Dehydration is a major issue, here's why...

So, last wednesday (the 14th) mom started chemotherapy again because the trial drugs just haven't been working. Her cancer has grown in her lungs and all the medications she had been taking were affecting her liver. Her liver is okay though. Its just been working really hard to process all the medications. She is very dehydrated, and so the doctor has ordered her to get fluids every couple days when she feels up to it. Her vitals also show that she is malnutritioned- low albumin levels (when they test for albumin levels in your blood, they are checking your protein levels in the blood plasma that are water soluble).

*Dehyrdation: "The two types of dehydration, chronic dehydration and acute dehydration, can be caused by many things. The most common are: flu, vomiting, diarrhea, blood loss, malnutrition, and plain old failure to replenish liquids lost from sweating and urination (Not drinking enough water). Many illnesses and diseases can trigger acute dehydration due to the increased body temperature and sweating that usually occur. This is why your doctor tells you to drink plenty of fluids when you are ill. Your body uses fluids to expel toxins as well as to keep your system flexible, lubricated and running smoothly. Dehydration and blood pressure problems often go hand in hand due to the loss of electrolytes.

If the dehydration is allowed to continue unabated (without reduction in strength or intensity), when the total fluid loss reaches 5% the following effects of dehydration are normally experienced:

• Increased heart rate
• Increased respiration
• Decreased sweating
• Decreased urination
• Increased body temperature
• Extreme fatigue
• Muscle cramps
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Tingling of the limbs

(information from http://www.symptomsofdehydration.com/ )"-all legit information.

Let it be known that mom has been experiencing all of these side effects. This morning I picked her up and drove her to START so that she could get IV (intravenous) fluids to help rehydrate her. Every time we arrive the first thing the nurses do is take blood to check her vitals and they get her blood pressure, heart rate, and O2 (oxygen) levels. Her heart rate was at 181. This is an extremely high heart rate for someone who isn't at the gym and doing an extremely hard cardio workout. To give you an idea of what this means I will explain maximum heart rate:
Maximum heart rate is the highest heart rate an individual can safely acheive through exercise. Maximum heart rate depends on a persons age. To find your maximum heart rate subtract your age from 220; e.g. 220 - 39 = a maximum heart rate of 181 for a person age 39.
Mom is 56, so you can see that 181 is way too high of a heart rate for her age as well as the fact that she was in a state of rest and has been very weak. Needless to say, the nurses gave her a liter of fluids and that really helped. Her heart rate lowered and when we left they checked her again and her HR (heart rate) was at 108. 108 is not ideal, but it is A LOT better. They only gave 1 liter of fluids because really when you are trying to hydrate a person, you don't want to give more than that as the person will just pee it out. That is why 1 liter a day or every other day is good as it will slowly absorb into her organs. If we were trying to flush her liver or get something out of her system then the nurses would give more than that and then the goal would be to pee it out. So, we will go back tomorrow and get more fluids in the afternoon. She is feeling much better this evening and I will pick her up in the morning and take her to work. She's fighting this with all that she is!!!!
God bless her!!!

Thank you all.

-Vanessa