Shit

[Klaus]

Well, I guess her life hangs on a thread now. Damn, that was quick. Just 10 days ago she was completely independent with no health issues at all except the kidney stuff.

[jon-nyc]

Fuck.

[George K]

Any information on what caused her sudden decline?

[Catseye3]

Thinking of you, Klaus.

[taiwan_girl]

[Copper]

Sorry to hear this, I hope the ICU can help

[Klaus]

@George-K said in Shit:

Any information on what caused her sudden decline?

Just received a somewhat encouraging update. She seems to be stable at the moment. Main problem is still kidney / urea nitrate. From what the doctors say, it's better to reduce the level slowly. She gets some CPAP breathing support with oxygen. Dexamethasone as a precaution. They are considering to go from PD to hemo-dialysis if the former is not working well enough.

I guess the appropriate American term for the situation is SNAFU.

[Mik]

Klaus, I am so sorry she and you are having to go through this. Has to be heartbreaking. Hoping for recovery.

[George K]

OK - CPAP is much better than being on a ventilator. Presumably she's not intubated.

Uremia can cause the symptoms that you described in your original post - diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and ultimately confusion.

Hopefully they'll get her BUN down as quickly as safe.

Inserting a temporary hemodyalisis access port is not a big deal. That would be a reasonable thing to do if the PD isn't working.

[Klaus]

@George-K said in Shit:

Hopefully they'll get her BUN down as quickly as safe.

From what I understand, her BUN level was well over 200 <insert some unit whose name I forgot here, mg/dl?>, which normally is supposed to be below 20.

[George K]

@Klaus said in Shit:

BUN level was well over 200

That's amazingly high, and it didn't happen over a few days. I'd guess her PD catheter wasn't working well for quite a while.

[mark]

I hope she quickly takes a turn for the better. I've been keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

[Aqua Letifer]

@mark said in Shit:

I hope she quickly takes a turn for the better. I've been keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

+1. Very sorry you and your mom are going through this. I hope things turn around as quickly as possible.

[Jolly]

@Klaus said in Shit:

@George-K said in Shit:

Hopefully they'll get her BUN down as quickly as safe.

From what I understand, her BUN level was well over 200 <insert some unit whose name I forgot here, mg/dl?>, which normally is supposed to be below 20.

Anything that high, I don't even titrate, just report out as >150.

[Loki]

Hoping for the best for you. The roller coaster ride you’ve described is very frightening. It’s amazing though how treatment can turn things around quickly at times.

[kluurs]

Hope things stabilize soon.

[Klaus]

Thanks, everyone!

[Klaus]

Latest update: On the positive side, BUN is getting better, lung is still good. On the negative side, there are new problems. She had multiple seizures this night. She was intubated to prevent suffocation. Still very somnolent - this should have improved due to the improved BUN levels. They checked for meningitis (analysis of spinal cord water), but with no result. Next up: MRT of the brain, neurology dep. gets involved. As far as I understand, they are puzzled about the seizures because they fit neither to the BUN problems nor to COVID-19.

[George K]

Man, that's rough. The falling BUN is a good thing, to be expected with dialysis (are they doing HD now?).

Causes of seizures, as I'm sure you know are legion. Anything from metabolic issues, to drug interactions, to intra-cerebral events.

Hopefully they'll get a handle on what's causing this - MRI is cartainly a good first step.

[Klaus]

@George-K said in Shit:

Causes of seizures, as I'm sure you know are legion.

Actually, I have no clue. How does one find out about the cause?