Friday, April 30, 2010

GI doctor visit

We took Jess to the GI doctor yesterday. She definitely has poop backed up inside and that's what is causing some of the discomfort. If left alone it could cause an obstruction which will lead to death since surgery is not a viable option for her. When the doctor listened to her he said that she had NO motility at that time. We started her on a new pill which may be hard on her. It works somewhat like lasix does except that instead of working in the kidneys, it works in the GI track. We are hoping that it softens the stool that's in there and gets it out. I just hope this works. The doctor said it's her last ditch effort. (If you'll remember, Jessica has developed Ischemia of the bowels. The artery that takes the blood to the gut has narrowed and the intestines are basically dying do to lack of oxygen. Surgery is NOT an option. Risks are high and benefits would be low if any.)

She also has fluid in her belly so we are hoping that the lasix that the Peds Cardiologist prescribed a couple of weeks ago will help take care of that. The PC says that she is in the last stages of her heart disease and believes that her CHF is worse. He increased her lasix and digoxin in hopes it will help make her more comfortable. (I posted some of this info in my last post.)

The new medication could be hard on her because it could cause diarrhea. (Lasix make ya pee very frequently too.) We are always worried about her fluid status because her blood is too thick due to low oxygen but she carries too much fluid due to CHF. So with this new pill, on top of the lasix, we'll need to watch for dehydration. Another thing that's hard is that she can't run.. and when you have a medication that makes you RUN to the bathroom.... well, you can imagine how hard that is on her. Poor kid! She is sooooo miserable and hasn't eaten much in the last couple of days. I'm just praying this helps or we're in big trouble.

Please keep her (and the rest of us) in your prayers.

ps
I really like the GI doctor. He always tells me what a wonderful mom I am. I don't do it for the praise, but it's nice when someone sees your sacrifices and devotion to your children and commends you on it. :-)

1 comment:

Teresa said...

my prayers are with you. my husband has motility issues from peripheral neuropathy and takes many things to help him do his business. i'd like to find out what that pill is but maybe not until he gets his prothetic leg. he can't run, either. heck, he can't even walk right now (lame attempt at humor).