acting strange and it looks like she says things out of control,something was not right. At the end of the same day it happened, she has lost her conscious and since then (3 days) she is in coma.
She was put under antibiotic and lactulose to reduce amonia levels, which were very high.
The problem is that the doctors say she DOSE NOT have cirrhosis, but the result is like cirrhosis. They have no idea what caused the liver to not function, they don't know why she is in coma, they don't know what to do now, and basically they don't know anything!
After all this sad story, I just was wondering if anyone here have heard about something similar to this , know any information that might help me to understand the situation. It breaks my heart to sit here and be unable to do something to help.
I would appreciate if someone would share with me his info and help me to understand the situation a little bit. Thank you. sad sad
Posted 6/26/2008 1:01 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Mommyfor2. I am so sorry about your mom. You are in a tough situation. Not knowing why and what to expect, is harder than knowing in my opinion.

It does sound like her liver has problems though. I don't have any answers as to why it's happening though. Maybe someone else does .

Try and hang in there. Your mom and you will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted 6/26/2008 1:11 AM (GMT 0)
Dear Pink Grandma,

Thank you so much for your post. I am very sad and really need any help. Thanks for the prays- I hope our prays will help.
Posted 6/26/2008 1:57 AM (GMT 0)

sad   sad   sad  hi momyfor2, i,m so sorry for you, not knowing whats going on sometimes is worse than knowing. you and some family members are going to have to get agressive with the drs and demaned some answers. something is going on now with her liver, there is a reason for the lactulose if its not cirrhosis then what? i cant understand how they let it get this bad. you and mom and family are in my thoughts and prayers. put all the questions on paper and camp out at hospital make sure you corner the drs about your mothers problems this is very serious stuff!!! also sounds like she waited to long to get to the hospital which could have caused other problems to appear. this is a sad story i feel so bad, but please get on the drs for some answers its your right and your moms life somebody has to be her voice now. i wish you the very best of luck and let us know whats going on when you can? sad   sad sad

myfathers child

 annette

Posted 6/26/2008 3:17 AM (GMT 0)

I, too, am sorry you are going through this, Momyfor2.  Do they know if the growth is cancerous?  Has she had an MRI with contrast?  It seems they could do a lot more than they have in terms of investigating what is going on.  Is this a good hospital that she is in?  Since she is in a coma, it would be difficult to move her, but I agree that something is going on and they need to make more of an effort to find out what it is and to treat her accordingly.

My prayers are with you and your mom,

Connie

Posted 6/26/2008 5:05 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you Connie. She is a good hospital but I am not sure if they did everything they could though. They think it is cancerous but since they could not do a biopsy they are not sure...she came to hospital in a very poor health condition,after vomiting and loosing weight for so long(5 months) so she really was in a dangerous position to be under surgery. The thing is that she came for one thing, that has nothing to do with the liver,and ended with coma. I still can't believe and it breaks my heart. I just don't know what to do or ask them to do. They are suppose to be the smart ones who know what to do, but apparently they don't, and they are helpless,at least as they say they are.
I asked if it is possible that she is the only case like this in the world,and they said they have never met such a thing...is this possible????
Posted 6/26/2008 5:11 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you Annette. Yes she waited too long to go to hospital. She refused to go to hospital no matter how we begged she would. I think that if she would go before,maybe things would be different today. She did MRI and ultra sound and ct and every test that is possible, but all was clean...it is amazing how in 1 day the liver collapse...I just don't get it. I am so sad.
Posted 6/26/2008 1:20 PM (GMT 0)

Momyfor2, it certainly is a sad situation.  It sounds as though something had been going on for a long time that wasn't found and treated early.  If a person is having serious long-term and untreated health problems, indeed things can happen virtually overnight.  The person's body just isn't able to fight and stops working properly.  Unfortunately, due to your mom's comatose state, I suppose Lactulose is not an option.  Of course, they could put her in a diaper, but I'm not sure how they would get it in her, except maybe by a gastrostomy tube...and they don't want to do invasive surgery..  If she has had an MRI and CT scan, etc., then there really doesn't seem to be anything that can be done, since they've been unable to determine the root cause.  It's difficult to think about at this time, but you need to make sure your mom's affairs are in order.  Does she have a Living Will?  How about a Power of Attorney?  These are things that need to be dealt with.

