Aa
My dad is wasting away
My dad is 67 years old, he has always been very fit and healthy, he never really complained of tiredness or weakness or physical problems apart from some arthritis he has in his hips and lower back which was diagnosed a year or so ago.
He has been very ill lately. Inital loss of appetite and nausea in January has got worse and worse. He vomiting whenever he eats or drinks anything and is sensitive to food smells; even cooking in the house or other people eating triggers his vomiting. Initially his doctor suspected and ulcer and prescribed medication, he also had many different blood tests which came back normal. He has no problems with his bowels or any stomach pains.
He was so weak and dehydrated we had to take him to hospital. He has been on a drip and has had scans of the gastrointestinal areas (barium/CT scan/ultrasound and blood tests). At first they thought they could see a blockage in the small intestine and they sent him for the MRI, this was clear.
He has deteriorated very quickly and has lost over 3.5 stone. He can't walk without help or a walker. He spends 90% of the time in bed sleeping. He has headaches lately and earaches.
A few months ago before he had a strange episode where he felt a head rush and felt flushed in the head and a searing pain through his temples. The doctors sent him for a CT head scan which showed that he had a very minor stroke which is unrelated to his current condition.
I have also found that his memory and concentration are not so good in the last few years.
The MRI on his brain came back clear so they are sending him for a full body MRI scan.
I have found 2 articles about conditions with similar of symptoms:
BANF acoustic neurinoma and Cyclic vomiting syndrome (except he doesn't have abdominal pain and this has been going on for a few months now, without respite where CVS has periods of feeling 'normal')
Please help! With thanks in advance,
Gina
He has been very ill lately. Inital loss of appetite and nausea in January has got worse and worse. He vomiting whenever he eats or drinks anything and is sensitive to food smells; even cooking in the house or other people eating triggers his vomiting. Initially his doctor suspected and ulcer and prescribed medication, he also had many different blood tests which came back normal. He has no problems with his bowels or any stomach pains.
He was so weak and dehydrated we had to take him to hospital. He has been on a drip and has had scans of the gastrointestinal areas (barium/CT scan/ultrasound and blood tests). At first they thought they could see a blockage in the small intestine and they sent him for the MRI, this was clear.
He has deteriorated very quickly and has lost over 3.5 stone. He can't walk without help or a walker. He spends 90% of the time in bed sleeping. He has headaches lately and earaches.
A few months ago before he had a strange episode where he felt a head rush and felt flushed in the head and a searing pain through his temples. The doctors sent him for a CT head scan which showed that he had a very minor stroke which is unrelated to his current condition.
I have also found that his memory and concentration are not so good in the last few years.
The MRI on his brain came back clear so they are sending him for a full body MRI scan.
I have found 2 articles about conditions with similar of symptoms:
BANF acoustic neurinoma and Cyclic vomiting syndrome (except he doesn't have abdominal pain and this has been going on for a few months now, without respite where CVS has periods of feeling 'normal')
Please help! With thanks in advance,
Gina
My mom has identical symptoms and a CT scan revealed a tumor mostly blocking the Ileum, the connection between the small and large intestine. They now have to determine if it's malignant.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I agree with the workup thus far, and it has been extensive.
Cancer certainly needs to be ruled out with the rapid weight loss. It seems a multitude of imaging studies have already been done, and would have ruled out many of the major disorders.
The PET scan is another advanced, comprehensive study. It may shed light on whether cancer is responsible for the symptoms. It seems reasonable at this point.
Medication side-effects are possible, but more serious causes should be ruled out first before attributing the symptoms to side-effects.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patients education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
www.kevinmd.com
Cancer certainly needs to be ruled out with the rapid weight loss. It seems a multitude of imaging studies have already been done, and would have ruled out many of the major disorders.
The PET scan is another advanced, comprehensive study. It may shed light on whether cancer is responsible for the symptoms. It seems reasonable at this point.
Medication side-effects are possible, but more serious causes should be ruled out first before attributing the symptoms to side-effects.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patients education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
www.kevinmd.com
Hello to you and thank you for your words of comfort.
My dad is having a bone scan and lumbar puncture today. They have not indicated what they suspect but the neurologist consultant has told my mum that they are expecting the worst. I have no idea what this means but can only wait to hear what the results of the tests come back with.
Thank you again for your support, I am so glad I found this forum - I don't think I can do this alone :(
xxx
Gina
My dad is having a bone scan and lumbar puncture today. They have not indicated what they suspect but the neurologist consultant has told my mum that they are expecting the worst. I have no idea what this means but can only wait to hear what the results of the tests come back with.
