I am the caretaker for my 99 year old mom in my home.
My main concern for her is her constant battle with constipation. She will go 5-6 days without a BM. By day number 3-4 she is very irritable and in discomfort. She is in a wheelchair when she is out of bed. After the 5-6th day without a BM she will have, what I call, a seizure. She breaks out in a sweat that will drench her clothes, sometimes vomits, becomes unresponsive, dead weight, drools, and her nose runs. With these symptoms I am able to get her to the toilet where she will defecate. The episode will last 1 1/2-2 hours. By the time I get her back to bed she is back to her normal. She does not have a fever during this time.
Is this episode constipation related? She is no longer capable of going to the doctors office?
4 Answers
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Have you tried to listen at her belly for any sounds? As our bowels move, they make a lot of noise. I didnt' realize until last week when DH and I were "working from home' and I was fasting--and my stomach was gurgling so loudly I had to leave the office while DH was on a conference call.
Listen to mom's tummy--if there is silence, she is not having any peristalsis and that can be just beyond miserable.
She needs to be evaluated by a dr., at 99--well, our bodies are not designed to work forever and this must be absolutely miserable by day 3.
It could be that she is simply shutting down, but still eating. Daddy wanted to eat, but his body rejected food at the end and for the last 2 weeks of his life (on hospice) he ate popsicles and that's it.
I'm sorry for both of you! This can be just beyond miserable.
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Wishing you the best of luck.