(no subject)

[ritaxis]

Okay, the Gloria thing. The doctor says yes, she thinks it's the urinary tract infection. She has a nice doctor, actually, youngish, Hispanic, sweet-voiced and smart. But the doctor thinks she should not be discharged to home when she's stabilized and eating again, because she's gone beyond home care. We're all pretty well agreed that we're at this stage or near it anyway. I wasn't there today -- I was in Oakland visiting my brother. But Friday I was there pretty much all day. She needs someone by her side all the time because she's anxious and wants to walk away from the catheter and IV and discomfort. She didn't eat anything yesterday but a bite of jello and a bite of this orange dessert substance. We had to struggle to get pills down her. She screamed when I washed her bottom. She screamed when they took her blood pressure. But when she heard her youngest son's voice she calmed down a lot. She calmed down the most when we got to talking about politics and retirement and things. The other caregiver bought her a stuffed bunny in the gift shop and she loved it. She sort of touched it absently but when the nurse was adjusting her pillows she clutched the bunny and said "it's mine." She's dropped a couple of cognitive rungs and I think she's run out of the wherewithal to regain her place.

Today supposedly the doctor and the discharge nurse were going to talk to whichever sons were available (the daughter being in Australia at the moment). Places in nursing homes are kind of tight. Nursing homes used to be a major industry in Santa Cruz but the property values have skyrocketed so it's not so profitable as it used to be. Also, there's been some closures due to licensing issues -- that is, they were hellholes. The ones that are left tend to be okay.

Tomorrow I'm goig to go do Gloria all day again.

This week I need to look for another job.

I'm taking Glucosamine now for the neck thing but I'm not sure I'm doing it right.

Comments

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

My sympathy is with you. It's terrible to have to go through all of that. While changing jobs? I wish I could send you energy.

Thank you for the thankless job you're doing.

[momomom.livejournal.com]

It sounds very hard to watch.

I find Glucosamine confusing as well. I'm taking it plain right now, no MS?whatever or condrotin but have no idea if it is helping. One doctor dismissed it totally, another said some people find it as helpful as motrin and less problematic. I'm taking so much other stuff I just don't konw.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

A study a few years back showed that most people with arthritis benefited from NSAIDs (ibuprofen, etc.) and some benefited from glucosamine. My doctor told me to try the glucosamine because I can't take NSAIDs.* If you're taking the plain glucosamine, it usually comes in 100mg tablets and you take them three times a day. The maker of my pills just came out with 150mg tablets that I take twice a day.

If you're not feeling less pain after taking them regularly for a month, they're not working for you.

*NSAIDs killed my kidneys the first time, and recently, the FDA is putting new black box warnings on NSAIDs because you can have stomach bleeding or kidney damage with the standard dose.

[momomom.livejournal.com]

Yes, I got gastritis from ibuprophen and Naproxsyn. I'm taking Celebrex and Ultram and glucosamine now. I'm scheduled for surgery April 9 and after that i hope to get off at least most of these things. I think the glucosamine might be worth continuing just for the good it does joints I think.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Does glucosamine have any effects on digestion?

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, NIH has the info (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-glucosamine.html). And I gave the wrong dosage, I don't know where my brain went. It's 1500mg/day, in either three 500mg tablets or two 750mg tablets.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

That sounds hard. Sympathies.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

It'll be better for Gloria in a good facility.

Are you going to look for a new caretaker job or something else?

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

I don't know what to do. With the neck thing I don't know if I should be doing any heavy lifting. I should be using my teaching credential, mainly, I guess, but I'm sort of freaked out about the last debacle still. Clearly, I should be subbing, at least.

I'm not exactly sane at the moment.