oshobabi

My 52 year old brother is an alcoholic. For a very long time he was a herion addict although he has not used in a number of years now. He was in detox and treatment in December 09, at that time he was having a lot of peripheral edema that took a lot of time to get under control. He lived with me for 3 months and he seemed to be doing okay. But he moved out in March and started drinking again. By June in was in terrible shape and went back into detox and then treatment. While in detox he was taken to the ER because of high amonia levels in his urine. After a week of detox he went into a 3 week treatment program. While he was in treatment he had to be taken back to the ER and that time they kept him for 2 days before releasing him back into treatment. Diagnoses, besides Hep B and C, and cirrhosis and ascites include hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, thrombocytopenia, hematuria, and back problems. These are the ones I know about, I am sure there is much more going on. After this last treatment he came back to live with me and has been here for 3 months and is not doing well although he has not been drinking out here. I kind of live out in the country the nearest store is several miles away. He can't physically walk that far, nor does he have any other way to get around except for me taking him places. When he got out of treatment he came home with a ton of prescriptions and while some of them may have been for short duration I am sure he needs to be on some of them daily. Meds he has been prescribed are levothyroxine, potassium, gabapentin, oral generlac, inderal, hctz, roboxin, lasix, folic acid, amlodipine, and procardia. He refuses to go see a doctor. Currently he is on SSI so he has medicaid. Intellectually I know there is nothing I can do, but it feels like I have brought home a body to watch die. He keeps saying he wants to get into subsidized housing but has made no attempt to do so. I understand too that he is in end stage alcoholism so I guess there is no good prognosis for him. I think he has given up. He will not talk with me. He just says he is fine, has HBP meds, doesn't need to see a doctor. He does very little here and never wants to go anywhere other than the grocery store. At this rate I think I am just watching him die. There are many days that I may not see him at all. I am scared, every day I wonder if I will wake up and find that he has died. If anyone has any advise, support to help me with all of this I would appreciate it.

Sneezy

Hi Osho

So glad you're here and I am very sorry to hear about your brother. Sounds like a very tough situation for you both.

There are a lot of people here who can help better than me, but I'm afraid not many folks will see your post in this forum. You might want to repost it in the alcoholism forum (farther down) or ask one of the mods to do that for you. I think you'll get responses quicker there.

Take care

Sneezy

And Newcomers works too!

Dee74

Hi oshobabi

I've moved your thread in Newcomers so you'll get more response.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I can't imagine how tough that would be.
i know you'll find a lot of support here

We have Family and Friends forums here that you should check out as well.
Friends and Family of Alcoholics - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information


Have you thought of something like AlAnon for yourself, for face to face support?

D

Anna

I'm sorry for your situation.

I hope you keep reading and posting.

oshobabi

Thank you everyone. I finally told my brother he had 24 hours to make a doctor appointment or I would. He didn't so I did. I told him all I wanted was him to see the doctor once time, have blood drawn, and a urinalysis. I told him he must give the doctor permission to speak with me about his condition and what all I can expect. I also told my brother that after we were done doing that it was totally up to him if he wants to continue follow-up care with doctor and it was up to him whether he wants to take prescribed medications. I told him he owed it to me to at least see the doctor one time. He agreed, but the appointment isn't until the 12th. If I have to I will literally drag him to that doctor appointment. I know that despite what the doctor says I will have a little more peace of mind if I actually know everything that is going on with him and what to expect. It may not be what I want to hear, but I sure need to hear it. And so does my brother.

alexvt

Really sorry for all you are going through with your brother. It's so sad. Keep us updated on his Dr. Appt. Try to take of yourself.

oshobabi

My brother saw his eye doctor today (the only doctor he really wanted to see because he wants a corneal transplant). He has been treated for an eye ulcer for over a year and the doctor had told him his only chance to see through the affected eye he would be a cornea transplant. I doubt seriously my brother said anything to this doctor about his physical condition. His previous doctor who treated him for a year with eye drops was aware that he was an alcoholic but had no idea he had so many health problems arise after my brother quit drinking. This new doctor, who is in the same office, is the one who does the transplant. Certainly he would look through my brothers history and see that. We still have a doctor appointment with his PCP on the 12th. My brother said that the doctor's office is now working on getting Medicaid to approve the transplant. How could my brother even be a candidate for this when he has so many other health problems? I want him to have the surgery because he wants it so bad. I worry that he will really go into a depression if he can't get it done, yet I worry that we will just end up with more problems after the transplant. How far behind my brother's back should I go to make sure his eye doctor and PCP both are aware of his problems?