Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Doctor Update
The general doctor came by and gave him a TB test. She said that they will have the preliminary results by tomorrow to determine if it is Crohn's. She said he has a lot of ulcers and they are really bad. "If" it is Crohn's, he is in the middle of a pretty major flare-up, which will need to be treated with steroids. She said they should know by tomorrow if they can start steroid treatment or not. If they do, he will need to be on an IV steroid for 5 days, which means he will be here in the hospital for another 5 days. He was pretty bummed to hear that and is worried about missing that much work, but understands that he has to get better. This doctor seemed pretty confident that that is what will happen. We will see what the GI doctor says tomorrow.
He's Back again...
He had the barium test and chest x-ray. He said it was a little frustrating, because he had just gotten back from the colonoscopy and they told him he shouldn't get up and try to walk on his own b/c he was still under the effects of the anesthesia. Then he got downstairs for the barium test and they made him drink more junk and walk around for 15 mins, which was still uncomfortable and painful. He was gone for over 2 1/2 hours getting those tests done and we should have the results of them tomorrow. They have started him on medication for Crohn's and on an antibiotic for the infection. The doctor (not the GI specialist, but just the regular hospital dr) came by to see him while he was gone so she should be back any minute now. He has finally had the chance to lay back down and rest, but they have told him there is more bloodwork to be done so not to get too comfortable. The doctor will also do a TB test to rule that out. The nurse said that it's possible he could go home tomorrow, but he will have to make some very major improvements between now and then for that to happen. My guess is he will still be here tomorrow night but let's hope and pray for a quick recovery! I'll update again after the doctor comes in.
2:45 pm - He's Back!
He's back and the doctor just came in. His colon looks good, but his small intestine is very inflamed and swollen to the point that nothing can get through. They won't have the biopsy results for another 2-3 days. He will be here again definitely overnight tonight and will be on a liquid only diet. They are going to start him on medication to reduce the inflammation and are going to do more tests to rule out other possibilities. They are still pretty sure it's Crohn's. They just came up to get him to take him down for a chest x-ray and a barium test. The barium test will hopefully show the inside of his small intestine better - they could not get the scope through in the colonoscopy b/c of the swelling. The chest x-ray is just a precaution to make sure he doesn't have pneumonia or some other infection. Once he gets back from there, they will do blood work. If the antibiotic does not reduce the swelling and relieve his pain, then they will try a steroid to see if that helps. He will be in the hospital until he is able to keep down food and his pain is under control. The doctor will be back in the morning to talk about the results of these other tests. I guess at this point it's still a waiting game. They kind of threw a lot of information at us all at once, so I'm sure I'm leaving something out. I will update as I remember things, and feel free to ask questions - I will answer them the best I can.
Update 1:45pm
They just came and got him and said he should be back in 30-45 minutes. I'm going to eat while he's gone - the poor guy is hungry and wants a cheeseburger/chicken fingers (although I'm sure that's the last thing they would advise him to eat at this point) so I don't want to eat in front of him. Will update with fun stories of the crazy things he says while drugged up!
Update 12:30pm
The nurse just gave him another dose of pain meds and said that it will probaly be another 1/2 hour before they come get him. So I guess now we're looking at him being out sometime around 2:00 and will hopefully see the doctor shortly after that with the results.
Rubin
Most of you already know, and some don't, that Rubin is in the hospital. I have been trying to follow up with everyone's emails and phone calls but I don't remember who I have told what to. I will try to update here anytime we hear something new so you can all look to one place for the latest. First, I will start this one from the beginning so everyone can be caught up:
Monday: Rubin woke up that morning and was sick and throwing up. We thought it was just a stomach bug and went on about our day - I went to work and he actually even went to a meeting. I had a meeting scheduled for Mon night but stopped by on my way home to check on him. He was still throwing up, had a fever and chills, and had a very sharp pain in his stomach. It was mostly on the right side so I was concerned about his appendix and we decided to come to the ER. We came to Rush Copley and they did an ultrasound to check his gall bladder and it came back fine, so they did a cat scan to check his kidney and appendix, and both of them were also fine, but they noticed some inflammation in his small intestine and wanted to do more testing. He said that they could send him home and do outpatient tests, but since he was in so much pain they wanted to keep him overnight so he could stay comfortable. I think we finally got this news sometime after midnight. I finally went home to sleep for a few hours (we live across the street from the hospital).
