Glad that he is staying in the hospital.He should strongly consider medications such as naltrexone (oral or intramuscular injections that last for 30 days) or acamprosate which can reduce alcohol cravings. This is the type of medication he should get a prescription for once he is discharged. Once he is home, remove any triggers he might have at home.Wish you and your dad the best
This post is about my dad, who is about to leave the hospital after a 2 night stay.Age: 55Sex: MHeight: 5'8"Weight: ~180-200Race: whiteDuration of complaint: 5 daysLocation/issue: Esophageal tear, 4 stomach ulcersAny existing relevant medical issues: T2 diabetes, high BP, GERD, alcoholic for ~25-30 years, anxiety, compressed ulnar nerve due to bulging cervical discs - lots of back pain and numbness in armCurrent medications: metformin, no BP meds (had a bad rxn), alprazolam, venlafaxine, there are others I can't remember but they're not super relevant to my concernI'll be brief here, but can answer questions if needed. I don't live near my parents so I'm hearing everything from my mom.Wednesday: Dad isn't feeling great, but that's not uncommon due to the alcoholism-diabetes combo and current back pain. Mom and dad go to the gas station, dad goes to the bathroom, employee informs mom that dad has passed out in the bathroom. They call the ambulance, blood sugar is 54, he's given glucose, and feels better. Refuses to go to hospital, mom takes him home.They walk inside, he feels lightheaded again and vomits multiple times. Mom goes to get a towel and he then passes out and begins to aspirate vomit. Mom sits him up and slaps his back until he can breathe again. Brief comedy break- he says "wow! I feel better!" He goes to the bathroom and is bleeding a lot from his rectum. Refuses again to go to the hospital (he's an ornery fellow, but it's understandable because he doesn't have insurance).Thursday: He goes to his PCP Thursday morning and PCP says he has lost up to 1/3 of his blood and needs to go to the hospital. Dad refuses again. No major events occur the rest of the day.Friday: Dad tells mom he's feeling alright, he eats some food, seems normal. She goes to work. She returns and I'm not sure what exactly happened, but he begins bleeding profusely from the rectum again and goes to the hospital Friday evening.Drs can't identify the source of bleeding and are thinking diverticulitis. He continues to bleed and is given 5 pints of blood over the course of the evening/overnight. They prep him for colonoscopy in the morning. Drs tell mom situation is critical and to be prepared for the worst.Saturday: Dad doesn't respond well to the barium so they do endoscopy through the mouth instead and find an esophageal tear and 4 stomach ulcers. The esophageal tear finally resolves on its own so they didn't do any repair. Rectal bleeding largely subsides but there is still some with every BM. They plan to do a colonoscopy later. Hemoglobin was 9 at intake, now is 7.6. He's on a magnesium drip and gets another pint of blood for a total of 6 pints. Saturday night is not too eventful. Blood pressure is low despite typically high BP.Sunday: Bleeding has mostly subsided. Hemoglobin is still very low. BP still low. GI doctor no longer wants to do colonoscopy and says dad can go home. Floor Dr and nurse think he should stay. Dad is worried about medical bills and claims the hospital is "trying to kill him" so has opted to go home.I have two questions- should he really be going home?? And given he is a physically dependent alcoholic, should he be given alcohol or no? Mom says he was not given alcohol during his stay and did not have any seizures or severe withdrawal symptoms. Last time he had alcohol was probably sometime Friday morning or afternoon. I know quitting alcohol cold turkey is very dangerous so I'm surprised he has been mostly ok in that regard. He's anxious, irritable, and paranoid that the hospital is killing him, but otherwise not terrible. Is he over the hump after 2 days cold turkey? Should my family remove all alcohol from the house and keep him dry? Supervised small doses?I'm surprised he's allowed to discharge himself so soon after nearly dying, when his stats are still bad and his doctors don't even agree. My family hasn't been given much information and don't know how best to take care of him at home. He can be quite the asshole and doesn't listen to anyone (even his doctor) so restricting alcohol or anything else would be difficult.I'd appreciate any advice on home care, what to look out for, and especially what to do about alcohol. For reference his intake varies a lot but sometimes it's as high as a whole 750mL bottle of rum in one day. Supposedly it has been "less" lately due to acid reflux.Edit Sunday Aug 7th: his hemoglobin had gone up, but dropped back to 7.7 and there's a small amount of blood in his stool. So he's still at the hospital for now.