Advice Please

swan45

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
My mum is type 2 and has a gallbladder problem.she went into hospital into A and E as she was having pain in her upper chest and was unsteady on her feet and had a temperature but after tests told her they couldnt find anything so was sent home til next day she went back in they did a scan and she has a distended gallbladder .that was april.since then shes been losing weight .shes so forgetful its affecting her mind.she then had a probe into her bowels last week to see if there was cancer or anything else like polyps. Nothing Thank fully. But she cant eat hardly more than about 6 spoonfuls of food. She gets tired spends alot of time in bed as she gets worn out.shes got pain at times under her right breast in gallbladder area. They've told her she has to wait til september if she even gets anything done. Shes never been overwieght. Shes now almost skeletal. She has been back to ask whether they will be doing anything but told to wait each time.it was first 2 weeks then again 2 weeks etc now sept.having diabetes 2 is on top of her gallbladder issue. The medical profession are slow and dont seem to care.shes always been fit and busy and shes only in her early 70s.i feel they dont care.shes trying to get on with normal life but it takes it out it her. Shes petite in hieght and has lost alot if muscle tissue now .she says when she tries to eat its like she can eat some food but then she just cant anymore. She wont let me go with her to the gp as she says theres no need.though she has told the gp that waiting til sept is unnaceptable .shes having bad memory issues due to being so underwieght and unwell and her eyes look a little vague .she converses fine but gets tired and slows in her speech. I have been trying to find some nutrients or vitamins online which would help but as shes diabetic there is need to be careful what she has. Any help would be appreciated if possibly from someone with medical knowledge also.
 

swan45

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I will tell her to go but will try to get her to let me.i read that link and ive read similar.but leading to gallbladder cancer is scaring .i wont be allowed to speak to him as its against the practices rules.thank you for your help and will go on here to keep updated.its a joke shes suffering and nothing is being done.
 

kitedoc

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,783
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
black jelly beans
I will tell her to go but will try to get her to let me.i read that link and ive read similar.but leading to gallbladder cancer is scaring .i wont be allowed to speak to him as its against the practices rules.thank you for your help and will go on here to keep updated.its a joke shes suffering and nothing is being done.
One thing you may need to do is take you mum to the GP and request that she be assessed to see, given her state of ill-health, whether she has the capacity to give her own informed consent to treatment and indeed to the planned surgery in September.
Also one assumes that her GP has her weight on record so that a comparison and thus estimate of her weight loss can be made.
I am uncertain what training GPs in various countries get in assessing a patient's decision-making capacity and, if there is uncertainty that a GP can do this, presumably a specialist such as a geriatric specialist or psychiatrist may be able to perform such an assessment. The GMC have guidelines about such procedures under their Consent guidelines.
The point is that if your mum is too unwell she may require a substitute decision-maker to assist her in making decisions,. and hopefully this need of her GP to focus on her health such as weight loss etc will prompt closer attention to her medical needs including her surgical needs. Also it may then dawn on her GP that ill-health left unchecked may delay her surgery further.
Best Wishes for your mum and your fight to see her health needs met appropriately.
 

swan45

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thank you for your reply , she went today as she has pain in her chest and he said she will now need to have investigation by looking into her stomach with a probe to see if there is a blockage or something. I told my mum Before about are they going to do this weeks ago and she said no as the gp never suggested it. She wont let me go with her she feels its the gp that can only do what he can under the circumstances as mum had a letter dated 6th july that only arrived yesterday from the hospital which she didnt mention what it was , but the doctor said the NHS are so busy which is why the letter came to her late .to be honest i am more scared her gallbladder is worsening and shes likely to get more seriously ill .but i already feel she is.shes very hard to talk round and goes with what the doctor says .i am fed up with the loop holes in the treatment of the NHS and her wieght probably has not been kept watch .shes an extremely intelligent woman and will not however go with anything much i say as she says she must go with the doctors .but i have been so ahead of it all since she was taken ill months ago and watched her get worse and they only do something unless she goes to say of her having problems relating to her gallbladder but dont look after her inbetween.she was told way back she would have her gallbladder out. But theyve said around september. I loathe them all.i am so frustrated. Sorry ive gone on about it. Maybe i have to resign to the fact its how it is. If this was a child they would have done far more. I do believe they care less if you are an adult.
 

Robin_T

Newbie
Messages
3
It is my experience both back home in the UK and here in the States that once you get past a certain age Doctors don't seem to give a ****, 'Well it's your age' etc. Advocate for your Mom aggressively the more you can learn about her condition and what the 'medical professionals' should be doing, the better. My Father in his late 80's was admitted to hospital with pulmonary edema, they discharged him to a dumping ground hospital on double the dose of the Loop Diuretic he needed when I got there he looked like a corpse. He was old they need the beds so instead of doing what the documentation on the Diuretic said and monitor him they booted him out as medically fit for discharge. Needless to say I was very aggressive in advocating and now my dad is in a good nursing home and very much recovered. He could just have easily been dead, but he's old right? No no f***ing right at all.
 
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