Today is pretty crappy

[DianaB]

Your poor Grandpa. He is really dealing with a lot right now. I'll keep him in my prayers.

[donna1990]

My prayers too. Bless his heart, 91,

[judy]

Awww - poor Grandpa. I feel so bad for him, like Janet said. Let's hope for a not so serious reason for the bleeding.

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Ponyup

More bad news. My grandpa started vomiting blood last night. They were thinking bowel blockage since he has trouble with that & hasn't gone since sunday I guess, but from what he's throwing up I guess the doctors and nurses think higher like an ulcer or g-i bleed. They're taking x-rays this morning & he's going to see the stomach doctor today. He had a portion of his bowel removed about 1.5 years ago due to scar tissue and this was the doctor that did it. I guess it's a good thing he was already in the hospital. Hopefully they can figure out what's going on. He's just been going down hill the past year, but I guess that's what happens when you're 91 things just stop working.

The stress of the injury and the pain is probably what caused it. He's been through a lot!

[Janet]

Thank goodness he was in the hospital so they could check him out right away. It's sad to me that these things happen as we age. You'd think after a good hard life that we could just go in our sleep without any complications.

[Ponyup]

I agree Janet. It would be nice if he'd just drift away instead of all this pain. I don't think it's good what's going on right now. His blood tests show he's losing blood somewhere, but they've done scopes, scans, & everything else & can't find it. Sat. & Sun. they gave me him units of blood each day, but his numbers still aren't where they should be. Also giving him blood hurts his kidneys I guess so they give him fluid to make them work & then he gets fluid places he shouldn't. He just looked so tired & ready to give up yesterday. We lost grandma 3 years ago friday & I think he's really ready to go home & be with her.

He's been mysteriously losing blood since last july. He had a bout of diverticulitis (sp) & ever since then his blood numbers show low iron & such at times. Like he's losing blood, but theres no explanation for it. If it's his time it's his time. I've gotten to spend a lot of quality time with him over the past 3 years & I just want him to feel better even if that means he's no longer in that body.

[gja1000]

I'm sorry to hear this. It is very hard when people get very old and are sick and in pain. The last thing we want is to see them suffer. Hopefully, he will feel better soon.

[Janet]

Originally Posted by Ponyup

I agree Janet. It would be nice if he'd just drift away instead of all this pain. I don't think it's good what's going on right now. His blood tests show he's losing blood somewhere, but they've done scopes, scans, & everything else & can't find it. Sat. & Sun. they gave me him units of blood each day, but his numbers still aren't where they should be. Also giving him blood hurts his kidneys I guess so they give him fluid to make them work & then he gets fluid places he shouldn't. He just looked so tired & ready to give up yesterday. We lost grandma 3 years ago friday & I think he's really ready to go home & be with her.

He's been mysteriously losing blood since last july. He had a bout of diverticulitis (sp) & ever since then his blood numbers show low iron & such at times. Like he's losing blood, but theres no explanation for it. If it's his time it's his time. I've gotten to spend a lot of quality time with him over the past 3 years & I just want him to feel better even if that means he's no longer in that body.

My mother is 86 years old today. She has been having the same problems now for 2 years. Losing blood and not knowing where. They have had to add blood every two to three months and now she is in kidney failure. She had a fistula put in her arm so when the time comes (it has, but she refuses so far) she'll need to go on dialysis. She just doesn't want to do that. Says she feels fine, but by the time she feels bad...it will be too late. She won't listen.

They did all the tests on her too, but never found where she was losing blood. Hope they can help your grandfather.

[Ponyup]

Originally Posted by Janet

My mother is 86 years old today. She has been having the same problems now for 2 years. Losing blood and not knowing where. They have had to add blood every two to three months and now she is in kidney failure. She had a fistula put in her arm so when the time comes (it has, but she refuses so far) she'll need to go on dialysis. She just doesn't want to do that. Says she feels fine, but by the time she feels bad...it will be too late. She won't listen.

They did all the tests on her too, but never found where she was losing blood. Hope they can help your grandfather.

Wow, this is so strange that she is having almost the exact same problems as my grandpa & no one knows why. Gayle, can blood just vaporize when you get older, or is it possible they aren't making new like they should?

[Ponyup]

Originally Posted by Janet

My mother is 86 years old today. She has been having the same problems now for 2 years. Losing blood and not knowing where. They have had to add blood every two to three months and now she is in kidney failure. She had a fistula put in her arm so when the time comes (it has, but she refuses so far) she'll need to go on dialysis. She just doesn't want to do that. Says she feels fine, but by the time she feels bad...it will be too late. She won't listen.

They did all the tests on her too, but never found where she was losing blood. Hope they can help your grandfather.

My grandpas kidney number was at 86 yesterday, I guess it's supposed to be 21. It was up over 100 on thursday which I guess is critical. If he does pull out of whatever this is & his numbers stay that high he'll need to get dialysis 2-3 a week & I'm sure he's not going to be excited about that.

[DianaB]

My Dad was losing blood somewhere too. He had all kinds of tests but they never figured out where. He had to have blood every once in a while too. I never understood why they couldn't determine where he was losing it from.

I hope that your Grandfather starts getting better soon. It's so hard to see them have problems.

[Ponyup]

Sunday night my grandpa told me my mom he thought he was at the end. But he didn't pass & looked much better yesterday. They wanted to send him home yesterday because he no longer needs blood, I guess his blood numbers are back up. They convinced them that he needed physical therapy for his legs so he gets to stay a few more days. Then we'll need to get him a hospital bed & hire someone to stay withhim until he's out of the woods. So we'll see what happens in the next couple days.

[judy]

After 91 years, I wish him an easy time. You are a good granddaughter, and he needs loving people with him now.

My uncle was close to 90 when he passed. He had begun to "fail" as my aunt called it, about a year before. She had bought a condo in Florida that year, and I think he really didn't want to go, so he just let go and stopped fighting.

They were in his favorite place in their country cabin that day. His grandchildren and his son were with him that day. He loved them more than anything in the world. In the middle of the night, he passed. We buried him in such a beautiful spot. He's got space around him and is under the most beautiful tree over his grave. I feel happy for him when I think of him being with his family and then being buried in a place he would have loved.

Your grandpa may live for another several years, but I do hope he has such a lovely end.

[Ponyup]

That was beautiful Judy. That's all I wish as well. I know he wants to go to his eternal home & be with my grandma. I do hope he has a peaceful & painfree transition.

[gja1000]

Unexplained blood loss is very difficult. Yes, it can be that blood cells are being destroyed or are not developing properly - but this usually is ultimately explained by a blood cancer and this is clearly not the case in Janet's mother and probably not in your grandpa either. There can be "pooling" of blood in the spleen, and I can't remember what causes that - which can decrease the amount of circulating blood. As strange as it sounds, sometimes they just can't determine where the blood is going and where it is coming from???

Wish I had a better answer.