Papaw In Hospital...nurses Help Pls?

Hi ya'll... i just found out that my 83 yr old Papaw is in the hospital. He was admitted last night for nausea, vomiting, upper right side abdominal pain (severe). He was admitted last night because his stomach swelled up like a balloon and because of the vomiting and dehydration and pain. He is also diabetic.

Papaw is not the type to go to the doctor unless he absolutely has to... he is one of those stubborn old men. He is still in serious pain and very nauseous even after the doses of phergan they have been giving him. The last time they checked his bs it was 245.

I am thinking it has something to do with his gallbladder. His vomit is green. (bile?)

But, his bloodwork has come back normal... so, the doc says. They won't do an ultrasound to determine what is causing the pain. Why not? Is this standard?

Could it possibly just be a virus?

Does my mom need to push the doc to go ahead and do the utrasound?

He isn't running fever, so i really don't think it is pancreatitis, i am just really worried... i mean, usually with stomach viruses, they don't have such intense pain that they end up in the hospital... papaw is a very very stubborn man and doesn't go unless there is definitely something NOT right. You know?

Any ideas? He is at a very small hospital in a very small town here in texas... what should i do? Guys, any help or advice would really be appreciated... papaw is like my daddy. Love ya'll, Bri :)
well, I havent posted here for awhile but I thought I would share this with you. I feel that you might be right on the money regarding the gallbladder. The trouble with gallstones and the diabetic esp an older diabetic is that the normal symptoms we as non diabetics would get if a stone is blocking the duct would come very early on compared to the diabetic. Due to the same pathology as seen in peripheral vascular issues that is, poor circulation in the legs and numbing of the pain receptors there, the same happens inside the body in certain organs.. These pain receptors often are miss directed in that a gallbladder pain might manifest as a lower back pain, or they might be so 'stunted' that they dont fire at all or only after a long period of disease. The ultimate problem with this is that gangrene sets in in the mean time and makes treatment difficult. Same happens with fevers and such. The diabetic body doesnt react as quickly to trauma so things are often only caught once things have been going on for awhile.

I would push the doctors for an ultrasound at a minimun. It is non invasive and is not contra indicated in light of his increased blood sugars. Secondly I would ask specific questions regarding his blood work. Like his white blood cell count, his BUN and creatine. Does he have normal bowel sounds as he might have a block intestine as well... The sad fact is that in some hospitals the elderly as dismissed easily esp if they are mentally incapacitated or as in your relatives case, is a little subborn when it comes to treatments and tests. So the squeaky wheel often gets the most oil and by putting the staff on notice that they are being 'watched' for lack of a better word, you might get more results.

Without knowing a little more about this case I cant say anymore. Hope that this in some way helps. I am sure everything will be ok... I will say a special prayer for you and your pawpa....

Teresa
Im sorry Bri
I hope he will be ok. My dad is 76 and is stubborn about dr.s too. Good luck, I will be praying for you guys
Hi Teresa... i was sure hoping you would see my post... god seems to direct us to this board just at the right moments. Thank you soooo soooo much for helping me out. I am going to call my mom right now and have her write down what you said to ask the doctor. She lives in the same town. I live an hour away. I am very leary of small town doctors. Especially at this hospital. This is the same hospital that i went to when i had masticitis (sp?) after i had Kaeden and i had to dx myself... the PA had no clue why i couldn't breastfeed and was running fever, sad huh?

Fire... thanks so much for the kind words and the prayers... i love my grandparents so much. I think i have told ya'll bf that they pretty much were my role models growing up.

Love, Bri :)