Thank you again for your support, I am so glad I found this forum - I don't think I can do this alone :(
xxx
Gina
I just recently joined medhelp and I happened to come across your message you posted and I want you to know I am praying for you and your dad. Well I am not sure how you feel about the natural way on healing your body but maybe it will help your dad. I was diagnosed with a very painful disease called Intercystial cystitis and had to have surgery a couple of weeks ago to removed polyups and to make sure that I had this disease. The Doctors also believed this is what I had several years ago and there was no help for me the medicines were not working and I had almost given up I was in so much pain for months they thought I might have to have my bladder removed. I prayed and prayed for god to heal me and me, my husband and mom finally went to see a nutrientists and he had the exact same disease as I did well he put me on Ambortose wish is glyconutrients it supports the immune system. Well I took this several years ago when I first had these systems and I was cured I had no more pain. I stopped taking Ambortose because I couldn't afford it not to long ago my symptoms came back because I was eating bad let myself go and was so stressed out from building our home and I am now back on Ambrotose and slowing getting better the pain isn't as bad but in a couple of weeks I will be back to myself. I hope I have been of some help and you can research about Ambrotose and read all the stories of people and there painful diseases, cancers, arthritis and etc......Ambrotose has help so many people.
My heart goest out to you and your dad.
What did his PETScan say.....when they tell you it is abnormal?
I don't have any answer for you, unfortunately. Just want you to know that I understand how scared and worried your must be for him. Sending yo a great big hug, and pray that there'll be answers for you and your dand soon, so he can get proper treatment.
Please keep us updated.
In friendship,
Kit
What did his PETScan say.....when they tell you it is abnormal?
I don't have any answer for you, unfortunately. Just want you to know that I understand how scared and worried your must be for him. Sending yo a great big hug, and pray that there'll be answers for you and your dand soon, so he can get proper treatment.
Please keep us updated.
In friendship,
Kit
Hi all,
No good news I'm afraid. My dad was sent for a PET scan a week ago, the results of which apparently showed some abnormalities in the brain and lower spine.
The doctors have explained that this could be nothing as the PET scan is very sensitive and often shows areas that are not actually a problem at all.
They have reviewed all his previous MRI scans off the back of this, his gastrointestinal areas and specifically the MRI on his brain but apparently they are happy with these.
He is now waiting for an MRI scan on his spine.
I am not reassured, he is definitley worse. His symptoms of nausea seem to have subsided, likely due to the anti-sicknes medication he has been taking.
Due to the fact that he is unable to handle food, they have started feeding him using a nasal tube which he has had for about 10 days now. He is able to drink water and small amounts of tea (half a cup at a time, sipped slowly) without vomitting and a few mouthfulls of food, although he has no appetite at all.
I am now extremely concerned as he is complaining of numbness andlack of feeling in his right leg and right side of his face as well as around his mouth. He is unable to stand unaided, and the worst 'new' problem is that in the last 7 days he has become incontinent.
This is very distressing for him as he is relatively young, in his sixties and was strong and healthy a few months ago.
I saw the neurological consultant this morning and he said he is 'happy' with him, and that we just need to get him mobile and eating.
I am not comfortable with this at this stage, I really do not think these symptoms are a result of his nutrition and mobility but that these are being caused by an underliying undaiagnosed problem.
He has clearly deteriorated in the last couple of days. He is very confused, a symptom they keep associating with demotivation and the fact that he his not mobile or eating properly.
This just does not seem right to me. My grandmother was diagnosed with dementia in her 80's and my dad seems to be in the same or similar mental state to her early stages. Yes he can have a converstion with you and answer questions but his focus and ability to respond, particularly his response time to questions is very slow.
I noticed that over the last couple of days his mouth is constantly hanging open, something that he doesn't seem to be aware of. I keep asking him if his mouth is ok and why he keeps opening it,but he seems unaware that he is doing it.
He is very tired and exhausted all the time and can only stay awake or sit up for 30-60 minutes before needing to get back into bed and sleep.
One last thing, that I have mentioned to the doctors that was initially of interest to them, but now seem to have dismissed is that when my dad was 11 years old, he was hospitalised for 9 months with paralysis.
At the time the called this Ascending Myalitis, which is a creeping paralysis that started at his feet until he was eventually paralised from the chest down. Eventually he was in an iron lung but managed to recover and has lived a normal life with no problems apart from his constant lower back problems which he associated with his profession in later life (mechanic) and even later to arthiritis.
Please can someone help me, I don't feel that the doctors fully understand the extent of his deterioration as they did not know him before.
Just a few months ago he was so strong, often spending hours working on the garden, and building fences etc. now he seems to have aged physically and mentally about 20 years.
I am worried that it might be something like MS or something similar, but surely they would have diagnosed this by now? Is anyone else aware of anything that this could be?
About his cortosol levels, they did a few tests on this and they came back normal.
How can I go about getting a second opinion? We are in the UK in an NHS hospital.
I look forward to any replies.
Kind regards,
Gina
No good news I'm afraid. My dad was sent for a PET scan a week ago, the results of which apparently showed some abnormalities in the brain and lower spine.
The doctors have explained that this could be nothing as the PET scan is very sensitive and often shows areas that are not actually a problem at all.
They have reviewed all his previous MRI scans off the back of this, his gastrointestinal areas and specifically the MRI on his brain but apparently they are happy with these.
He is now waiting for an MRI scan on his spine.
