Question: I am asking these questions so that I might be able to get my mother some help. She is 70 years old has NO medical problems, weight around 140 pounds and takes no medications except Tylenol and Tums (for the calcium). She has had no surgeries ever. On April 13th 2012 she had a hemorrhagic stroke and she only suffered loss of vision in her left eye and her short term memory but that has been getting better with every day. Before the stroke she had been vomiting and after the stroke it was gotten worst and the diarrhea started. We have been back to the emergency room several times they just give her some potassium and IV fluids and sent her home telling her to take Imodium. She was home for about 6 hours and started felling worst and she still has the diarrhea. She has ate 2 bananas and some rice today and now her stomach is cramping. After she goes to the bathroom her stomach stops hurting and she goes back to sleep. We have been to 3 different hospitals (not by choice the first hospital was in a small town where they live and they air flighted her to the 2nd hospital. Then we took her to the 3rd hospital closer to her home town where they admitted her for 5 days she went home for 2 days and we took her back to the 3rd hospital. They have all tested her blood and taken xrays but can only tell us that her potassium level is low. Should we go to another hospital or a specialty doctor? If so what kind of Doctor? She has been to her Neurologist and he said that she needs to wait for 2 months to come back and then they will see if the bleeding has stopped. We have been given NO information on follow up exams or care and her family doctor is on vacation this week. I am just hoping you can give us some informative help. For instance are diarrhea and/or vomiting common for weeks after a stroke? And is there a better way to get potassium to stay in her system?

The vomiting comes and goes. While being treated at the hospital Saturday she vomited 3 or 4 times and she has only vomited 2 times since she was released. No vomiting in the last 24 hours. She has loose stools 6-10 times in a 24 hour period. The pain in the abdomen is mainly after she eats and she does not complain much with it. Yes she has had a fever regularly since the stroke. She also complaines about the diarrhea's very foul odor. She has had diarrhea ever since the stroke. We was not told the potassium value I only know that they gave her several bags of potassium and several pills at the second hospital (air flighted to) and 2 days later at the 3rd hospital she was given 3 more bags (I think) and more pills, this last visit only 1 bag. She said that the potassium makes her mouth blister. I also do not have the name of the medication that she left with from the hospital but it was only for the nausia for her to take if she started felling like she was going to vomit. She took it on Saturday but she said that it made her so sleepy so she wasn't going to take it today. I told her to take it tonight before bedtime. The Imodium said not to take it more that 4 times in a 24 hour period so we just don't know what to do to help her. She is refusing to go back to the hospital because they keep doing the same thing and it is not helping her. I know she has to have the potassium but this last IV of potassium hurt her so bad (burned going in) that she says she will not take it anymore. Also the blisters in her mouth makes it to where she can not eat or drink very much when she does go home. We are located in different states so I do not have the answers to all your questions but I can get the name of the medication tomorrow morning if needed. I also know they took several stool samples in the hospital and they said they were normal.