Hi, my Mum with Alzheimer’s came out of hospital over a week ago. She became acutely confused and ended up with flu. She ended up staying in hospital for 3 weeks but has remained confused since she came out. She seems to have lost about 30 years of her life and is saying the house she’s in isn’t hers. She’s talking about her marital home, but she got divorced 30 years ago and has lived in her current house for that length of time. I thought things might have settled after a few days but if anything she seems to be getting worse. She packs all sorts of belongings every morning and says she’s going to her other house. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Is there a chance that things may stay like this?
Delirium
- Thread starter Littlejimbo
- Start date
I am in a very similar position with my mum. 8 weeks in hospital with infections, now after 2 weeks at home she is still deeply confused, at times not sure that this house is her home (she’s lived here for nearly 60 years), or what the relationship is between her, me and my dad. I’m wondering if the infection is in fact still lurking, will try to get the GP to see her tomorrow.
I hope you get some answers, I don’t think my Mum has any infection just might be a deterioration in her condition.
In my experience with my Mum every medical event or infection ( mainly UTI’s) resulted in delirium.
Generally hyper delirium... confusion, agitation, aggression.
It would take weeks to settle, but she was never the same prior to.
End of last year after another UTI she developed hypo delirium... confusion, extreme sleepiness, very quiet & withdrawn. She also stopped walking and talking.
No other signs of stroke and we didnt want her to go to hospital and have a CT scan.
Mum has been in this state since.
Generally hyper delirium... confusion, agitation, aggression.
It would take weeks to settle, but she was never the same prior to.
End of last year after another UTI she developed hypo delirium... confusion, extreme sleepiness, very quiet & withdrawn. She also stopped walking and talking.
No other signs of stroke and we didnt want her to go to hospital and have a CT scan.
Mum has been in this state since.
Hi I had exactly the same thing this week when the MIL came out of hospital she was very confused where she was going to live and that she could not stay at the hospital as it was falling down. Even when she got home she said she the local paper did not say anything about hospital falling down, she seems to alot better now shes back in her own place but I think her level of capacity has decreased and she has become a bit like a child expecting everything to be done for her and quite needy. Probably not what you need to hear but hope things settle.
Thanks for your replies, Mum even worse this morning. I’m back at work in a week and I don’t know how Mum’s going to manage. I’m going to try and phone her social worker and see if there are any options. Mum is on the priority list for extra care housing so I’m just hoping that something comes up soon.
My dad (83) has a dementia diagnosis but I'm not convinced to be honest - over 8 years he's only really got slightly more forgetful but remains very independent. I do live with him but he doesn't completely depend on me for anything
He recently went into hospital with a chest infection and he was delirious for around two weeks. They did blood tests which said the infection was clear but after he was discharged he was still the same - he got readmitted 12 hours later and it turned out he still had an infection
My dad's delirium cleared very quickly the second time round and whilst he's mentally back to how he was before I didn't think he was physically as he's quite lethargic. His GP confirmed this today and gave him another five days of antibiotics so we'll see what happens
I would definitely investigate if your mum's delirium still hasn't cleared by next week
He recently went into hospital with a chest infection and he was delirious for around two weeks. They did blood tests which said the infection was clear but after he was discharged he was still the same - he got readmitted 12 hours later and it turned out he still had an infection
My dad's delirium cleared very quickly the second time round and whilst he's mentally back to how he was before I didn't think he was physically as he's quite lethargic. His GP confirmed this today and gave him another five days of antibiotics so we'll see what happens
I would definitely investigate if your mum's delirium still hasn't cleared by next week
When my FiL had delirium in a hospital stay at the beginning of the year we were told that the effects could linger for months....he was pretty bad, had a fight that took 4 nurses to control, hallucinations and became so weak he couldn't even sit in a chair without falling over. We didn't think he would leave hospital, but after a month he was back home (lives alone, one carer visit) and managing pretty well. He had a home visit from the memeory dr 2 months after discharge....she said he hadn't got dementia, just age-related with overlying delirium. His mental state has got better in some ways, worse in others, but we think that maybe the delirium has more or less cleared but his cognitive ability is deteriorating. When it comes down to it I don't think anyone can really tell whether it's a continuation of delirium or a worsening of dementia
Your mum may very well improve over time from the delirium, but don't forget that dementia is progressive. I hope you see a period of improvement, we are grateful for any small change for the better!
Your mum may very well improve over time from the delirium, but don't forget that dementia is progressive. I hope you see a period of improvement, we are grateful for any small change for the better!
I know how your feeling . My mum had dementia and after being in hospital she was so confused . She thought she wasn’t in her own home , she would recognise things and say I have curtains like these . Then she would get upset and ask me to take her home . After a while at home you mum could improve mine didn’t but I’ve heard of people that do .. hope all goes well for you
