Nancy, so sorry. I know about the kidney stone pain from my son and it is terrible. But Dan has so much on his plate and now this.

I am praying for him.

Julie

I get kidney stones myself; but not as bad for women most of the time. Well, good that they're finding all kinds or things wrong,they should eliminate one by one. Hopefully tomorrow will be another day.l

Nancy: its albumin and yes, you have it right. So sorry about the kidney stone. As Colleen advises, one issue at a time. Shower can come tomorrow if Dan is up to it.

Nancy, Albumin levels go along with prealbumin levels. Albumin levels do not change as quickly in the body. As you mentioned, they can reflect a few days passed. Prealbumins change quickly, so upon admission to a facility, can give the Dietitian immediate results as to what has to be addressed. Albumin can give direction to diagnosis, Prealbumin: direction to what levels need to be addressed - low protein, thyroid, wounds. Details don't matter, gives Dietitian a direction to go in. Keep in mind honey, we nurses have wonderful tricks in regards to constipation - LOL, so just keep him comfortable until it passes. Debbie

so we have no idea with dan... i have a bit more time ... so i will start at the beginning.... this morning i came after a very sleepless night, but he was asleep had been since 4 am... i asked about labs and they said his labs were actually improved and B/P our biggest concern ( at that time) -- had been stable and doing well.. so horray i got all happy , thinking i can shower him and make him feel so much better ...... then he woke up to the most god awful pain that just seemed to go on and on and on... so we tried tyl 3....... nope no relief, so then morphine nope no relief, then we added valium to the mix and that finally got him calmed down or knocked out... either way the guy wasent crying in pain anymore.. so he got a little sleep.. as i said my sisters came to be with me -- this was so hard for them to watch... so when he got some rest we went to "applebees " yes colleen applebees ( LOL) and had lunch and me any how a drink... i needed it ..... then i return to the hospital a little guilty feeling for having left him .. and then think man now i need booze just to cope... little self medicating ( i am a lite weight so no worries folks) but still feel guilty... but he was still asleep, and theyhad done the ct scan and no stones... hooray and no hooray-- so what is it?? so his heart has been checked a couple times both with a eeg and blood work... nothing... so then i think his bladder is really full as he has a instant need to use the urinal... nope bladder scan at like 120 .... no luck there... his electrolytes and all look good , but we are wondring spasms... dan does not have a specific area of pain it is pretty much migrating .... we got him to sit up for like a half hour... but he was in pain the entire time... and we had to use a lift to get him back into bed.. as we had to medicate him just so he could tolerate the blood pokes to get more bloodwork drawn.. .. so he is back in bed and off and on sleeping but the urgency to pee keeps waking him.... it SEEMS as if i keep a eye on him and notice he starts to stir and get ready with the urinal and get his bladder emptied as quick as possible he settle faster but -- he is only 2 hours out from his morphine and 1 hour from the valium..... but we come back to the spasams becuase both the doc and i have noticed the morphine alone doesent do it... but the valium and the morphine will ( sorta) .... he isent having any skin issues .. trying to stay on that... when ever i get the chance i rub his back and that buttucks area so famous for skin break down... not hard just gently to stimulate the blood ..... i will be spending the night for sure tonight i can only imagine how scarey it would be to be him here all alone in pain.....of course today he didnt eat or drink anything... but he did yesterday, so i am hoping the carryover helps for today... tomorrow will be a new challange and at this point I just want him comfortable --- please god please..... please - god- please..................

Nancy, I hope God is hearing your prayers, how horrible for both of you.

I hope he has a night of good rest, and what about that condom catherter instead of worrying about his skin breaking down? Have they pushed his stomach when he was in such pain to see if they could find a tight spot? I can remember having a spastic bowel and I would be like a pretzel wound up in pain. Would it hurt to give him anti-gas meds just incase he is having spastic colon with trapped gas that balloons out and feels like you are going to rupture a bowel?

I was just thinking: ulcers? Since he didn't eat for so long?