Tuesday: A GI specialist came to see him early in the morning, and I missed him b/c I was home showering and getting ready to come back over for the day. They scheduled a colonoscopy for Wed. He said it could just be an infection that can be treated with antibiotics, but they have to rule out anything more serious. He mentioned Crohn's disease as a possibility. Later Tues afternoon the general hospital doctor came in to see him. She said that from looking at the cat scan, it looks like Crohn's to her. She said there is a partial blockage of his small intestine, and that is most likely what is causing him so much pain. The other problems she said look like they have been there for a long time and he has just never recognized that he has had symptoms. Most of the day Tues was just spent sitting and waiting. He is on pain and nausea medication and an IV. He hasn't had anything to eat since Sunday and tried to eat a little italian ice yesterday (one of the approved "clear liquid diet" items) and he felt sick after just a couple of bites, so he hasn't tried anything else. He had to drink a gallon of the fun colon cleansing stuff last night as prep for the colonoscopy today.
Wednesday: So far this morning we are just waiting for the procedure. He is scheduled to go in at 12:30 for the prep and they said it shouldn't take more than an hour. They will do a colonoscopy and several biopsies, and this should tell them anything they need to know. They have said that he could possibly go home today, but it doesn't sound like he will be able to. Since he hasn't had anything to eat in 3 days, they are going to have to start him off with a clear liquid diet and gradually progress to solid foods, and he can't go home until he is able to keep them down. He is also still in severe pain so that is still a concern.
I will update more after we hear the results of the procedure - probably sometime this afternoon. If you are like everyone else I have talked to and are saying "What is Crohn's disease? I've heard of it but don't know what it is", check out this website. http://mayoclinic.com/health/crohns-disease/DS00104
I have obviously been reading a lot about it the past few days and I think this is the best website to give the basic info and isn't so scientific that you can't understand it.
I have my laptop and they have free wi-fi, so feel free to email etc. I'll be here all day. We appreciate all of your prayers and are just very anxious to find an answer and know what the next step will be.
Monday: Rubin woke up that morning and was sick and throwing up. We thought it was just a stomach bug and went on about our day - I went to work and he actually even went to a meeting. I had a meeting scheduled for Mon night but stopped by on my way home to check on him. He was still throwing up, had a fever and chills, and had a very sharp pain in his stomach. It was mostly on the right side so I was concerned about his appendix and we decided to come to the ER. We came to Rush Copley and they did an ultrasound to check his gall bladder and it came back fine, so they did a cat scan to check his kidney and appendix, and both of them were also fine, but they noticed some inflammation in his small intestine and wanted to do more testing. He said that they could send him home and do outpatient tests, but since he was in so much pain they wanted to keep him overnight so he could stay comfortable. I think we finally got this news sometime after midnight. I finally went home to sleep for a few hours (we live across the street from the hospital).
Tuesday: A GI specialist came to see him early in the morning, and I missed him b/c I was home showering and getting ready to come back over for the day. They scheduled a colonoscopy for Wed. He said it could just be an infection that can be treated with antibiotics, but they have to rule out anything more serious. He mentioned Crohn's disease as a possibility. Later Tues afternoon the general hospital doctor came in to see him. She said that from looking at the cat scan, it looks like Crohn's to her. She said there is a partial blockage of his small intestine, and that is most likely what is causing him so much pain. The other problems she said look like they have been there for a long time and he has just never recognized that he has had symptoms. Most of the day Tues was just spent sitting and waiting. He is on pain and nausea medication and an IV. He hasn't had anything to eat since Sunday and tried to eat a little italian ice yesterday (one of the approved "clear liquid diet" items) and he felt sick after just a couple of bites, so he hasn't tried anything else. He had to drink a gallon of the fun colon cleansing stuff last night as prep for the colonoscopy today.
Wednesday: So far this morning we are just waiting for the procedure. He is scheduled to go in at 12:30 for the prep and they said it shouldn't take more than an hour. They will do a colonoscopy and several biopsies, and this should tell them anything they need to know. They have said that he could possibly go home today, but it doesn't sound like he will be able to. Since he hasn't had anything to eat in 3 days, they are going to have to start him off with a clear liquid diet and gradually progress to solid foods, and he can't go home until he is able to keep them down. He is also still in severe pain so that is still a concern.
I will update more after we hear the results of the procedure - probably sometime this afternoon. If you are like everyone else I have talked to and are saying "What is Crohn's disease? I've heard of it but don't know what it is", check out this website. http://mayoclinic.com/health/crohns-disease/DS00104
I have obviously been reading a lot about it the past few days and I think this is the best website to give the basic info and isn't so scientific that you can't understand it.
I have my laptop and they have free wi-fi, so feel free to email etc. I'll be here all day. We appreciate all of your prayers and are just very anxious to find an answer and know what the next step will be.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Layouts
Why do I lose my thingy on the side every time I change my layout/background? I save the blogs I read there for a reason - because I don't know the websites individually. I changed my background today, going for a more "fall" look, and had to go find everyone's blogs again and set up the list. I am going to want to change it again in a couple of weeks for Christmas - how do I keep this from happening next time?
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