Confusion after hospital stay

Tinker22

Registered User
Aug 17, 2017
6
0
Hi, first post so please be gentle! Our mum, 91 has not been confirmed to have dementia, but has been referred to the memory clinic. She is very forgetful and gets people/places mixed up, but recently had to stay in hospital after another fall (That's another story). Whilst there, she got very confused, and aggressive with the staff, totally out of character for mum , insisted she had to go upstairs to bed, questioning who all the other people were etc. Anyway, since she has come home she keeps asking when she is going home, and seems even more confused than ever.
Has anyone experienced anything like this?
 

Bunpoots

Volunteer Host
Apr 1, 2016
7,342
0
Nottinghamshire
Hello @Tinker22

Hospital can be very confusing for PWD. My mum was extremely confused and disoriented after she went into hospital after a fall but she had broken her hip and it was also suspected she'd had a stroke. She didn't recognise her home, or mine and had become uncharacteristically aggressive at times. She did improve slightly with time but remained confused until she died.

I hope your mum improves.
 

Trekker

Registered User
Jun 18, 2019
211
0
London
This sounds like delirium. It is a common cause of falls and also commonly brought on by things like hospital admissions, urinary infections, pain, certain drugs, a cold etc. Ironically, hospitals are one of the worst environments, in terms of making someone delirious. I suggest asking the GP to visit to see if there are any treatable causes for her probable delirium. Hope that helps x
 

CardiffGirlInEssex

Registered User
Oct 6, 2018
356
0
Yes, this sounds very familiar. I knew my mum had problems with short term memory, uncharacteristic behaviours etc for a few years but it was a hospital stay after a fall last year that really exacerbated the symptoms to the point where her GP finally took action. Referral to the memory clinic plus a brain scan then confirmed Alzheimer’s with vascular involvement as well. The unfamiliar surroundings of hospital definitely worsened the dementia symptoms. Mum did improve once she had been home for a few months, and recovered from the physical issues that had put her in hospital, but she didn’t get back to her previous baseline and there has been some slow deterioration since. She takes Donepezil.
 

Tinker22

Registered User
Aug 17, 2017
6
0
Thanks all, the Dr came out last Wed and has sent a urine sample off to check for infection, mum has also developed a cough today, so may be an infection. Really hope she improves, can cope with the memory loss but don't like seeing her distressed at being confused