Page 2 | Any experiences of Delirium ?

MrsCarmelaSoprano · 2026-04-13T19:08:32+00:00

My mum has this at the moment and is in hospital, she is hallucinating and so, so frightened of... everything. It's absolutely heartbreaking. We're on week two of it now. Hard to see how it will resolve.

Original poster

MrsCarmelaSoprano · 13/04/2026 22:59

Ninetwentyeight · 13/04/2026 22:49

My dad also had it after morphine. It lasted about a week and was awful. I had to stay at the hospital for a few nights with him as he getting really aggressive with the staff which was not like him in the slightest when he was well. It was awful, really upsetting to see and he was so scared. But then one morning he said a normal sentence out of the blue and was shortly back to normal.

Yes,mum was like that,it was dreadful. Her friend visited her today and said there was an improvement from last Thursday when she saw her. It'll be interesting to see if there's a difference between when I saw her on Friday and tomorrow. Her friend told her I was going down and she understood and was pleased .

OP posts:

Ninetwentyeight · 13/04/2026 22:49

My dad also had it after morphine. It lasted about a week and was awful. I had to stay at the hospital for a few nights with him as he getting really aggressive with the staff which was not like him in the slightest when he was well. It was awful, really upsetting to see and he was so scared. But then one morning he said a normal sentence out of the blue and was shortly back to normal.

Original poster

MrsCarmelaSoprano · 13/04/2026 22:46

Thanks for your messages,they're making me more hopeful.

It was a combination of extreme pain from a bone break and shed loads of morphine,which she is now off plus being in an acute ward with no natural light for a week. She started to hallucinate the night she was given morphine then had a terrible day on Tuesday where she was completely out of it and absolutely terrified not letting anyone near her.

She is in a rehab at the moment ,she isn't well enough to be at home and I live 4 hours away so nothing is ideal. She lives on her own normally. I am going down to stay for 4 days so I can go in and see her every day which might help as she does remember me. She has no memory of the acute ward last week and asked me where home is 😢

It's so awful, I had no idea delirium was so scary.

OP posts:

Musicaltheatremum · 13/04/2026 22:05

My FIL had it secondary to heart failure. Came home after 3 weeks still a bit confused and lived another 5 years and was totally compos mentis for those years.

Butterbeanbutterbo · 13/04/2026 21:33

DP had it recently in hospital, caused we think by lack of sleep, and hospital environment. It was terrible, he is actually terminally ill but the delerium seemed so much more difficult to deal with so you totally have my sympathies. It felt like it would never end at one point, but did clear gradually after being at home for a few (5?) days. We just kept saying ‘you’re safe, you’re at home’ or whatever very factual calming things. The OT in hospital was very helpful if you are somewhere with an OT.

TonTonMacoute · 13/04/2026 21:24

She can absolutely come back from it, being in hospital is a major contributor to the condition as patients get dehydrated, prone to infections especially UTIs. It's a horrible and upsetting thing. I hope she can come home soon

TalulahJP · 13/04/2026 21:15

uti’s can really make them crazy. Is she being treated for one?

ProfessorBinturong · 13/04/2026 20:59

As PP have said, the cause makes a difference. If it's infection or just from the change of environment¹ it will probably sort itself out once those are sorted, although it can take weeks or even months to clear completely. If it's dementia related it may fluctuate but there's a significant chance it will never fully go away.

All you can do is reassure and try to 'ground' them with familiar items or talking about familiar things, and keep on top of the docs to find the cause and get them discharged as soon as feasible.

¹ Hospital stays can cause it even without any other factors - out of routine, terrible conditions for getting decent sleep.

Bigviking · 13/04/2026 20:15

Yes, my dad had it during a hospital stay for an unexplained infection. It lasted a couple of weeks and was terrifying for him. Completely back to normal after the infection cleared. It’s happened a couple of times in the last few years (he’s just turned 80).

JustForGoss · 13/04/2026 20:11

Do you know if there is an underlying cause? My dad had it twice: once after a general anaesthetic (and illness/recovery) and it eventually passed; and then again as he approached death (several years later). What are the HCP saying to you about it? Hand hold.

Crazyfrog44 · 13/04/2026 20:10

Yep. It took 4 weeks give or take a couple of days. Got extremely nasty at points too. Once the infection was gone he was back to normal.

Octavia64 · 13/04/2026 20:09

Yes my dad had it with a uti.

it did resolve. I don’t remember how long, sorry