Please help me help my Mom...2 Months of hell

Hi-

 

My mom is 72 and was in great shape, very active ,  She is diabetic but controlled with diet and meds.  She went in to the  hospital in mid januaryfor an acute gout attack inboth knees, ankles and feet, which was resolved by colchicine,  and the day she was relaeased she started with these symptoms, High BP- 187/91  and really nothing lower than 174/86  ( her blood pressure was always  on the low range like 100/62), extreemly exhausted, weight loss, her sleep patters are off, ( insomnia), constipation, nausiouse,  she is extreemly cold most of the time, no appetite, pain in her lower back ( not sure if it's by the kidney)and she has lost over 25lbs in 2 months.  While in the hospital they noticed her TSH level was 13.2 I explined to them it must be lab error or transient , as her Tyroid was always normal.  They insisisted she go on Synthroid 25mcg dailsy, well for 3 weeks they took her on and off it , after numberouse TSH test found her Tyrois was normal 4.11 T3 & T4 are both normal .-My Mom is basiucally bed ridden, the doctors just keep runnign the normal Blood test, ( cbc's) and keep sayign eveything is fine.  I'm so scared She is also having pain int her stomach where they injected blood thinners and Both lower arms are"buring " - everyone says it's phlebitis, but that would have resolved by now as it's been over a 2 months.  Her GP know's there's soemthign wrong , but it's not his feild .. he thinks "her body is out of whack" maybe due to the severity og=f the giut attach, so he refered us to an endocronologist which ran the same TSH & T3 and T4 test, which of course came back normal, We need some answers, the doctors won't look beyond her normal TSH function test, and My mom and the rest of my family can not go on like this much longer....  The sudden spike in her blood pressure is scarry..Plus her sudden on set of exhaustion, she get’s palpitations when she exerts herself…. Any help or advise would be appreciated

I totally agree YOU have to speak up for her
Demand more answers to find out WHAT is causing this
I lost mom in March and now dad in Hospital I am involved in every aspect of his care
Please let us know how you make out
LYN

I'd have to agree about having the thyroid antibodies tested. Before I was Dx with Hashimoto's, I had occasional low levels of T4 that coincided with many of the symptoms that your Mom seems to have. These antibodies are not part of the routine thyroid panel and have to be ordered separately. Also, it's likely that your Mom was taking Levothyroxine and not the brand name synthroid. Although most of us with thyroid ddisorders can take either, some need to have the Brand name. The generics may have other inactive ingredients which can be an allergen.

Your Mom's symptoms mostly ring the beel for a possible thyroid problem and so you really should push to have this further evaluated. Remember, for those with borderline problems, it's not uncommon to get one abnormal result, followed by a normal level because the hormone levels can bounce back and forth before you finally go into thyroid failure.

If plebitis is suspected, then she should have an ultrasound to "see" what's going on. This would give you a real Dx or not.

As far as her BP, this should probably be evaluated by a Cardiologist. It is quite possible that her sleep patterns are affecting this. I've known several people who suffered with sleep apnea and as a result had extrmely high BP. Once they began using a CPAP, the BP lowered. Of course, a CPAP may not be the answer, I'm just explaining that poor sleep can affect the BP.

The MRSA that is mentioned above is probably not the culprit, although it produce similar symptoms. The full name for it is Methacyllin resistant staph aureus and it is a common hospital-acquired infection which can infect any area of the body. The reason I doubt that MRSA is behind this is that your Mom's CBCs have been checked routinely and she does not have any abnormal findings. It's likely that if she had this infection, she'd be showing signs of a high WBC and other changes.

I hope you find some answers and relief for you Mom soon.