I am worried

I am very worried about my mother in law. She is 71 yrs old and is a very spry (normally) lady. She is always active and out and about. For the past 18 months she has been losing alot of weight (went from size 10 to a size 6). They haven't been able to figure out what is going on with her - they have chalked it up to stress (her sister in law, sister and brother all died within this time). She is still eating (she actually eats more then anyone I know - I don't know where she puts it).

Monday night things got worse - she had chest pains. She ended up spending the night in the hospital ( of course she didn't let us know until the next day). She spent all day on Tuesday sleeping and went to her family doctor yesterday as she was still in pain & the hospital didn't know what was wrong. About 13 yrs ago she had cancer and had a kidney and lung as well as misc internal organs removed. Her doctor is great, he is near to retirement & only sees a few patients. He managed to pull some string & got her in to see a specialist yesterday & another today. What we know right now is that her one kidney seems to be failing and she is not producing any more red blood cells. Right now we don't know what if anything can be done!

My husband does not deal well with illness, death or even stress. He already seems to be shutting down so he doesn't have to deal with it. Now I am not only worried about her, but I have to be worried about him too.

Sorry just needed to vent - thanks!

All I can offer you is my support and prayers. It sounds like she is right where she needs to be, in the care of professionals. Modern Medicine is a marvel these days. I hope they can help her. Hugs ((())))

Vent anytime, that's what we are here for. I don't know what to say, but I sure know how to listen.

Thanks for the support! I am very close to my mother in law. I really lucked out in the in-law department. I just hope everything is ok!

That sounds very difficult for anyone to go through and I do have a suggestion for you. Just in case the local specialists are also unable to find out what is wrong, would your mother-in-law be willing to be referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN? I live in one of the small towns in the general Rochester area, and I have met various people who have been able to get answers in Rochester that they couldn't get elsewhere.

Adrienne - my thoughts are with your family. I hope that the specialists will give your mother in law some answers.
Deb.

Adrienne, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time. I hope the doctors are able to help her out.

Originally posted by Lorie D.
That sounds very difficult for anyone to go through and I do have a suggestion for you. Just in case the local specialists are also unable to find out what is wrong, would your mother-in-law be willing to be referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN? I live in one of the small towns in the general Rochester area, and I have met various people who have been able to get answers in Rochester that they couldn't get elsewhere.

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That is a good idea, but it may be difficult for it to be covered as we are Canadian. If nothing can be done here then maybe they will pay for it - they sometimes do.

BTW she is a major cat lover. She owns 3 currently. I don't know what they would do without her. The youngest always crys when she leaves.

Oh, Ady, it's so hard when someone you love isn't feeling well. And it's terribly frustrating when the doctors just scratch their heads about the cause! I sure sympathize with you and your husband, and I hope you get some useful answers soon.

It is so hard when you don't know what is going on. My mother had a rare form of breast cancer and we heard "Wow, never seen that before" so many times we wanted to slap them. The good thing is that modern medicine has come so far in recent years. I'm sure they will be able to figure out what is going on with your mother-in-law. Until then, you, your husband and your mother-in-law are in our thoughts and prayers.

Isn't it amazing how doctors cannot tell what is wrong with someone I hope your mother-in-law will be ok. I agree with the Mayo Clinic .......
She could just have a lot of stress going on... I lost about 20 lbs or so after my grandma died in 1996. I had gotten strep that turned into mono after she died ..... And, I lost weight very quickly, too.

I'm so sorry you and your family are having to face this. I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.

Tigger
It's both amazing and scary when some of these doctors can't tell a person what's wrong.

Here's a true example of someone I met while they were being treated at the Mayo Clinic:

A man who was about 65 years old lived somewhere in Oklahoma. This man developed a sore throat that wouldn't go away. He spent the next two years with a sore throat going to different doctors trying to find out what was wrong, and no one could tell him. Finally he went to the Mayo Clinic and it took them only ten minutes to tell him that he had cancer of the throat.

Lorie,
Were they able to treat him successfully?

Tigger
They did get good results for a while. The man went into remission and was doing really well for about a year. Then the cancer came back and was in his brain. He got more cancer treatments at the Mayo Clinic, but he did eventually die of cancer.

But if he hadn't wasted 2 years with those other doctors, his situation might have been very different . . .

God bless your mother-in-law and you and your family. I pray that the doctors will be guided to the correct diagnosis and treatment.

My thoughts go out to you!! I'm so sorry to hear about your mother in law being ill....I don't know what else to say...I pray she gets better.

Ady!!! I feel so bad about your mother-in-law!!!! I am so sorry to hear this!! I hope they can help her! my thoughts and my prayers are with you and your hubby tonight, as well as with her. Please keep us posted!!!