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Original poster

Delirium

100 replies

loopyloo87 · 04/09/2017 22:14

Hi, my mother went into hospital for a routine knee replacement 2 weeks ago however she contracted Pneumonia which apparently brought on delirium . We are at our wits end as she went into hospital with all her faculties and has been left spoon fed & incontinent she would be mortified if she understood what she's going through .
I have been in constant contact with the Dr's about the conditon & prognosis but very little is known about delirium . My mother had a ct scan last week which was normal apart from some scarring from a small stroke in 2010. The Pneumomia is clearing but she's still in a bad state of mind and was moved to the geriatric ward
Has anybody got or have any information on this condition please? I feel as though my mother has been taken away and wish that she'd never had the op

OP posts:

Loopyloo97 · 09/10/2017 08:52

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad User , it's so upsetting to see our once active independant parents going through so much . Your dad sounds like he's in the same position as my mum it's heart breaking . I hope that you get some answers

user1471550643 · 09/10/2017 21:58

Thank you. I feel for all of you going through this. If I find out anything useful I'll let you know.

Loopyloo97 · 11/10/2017 17:36

We had some awful news today it's not looking good for my mum
The consultant informed us that my mum isn't going to recover and is bed bound now . She's still not eating and losing weight an ng tube was put in place today and mittens fitted to prevent her from taking them off . My dad phoned me she's in distress crying and taking the mittens off with her teeth we have been told we can remove them when we are visiting .. it's all so hard to take in that my once active mum is never going to return to her original base line ..

Out2pasture · 11/10/2017 19:21

May I suggest a family meeting to discuss the NG feeding and how long you will continue with this. Make sure the family and dr. are all on the same page.

Loopyloo97 · 11/10/2017 19:28

Thankyou Out2pasture , we discussed it at the meeting this morning the dietician said 2 weeks max I did say that if it distresses my mum too much I would like it taken out she was very upset with the mittens it's heart breaking .. My dad just phoned and said she was waiting for an X-ray to ensure it's I. The right place I just phoned the hospital and said if they hadn't done it in the next hour I was going up to have it taken out as it's I acceptable that it was put in this morning and they still hadn't xrayed at 7.30pm ..

DontDrinkDontSmoke · 11/10/2017 19:49

My Gran had delirium 2 years ago but she’s in her 90s. It followed a small op. There were hallucinations and a traumatic event in her teens replaying in her mind on a loop.

She didn’t have a UTI.

It was the catalyst for her going into residential care though her delirium cleared a few weeks after it started.

She now has run of the mill memory loss associated with old age. She’s back to her old self and good fun to be around.

Loopyloo97 · 11/10/2017 19:53

Dontdrinkdiontsmoke my mum has been in a confused state for 8 weeks and doubly incontinent since her knee op
The consultant isn't feeling optimistic about her future we just want to get her home now but it will be a worry as she'll be very vulnerable to infection and it'll be hard caring for her but she might recover a bit better in her own environment

DontDrinkDontSmoke · 11/10/2017 19:53

I’m sorry I missed your last update.

Apologies for an unintentional insensitive post.

DontDrinkDontSmoke · 11/10/2017 20:27

When my Gran had delirium one of the things they did encourage was getting back to her own environment.

I’m out of my depth other than to say that I hope your mum does surprise you and get back to her old self.

Loopyloo97 · 11/10/2017 20:40

Dontdrinkdontsmoke your post was meant with the best intentions Thankyou .
It's easy to lose track of my posts there's so many of them

OrlandaFuriosa · 11/10/2017 21:07

Op, not sure what to say other than handholding here..

usainbolt · 11/10/2017 21:12

Ive been following your thread and just hoping for an improvement.

I am so sorry for your news today Loopylou. It is such a sad and upsetting situation for you all.

Handholding and virtual support here too.

Loopyloo97 · 11/10/2017 21:38

Thankyou all for your kind words they mean a lot . We're just finding it all so hard to come to terms with and how a simple knee replacement has destroyed my lovely mum .
Awareness is so important with the elderly ask questions prior to an op that's necessary

user1471550643 · 11/10/2017 21:54

I'm sorry to hear what's happening loopylou. My dad also hated the gastric tube and both he and I found it so distressing I ended up pleading with the doctors to remove it. It's so hard isn't it when they don't understand the reason for it being there. My dad too realises he is incontinent and kept saying he was disgusting which was heartbreaking. I hope tomorrow is a better day for you and your dear mum.

