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ChayChay

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Nov 15, 2007
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Langley
Hi everyone. I am very new to all of this, so please bear with me. I am writing for my aunt who has a boyfriend who has ALS. She doesn't know anything about it, and she has no resources to find them. SO we were hoping you could help us out a little.

He was diagnosed a little over a year ago with ALS. They told him then, that he had approximatly 3-5 years left. Lately, he has been very sick. He has been dizzy, nausoues, vomiting a lot (yellowish green stuff) and he has lost his appetite. He drinks very heavily and smokes constantly, but even that has almost stopped. They are way north (SD) and his family is from Georgia. They moved to SD for work, but he has not been able to work for the past few weeks. I don't know exactly how to ask this but, she is wondering if she needs to get him home. She has no idea what to expect with ALS, does any of these symptoms have anything to do with ALS or is omething else going on? I am not trying to sound immpolite or anything like that, but my aunt is scared and she is not sure what to do. If someone could tell me if this is normal and for what stage that would be great. If needed, please e-mail me personally.

She loves him very much, we all do, and we just want what is best for him.
 
Needs to be seen at an ALS clinic

Your sister will have all the resources at an ALS clinic. His neurologist can recommend an ALS clinic.

He sounds very sick and needs to get to a doctor or hospital.

Good luck
 
Chay chay,my husband has als and has never had any of these symptoms that you are speaking of. I would get him to a doctor right away!I can only speak for myself and the symptoms that my husband had but i think that your Aunts boyfriend may have something else going on.Maybe some of the people on this forum with more experience have had these symptoms but i have not come accross them as of yet.It could be a virus along with the als that is causing the sickness .Please keep us posted.God bless you for being an advocate for your Aunt!....and yes getting in contact with an als clinic is a must.......Gina

I
 
Hi chay! I read your post last night, and tries to reply to no avail. I could not get my post delivered. Okay, here we go. I am sorry to hear about your aunt's boyfirend. The symptoms you posted about are rare, not consistent with als. I lost my son to als, and he had no such issues. You said he is , or was a heavy drinker/smoker. Hmmmm! Liver issues, cirrohsis (sp?) probably? He really needs to see a doc, go to an als clinic, tather.
Has this man been going to see a neuro, and als docs on a regular basis? It sounds like he was given the diagnosed, and he went on his own. Is that it? If so, he really needs to have a little respect for that damn illness. You don't fool around with als! Once you are diagnosed'ed it is best to go by the book, and yes, you have to change your way of life. Once als hits home, it is a traumatic change. I know, I have been there, and I am still here in my new life. I do not think the same way, nor do I live the same way as I did before als hit home. I really don't know if I am making sense or not, but such are my thoughts and feelings. Now, getting back to your aunt's boyfriend, he needs to leave SD, come home, and be treated like a Pals. You cannot beat als, nor can you deny it. Once it's there, it's there, and it will not go away.
Please keep us posted. He needs to go to a hospital asap. He has other issues on top of als, this is my opinion! God bless!

Irma
 
The problem is, He refuses to take any medication and he has never been to one of the clinics. The only time he saw a neurologist was to be diagnosed. My aunt took him to the emergency room (she finally gave him no other option) but he has no insurance and they basicaly told him to take some otc stuff for the vomiting and get rest. From what you all are saying, I'm pretty sure this sickness doesn't have much to do with the ALS.

Ive read the general prognosis for people with ALS, but does anyone know what the prognosis is for someone who drinks so heavily, smokes like a freight train, does not take medication, and refuses to see the doctor about this probelm?
 
Okay chay, the man refuses to go for follow ups. He is a grown man, he chose not to go back, he is drinking a lot and smoking like a freight train. Why is he doing this? Does he not care what he is doing to himself and his loved ones? It could be that he is afraid to go back, and be given more bad news. Bless his heart, I really think he is just in shock, and he is turning to drinking and smoking in order to keep it out of his mind, but this is not going to help any. It will make matters worse. O hope he gets back on the right track. Let us know. We will be praying for him. How old is this man, and what kind of work does he do? Does he have family? Children? Mom, dad? This kind of info is pretty important to us members. Please, more info! God bless!

Irma
 
Chay,

I can tell you that these symptoms sound like what my brother-in-law has gone through recently and are not ALS related. (My husband has ALS not his brother)

My BIL has smoked incessantly since he was a child and drank for nearly as long. He was diagnosed 2 months ago with cancer of the esophagus. The symptoms were thowing up weird gross infectious looking stuff and finally blood too. He refused to go to the doctor until he had lost so much weight he could hardly function.

He had no job and no insurance. He was admitted to the hospital thru ER. The hospital social worker got him on Medicaid and other government programs. If your anunt's friend is eligible for this type of benefit, then the hospital should have admitted him, as they would get their money!

As to whether they should come home...If he has family in Georgia that are willing to help him, then I would say yes. ChayChay, there is currently no cure for ALS and the only medication is Rilutek, which may add 3 months to one's life, so other medications may help his symptoms. This will be a very hard disease for your aunt to handle on her own. she will need support from friends and family.

Good luck to her and you are sweet to try to help! Let us know what happens.
 
proactive

hi Chay- you need to help yourloved ones be pro- active- no matter what the health issue is - there needs to be some care intervention - this could be an infection gone bad - or a combination of all I've read posted here. first, he has to care - second - does the family in GA really matter? - sounds cold, but there are families that tend to be more disjointed - he could have a whole potpouri of things going on.. does he care? Health institutes cannot deny care- if he is this ill, he needs to get in to get help - social services may need to help insure appropriate testing - not just a bunch of OTC crap..
good luck -he needs to be assertive and get the help he needs.
 
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