Sunday 14 August 2016

Further Decline

Hello,

Since being hospitalized for pneumonia, my dad has declined even more. His TMZ and radiation are done for now and he is on IV medication for the pneumonia. He is not taking anything other than his necessary medications as he is refusing to swallow much else right now.

His processing has slowed considerably and it is as if he is on another planet. In other words, he is not with it and present. He will respond when we speak to him but then sort of checks out again. Sorry for the lack of medical terminology, but I am struggling to describe his state. When reaching for something it is slow and sometimes difficult. Sometimes he looks around for something and then he gives up or forgets. Everything has slowed considerably. Occasionally, he will say something that I don't expect him to know or remember and then he returns to the slower functioning soon after.

This seems like more than the aftermath of chemo and radiation that many of you have described. I feel as if something else is going on. His ct-scan does not suggest progression, and his doctors are still waiting to do an MRI.

Insurance and the doctors are telling us that he needs to be discharged soon and moved back to a rehab facility.

I am wondering if there is something else we should be trying/doing or if it truly is a wait and see.

Additionally, he is on Metformin; should I discontinue until he starts the TMZ again? His blood sugar was low recently. I am wondering if he could and should get a break from it.

Thanks again.

10 comments:

  1. Stephanie -
    This is exactly what my mom has been going through. I attribute it to Radiation. We had nothing else going on with her in medicines for 2 months except Radiation. Her tumor has not progressed either. We have given her minerals, herbs, amino acids to recover... but she does not recover as fast now. I was told that Radiation can leave a lasting impact for some people. If his tumor has not progressed (check MRI), then this is the impact of chemo-radiation. He may benefit from IV treatments for minerals, vitamins and amino acids. Do IVs instead of pills as my mom also rejected all the pills. It's easier on them. Seek out integrative or naturopathic or acupuncture clinic for these. I would not do Metformin right now as single agent, if he is off all other medicines. I would instead consider things like Cannabis Oil, Poly-MVA and high dose Vitamin C IV during this break time.

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  2. We highly recommend Leucopezin. Husband was doing poorly, losing muscle mass, etc until his acupuncturist put him on Leucopezin and it really helped him rebound.

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    1. Hi
      I have been trying to persuade my husband to visit an acupuncturist - could you say how your husband has found it helpful please? It might support my case!
      thanks
      AM

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    2. Sure! The first thing Husband noticed is that he was able to sleep more soundly. With every acupuncture treatment, he felt more and more relaxed and positive because acupuncture releases endorphins. This may sound trivial but he was losing muscle mass, had poor color, and was easily fatigued...typical cancer profile and it was scaring the bejeebers out of him (and the rest of us, frankly). After two weeks of acupunture alone, his weight started to level off somewhat. The NO then approved the addition of herbal supports, like Leukozepin, curcumin, and artemisinin. This meant he was taking them along with the Temodar for the last week of his six-week Temo+radiation regimen. His weight then started to dip just a bit but his color and energy improved. He finished the protocol with all of his blood results in the normal range, something that stunned everyone. It took a couple of weeks, I guess, to get him totally in the pink again. Most importantly, his GBM4's next scan showed a tumor that had less growth than expected, given his genetic profile. It looked beaten up and, as his NO said, "leaky". He was encouraged enough to let Husband continue with Ben William's "carpet bomb" approach.

      When we go in for the post-Round 2 of chemo + herbals consult on the 31st of this month to hear about the results, Husband is going to discuss adding more "bombs", including possibly cannabinoids. Living in Texas as we do, you can imagine how THAT conversation is going to go...lol. But we are in a fight for his life so the gloves are out and ready to be put on.

      My husband said you are welcome to call and he'll answer any acupuncture questions you may have. PM me and I'll give you our cell number, if so.

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    3. As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, which of course includes acupuncture, I would encourage him to give it a try. Acupuncture in the area of cancer supportive therapy is almost main stream.

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    4. thank you both so much, this is really helpful. We're in the UK and I often feel we're a long way behind, especially in what is considered "mainstream". I'd be very interested in how your conversation goes on the cannabinoids Audrey. Because of where we are, not something we are generally able to discuss with medical professionals, but as you say this is the fight of our lives!
      I am not able to find a supply of Leukozepin in the UK but I will be in the USA for work next month. Is this something I could buy or does it have to be prescribed? thanks again! AM

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  3. We get the Leucozepin from our acupuncturist, Dr. Wendy (Chaohui) Zhang here in Houston. She used to work for the company that manufactured it and has permission to continue to make it up for the patients in her practice. I know she will send it out to anyone who needs it though. The nice thing about seeing her in person is that she can tailor the ingredients to your particular issue. Her website is: http://altmedenhance.com/

    I am going to PM you now, to ask you something.

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    1. Oh dear, I don't see a way to PM you via this site. My email is jamac80@gmail.com Can you email me?

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    2. *jamac80@gmail.com (That is, "eighty"...80)

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