Last week my Dad had a fall and was taken into hospital where they decided to keep him in because his blood pressure dropped very low when he stood up. For the past 9-12 months he has been having all sorts of tests for Dementia. When he was admitted to hospital we were able to have conversations with him and he had been looking after himself at home very well. Ok, some of his behaviour was a little odd but not too bad. We are all in shock as within two days he could not speak coherently, was in a very agitated state and was very agressive with the Staff. Has anyone else experienced such a quick deterioration? We are all very sad and unhappy at the state our Dad is in now. We were at first told that this was due to UTI but it has since been confirmed that there is no infection so what has happened?????? Can anyone throw any light on this please?
Hospital
- Thread starter crips
- Start date
My mum was waiting to see a psychiatrist for suspected dementia and during this time I had to stay with her all the time. One day she collapsed due to her blood pressure dropping suddenly. On the ward in the hospital I told them about the suspected dementia but they said that was nothing to do with them. The next day when I visited they said that she had become aggressive and was trying to get out of the ward. My mum was subsequently diagnosed with vascular dementia and got worse after this 'attack'.
Hi Crips
Have you enquired as to the medication your Dad is being given?
I would make an appointment with his consultant and ask about all of the medication. Somrtimes too much medication can cause what you are describing and I would question it.
Alfjess
Hi Crips
I have no personal experience of this, but having been a member on here for quite some time and read a lot of other peoples' experiences, I'm sad to say that it's not uncommon for there to be a sudden deterioration when someone goes into hospital. I'm not sure why - maybe just the change of scene and the stress of that triggers something in the mind.
I hope it's just a temporary thing for your Dad.
Love
Margaret
I have no personal experience of this, but having been a member on here for quite some time and read a lot of other peoples' experiences, I'm sad to say that it's not uncommon for there to be a sudden deterioration when someone goes into hospital. I'm not sure why - maybe just the change of scene and the stress of that triggers something in the mind.
I hope it's just a temporary thing for your Dad.
Love
Margaret
Hello Crips welcome to TP
Im sorry your in this situation.
I too have no experience with this but have read many posts on here of sudden deterioration when in hosoital ,
I have a few thoughts what it may be but im no doc , just what ive learned over time and you may want to discuss them with the consultant your dad is under at the hospital
Firstly mention your worry that dad may have undiagnosed dementia
Could your dad have had a stroke or T i a often known as a mini stroke
Could your dad have hit his head when he fell
Has dad got an infection such as chest or uti (urine tract infection) sadly they often dont think of this one , so insist they check for them .
I have no wish to cause you more worry, its just that often when these things happen we dont know what questions to ask or what pointers to give to aid the docs
I do hope your dad is better soon
When you can please let us know how you and dad are
Im sorry your in this situation.
I too have no experience with this but have read many posts on here of sudden deterioration when in hosoital ,
I have a few thoughts what it may be but im no doc , just what ive learned over time and you may want to discuss them with the consultant your dad is under at the hospital
Firstly mention your worry that dad may have undiagnosed dementia
Could your dad have had a stroke or T i a often known as a mini stroke
Could your dad have hit his head when he fell
Has dad got an infection such as chest or uti (urine tract infection) sadly they often dont think of this one , so insist they check for them .
I have no wish to cause you more worry, its just that often when these things happen we dont know what questions to ask or what pointers to give to aid the docs
I do hope your dad is better soon
When you can please let us know how you and dad are
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Hello crips
I dont know but it may be that your father is suffering from 'delirium' which appears to be quite common in elderly people admitted to hospital (and existing dementia is one of the risk factors for developing delirium). These NICE guidelines may be worth reading:
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG103/PublicInfo/doc/English
As Margaret W has said, it may just be the stress and change of scenery that has triggered this. But like lin1 and alfjess have mentioned, its worth investigating other possible reasons such as changes in medication etc. Has he had a CT head scan to rule out any vascular changes in the brain? - it may be worth asking the staff about this.
