Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My sister has a complicated situation involving diabetes as well as both kidney failure (not sure what stage) and end stage liver disease. She's in hospice but sometimes I wonder about her diagnoses as it has already been almost a year since this started.
One of her issues is that they are no longer giving her insulin...and I don't understand why. She is incredibly thirsty and is drinking a lot of fluids. Her hospice nurse seems to be pleased and says this is helping her kidneys. I don't know how high her blood sugar is but I'll bet it is over 300 and while I know that decreased kidney output would be a very bad sign, pushing all these liquids through them doesn't seem good either. And she is sooooo thirsty - it seems really unpleasant for her because her thirst is never satisfied.
I'm doing a lot of online research but there is very little out there for this combination of diseases and I just don't know how it is best to handle/balance their treatment. And I have the really bad feeling that because she's in hospice they really aren't trying all that hard. I understand she's not being "treated" per se but she's supposed to be getting comfort care and all this thirst is NOT comfortable, not even considering all else going along with it.
I had a relative (aunt) on hospice recently, last year.
She had liver failure as well as other neurological problems that caused her a lot of pain.
She lasted about a week to 10 days. All they gave her was morphine, nothing else.
Talk to the doctor about it. They are the only ones that can make the decision. Excessive thirst and urination definitely is not comfortable. Bring that up. That is a long time for hospice. It's not supposed to last that long? Maybe they need to reconsider that she's not as bad off as once thought?
I had a relative (aunt) on hospice recently, last year.
She had liver failure as well as other neurological problems that caused her a lot of pain.
She lasted about a week to 10 days. All they gave her was morphine, nothing else.
Talk to the doctor about it. They are the only ones that can make the decision. Excessive thirst and urination definitely is not comfortable. Bring that up. That is a long time for hospice. It's not supposed to last that long? Maybe they need to reconsider that she's not as bad off as once thought?
They said she had to have a liver transplant except she couldn't qualify due to all her other health issues and that hospice was the only alternative. It angers me that she's had all this time in hospice with no real treatment (because that's what hospice IS) - her surviving this long suggests that, as you say, she's not in as bad a shape as they originally thought.
All the water drinking is helping flush the kidneys. The hospice folks are doing a balancing act based on their experience and the experience of others. Trust them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
