Worried...

[MrsKMcFadden]

I am looking for some help to be honest.

My dad is currently in hospital and I can't visit. He has a lot of fluid build up and now they think its liver disease. I have looked at google about everything which I probably shouldn't have done but the doctors at the hospital aren't giving us much information but they keep running test after test. Its good that tests are being done etc but is this common for type 2? Is there anything that can be done?

I don't know what to do and I am getting worried. We don't know much about it all to be honest and everyone is trying to be so optimistic but I am struggling.

Thanks
Kristy

 

[Windy]

Hi Kristy, sorry to hear about your dad's illness and the worries it's causing you.

Can I encourage you to phone Diabetes UK about this please?

Talk to us about diabetes​

0345 123 2399​

I'm not trying to discourage you from posting here, as there's a wealth of knowledge in the forum, just that you'll probably get a quicker response if you phone and you're clearly worried by the situation.

Hopefully someone can reply to you if they have knowledge about it, but please try phoning so you can talk to someone a bit quicker who might know.
Kind regards, Sarah

 

[trophywench]

For what reason do you actually need to 'do' anything?

 

[MrsKMcFadden]

For what reason do you actually need to 'do' anything?

Hi,
I am trying to help my dad. I just wanted to know if anybody had been through this so that we could help and even prevent it from happening again once he got out.
thanks,

 

[trophywench]

Well just speaking personally, if I wanted either of our daughters to do anything for me - I'd ask them. It's very well and good your wanting to help him - but just be logical please. Until they find out exactly what it is, that is wrong with your Dad's liver, if it does turn out to be his liver even, nobody can give you the slightest idea if there's anything anybody can do to help, including the hospital themselves.

Have they stopped visiting in hospitals again?

 

[MrsKMcFadden]

In Scotland, you can't visit in hospitals.
I understand you wouldn't want to ask your daughters for help but I have been flagged by my GP's as being at risk of diabetes and I am just trying to find out more about how to help myself. I have seen so many horror stories so just want to find out more about the disease from this instead of google. Just wanted to know if anyone had been through this.
I am not good at sitting and waiting for information lol. I struggle from severe anxiety so just talking here has helped slightly.

 

[grovesy]

Well just speaking personally, if I wanted either of our daughters to do anything for me - I'd ask them. It's very well and good your wanting to help him - but just be logical please. Until they find out exactly what it is, that is wrong with your Dad's liver, if it does turn out to be his liver even, nobody can give you the slightest idea if there's anything anybody can do to help, including the hospital themselves.

Have they stopped visiting in hospitals again?

It depends on the case rate in the area, a Trust near here was about to lift visiting restrictions but the case rates have soared so they kept restrictions.

 

[Leadinglights]

In Scotland, you can't visit in hospitals.
I understand you wouldn't want to ask your daughters for help but I have been flagged by my GP's as being at risk of diabetes and I am just trying to find out more about how to help myself. I have seen so many horror stories so just want to find out more about the disease from this instead of google. Just wanted to know if anyone had been through this.
I am not good at sitting and waiting for information lol. I struggle from severe anxiety so just talking here has helped slightly.

There is plenty of help for you yourself on here and there are many people who have taken the wise move of looking at what they can do to prevent themselves becoming diabetic.
As you have family who are diabetic you may have gathered it is all about your body not being able to handle carbohydrates as well as it should. That might be because your body is not able to use the insulin it is producing efficiently often because people are overweight but not always the case or they do not produce enough insulin to cope with the amount of carbohydrates they have in their diet. But you have been given a warning sign that will allow you to make some changes for a healthier diabetic diet with some reduction in carbs by cutting out some things or reducing portion size.
Check out the Learning Zone and this link may also help you to find a way forward. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
As far as your Father is concerned I would wait for a diagnosis but by better informing yourself you can be prepared with the right questions to ask.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

In Scotland, you can't visit in hospitals.
I understand you wouldn't want to ask your daughters for help but I have been flagged by my GP's as being at risk of diabetes and I am just trying to find out more about how to help myself. I have seen so many horror stories so just want to find out more about the disease from this instead of google. Just wanted to know if anyone had been through this.
I am not good at sitting and waiting for information lol. I struggle from severe anxiety so just talking here has helped slightly.

Hi Kristy,
You have somewhat moved the goal posts (and that is, of course your right) .. your concern is now in connection with yourself as well as your Dad.

Regarding your Dad: if you feel you can't get sensible information about your Dad's care you could try asking the Hospital "Patient Advice and Support Services" (PASS) who may well to get you help, either by their own probing or by putting you in touch with the right person who would be forewarned to not be evasive! If that doesn't work you could raise a courteous complaint on the basis that you simply want to know what avenues the medical team is exploring and what are the timescales for a response.

By involving PASS, the medical team are less likely to brush you off, because they know that PASS have a direct line to the Hospital's CEO. This can be a heavy sledge hammer to crack a simple nut, but sometimes this becomes the only way to get answers. Hopefully a 'soft, polite' approach through PASS will be enough to get you some clarity and thus reassurance.

I also think you are correct in wanting to understand enough to prevent a recurrence as well as understanding the medical processes that the hospital are exploring. I wish that I had done more like that in 2008 when I was the legal carer for my brother after he was admitted to hospital. I sat back and trusted the experts were on the case, when in hindsight it became clear there were other things that could and should have been done!

 

[DaveB]

Hi. Diabetes normally has little to do with fluid build-up and liver disease. Hopefully the hospital will find out what the causes of your Dad's condition are. Fluid build-up is commonly due to heart problems but there are other causes so we can't really guess.