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I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
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V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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You can buy no name Miralax at Walmart, think it is called ClearLax, much less expensive and the same stuff. My doc made that suggestion. i have not checked the drug store chains but they may have their own brand also. My brother has chrons and when he would have a vowel blockage, he will also throw up because there was no where for the food to go. Throwing up for him was a sign to seek immediate medical attention.
Your dr can give you a prescription for the equivalent of miralax. I forget the name. It's less expensive than miralax depending on your prescription insurance. My 89 yr old aunt takes a capful every morning with instructions to take an extra one in the evening if she needs to and cut it back if things get too loose. The one cap is working fine. After almost a year of her being nauseated, staying in bed, thinking she was depressed, changing her meds and adding meds, BP creeping up, she started throwing up. After a visit to ER, then to a great gastro doc, it was determined she was full of poop and that not taking her thyroid meds properly was causing the problems. She has a visit with a geriatric PCP next month and a daily aid to take her for a walk, give her meds properly, make sure she has a good breakfast and choose what's for lunch. Just a couple of hours everyday is making a huge difference in her life (and mine). Ironically she was already taking miralax and a stool softener but it was so hit and miss it wasn't effective. (Gastro said stop the stool softener). Plus we learned how important thyroid function is to bowel function. I had no idea. So please get your mom to the best ER you can. It took two visits on the same weekend for my aunt. Six hours in the local one where she had a lot of tests but was still sick even after losing 5 lbs with a fleet enema the home health nurse gave her the next morning. Ended up driving her two hours into a medical center ER next day as she was still so nauseated and the BP was up again. It had been about 30 hrs. without improvement. We spent three hours in the city ER with more tests and this time anti nausea meds to take at home. We got a top of the line gastro referral who in turn connected us with the geriatric PCP. My aunt's problem was thyroid. Your moms might be gallbladder or something else. Each persons history and condition being different. Either way, a thorough evaluation might make all the difference for your mom. Let us know what you find out.
I'll throw one more vote behind Miralax. Rainman has had two emergency bowel surgeries and all of his Drs have recommended Miralax as the only thing I should ever give him for constipation. Also, after I had my radical hysterectomy my surgeon recommend taking Miralax daily. It takes a few days to kick in - also my surgeon said up to two capfuls a day is safe. It's a little spendy but you can get it at a good price at Costco.
My experience with Miralax has been amazing. It solved problems for myself and my wife bedridden for 6 years with dementia. She had a colon resection 40 years ago and her bowel performance was never the same . . . until I introduced Miralax. I've been using it for 3 years without any ill effects. It's comforting to know I have one less problem to deal with. After initial adjustments I now need one teaspoon/day. She needs one-half teaspoon/day.
when my mother is constipated...i give her those soft prunes...buy them at trader joes! i give her 4 with breakfast, 4 at lunch and 4 more at dinner! never fails! but why is she throwing up all night? id sure have that checked out???/
Miralax is also what my GI doc recommended and it really helps in a very gentle way. No pain, blow outs, etc.
To the original poster if your moms condition has not been recently elvatuated, i too may just take mom to the ER. Inconvenient yes, but all necessary testing will be done in s few days rather then weeks.
I have my Mom taking probiotics once a day for bowel and urinary tract health and she was having problems with constipation AND incontinence! Since I got her taking those, she say's she notices a big difference and does not have problems "going" anymore. It's funny because I got them for when she was having urinary infections and it seems to have helped with both! I also give her cranberry pills just for extra help.
Does your Mom take pain medication? My Mom does and had a major problem with constipation and finally she had a blockage and spent two days in the hospital. The doctor told her to take Miralax and to not pay too much attention to the dosage amount on the bottle, but to take what worked to get things going. I've given her as much as two cap fulls at a time if necessary. It takes a few days to build up in the system but after that Mom takes some everyday and that's the key to take just enough to keep her system working. I put it in her coffee and adjust it daily, usually a little less than a cap does well. It's a bit gassy when you go, but it doesn't hurt or cramp. I hope this helps but it sounds very dangerous what's she's doing now. Before Miralax my Mom would use anything she could to stop the pain of constipation. One other thing she used before Miralax kicked in was medicated suppositories that seemed to work in an hour or two. Doctor said it was his experience that the prescription laxative pills hurt older people, too, so didn't recommend them. Wishing your Mom relief!
