sleeps 23 hours a day, cant go to bathroom, cant taste

[gidmeister]

My dad had a spinal disk protruding, and so he had a two hour operation on his spine. The evening afterwards we saw him and he seemed OK. But then things went wrong. He spent the night constantly running to the bathroom, because he had both urine retention and constipation. Then the sleeping started. He has spent the last week sleeping 23 hours a day - except that every two hours he runs to the bathroom. He says at meals that he cannot taste the food. Cognitively he seems OK, though he can't read, he says he can't concentrate, and he says he can't even cope with writing out a few checks. He also repeats questions that have already been answered.
Most people would say - give him time - he's just exhausted after an operation. But I wonder.
Should he see a neurologist? And is there any diagnosis out there that might fit this situation?

[MG (Admin)]

He spent the night constantly running to the bathroom, because he had both urine retention and constipation.

Should he see a neurologist? And is there any diagnosis out there that might fit this situation?

Yes. These symptoms could be due to spinal cord damage and should be dealt with urgently through the ER which should include a neurological examination.

Let us know how it goes.

[gidmeister]

He spent the night constantly running to the bathroom, because he had both urine retention and constipation.

Should he see a neurologist? And is there any diagnosis out there that might fit this situation?

Yes. These symptoms could be due to spinal cord damage and should be dealt with urgently through the ER which should include a neurological examination.

Let us know how it goes.

========
We took my Dad to the ER, which turned out to be a very good idea. He had urine retention, and needed a catheter. When they gave him the catheter, 4 pounds of fluid came out. His kidneys may be damaged from this. He may have had "uremia", plus an associated infection. Now that these problems are addressed, he is much better shape. But, there is still the question of why the bladder won't work normally. One doctor said that maybe the anesthetic in the original spinal operation paralyzed the bladder. Another doctor said its not unheard of for urine retention to follow surgery.
An interesting sidelight on this is that originally right after the operation they had given him a catheter, but they had done it wrong so it did not do its job and also a lot of blood came out. So the doctor ordered it removed. It should have been removed, but I guess it should have been put back, this time correctly.
Another interesting sidelight is that when we took my Dad to the ER, they used some ultrasound to see if his bladder was full, and the ultrasound said it was almost empty. The doctor saw that and then thought there was no problem. But the ultrasound was deceptive - my father had 4 pounds of urine in him.
I guess there is still a possible neurological question here - will the bladder ever work again. Or will my Dad need a catheter for the rest of his life. He was getting the urge to go to the bathroom, but the bladder wasn't responding when he did go.
And right now he is still complaining of weakness, constipation, etc.
Anyway, thanks for the advice, it was good.

[MG (Admin)]

Well it sounds like the spinal cord problem caused the bladder to stop emptying properly causing the urine to build up and put pressure on the kidneys meaning the toxins built-up in his blood making him lethargic, weak etc.
If the kidneys are OK he should feel much better soon.
He should still have a full neuro exam to see whether there are signs of ongoing spinal cord damage and this will give much more information.

Let us know how it goes.
Glad you took the advice!

[budz888]

He spent the night constantly running to the bathroom, because he had both urine retention and constipation.

Should he see a neurologist? And is there any diagnosis out there that might fit this situation?

Yes. These symptoms could be due to spinal cord damage and should be dealt with urgently through the ER which should include a neurological examination.

Let us know how it goes.

========
We took my Dad to the ER, which turned out to be a very good idea. He had urine retention, and needed a catheter. When they gave him the catheter, 4 pounds of fluid came out. His kidneys may be damaged from this. He may have had "uremia", plus an associated infection. Now that these problems are addressed, he is much better shape. But, there is still the question of why the bladder won't work normally. One doctor said that maybe the anesthetic in the original spinal operation paralyzed the bladder. Another doctor said its not unheard of for urine retention to follow surgery.
An interesting sidelight on this is that originally right after the operation they had given him a catheter, but they had done it wrong so it did not do its job and also a lot of blood came out. So the doctor ordered it removed. It should have been removed, but I guess it should have been put back, this time correctly.
Another interesting sidelight is that when we took my Dad to the ER, they used some ultrasound to see if his bladder was full, and the ultrasound said it was almost empty. The doctor saw that and then thought there was no problem. But the ultrasound was deceptive - my father had 4 pounds of urine in him.
I guess there is still a possible neurological question here - will the bladder ever work again. Or will my Dad need a catheter for the rest of his life. He was getting the urge to go to the bathroom, but the bladder wasn't responding when he did go.
And right now he is still complaining of weakness, constipation, etc.
Anyway, thanks for the advice, it was good.

thanks for sharing your wonderful idea .