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Worried about dehydration...


Darci

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Yesterday was my FIL's last day of radiation - YEAH!

When I called to congratulate him, I quickly became worried about something else. He has not been doing well with eating and drinking, and I know that his doctor has really been on him about drinking. Yesterday, she told him that she wanted him to come in for an IV of fluids today - but they didn't seem to know whether they were going or not.

He has been having dizzy episodes, is very weak and tired (very much could also be just from going through the treatments) my MIL was telling me that the skin on his back is very dry, he says he looks like a 95 year old man (this is new - he has lost some weight, but really only about 20 pounds from diagnosis till now) and I think it may be that his skin is lacking hydration.

What are the chances that his body will catch up if he drinks "normally"? My only experience with his was with a 2 year old with stomach flu and it seemed like once he got a little dehydrated it spiraled down very fast - to the point that his body started rejecting fluids all of a sudden.

I tried to convince him to go, my husband told him to go, and my BIL was going to talk to him about it too - but he can be a very stubborn man!

I just don't want to see him end up in the hospital, and I know how much the help with the fluids can make you feel so much better, and I want that for him too.

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He needs to go and get the IV and he needs to go now. Dehydration occurs when a persons body loses too much water. When a person stops drinking water or loses too much fluid due to vomiting, diarrhea, or sweating, the body reabsorbs fluid from the blood and other body tissues. By the time a person becomes severely dehydrated there is no longer enough fluid in the body to get blood to the vital organs and the person may begin to go into shock, which is life threatening.

The bad thing about dehydration is that it reduces your thirst instead of increasing it so you don't have the urge to eat or drink-- so I doubt he's drinking enough to correct it.

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He should get the IV fluids as soon as possible. Try and tell him he'll feel so much better, because he will. I had hydration problems when I underwent radiation and chemo. I remember drinking alot of Gatorade as they told me it was better than water. Also ask the pharmacist for a cream called Alphor?(I think that's the spelling) which is used for radiation "burns" to the skin and for severe dryness. That also helped me. I wish your Dad well and please encourage him to read our board. We're here to support you.

Joanie

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He really needs to get the IV. My mom had dehydration and I could not believe how fast she started to go downhill. Once moment she didn't seem to bad and the next we were rushing here to the hospital. To this day I cry that I didn't listen to my gut and get her in sooner I should have not taken no for an answer and insisted she go. She did recover but it was at this time, because she was so weak, that she fell in the hospital and suffered a hemotoma on her brain. I still blame myself for this.

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Dizziness and dry skin are definite signs of dehydration. If you pinch the skin, and it doesn't go back imeediately, that is another way to tell. Your FIL must drink plenty of fluids whether he wants to or not, if he is to fight this disease. He also needs nourishment every day. INSIST if you have to sit on him and use a funnel. This is nothing to play around with. Don

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