Hi Everyone,
Here's an update on Gene's visit with the oncologist/hematologist.
The visit with Dr. Kleckner went okay; I just don't trust his judgment completely. He walked in the door and said, "See, Hospice was right, you weren't dying last January." Then he produced a printout of Gene's ammonia reading the past few years and said you've dropped from 185 last April to 78 and your liver is improving. Your lab results are great except for one thing, your iron levels are low and you need to take iron daily." Then he told Gene he would feel better if he lost weight. He doesn't have a clue that the weight gain is fluid and Gene needs all the nourishment he can get down. We worked hard to get him out of the malnourished range.
Dr. Kleckner went on to say our life was like living beside a volcano about to erupt again so he could understand my anxiety. He said I was like the birds who sense an earthquake before it happens and that Gene was alive today because of me.
But he really doesn't understand liver function well and couldn't answer any of our questions.
We were told that Gene probably has a slow bleed somewhere; either from his varicies, ulcer, cancer, etc., but that it wasn't worth the risks to try and find the cause as there was nothing we could do about it in Gene's condition.
He explained that when there is a blood loss or depletion of iron, it first comes out of the bone marrow and only later does hemoglobin drop. So hopefully we can replenish the iron and not have to take it for a long time.
Hopefully the hepatologist later this month will have more specific information on ramifications of treatment or alternate options.
Gene is not going on a diet. We've worked too long and hard to get his albumin levels back into the normal range. His liver does not metabolize food properly so we cannot decrease calories or cut out meals. His weight has stabilized with minimal diuretics. And we will settle for that.
Now I'll get off my soap box.
Love you all,
Barb