Warm hugs,

Connie

Posted 6/26/2008 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Connie,
She is under Lactulose,they have been giving her this medication for the past 4 days. I think they do what ever they can, and yes she has lost time while refusing to go to the hospital . No matter how we begged her, you can't put in hospital if the person does not want to, they don't force you, so we had no choice but to go with her line. What exactly the lactulose does? Does is reduce the poison in the blood? What can be done so urea won't be high in blood?
Posted 6/26/2008 9:55 PM (GMT 0)

The Lactulose is to rid your mom's body of ammonia that builds up in the system when the liver isn't working well.  The toxins are eliminated through frequent loose bowel movements, caused by the Lactulose.  The elevated ammonia is what causes "brain fog," and could possibly be responsible for her comatose state as well.  In what form are they giving her the Lactulose?  Normally, it is mixed in with a liquid, such as juice, and swallowed orally.  If her BUN (blood urea nitrogen) is elevated, that's an indication that her kidneys aren't working well.  They usually treat this with medication.  It sounds as though they are doing what they can for her.

Hugs,

Connie

Posted 6/26/2008 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi again,

She is getting the lactulose through tube,and the Ammonia level is around 170. It was over 200 and now went down to 170. I will ask them as for the BUN ,I don't know.they said nothing about it. I know she gave urine pretty good until today's morning ,and since the morning there was no urine, so they assume something is wrong with the kidney, but I will check as for the BUN.
By the way, her urine color was dark and orange-red color until yesterday, which was replaced by clear urine. So I assume that the billirubin is lower now, which is a good sign.
I just don't know what the comatose sage is still on....it makes me crazy!

Is there anything else they can do?

Thank you.
Posted 6/27/2008 3:53 AM (GMT 0)

Momyfor2, it sounds like she is in good hands and they are doing what they can for her.  I know how stressful this must be for you, but you really must put your trust in the doctors and in God.

Hugs,

Connie

Posted 6/27/2008 10:58 AM (GMT 0)
I am sorry for what you are going through, I have been there, and lost my mother this way. Just wondering if they tried a blood transfusion? When my mother was in the hospital the first time in a coma, they did giver her lactulose and did the whole diaper thing but the hospital figured it was the transfusion that made the difference along with the high doses of lactulose.It is something worth asking about. This really sounds like something acute (meaning happening all of a sudden)there a many causes of acute liver failure it is also worth checking into. I am sure she is in the best hands and going in blindly is really scary I know but stick around here and you will become really educated in this. I know I have. Let us know what is going on.

Kipper

Posted 6/27/2008 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all,you are so nice. I have some good news and some bad news.
The good news are that she has started to wake up a little bit !!!!! Yesterday she could nod her head while calling her name, not all the time but some of them,and when the doc asked her if she recognize him she moved her head towards him and nod her head like saying yes. This is great! Today she could speak a little, very weak but could.
So this is great especially after the doctor was very harsh with my 2 days ago as for her chances. But I have learned not to fully listen to the doctors, sometimes they just see "black" instead of "pink" and they treat you just as another file number.

The bad news are that the growth she has in her intestines ,they think it is cancer, but they don't know for sure since they did not do biopsy yet. It is all assuming. They told me that she has CEA 12 and CA 125, which they think show it is cancer. Does anyone knows this tests?

They have no idea what happened to the liver and why she got coma, that's the frustrated part I don't like. It is much worse when you don't know the reason,then it is hard to treat right.

Yes she is getting blood transfusion,they are trying to improve her kidney function which partly stopped from yesterday,so they think it will help. I hope.

Please keep pray for her,and I am so hoping God will continue to guard her and improve her critical condition. I am so hopping.

Thank you all and I will keep updating you.
Posted 6/27/2008 3:31 PM (GMT 0)

That is great news!!  As to the tests, CEA means carcinoembryonic antigen.  CA usually refers to cancer, and the CA 125 rings a distant bell with me as meaning a marker for either breast or ovarian cancer.  Wish Shelly were here, as she probably knows for sure.  At any rate, I think we can safely assume that they are both cancer markers, so they are trying to ascertain if those exist and how high they are.  As I said previously, it does sound like she is getting good care, but of course it is slow going when they are trying to find the root cause of her problems.

Sending prayers and positive thoughts to you and your mom,

Connie

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