My mom is 82 years old. She have severe mitral valve regurgitation. She has been losing weight. We have been keeping track of her weight since January 2011. She has gone from about 95 pounds in January to 81.5 pounds in October 2011. In May, she fell and broke her shoulder and needed to be in a rehab for about four weeks. She is now at home and we have a home health aide. She needs to use a walker and can't move around very much. She tends to sleep a lot. We are trying to increase her calorie consumption with typical foods as well as Ensure Plus shakes. She does eat, but she does not eat enough. We have tried to give her smaller meals at greater frequencies, but she is still losing weight.I brought my mom in to see the doctor recently. My mom's blood work came back normal, except for an indication of dehydration. The doctor recently prescribed exelon, which is a patch used to treat dementia and alzheimer's. The other medicines that she is on include- megestrol (40 mg to increase appetite), mirtzapine (15 mg to increase appetite), nitrofur (50 mg for a chronic UTI), omeprazole (40 mg for acid reflux I think), ramipril (5 mg for blood pressure), crestor (10 mg for cholesterol), and levothyroxin (25 mcg for thyroid).
I asked at what weight would she need to be put on a feeding tube. The doctor said that if her weight falls below 80 pounds, she will need a feeding tube. Is a feeding tube a high risk procedure? What is her life expectancy after a feeding tube is inserted? Can feeding tubes be short term treatments, just until she gets some weight put back on her? I am concerned and scared about the idea of my mom being on a feeding tube.
I guess I am just looking for your personal experience if you have had a family member in this situation or if you have some type of professional experience dealing with this type of situation. Thank you for your advice.
I can't locate the website identified as WwW.theheart-diseases.info Are you sure that is the correct address? Can you tell me what the link says? Thank you.
rlr71 - Hello, My mom had a feeding tube inserted. It was not due to weight loss as she is considered obese but she had respitory failure and had to have a tracheostomy and was also on life support. This occured 2 years ago. I am happy to say that she is home and except for the trach pretty much back to normal. The feeding tube surgery was minimal as I believe it was done bedside. It was good for her as it gave her the nutrition she needed. After returning home she no longer needed it but nobody wanted to remove it in case she would need it again but finally we found someone to remove it.. Now she is left with an extra belly button as she says but that is really the only thing that happened with the removal. I know how hard these decisions are to deal with as I had to make several myself with my mother but the feeding tube which I didnt want to put in as she had enough going on ended up being a blessing and again now she eats fine and has had it out over a year. Good Luck and I am praying for you.
ReplyDeleteformerly_bob - Feeding tubes can be short term or long term. Short-term tubes are usually inserted through the nose. These are very uncomfortable, so they are not a good option unless a person is sedated. Long-term tubes are usually inserted through surgical opening. All feeding tube can be removed at any time, but a surgical procedure would be needed to close any holes that were created for the tube. There is no specific life-expectancy associated with tube feeding. The only effect they have on longevity is eliminating malnutrition as possible cause of death.
ReplyDeletenurse52 - I would say that decision should be left up to your mom if she is capable. It is an in and out surgery.complications are few . Mostly the possibility of infection. Some one would have to learn how to feed her. Again this is not a complicated. Yes tube cam be temporary. Tube feeding is a form of life support. If she has a living will you might want to check this to se if that is what she wants..Just a suggestion
ReplyDeletethom t - Just some information on statins(like Crestor, Lipitor etc.):
ReplyDeleteThe fine print in a Pfizer ad for Lipitor states that it "...has not been shown to prevent heart disease or heart attacks."
Google a report by Sally Fallow and Mary G. Enig, PhD for the Weston A. Price Foundation, called
"Dangers of Statin Drugs: What you Haven't Been Told About Popular Cholesterol-Lowering Medicines".
I once started taking Lipitor and got some nasty side effects. I won't touch the stuff now!
Anyone taking statins should at least:
1.Take the lowest dose possible
2. Take the enzyme CoQ10 which statins deplete from your system.
Source(s):
Personal experience and the internet