triffid113
Day of the Square Peg
- Messages
- 831
- Location
- Michigan
I fully expect this thread to go on to discuss the effects of stress in CFS/ME, but I am introducing it more generally because of an incident I have to get off my chest.
My father had a heart attack when he went in for a pacemaker check (so was luckily at the hospital cardiac unit and was resussitated by them). Now, however, he is having trouble EVER GETTING OUT OF THAT PLACE. And they do not care if he does not get any food or water ALL DAY. He is 85 years old! They say he failed a swallow test twice (he pulled out feeding tubes 4 times) ad so they will not put in another tube until a doctor evaluates him (in his OWN SWEET TIME) for a tube placement for feeding. We assumed (I mean he is 85 - who would ever mistreat a frail elderly person to the extent of not feeding them ALL DAY?) that they would do this today, but they had NO INTENTION of doing it today and even said "he could go 14 days w/o food and be fine."
To which I said, "No way, we will transfer him to another hospital if that's your plan." I told them stress like that can kill an 85 year old man, who has been calling "please help me. Water, I need water, Get me out of here" for two solid days (which they ignore). I am trying to find even a few studies that say that stress can cause cardiac complications and I am having trouble doing so. If I so much as mention the word 'elderly' in the search string, I get TONS of webpages about witholding food as a form of euthenasia. Talk about elder discrimination!
So I open the floor to any studies or information of any kind about the impact of stress on our lives and lifespans. Thanks everyone.
P.S. This is the parent with CFS symptoms. And I wonder if it is common to have heart problems in CFS because the heart is one of the biggest users of energy...?
My father had a heart attack when he went in for a pacemaker check (so was luckily at the hospital cardiac unit and was resussitated by them). Now, however, he is having trouble EVER GETTING OUT OF THAT PLACE. And they do not care if he does not get any food or water ALL DAY. He is 85 years old! They say he failed a swallow test twice (he pulled out feeding tubes 4 times) ad so they will not put in another tube until a doctor evaluates him (in his OWN SWEET TIME) for a tube placement for feeding. We assumed (I mean he is 85 - who would ever mistreat a frail elderly person to the extent of not feeding them ALL DAY?) that they would do this today, but they had NO INTENTION of doing it today and even said "he could go 14 days w/o food and be fine."
To which I said, "No way, we will transfer him to another hospital if that's your plan." I told them stress like that can kill an 85 year old man, who has been calling "please help me. Water, I need water, Get me out of here" for two solid days (which they ignore). I am trying to find even a few studies that say that stress can cause cardiac complications and I am having trouble doing so. If I so much as mention the word 'elderly' in the search string, I get TONS of webpages about witholding food as a form of euthenasia. Talk about elder discrimination!
So I open the floor to any studies or information of any kind about the impact of stress on our lives and lifespans. Thanks everyone.
P.S. This is the parent with CFS symptoms. And I wonder if it is common to have heart problems in CFS because the heart is one of the biggest users of energy...?