I know when Ray is in pain, it's hard to tell exactly how bad it really is, since he can't say. Have they showed him one of those happy face charts to try to determine the level of pain? Probably a 10, but still maybe not, I hate to think of being at level 10 pain and not being able to describe it. Well, either way, even though we armchair doctors would like to help diagnose Dan, here's hoping you'll have a real answer today!

Nancy my Dear, I will keep Dan and you by name in my prayers for an outcome only God can direct. He hears our prayers to Him and we pray Dan can overcome this condition real soon to continue with his recovery process. I feel like I know both of you already and we all suffer together in this survivor state of mind.

through trial and error we discovered that whatever pain he is in seems to be more spasam type.. so my theory is dan is peeing so much they have a medical term for it -- diareseis.. i THINK - debbie help out hun.. he is emptying all the fluids out.... and dan just holds it till he knows he can pee in a appropriate place.... a cath would help with this and he is finally at the place medically where we dare place on ... with all the bacterias dan is dealing with a cath intro was a worry... now we can place one but he SEEMS to be past the worst of it, in terms of pain management... so he has a urgency to pee, tries to hold ( and usually will) and then his legs cramp up and other muscles from his sheer will to not soil himself... so we know now adding the valium is key..... it relaxes him so he can let the pee go and not "feel so inhibited" ( remember dan is a clean nut) usually i make it in time to him with the urinal .. the quicker he pees the less other cramps happen... thus he goes back to sleep quicker... and since he is so tired and now able to relax he is resting.... so no morphine ( didnt help anyhow) but valium was his pain reliever... which is good a lot less affect on his bowels.... yes he was pushed on and prodded and xrayed and scanned all to no avail yesterday... but hopefully as he has peed out so much now we can get on with resting, recovering ext...... but i hear a ominous cough.. you know the one... and he has a slight fever... but at least pneumonia will have a face, a name ... not necessarily a cure ( depending on its cause) but every chance i get he will use the spirialometer ( that thing to show how much lung capacity one is using-- dan always kinda liked the hallange) ... so hopefully we can prevent the new looming monster.....but hey he has been in bed for days this was to be expected... and like i said at least it has a face...

Nancy, as I see it, the problem with putting in all those fluids for so long - first hydration for nutrition for a few days, then more hydration and IV antibiotics are overworking the kidneys and well as the kidneys ability to process and filter the antibiotics (called "boxing" the kidneys). That is another reason for all the labwork. Put the catheter in - he is on antibiotics anyway, already making him open to both UTI and bowel infection. Reminder antibiotics kill all the bacteria they target, not just the bad! He is at more risk for infection if that have to catheterize him independently than just putting in the indwelling for a few days. This is also a way to determine if it is kidney spasms or some other kind of spasm (abdominal). If it truly is kidney issues, there are antispasms available for the kidneys specifically, as opposed to the valium which is more general - widespread, if you will. Also you can see clots or fibrin in the urine, color, odor and amount. I do pray he is diuresing, I know you look for edema and check the hardness of this lower belly. Plus he does have the neuropathy. One more day honey and you may have to think about transferring him. I hate to be the bad guy, but just something to put in the back of your mind. Debbie

I haven't had much time to write , finally we caught a break he is much better today, put him on flow max thinking some prostrate issues are at play, but we got the spasms under control.... And a shower.... There is still some edema but far more manageable and slowly going down.. And his mood so much improved ... Up and down sorta like our weather, my nephew from Co says nd is a bipolar state in terms of weather... I agree ..... On ward and upward..., so this crisis averted , but low grade fever Looms , but was told the antibiotic is a big enough gun it would deal with a bacterial respitory issue ..... So we keep doing the deep breathing and tomorrow he is gonna need to walk some.... And do some pooping I hope........ I not going home till that hurdle is cleared......I am do fortunate dans strength is coming back some .... But this behavior has got to stop or something, I know overall prior to this issue past 2 weeks he had improved from last year..... Now it is sorta a draw... Well we will keep moving forward,, like we have a choice... The back slide sucks,, I am staying here at hospital it is so much easier and he seems to be liking it.... I know , I am feeding the behavior but he is my husband and any lesson potentially learned will be forgotten by him..... It is what it is