Advice needed regarding antibiotics not given by hospital
Posted , 5 users are following.
Just over a week ago my partner was diagnosed with a severe water infection caused by his catheter and our GP prescribed Amoxicillin stressing how important it was he took them. He started the course but the following day our GP rang with his blood test result - he had almost total renal failure and was hospitalised the same day. He was rehydrated on a drip and discharged 6 days later but I was horrified when he told me he hadn't been given his Amoxicillin - he'd taken them with him along with other drugs he was on but they were taken off him and locked up. When he asked for them he was told he could only take tablets that were prescribed by the hospital. Unfortunately I was unable to visit him so knew nothing about it until he came home. I rang out GP who said the hospital must have put them in his drip and to check his discharge letter but there is no mention of any antibiotics at all. I found this strange as he was also on long term Trimephoprim. I counted his tablets and found he had been given the Trimethoprim and also his Omeprazole but not his Amlodipine or his Amoxicillin. On rechecking his discharge letter under Detailed changes to drugs since admission & reason it said his Amlodipine have been stopped and Bimatoprost issued as 300mcg/ml (these are his eye drops). No other drugs are mentioned, nor his other eye drops. Then I noticed he had brought two new boxes of tablets home, prescribed by the hospital. These are his Omeprazole and strangely his Amlodipine!
My partner did not seem much better when he came home and despite finishing his Amoxicillin yesterday has deteriorated further over the weekend, it burns when he pees and today he couldn't stop shivering. I rang our Drs surgery today and was asked to take a urine sample in which I did and it tested positive to infection. I then had to wait for the Dr to write a prescription and for it to be filled at the chemist, a total of almost 3 hours, leaving my partner on his own. He is so unwell he's not capable of doing anything for himself, he had his bowel removed in March due to a bowel obstruction and has a bag and I got home to find him in a right mess as it had leaked (again!) but at least I'd managed to get the antibiotics so it was worth it.
I feel very upset that he is suffering as a result of having a 6 day break in the Amoxicillin and feel this is a mistake that should not have happened.
0 likes, 146 replies
eric31962 kaydi
Posted
Didn't know anything had happened haven't heard from Kaydi for months ?
Are things any better ? I don't think that people go on without kidneys for very long .
Nightmare situation ! I had kidney function of 15% and I could barely walk.
Hope things are a little better ?
kaydi
Posted
Yes his kidney function returned each time. I have to admit I didn't realise this was possible although I'm sure it doesn't return 100%. It failed during his bowel obstruction operation and all three times he was dehydrated so I'm sure there has to be some damage especially as for many months he refused to drink more than a glass of water a day. Eventually he did start drinking a lot more water but lately he's been drinking much less again. He drinks a lot of port which can't help him!
kaydi
Posted
It's only been a month Eric, although it does seem longer. No nothing has changed, I'm still living upstairs and Don is still severely self neglecting downstairs! He booked eye tests for us both with Spec Savers who did a home visit and thankfully I managed to persuade him to have a shower and change his clothes before they came, the first for months! I told the bloke that Don hasn't been using his glaucoma eye drops for months and asked if he checks for eye pressure and he said he does. He did my test first (Don was still having his shower when he arrived) and then he called me downstairs after he finished Don's test to tell me his pressure is 28 in one eye and 29 in the other. He said 30 would have meant an emergency hospital appointment that day as it should be around 16! He filled in a form and asked me to take it to our GP which I did the following day but even though it asked that Don should be seen by the hospital "soon" we've heard nothing since! Spec Savers brought my new glasses a couple of days ago and I told him we'd heard nothing, he said this happens frequently and makes them wish they could have changed the numbers to 30 as then he'd have been seen immediately! I asked how long before the numbers do reach 30 but he said he doesn't know as his job is to fit new glasses so he's not trained.