I see that you say its not a UTI, which is often a cause for acute confusion. 'Little' things like making sure your father is not dehydrated are important as well.
My father was diagnosed earlier this year with Alzheimers. The reason he ended up having tests for dementia was because we noticied he was depressed for several weeks (we had not noticied any major memory problems at all - he just seemed to be finding it hard to cope so much with things like financial issues - but we put it down to him feeling low in mood) and then suddenly out of the blue he became very confused which was completely out of character. It started when he told me he'd put the electric kettle on the stove and it went on fire. Then over a course of two weeks he was sometimes forgetting where/who he was, could not read a clock, and was getting night confused with day.
It was EXTREMELY distressing. So I know how you must be feeling. He didnt have a UTI and all his blood tests were normal, except for his prostate level (it was through this we found out he had prostate cancer). He had CT head scan, and ultra sound scan on neck (to check the blood vessels through to brain). I was convinced he must have had some kind of mini stroke that had triggered vascular dementia. But it turned out there was no vascular changes. The CT head scan showed some other changes and linked in with his behaviour they diagnosed Alzheimers. However, that period of acute confusion did wear off. My dad isnt the same man he was at all but he's able to cope day to day. If you spoke to him and didnt know him you wouldnt think there was any problem.
I was all such a confusing time and I still find it hard to get my head round it all. This piece of information comparing delirium, dementia and depression may be helpful to you:
http://www.dhmc.org/dhmc-internet-upload/file_collection/3ds_features.pdf
As lin1 says - dont wish to worry you with all this info. But I think its best to try and find out as much as you can so you can question the hospital staff so that all is being done to investigate your fathers change and to ensure his care is managed effectively.
I really hope your dad feels better soon and that he is back home soon.
Take care
I dont know but it may be that your father is suffering from 'delirium' which appears to be quite common in elderly people admitted to hospital (and existing dementia is one of the risk factors for developing delirium). These NICE guidelines may be worth reading:
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG103/PublicInfo/doc/English
As Margaret W has said, it may just be the stress and change of scenery that has triggered this. But like lin1 and alfjess have mentioned, its worth investigating other possible reasons such as changes in medication etc. Has he had a CT head scan to rule out any vascular changes in the brain? - it may be worth asking the staff about this.
I see that you say its not a UTI, which is often a cause for acute confusion. 'Little' things like making sure your father is not dehydrated are important as well.
My father was diagnosed earlier this year with Alzheimers. The reason he ended up having tests for dementia was because we noticied he was depressed for several weeks (we had not noticied any major memory problems at all - he just seemed to be finding it hard to cope so much with things like financial issues - but we put it down to him feeling low in mood) and then suddenly out of the blue he became very confused which was completely out of character. It started when he told me he'd put the electric kettle on the stove and it went on fire. Then over a course of two weeks he was sometimes forgetting where/who he was, could not read a clock, and was getting night confused with day.
It was EXTREMELY distressing. So I know how you must be feeling. He didnt have a UTI and all his blood tests were normal, except for his prostate level (it was through this we found out he had prostate cancer). He had CT head scan, and ultra sound scan on neck (to check the blood vessels through to brain). I was convinced he must have had some kind of mini stroke that had triggered vascular dementia. But it turned out there was no vascular changes. The CT head scan showed some other changes and linked in with his behaviour they diagnosed Alzheimers. However, that period of acute confusion did wear off. My dad isnt the same man he was at all but he's able to cope day to day. If you spoke to him and didnt know him you wouldnt think there was any problem.
I was all such a confusing time and I still find it hard to get my head round it all. This piece of information comparing delirium, dementia and depression may be helpful to you:
http://www.dhmc.org/dhmc-internet-upload/file_collection/3ds_features.pdf
As lin1 says - dont wish to worry you with all this info. But I think its best to try and find out as much as you can so you can question the hospital staff so that all is being done to investigate your fathers change and to ensure his care is managed effectively.
I really hope your dad feels better soon and that he is back home soon.
Take care
