Bingo!! Thanks God for social media. In another forum someone suggested to give him the sodium capsule with orange juice. I did tried and bingo!!! Problem solved. He loves sweets so the juice is perfect. He takes his capsule with a little bit of juice (we give him little water) and he didn’t feel nauseous.
he is mentally sharp. After taking 3 pills through the day he was feeling much better. Went to the patio to see the sun set and did a bit of walking.
he was able to eat his regular food which we condiment with Soy sauce or canned marinara sauce, both high in sodium. It seems like we are on track so he feels good. Never a cure, he is pass that, but no pain or suffering.
thank you to everyone who took the time to write and think about a solution. I’m grateful
My FIL had low sodium due to a head trauma and off and on would have to take sodium. He would hallucinate after the injury and we were told it was due to the low sodium.
My mom had congestive heart failure. Had to watch her sodium levels but could not have salt. It’s not a simple exchange as salt holds the water without raising the sodium level.is what I was taught.Water is what your dad needs less of in his body. I would ask the doctor about any alternate prescription. What I see online indicates one prescription drug is much better than the others. I just learned recently that nausea and loss of appetite are CHF symptoms. I didn’t realize that is where my moms nausea was coming from. Congested liver and digestive system prevent normal blood supply according to the article. So his stomach may be queasy already.
It might be time to discuss hospice with his cardiologist.
If you haven’t already, try reading Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal, Medicine and What Matters in the End”. Help dad figure out what he wants to focus on in his later days. He might decide trying the pill again is worth it or he may be ready for that IV. (I say this not knowing if it is an ongoing requirement or if he can get his levels built up a bit and be okay for awhile).
Does a cardio manage his CHF? When my moms got really bad, she was transferred to a specialist heart transplant group. They were much more sensitive to her needs and worked with me over the phone and with home health to keep her out of the hospital although I sometimes think if I had taken her in more often she would have had a more peaceful death. I know that sounds bleak but in retrospect we need to know what the options truly are.
I think trying for a comfortable state is really worth it for your dad and for you. Push back with the doctor or look for the best cardio you can find to help you manage his symptoms or see if you and he are ready to consider a more palliative approach. I know it’s hard. He will at some point have a reaction to the low sodium.
A diet high in sodium is easier to fix than one low in sodium. V8 tomato juice is loaded with sodium. However, getting too much sodium is as bad as not having enough. Be careful in feeding him too much sodium. You can kill him fast. It's better to ask his doctor for an alternative if there is any. Again, if your father is legally competent, and he knows that he will die if the sodium in his body isn't corrected, then he has the right to refuse it. Sneaking medicines into his food, it's illegal. It's considered "assault and battery". If somebody is not legally incompetent, he or she has the right to refuse medicines, even if that refusal would lead to death.
When so many of us are told to “reduce the salt- put down the salt shaker”, is he also wary of the flavor of salt in foods?
By reading the labels on containers and developing lists of high sodium foods that HE ENJOYS, could you serve olives, cheese, sauerkraut, chips, salted nuts and soups?
Brilliant excuse to eat French fries and potato chips, if you ask me. Doctor's orders, pass the salt!
Soldiers in hot countries used to be required to take salt tablets. I remember my Dad telling me it was a prank they played on rookies, to advise them to take their tablets just after drinking coffee - huey! every time, to the assembled dining hall's great merriment, apparently. If your Dad finds his caused him to vomit, get advice from the pharmacist about when to take them and what with.
I put vitamins and probiotics in smoothies… plus I get some fruit and veg in there too for my dad; he recently had an electrolyte imbalance due to kidneys and IV did help “flush out” but I keep an eye on what fruit I put in. I don’t know much about sodium but you can hide a lot in a smoothie
Your father probably suffers from severe congestive heart failure. He might be in his last stages because his electrolytes are imbalanced. When this happens, usually it's a sign that the end is near. If your father is mentally competent, he has the right to refuse treatment. Particularly since sodium won't cure his problem. It will only buy some time before he dies.
Thank you for your answers. The sodium comes in those gelatin capsules already. It doesn’t have any taste. He says right after the capsule hits his stomach he throws up. It happened a couple of times and now he just refuse to take them . I asked the doctor if there was any other way to give him the sodium he needs but he says only IV in the hospital :-(
If the pills are fairly small or can be cut in half, buy some empty gelatin capsules from the drug store or on Amazon. Perhaps it is the taste that puts him off and the capsules will cover that. When purchasing, they are listed by numbers, indicating size. The bigger the number, the smaller the capsule. (000 is pretty large and 4 is very small).
This may help to determine what size you would need: https://emptycaps.com/blogs/empty-caps-blog/new-animated-capsule-sizing-guide
he is mentally sharp. After taking 3 pills through the day he was feeling much better. Went to the patio to see the sun set and did a bit of walking.
he was able to eat his regular food which we condiment with Soy sauce or canned marinara sauce, both high in sodium. It seems like we are on track so he feels good. Never a cure, he is pass that, but no pain or suffering.
thank you to everyone who took the time to write and think about a solution. I’m grateful
My mom had congestive heart failure. Had to watch her sodium levels but could not have salt. It’s not a simple exchange as salt holds the water without raising the sodium level.is what I was taught.Water is what your dad needs less of in his body.
I would ask the doctor about any alternate prescription. What I see online indicates one prescription drug is much better than the others.
I just learned recently that nausea and loss of appetite are CHF symptoms. I didn’t realize that is where my moms nausea was coming from. Congested liver and digestive system prevent normal blood supply according to the article. So his stomach may be queasy already.
It might be time to discuss hospice with his cardiologist.
If you haven’t already, try reading Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal, Medicine and What Matters in the End”. Help dad figure out what he wants to focus on in his later days. He might decide trying the pill again is worth it or he may be ready for that IV. (I say this not knowing if it is an ongoing requirement or if he can get his levels built up a bit and be okay for awhile).
Does a cardio manage his CHF? When my moms got really bad, she was transferred to a specialist heart transplant group. They were much more sensitive to her needs and worked with me over the phone and with home health to keep her out of the hospital although I sometimes think if I had taken her in more often she would have had a more peaceful death. I know that sounds bleak but in retrospect we need to know what the options truly are.
I think trying for a comfortable state is really worth it for your dad and for you. Push back with the doctor or look for the best cardio you can find to help you manage his symptoms or see if you and he are ready to consider a more palliative approach. I know it’s hard. He will at some point have a reaction to the low sodium.
As CM says, time to consult the doc or pharmicist.
When so many of us are told to “reduce the salt- put down the salt shaker”, is he also wary of the flavor of salt in foods?
By reading the labels on containers and developing lists of high sodium foods that HE ENJOYS, could you serve olives, cheese, sauerkraut, chips, salted nuts and soups?
Soldiers in hot countries used to be required to take salt tablets. I remember my Dad telling me it was a prank they played on rookies, to advise them to take their tablets just after drinking coffee - huey! every time, to the assembled dining hall's great merriment, apparently. If your Dad finds his caused him to vomit, get advice from the pharmacist about when to take them and what with.
When purchasing, they are listed by numbers, indicating size. The bigger the number, the smaller the capsule. (000 is pretty large and 4 is very small).
This may help to determine what size you would need: https://emptycaps.com/blogs/empty-caps-blog/new-animated-capsule-sizing-guide