I am not reassured, he is definitley worse. His symptoms of nausea seem to have subsided, likely due to the anti-sicknes medication he has been taking.
Due to the fact that he is unable to handle food, they have started feeding him using a nasal tube which he has had for about 10 days now. He is able to drink water and small amounts of tea (half a cup at a time, sipped slowly) without vomitting and a few mouthfulls of food, although he has no appetite at all.
I am now extremely concerned as he is complaining of numbness andlack of feeling in his right leg and right side of his face as well as around his mouth. He is unable to stand unaided, and the worst 'new' problem is that in the last 7 days he has become incontinent.
This is very distressing for him as he is relatively young, in his sixties and was strong and healthy a few months ago.
I saw the neurological consultant this morning and he said he is 'happy' with him, and that we just need to get him mobile and eating.
I am not comfortable with this at this stage, I really do not think these symptoms are a result of his nutrition and mobility but that these are being caused by an underliying undaiagnosed problem.
He has clearly deteriorated in the last couple of days. He is very confused, a symptom they keep associating with demotivation and the fact that he his not mobile or eating properly.
This just does not seem right to me. My grandmother was diagnosed with dementia in her 80's and my dad seems to be in the same or similar mental state to her early stages. Yes he can have a converstion with you and answer questions but his focus and ability to respond, particularly his response time to questions is very slow.
I noticed that over the last couple of days his mouth is constantly hanging open, something that he doesn't seem to be aware of. I keep asking him if his mouth is ok and why he keeps opening it,but he seems unaware that he is doing it.
He is very tired and exhausted all the time and can only stay awake or sit up for 30-60 minutes before needing to get back into bed and sleep.
One last thing, that I have mentioned to the doctors that was initially of interest to them, but now seem to have dismissed is that when my dad was 11 years old, he was hospitalised for 9 months with paralysis.
At the time the called this Ascending Myalitis, which is a creeping paralysis that started at his feet until he was eventually paralised from the chest down. Eventually he was in an iron lung but managed to recover and has lived a normal life with no problems apart from his constant lower back problems which he associated with his profession in later life (mechanic) and even later to arthiritis.
Please can someone help me, I don't feel that the doctors fully understand the extent of his deterioration as they did not know him before.
Just a few months ago he was so strong, often spending hours working on the garden, and building fences etc. now he seems to have aged physically and mentally about 20 years.
I am worried that it might be something like MS or something similar, but surely they would have diagnosed this by now? Is anyone else aware of anything that this could be?
About his cortosol levels, they did a few tests on this and they came back normal.
How can I go about getting a second opinion? We are in the UK in an NHS hospital.
I look forward to any replies.
Kind regards,
Gina
Dr. Pho thank you for taking the time to post, I feel reassured that you agree with the workup that has been carried out.
About my Dad, he has been given feed since Friday, via a tube down his nose. The good news is that he is managing to keep this down without vomitting.
Does this give any clues as to what may be causing?
Also, I was wondering, how common is it for cancer to be undiagnosed after repeated blood tests and ct scans? Is it something that is often missed on MRI/CT scans and only picked up on a PET scan?
Many thanks in advance for your comments.
Kind regards,
Gina
About my Dad, he has been given feed since Friday, via a tube down his nose. The good news is that he is managing to keep this down without vomitting.
Does this give any clues as to what may be causing?
Also, I was wondering, how common is it for cancer to be undiagnosed after repeated blood tests and ct scans? Is it something that is often missed on MRI/CT scans and only picked up on a PET scan?
Many thanks in advance for your comments.
Kind regards,
Gina
Koala, thank you for your post. I'm so sorry to hear about your mum. I wish you all the best for her speedy recovery.
Was this difficult for them to diagnose? Did her blood tests come back with abnormalities prior to the scan? How long did she have the symptoms?
All of my Dad's test have come back normal so far, however they have decided to send him for the PET scan anyway.
Kind regards,
Gina
Was this difficult for them to diagnose? Did her blood tests come back with abnormalities prior to the scan? How long did she have the symptoms?
All of my Dad's test have come back normal so far, however they have decided to send him for the PET scan anyway.
Kind regards,
Gina
Just a quick update on my dad's progress. He went to see the ENT specialist today who has ruled out any ENT problems as well as my concern for acoustic neurinoma.
He is unfortunately feeling alot worse and has had problems with his vision - double vision and speckles before his eyes.
This could be down to the new medication they are trying him on for migraines.
The doctors have decided to send him for a PET scan at Mount Vernon cancer hospital to check for tumors that may exists elsewhere.
I will post results of the PET scan once we have these possibly next week now, but I would welcome any comments/suggestions in the meantime.
Kind regards,
Gina
He is unfortunately feeling alot worse and has had problems with his vision - double vision and speckles before his eyes.
This could be down to the new medication they are trying him on for migraines.
The doctors have decided to send him for a PET scan at Mount Vernon cancer hospital to check for tumors that may exists elsewhere.
I will post results of the PET scan once we have these possibly next week now, but I would welcome any comments/suggestions in the meantime.
Kind regards,
Gina
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