Mom in hospital: Auto immune disorder or cancer?

Bookmarking quickly for now (and I hope she is better very soon) -- hmm -- is she a smoker? Would there be other reasons for lung issues (e. g. living in a very polluted area, working in a mine -- yeah I know it sounds absurd, just trying to get a handle on things)?

Kidney issues could be a lot of things as that's very far down in the gut.

Are they checking for cancer? For which kinds of cancer? Even older folks can get, for example, Hodgkin's Lymphoma (my mother had it at age 70) even though it's mainly a young person's disease and it is an autoimmune disorder, but she did not have symptoms like that.

Soo - dunno how much I can offer. Just hoping she will be all right soon.

How scary, sakhi. I have no clue, but I hope you get some answers soon from the hospital. Good luck...

She is only 53. I dont know what kind of cancers they are testing for.

She certainly lives in a polluted city (bangalore) but she lives in a small, neat flat (in clean and in fact, green surroundings) by hearself. She has been a passive smoker for years. (My father used to smoke but never inside the house, though).

Initially, they thought it might be TB. After that was quickly ruled out by some tests, they think it's either a auto immune/connective tissue disorder like wegenr's granumatolosis (or some such thing) or it could be a malignancy. They are conducting batteries of tests. Some of them have been inconclusive. The biopsy results are awaited.

Sakhi--

I don't have a diagnosis, but you and your mother will be in my thoughts.

Please keep us posted.

Hold your dominion.

I seem to remember autoimmune complexes can get "stuck" in the kidneys, thus kidney involvement can be part of some of those syndromes. But that might not have been what was going on in your mother's case. I don't remember about Wegener's granulomatosis. I worked as a lab tech doing a lot of tests re autoimmune disorders, but that was many decades ago.

I'm so sorry this is happening, Sahki, and hope they get a handle on it.


((((((((Hugs))))))))))

Sakhi, I'm so sorry to hear about your mother's health. I hope everything works out for the best. I wish I could help, I know how scary it is to have a parent in critical care.

Sakhi--

Any more news?

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother, Sahki. Keep us posted, we're here for you if you need to talk.

Ok. She's better in the sense that she has been able to come off the ventilator - she only has an oxygen mask to aid breathing. The doctors say that the next two days will be crucial - to see if her lungs can heal and not bleed....

Both her lungs were full of blood but when she went on the ventilator, the blood in her lungs cleared up...but it might happen again, now that she is breathing on her own.

Although the tests have been inconclusive, the docs are convinced it's a connective tissue disorder but they are not sure which one it is. They are treating her with corticosteroids for the connective tissue disorder..Malignancy in the lung is still not ruled out.....

Sakhi--

You must be aching for solid answers and a happy prognosis instead of more wait-and-see uncertainity.

Hold your dominion.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother, sakhi. I'm crossing my fingers for her (& you!).

thanks all of you for listening, as always.

Prognosis - the word scares me. i have mentioned earlier she lives alone...separated from my dad, estranged from me also. All her brothers are in bangalore but she wont talk to them...But everyone has beeen so kind to her (and to me) offering all kinds of help..

Let' see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her.

It sounds a pretty tough sitauation all round, sakhi. I'm hoping you're OK, too.

Very difficult...
my sympathy.

I'll talk to her about assisted living facilities that are available here....once she gets better. I feel so sorry for her sometimes.

I'm fine ...as i said, everyone's been there by me to support me when I needed it.

oh sakhi, just read this thread for the first time.

My thoughts are with you and your mother, I hope she gets well soon.

Stay strong.

Thanks...

She is out of danger now. She has a an auto immune disorder they say- i do not know which one. The doctors seem to be a bit foxed although they have been able to bring her out of danger. Her C-ANCA tests have come out positive and the RA test is positive too. Except that, everything else is negative....

I dont know what les for her ahead. I will put her in an assisted living facility if she agrees

So glad to hear your mother is out of danger, sakhi! Phew!

This sounds like it's been a difficult time for you. I hope that your father is helping with the (possibly) difficult decisions that need to be made about your mother's future care.

So how are you?

They've discharged my mom. She's much better and her lungs and kidneys have bounced back to (relative) normalcy. That's the good news,

The bad news is that she has been diagnosed with a rather serious auto immune disorder called Wegener's Granulomatosis:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000135.htm

More bad news: She's alone and lonely. Nobody wants to take care of her (including me). I do "take care" of her but only financially. My dad took care of her in the hospital (along with me) but obviously does not want to stay with her. (She asked him to - she shamelessly said "will you stay with me - I need someone to take care of me". This, to a man, whose lifetimes's earnings and belonging she looted, when she left him)

I have arranged for a nurse to be her all the time. I feel so sorry for her. I wish I could sit with her and chat with her...but she's so well...hate-able...

When I brought her back to her apartment from the hospital, I returned her purse and keys to her safe. She opened everything and checked if her jewlry and money was intact. (She doesnt trust me!!!). I felt angry but terribly sorry for her.

I was overcome with sadness (close to being depressed) yesterday. I'm better this morning.