Hypoxia and Medicine

please help..Need a really smart MD. My father fell ill approx 3 weeks ago..?

after consuming alcohol. He started to feel weak and began to vomit(not an isolated incident as this has happened before) along with the vomiting he has high pulse (120) and low oxygen saturation 84. His blood pressure was 148/84. While he was at the hospital he had a continuous fever of 101.5 and above. He also developed asites during his stay at the hospital. The ultimately diagnoised him with having pancreatitis. Although he was no longer vomiting his oxygen level was low and he still had a fever 5 days later...he was discharged home with levaquin and medications he takes for cholestoral, hypertension, and plavix for the stint that was done in 2008. I felt uneasy about him being discharge so we went to another hospital that took an x-ray based on my observations and temp checks over the last two days at home. The notice not only he had develped pneumonia but also and plerual effusion on the left side of his lung. This was drain and he is now feeling alot better, also the asites has almost dissappeared. MY QUESTION NOW IS WHY DOES MY FATHER CONTINUE TO HAVE A FEVER AND HAS HAD ONE FOR THE PAST 3 WEEKS. It flucuates but usually tends to go back up. He is still in the hospital but I want to do my own digging as it seems as family members tend to be the voice when a family member is ill. So here is the run down. diagnoised with pancreatitis asites fatty liver stint in heart high blood pressure that has normalize during stay in hospital oxygen is now in the 95 range heart rate is now 93 age of patient 68 years old Male 50 pounds overweight and no diabetes please help me find the culprit. I believe that many heads are better than one, and possibly the yahoo community may have some insight or has and have the same thing happen to them. I just want my dad back home and feeling back to normal thanks I will give the 10 points!

Public Comments

1. Hi, I am sorry your family is going through an ordeal. Your father has pneumonia. One of the symptoms of pneumonia is a fever. Your father could be having viral or bacterial infection. You have to trust the doctors in the hospital or maybe you can engage a private specialist in endocrine systems and another one in pulmonary systems to see your father. Or transfer your father to another hospital if you find the service lacking. All the best. God can heal your dad. Jesus is the healer. Miracles can happen when we call upon Jesus. I am not a MD, but I have scanned through medical textbooks before.
2. My Mom took very sick and had a high fever and lost consciousness. She was diagnosed with Septicemia--had pneumonia and bad U.T.I. Infectious disease doctors were called in to make diagnosis and pinpoint bacterial or viral culprit. Please have doctors do blood work to determine cause of ever-present fever. And be checked for hepatitis...a disease of the liver which comes in many forms. Dad may have cirrhosis liver from alcohol alone. Further investigatory tests need to be ran. I pray your Dad recuperates speedily, and that your mind can be put to ease...
3. The fever could be due to one culprit or a combination, with all that he has going on. Yes, the pneumonia will cause fevers, but so can the pancreatitis. When one has a bad pancreatic attack, it can cause extensive inflammation in the entire abdominal cavity and is probably to blame for the ascites, as this is a common occurance. Have them continue to test his amylase and lipase levels, as well as a complete liver function testing. It also wouldn't hurt to do a blood test called a C19.9, which is a tumor marker for biliary tumors. Since he has had this bout of pancreatitis, he should never, ever drink alcohol again, as it is a major trigger for another acute attack of pancreatitis. Sometimes you may get lucky and with proper maintenance not have another one, but in most cases they are recurring until they progress to Chronic Pancreatitis. This means pain on a daily basis, as well as malabsorption issues and diabetes. So please, please stress to him that he cannot drink alcohol. If you could indicate what state you are in, maybe I could suggest a doctor that is well versed in pancreatic issues, as they are far and few between. Good luck!