I don't know if Don is using his eye drops now, I set his phones alarm to go off three times a day to help him remember but it only went off the first day, I think you have to reset it every day which defeated the object and he said not to bother, that he doesn't need it to remind him. His memory is so bad though I bet he's not remembering to do them! But I've not asked him, I make a point of not saying anything that might antagonise him for fear of his aggression. We have very little to do with each other, it's not the way I want it to be but it's the way it has to be. Ignoring his self neglect is not easy, he's not washed or changed any of his clothes since Spec Savers came on 25th May but saying anything would without doubt cause him to get aggressive. At least his catheter has stopped leaking, it was leaking daily for awhile, not from the switch being left undone as his trousers were always wet from the crotch but then the district nurse came for his three monthly change and it's stopped now. Each time I found a wet pair of trousers in the washing basket I put them outside in the bin cupboard until there were enough to make a wash load as they smelt so bad!
As for his sons, David said he'd call round twice a week, he said this the night of the flood (28th April) but he's not been once since!!! Christopher has been a couple of times but was only here ten minutes each time! I feel so angry with them, they still have no idea of the real situation but I've given up contacting them. It's going to take something bad to happen before they start taking their responsibility seriously. In the meantime I can do nothing!
kaydi
Posted
Hi Lynne and Eric,
i didnt realise a year has gone by since I last posted, how time flies eh! I did write a massive post awhile back but even though it had asked me to sign in beforehand it then asked afterwards n I lost the lot grrrrrrrrr. I've been meaning to try again but somehow life just kept getting in the way. It hasn't asked me to sign in this time so I'll probably do a short post this time n follow it with a longer one afterwards.
The biggest difference in the last year is Don finally agreed to having carers who started in January, they come twice a day, supposedly for half hour but almost from the start we've had problems with carers staying as little as 6 minutes and many many other problems and I've spent the last 7 months fighting the agency to get Don even basic care. I'll explain more when I know my post won't disappear into the ether ok.
Im still living upstairs and the situation has worked well as Don and I get on much better when we do interact, I have my own life but I'm here for him when he falls (which he has many times, one time breaking his hip) and I'm able to still keep a close eye on him. I'll post now then write more ok.
kaydi
Posted
Damn, it still didn't ask me to sign in! Have to keep this one short too!
Apart from having carers very little else has changed. Don accepted the carers washing him the first 3 times but has refused ever since, he's been in hospital a few times so if he showered or was washed in there they are the only times he's had any personal care! His dementia has obviously progressed although he still hasn't been officially diagnosed. His sons continued staying in denial of the dementia and have continued leaving everything on my shoulders, David hasn't been round for well over a year but did visit him in hospital and phoned me saying he was lucid! I knew immediately he said that he's finally realized he has got dementia as no one uses that word unless talking about dementia. Christopher comes occasionally and he too finally had to accept he has it. Andrew doesn't live close but always visits at Christmas plus occasional other times, I assume he's accepted it too but none of them have ever apologized for disbelieving me! I have a feeling Andrew wasn't happy I had to stop caring for Don, he's never said anything and was no different towards me when he visited but the absence of a Christmas present or card last year for me spoke volumes as for 12 years he always bought for us both! Ouch! And although I'm no longer Don's official carer I am still continuing caring for him, I'm the one he shouts when he falls, I'm the one who calls the doctor or ambulance when he's needed them, I'm the one who takes his urine samples to the surgery when he has symptoms of yet another UTI and I'm the one who has struggled to get him to take his antibiotics. I still do his washing and shopping and deal with the mishaps dementia causes, such as taking his burnt dinners out of the oven and dealing with the fires he's set in his bin. And I'm the one whose fought the care agency for months.
But he's had a UTI for the las few weeks and for the first time I've been unable to get him to take his antibiotics (he refuses his thyroid and iron tablets daily from the carers too, has done the whole time saying he doesn't take drugs!). I realized the battle was lost when I called the doctor out n she said he can't be forced to take them! Strangely he's got none of the usual symptoms, confusion, dehydration or weakness but he's now peeing almost pure blood. I asked him if he's aware the infection could kill him and he said at his time of life he doesn't care! I feel so helpless and powerless as I can do nothing. I texted his daughter in law and she replied saying it doesn't sound good, that shel tell Christopher but he hasn't been round! Unbelievable that even something as serious as this is still being left by his family for me to deal with!
Ill keep you informed ok x