Spouse is foggy headed and confused

Hi everyone....

Dennis was at the hospital yesterday after not feeling good for 5 days. I called the transplant coordinator and she said bring him in and ER can take a look at him. He's been wobbly on his feet (fell down twice) and slurring his words. Two days prior to this he was running a fever so we thought he had the flu. He says his stomache hurts...He was constipated about four days earlier so he increased the Kristalose and that seemed to be working it's way out. To me he seems like his HE is acting up....confused, foggy headed and just off all the way around. His diet has been good, diabetes are in normal range. The labs all came back great....liver levels normal and ammonia at 20 which is remarkable for him....So all labs were great better than great for him. This morning he gets up and he says I don't feel good, I feel foggy headed. The hepatologist that saw him in ER said that she thinks his intestines caused a problem with it backing up and has caused the HE symptoms....but my question is with all the labs coming back good and him going to the bathroom fine....Why is he still acting foggy headed?

His Hepatologist left and moved to Iowa without telling him after being his doctor for 14 years. He will be seeing a new doctor. Dennis was being seen at a different hospital and his doctor changed hospitals 6 years ago and Dennis followed him when he changed hospitals. We are going to think positive that the new doctor will work out fine and hopefully things will chug along with not much interuptions.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and frustrated as his sleeping is off which means I'm awake as well....he isn't very thoughtful at this moment....

So if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate them!!

DDMom (Kathy)

I thought about a stroke myself but wasn't sure about that and both the hepatologist and ER doctor saw him and didn't mention a stroke....They did an EKG and everything was normal...blood pressure was normal and good. The doctor said drink more water, Dennis was drinking Kristalose by the gallon to clear up constipation as well as brain fog. I know David on here has mentioned drink lactulose as much as you need to, to clear the brain. Maybe he might have some ideas. Maybe he just had the flu along with constipation and it's taking a while for him to get back to normal. This is the hard part for me....I don't know all the answers...maybe I need to be more patient and give him more time.....

Hi A. Ziffle,

Yes, he is on Xifaxan, and it along with Kristalose was working good.  I also thought maybe his ammonia level was high but it was lower than it's ever been.

DDMom (Kathy)

Thanks Deb....
Dennis does have Hep C....with a meld score of 9/10 and he does have a history of HE. He is listed on Transplant list. I thought with all the Kristalose he was taking that would count for water. I think he better start drinking more water and doing the Kristalose even when he doesn't think he needs it.....He will tell me..Oh I feel fine, I don't need anymore Kristalose and then the problems start. He hasn't been admitted with HE so far and trying really hard to stay away for the hospital...

Thanks,
DDMom (Kathy)

Too much sodium can cause problems also , I know you said his diet was good but is he monitoring sodium intake levels .

Symptoms of too much sodium (salt) in the body

Convulsions (seizures)
dizziness
fast heartbeat
high blood pressure
irritability
muscle twitching
restlessness
swelling of feet or lower legs
weakness

Symptoms of too much fluid in the body

Puffy eyelids

Not saying this is Dennis problem at the moment but be sure the bases are covered , Salt is in alot of products we eat . Check food labels before putting something in the grocery basket , Even " Low Sodium " labeled products contain more salt than regular labeled products . Shopping for Liver disease friendly food is challenging until you know what to look for and adjust to a real healthy balance of sodium . It doesn't take much salt to exceed the daily low sodium restricted diet .


A. Ziffle

He has been having problems with edema in his legs and face and belly that has come on in the last week so that might be what the problem is as well. His sodium level on his labs came out within normal range. I am a little confused if you go by the labs Dennis looks like a healthy person except for the labs they use for meld score. Am I right in saying that the lab test don't tell the whole story if you are a person with ESLD?

DD, my labs have never really reflected how sick I was, except for the alpha fetoprotein cancer marker. When that rose significantly, they knew the cancer was growing. It added extra points to my MELD.

Hugs,
Connie

Kathy, glad to hear that Dennis is doing better! Here's hoping that continues to be the case.

Hugs,
Connie

Ditto Deb!