My aunt (83 yrs old) had to have her leg amputated (5 weeks ago) and when she was in rehab, her mental status downgraded quickly to being very confused. The docs are now saying alzheimers. I do not buy it. I visited her 4 weeks ago and she was fine and I visited her 2 weeks ago and she was out of it. They did something I bet.
I would bet that since they put her to sleep, that it has something to do with the anesthesia.... I use to work in a hospital many many years ago... we had a beautiful lady come in with a broken hip... she was well in her eighties.. a professor at some fancy college... author... smartest person i ever met... seems like she traveled alot and knew many languages....unbelievably super nice lady... it was amazing how alert and alive and nice she was... then after surgury, she was a basket case.... didnt know who she was or what was going on around her... it was scary...stuff like that makes me not want to ever go into a hospital......
but on the other hand, it could be due to some of the meds they have her on... check and make sure they arent over dosing her.... a close friend of our family was diagnosed with alzh...yeah, that..... and ended up being put on hospice.... once on hospice, they started weaning him off all of the meds the doctors had him on... he started getting better.. and started remembering things... daughter kept him off all those meds for a few years, and as long as he was off them, he was a normal adult walking talking and thinking....
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My guess is they had her so drugged up with pain medicine that she didn't know what was going on and of course that way she would not be able complain about it.
When my mother was in the hospital it was a similar situation.
Not Alzheimers! Its either stress or medication or circulatory issue or possible mini-strokes. Make sure she gets evaluated.
__________________ "The nurse should be cheerful, orderly, punctual, patient, full of faith, - receptive to Truth and Love" Mary Baker Eddy
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She was fine mentally a week after the surgery and then just went down hill.
On a side note, when I was in grad school, the dept secretary was telling me her mom kept going down hill and she switched doc. The new doc cut out 1/2 her meds and cut down the dosages on the other half and she got better.
But you have to understand that just because she was fine one week after surgery does not mean that she is out of the woods.
At 83 her ability to heal and cope with stress is not what it used to be. I can't tell you how many times I have seen this happen! At 83 her chances of surviving long term are significiantly declined. Often what happens is that they loose the determination to rehab and even to eat properly. And of course she likely only actually utilizes about 50 percent of what she eats due to declining digestive capacity and intercellular enzyme difficiencies. When this occurs they then receive the diagnosis of adult failure to thrive. Thats when they call hospice.
I don't know if there are stats for an amputation at this age but with hip replacements the survivial rate is less than 50 percent.
Due to the confusion that has set in make sure she is evaluated for having mini strokes. Clotting disorders sometimes set in after such a major surgery. This can be very common after a surgery at this age. Make sure all her meds are re-evaluated for need and effectiveness.
Her diagnosis should be something like mental status changes related to surgery and then exploration done from there. She may need a blood thinner and if she is not rehabing well and getting up and moving she could stroke.
Face it, at 83 this is a phenomenal stress for her. Prepare yourself for the worst. No doctor can prevent or help her to cope with this surgery and it is the risk one takes when having such a major surgery at this age. If you are prepared for the worst then if she does well you will be more the wiser for what old age brings to so many and ready for the next adverse turn of events.
__________________ "The nurse should be cheerful, orderly, punctual, patient, full of faith, - receptive to Truth and Love" Mary Baker Eddy
Visit www.HealthSalon.org
But you have to understand that just because she was fine one week after surgery does not mean that she is out of the woods.
At 83 her ability to heal and cope with stress is not what it used to be. I can't tell you how many times I have seen this happen! At 83 her chances of surviving long term are significiantly declined. Often what happens is that they loose the determination to rehab and even to eat properly. And of course she likely only actually utilizes about 50 percent of what she eats due to declining digestive capacity and intercellular enzyme difficiencies. When this occurs they then receive the diagnosis of adult failure to thrive. Thats when they call hospice.
I don't know if there are stats for an amputation at this age but with hip replacements the survivial rate is less than 50 percent.
Due to the confusion that has set in make sure she is evaluated for having mini strokes. Clotting disorders sometimes set in after such a major surgery. This can be very common after a surgery at this age. Make sure all her meds are re-evaluated for need and effectiveness.
Her diagnosis should be something like mental status changes related to surgery and then exploration done from there. She may need a blood thinner and if she is not rehabing well and getting up and moving she could stroke.
Face it, at 83 this is a phenomenal stress for her. Prepare yourself for the worst. No doctor can prevent or help her to cope with this surgery and it is the risk one takes when having such a major surgery at this age. If you are prepared for the worst then if she does well you will be more the wiser for what old age brings to so many and ready for the next adverse turn of events.
My dad broke his hip the day after turning 86 and 4 days later in rehab emphysema and CHF reared their heads. I was in the hospital every single morning bringing him organic fresh squeezed OJ or pureed fruit and was also bring him other healthy things throughout the day. No way was I leaving him to hospital food. (He had the pins and whatever the contraption is called, not a hip replacement though). He is better now and I bet the better nutrition had some effect. It still blows me away that an aspirin can cost 20 bucks, yet they cannot spend 1 dollar a day in the hospital for better food.
My mom had several inches of her colon removed (she had a twist in it). A couple of days later when I stopped at the hospital she was all dressed and ready to go home. She'd removed the tube going down her nose to her stomach, got dressed and re-inserted it. She was very mixed up. She had been declining mentally with Alzheimer's for a couple of years and this surgery seemed to speed the decline up. I think an older person just cannot handle the drugs they're given and they stay in their system for a long time.
My mom, who at 83 was as sharp as a tack, had her leg broke in an accident at a senior care facility, seems they had a "problem' with the hoyer while moving her from her wheelchair to her bed, they "didn't realize" gangrene had set in til her leg had to be amputated, during the surgery they realized the other leg had to go as well but because of her age they let it go to give her a chance to recover a bit. She died the next day.
My mom, who at 83 was as sharp as a tack, had her leg broke in an accident at a senior care facility, seems they had a "problem' with the hoyer while moving her from her wheelchair to her bed, they "didn't realize" gangrene had set in til her leg had to be amputated, during the surgery they realized the other leg had to go as well but because of her age they let it go to give her a chance to recover a bit. She died the next day.
That's a sad and unfortunate story NorthstarCa, my sincere sympathy for your loss. Too bad that sometimes medical issues force the elderly to be in these care facilities, where a lot of times, the employees there don't really "care". My husband and I are in our mid-fifties, and one way or another, we're going to avoid being in any kind of nursing home, regardless of the circumstances.
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Alzheimers my ass! The Docs screwed up.
My husband and I are in our mid-fifties, and one way or another, we're going to avoid being in any kind of nursing home, regardless of the circumstances.
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