What comes next ?

[Flowerpot]

Hi All

Mum is now confined to her bed - she has morphine patches and can only take a drop of water without choking, She has stopped eating and has not had a bowel movement for over a week. they are going to catheterise her tonight as she has not emptied her bladder , either.

My question is - what comes next ? I have followed some of califsand's thread and seen that Mum may survive for some time without sustinence . I am very frightened and there was only Mad Edith , the crazy nurse available to talk to tonight.

Can Mum be poisoned by not going to the loo ?

Thank you all so much

Kind regards

Flowerpot

 

[BethU]

Flowerpot, I don't know too much about this, but if she's not eating, then there won't be any bowel movements. But you should ask the nurses or doctor about this. You don't want your mother to be "blocked," so that nothing can move.

Take care. Hope the nurses help you out.

 

[Flowerpot]

Thanks Beth

I probably panicked when I spoke with Mad Edith - just don't know how it will progress with Mum.

Kind regards

Flowerpot

 

[baba]

Flowerpot

Each person is so different. My husband ( 57) stopped eating and could only take a few sips of water until we were just able to moisten his mouth with a sponge. He continued two weeks from the time he stopped eating. He had a strong heart and no medical problems before ALS. Even though he had not eaten for two weeks his bowels still functioned, in the end without water his kidneys failed. He did not choke or have severe pain as we had feared. My thoughts are with you at this time.

 

[Debbie53]

Flowerpot,

Yes, it is so different for every person. My dad (87) walked his wheelchair to his care conference on a Wednesday, spoke his choices on things clearly (as clear as you can be on Morphine) - he did not want his life prolonged. He'd pretty much stopped letting them force-feed him by Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, I called in a Hospice nurse, because his oxygen level was really low and he had a fever. She said, "I don't believe you're actively dying." He died early the next morning.

Another nurse told me later that she'd asked if he was ready to go in the evening, and he'd said, "absolutely". There was no choking or agony through the night, as far as we could see. His eyes were closed, but he appeared to be concentrating, with more and more space between his breaths. He was also in good health before ALS, an athlete, even. And, like your Mum, his bowels and bladder had become one of his main concerns at the end - always feeling like he had to go, not being able to tell if he had, and of course, not being able to do anything about it. Horrendous.

I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. I hope better nurses come on duty soon, too! That can make such a difference. Wishing you all the best - hang on.

Debbie

 

[Carolan]

Flowerpot, our nurses seem to like digging poop out of my mother, so maybe Mad Edith will offer to go on a fishing expedition on your Mum's behalf. They are also constantly convinced that Mom has congestive heart failure, no matter how many times the doctors reassure them otherwise. I could write a book about our nurses...it's such a bizarre alter-universe, isn't it?

 

[Jeannie]

Dear Flowerpot.
I am so sorry you are going through this, just wanted you to know I am thinking of you
In friendship
Jeannie

 

[Flowerpot]

Thank you all for your comments ans kind thougts. Carolan - you made me laugh out loud. My sister and I find that our strange sense of humour carries us through this.

A while ago , when Mum was in the rehab centre my sister and I took her to the dining room. We got her settled and turned around to leave , only to be faced with a line of folk and their zimmer frames all the way up the corridor...................we didn't dare look at each other for fear of hysterical laughter.

kind regards

Flowerpot