I agree with all above. I have had bowel problems since I was teen. I am now 60, have had my gall bladder removed suffer from stomach bloating to heart burn to having excessive weight gain. I started taking probiotics as a result of all the suffering. They help alot. Especially with my bowel issues. What most people don't know or realize is that bloating, reflux, constipation that turns to diarrhea is related. When I start to feel bloated after a meal I will take a probiotic or eat a Tums to control the symptoms. Also drinking plenty of fluids not just water but tea or coffee any water based fluid throughout the day helps keep your bowels regulated. Exercising like walking everyday is also a huge help with these symptoms.
Bowel obstruction and vomiting, as Pam said, is very serious. The only way to know if it is an obstruction is to get her to the ER. They will do an MRI (I think) to confirm.
My mom has a history of obstructions. The last one she spent three days in the hospital that started in the ER with the MRI and pumping her stomach to relieve the pressure on the obstruction and anenema to clean her out. If you think about it, the bowel excretes the bodily wastes, mom is not able to get rid of waste so it is building up in her body, and possibly leading to sepsis, poisoning her body.
Actually, sometimes bowel blockage or bowel perforations and vomitting can be related. When the bowel shuts down due to injury it will not accept any more digested food from the stomach so up it comes. A clue to if this is what's occurring is that the vomit will look and smell different than typical vomit - it's usually greenish in color and slimy. The smell is impossible to discribe- but once you've smelled it - you'll never forget it.
mary61, that sounds like a scary cycle! I agree there's great concern, and to get her primary doctor involved on this specific issue it right away. Good luck!
Vomitting and bowel impaction are two different issues. You need her PMP involved. Please research "proper diet and foods to facilitate regular bowel movements". It's a major concern and there are many sources of knowledge that will get you on the right path.
Has she been using these things for a long time? Sometimes by abusing laxative, it can cause a lot of problems with normal digestion. I'd have the doctor figure it out. Convincing people to stop using them is quite difficult. It's very ingrained.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
My brother has chrons and when he would have a vowel blockage, he will also throw up because there was no where for the food to go. Throwing up for him was a sign to seek immediate medical attention.
My 89 yr old aunt takes a capful every morning with instructions to take an extra one in the evening if she needs to and cut it back if things get too loose. The one cap is working fine. After almost a year of her being nauseated, staying in bed, thinking she was depressed, changing her meds and adding meds, BP creeping up, she started throwing up. After a visit to ER, then to a great gastro doc, it was determined she was full of poop and that not taking her thyroid meds properly was causing the problems. She has a visit with a geriatric PCP next month and a daily aid to take her for a walk, give her meds properly, make sure she has a good breakfast and choose what's for lunch. Just a couple of hours everyday is making a huge difference in her life (and mine). Ironically she was already taking miralax and a stool softener but it was so hit and miss it wasn't effective. (Gastro said stop the stool softener). Plus we learned how important thyroid function is to bowel function. I had no idea. So please get your mom to the best ER you can. It took two visits on the same weekend for my aunt. Six hours in the local one where she had a lot of tests but was still sick even after losing 5 lbs with a fleet enema the home health nurse gave her the next morning. Ended up driving her two hours into a medical center ER next day as she was still so nauseated and the BP was up again. It had been about 30 hrs. without improvement. We spent three hours in the city ER with more tests and this time anti nausea meds to take at home. We got a top of the line gastro referral who in turn connected us with the geriatric PCP. My aunt's problem was thyroid. Your moms might be gallbladder or something else. Each persons history and condition being different. Either way, a thorough evaluation might make all the difference for your mom. Let us know what you find out.
To the original poster if your moms condition has not been recently elvatuated, i too may just take mom to the ER. Inconvenient yes, but all necessary testing will be done in s few days rather then weeks.
My mom has a history of obstructions. The last one she spent three days in the hospital that started in the ER with the MRI and pumping her stomach to relieve the pressure on the obstruction and anenema to clean her out. If you think about it, the bowel excretes the bodily wastes, mom is not able to get rid of waste so it is building up in her body, and possibly leading to sepsis, poisoning her body.