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Thank you all. My mother has been out of the hospital for a few days but I don't think they really did her any favors.
After a massive number of tests including a CT scan, stool and urine testing, etc their conclusion was that the nausea/vomiting was caused by some potassium pills that the clinic had been giving her. For a couple of months her potassium levels were slightly low so they would give her oral supplements, but apparently they can really tear up your stomach. She feels better and is able to keep things down now but can't eat very much.
I'm confused about the blood counts thing though. Before going into the hospital, my mother's hemoglobin was 10-something, platelets around 60+. The next day in the hospital they were 8.7 and 40+? At one point hgb dropped to 7.5 so she was given blood. Upon leaving the hospital her hgb was 8.1, platelets 44.
However the next day at the hematology clinic, hgb was 9.5 and platelets 65??
I can only think that maybe this is hemodilution? They were giving her tons of fluids in the hospital - saline, lactated ringers, IV potassium and magnesium, etc. They also didn't draw as much waste blood from my mom's PICC line when pulling labs.
They gave her a lot of electrolytes via IV and I'm worried she isn't getting enough on her own which was causing some heart issues in the hospital that became their new interest. They started her on a new medication (verapamil) that seems to be giving her some wicked side effects like swollen legs, which has made it very difficult for her to walk and a lot of fatigue which also makes things much more difficult.
Overall she seems worse off than before she went into the hospital...
I'm still just losing my mind right now. I don't know what to do or how to fix things. At least we have PT home visits coming. I hope they help. I hope stopping the new medication will help. I don't know how to get my mom to eat enough when she says she has no appetite. Maybe we should ask to start a small dose of Prednisone again to help with appetite? She can't stand the taste of Ensure, I found that she will tolerate Soylent but only small amounts at a time...
I'm so lost. It feels so unfair that my mother's blood counts are finally, finally improving quite a bit (no platelets in two months!) But she is feeling even worse. What do I do??
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