Loopyloo97 · 12/10/2017 08:31

Thankyou user1471550643, did your dad wear the mittens this is what I find most distressing.. I've just been speaking to someone I know and he suggested that we move her to a different hospital ?? He also mentioned that dementia doesn't usually come on as quickly as it has with my mum, I feel its delrium thats hanging on .. I'm also so angry that they've said she's bed bound as she can't make any effort to stand and creates if the physios try ... The incontinence is also another issue my mu has lost her quality of life through an op that she kept putting off until the pain was too much...

user1471550643 · 12/10/2017 10:27

Hi, sorry haven't worked out how to name change yet. Your mums experience exactly mirrors that if my dad loopyloo. From being fine to being told he had Alzheimer's then being told myself that he must have had it coming for a while and I hadn't noticed. Believe me he hadn't! Also being written off for rehab and physio as he couldn't follow their instructions. Dr said if it was delirium he would recover in a couple of days. I'd no idea how long it could go on until I started researching myself. I feel his quality of life has been written off. Regarding the ngt he did have mittens, it's horrible isn't it. He was more distressed about the feel of the tube down his throat .

user1471550643 · 13/10/2017 06:57

How is your mum getting on Loopylou?

silentsigh · 13/10/2017 14:18

Is there a reason she can't just have a bridle (at the nose) of the ng tube rather than mittens? When I was in ICU I had the same problem, in that I kept trying to pull out the tube, so they put in a bridle. I had a mittens for short time for a different reason (scratching a rash) and I didn't like them much.

www.gbukenteral.com/products/bridle-ng-tube-retaining-system/

for you

Loopyloo97 · 13/10/2017 15:46

Hi User , my mum isn't showing any signs of improvement , they fitted the NG again today apparently she sobs when they do it and it's so distressing to see her like that for us . The nurse phoned me and wants to ask if we would consider a nasal bridle to prevent her touching the tube , was it painful to have fitted ??

silentsigh · 14/10/2017 01:15

When I had the bridle fitted it just tickled a bit, and was very quick. I think this could really help your mum - it was certainly a great help for me in ICU and I was able to keep the tube in for quite a while.

Loopyloo97 · 14/10/2017 08:44

Thankyou Siletnsigh, I've researched the bridle and it looks so invasive and painful, my mum is in enough pain and I'm worried that if we decide to go ahead in her state of confusion she will rub her nose and think what the hell is going on ? what is this pain?
Was it quite a sharp pain if you fiddled with the nasal tube ?

silentsigh · 14/10/2017 14:16

When you pull it just feels like pressure, not really pain. I did physio with the tube and when it got caught and tugged on it didn't hurt. Like your mum I found the tube insertion horrendous. It didn't help that the first time it went into my lungs - I had a 2 day battle with the doctor refusing to let them try again. They sent a psych who assessed me as not being able to make my own decisions so they did it in the end (but with sedation I think). I was quite confused and intermittently hallucinating at the time.

I wanted to ask are they making sure your mum gets out of bed every day (using a hoist if necessary)? Even if she doesn't want to it's very important, especially to help prevent another chest infection.

I am so sorry for you - I can't imagine how awful it must be to have this sudden complete change in your mum's mental state. How could they not have warned you about the risks.

Loopyloo97 · 14/10/2017 20:47

I know silentsigh it's so horrific that my mother has lost her quality of life for a knee replacement which is useless now . We still can't get our head around it she's still not eating or drinking normally and managed to get her surgical mitts off today and consequently pulled out the ng tube
I think she managed to undo the Velcro with her teeth . I'm fuming because there wasn't any nurses supervising the ward

silentsigh · 15/10/2017 00:01

I'm also fuming on your behalf. Hearing things like this upsets me because I know what it's like to be in hospital confused, and how hard it was for my family to experience. Could you meet with the dietician who covers the ward? She will be very unhappy to hear that your mum isn't getting proper nutrition and she should be able to sort out a proper plan. If her condition isn't expected to improve for some time then she could have a different feeding tube that gets put in surgically. My friend is a hospital dietician so she's told me a lot about the difficulty she has getting the nurses/doctors to see how vital nutrition is to recovery. Failing that you could go to PALS as they can come up to the ward to talk to the staff - that was something my family had to do for me. When you visit if you hold up one of the special drinks with a straw could she drink it, or would she not manage that?

Loopyloo97 · 15/10/2017 11:29

We've spoken to everyone Slientsigh , we have another meeting next Wed about my mums future . I'm hoping that now that shes getting the nutrition she needs it might give her some strength ... I'm finding it hard to accept that she'll never walk again well thats what the consultant has told us . I'm getting a second opinion on her physio ... We have send emails to Pals including complaints ... I spoke to the ward manager this morning and her feeding tube is up and running we really don't want her to under go any more stress shes been through so much

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