CHF and Stage 4 kidney disease
Posted , 3 users are following.
My 88 year old father has been suffering as long as I can remember with high blood pressure; the last year or so with severe swelling in his lower legs and feet and what the doctor said was prostate issues.
A few days ago after a huge flare up with his heart, he was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease and Heart Failure. He's in rehab, is on daily dose of a diuretic but still has (now horrible) swelling in both lower legs and feet. His left hand and arm is also swollen.
The medical professionals will not tell us what to expect from here on out. Can anyone of you?
0 likes, 4 replies
helen54849 pat_26611
Posted
Hi,
I am sorry to hear about your'e father and the issues he is having. The swelling is probably a combination of the heart and kidney issues. None of us are drs on here, but what I would advise is write a list of questions that you have and ask for a meeting with the dr. You don't give figures or blood results so I would ask what are his creatinine levels, what is his kidney function (GFR) what are his iron and HB levels, ask for all blood results such as phosphate, potassium etc. I would ask is his kidney function likely to deteriorate further, if so what are his options? Is he a candidate for dialysis at the very least? Are they putting him on any meds to help decrease his blood pressure as this is almost certainly the reason he has heart and kidney failure. Ask for details of next steps, what is the medical plan for him? what are they going to do about the swelling to enable him to be more comfortable (swollen limbs are not nice, I speak from experience on that). The medical professionals have a duty of care both to their patient and to their families and cannot simply refuse to tell all involved what to expect. If they still won't tell you I would follow the hospitals complaint procedure. Explain why you are unhappy and what you want them to do to rectify the situation by listing your questions that you want answers to. Good luck
marj01201 pat_26611
Posted
I live in the United States so from a legal perspective it may be different if you live in a different country. I'm assuming from your post that you are a person who can be given, legally, full medical information for your father. If so, I definitely think you should ask to be given his full test results as well as an explanation regarding what these results mean. Then it's a matter of asking what the medical professionals recommend for your father's future care.
My mother passed away from terminal cancer. While it was difficult, I can't imagine how much worse it would have been had her doctors not been candid with me. I still have vivid memories of asking her doctors what we should expect during the final week of her life. It helped a lot to know what would likely happen and what they would do to keep her comfortable both physically and emotionally.
The medical community must provide this information to family members. I'm so thankful that my mother's doctors provided this information. I'm hopeful that your father's doctors will do so for you as well.
Marj
pat_26611 marj01201
Posted
I have tried to get candid answers from my fathers medical professionals but they allude me. Before being discharged from the hospital, a doctor did happen by my fathers room when my sister was there and that's when she found out he has stage 4 kidney disease and heart failure.
Now that he's in a rehab center, the staff doctor is like a ghost, never see him/her. I try talking to his nurse but she/he is hardly available and when she/he is, they are clueless.
I am not dissing either.
marj01201 pat_26611
Posted
I'd definitely talk to the patient advocate or a social worker with the hospital. This is just not good enough--it really leads to higher stress levels.
Im sorry to hear that you, your father, and your family are going through this.
Marj