Dad had a shaky fit

[SunnyTikka]

Hello
I have been a member for ages and love reading all posts but I don't comment often.
I wonder if anyone can advise me?
My father in law is in a care home. He is 83 and usually fit. He has vascular dementia.

The home have just called to say that he has had a kind of fit (how they described it)
His arms and legs shook and his eyes rolled back. The manager says that he came out of it okay and didnt know what had happened. She phoned the emergency doc who said that if he was okay now there was nothing to do really. She had checked his BP which was normal and he had a cup of tea and is now in bed.

I've obviously said that any change to call and I will go over and sit with him. They are going to check on him half hourly.

Does anyone have any advice or indeed any idea what this could have been?
I am very grateful for any comments.

 

[Janey russ]

This sounds like a TIA which is common with vascular dementia. My mothers usually last just seconds and then she is ok again. The only thing I found was that she would go down a step and I would realise she had lost a skill or her understanding was much worse. VD progresses in steps and In my mothers case usually after one of these episodes. Hope this helps.

 

[SunnyTikka]

This sounds like a TIA which is common with vascular dementia. My mothers usually last just seconds and then she is ok again. The only thing I found was that she would go down a step and I would realise she had lost a skill or her understanding was much worse. VD progresses in steps and In my mothers case usually after one of these episodes. Hope this helps.

Thank you, that is really helpful and makes sense. I suppose until he wakes up we won't know if there has been any effect. He has tended to go down a little after two events; one when MIL died and one when his friend at the care home died. Each time afterwards he was a little more confused.

 

[lin1]

Hello
What a worry for you. I hope your Dad is fully recovered tomorrow and has no more incidents.
My Dad is prone to TIAs has been for many years. I am no medic but the symptoms your FIL had are not what I would recognise as a TIA
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Transient-ischaemic-attack/Pages/Introduction.aspx.

You are obviously very concerned .I suggest you arrange to speak to Father in Laws GP about your worries . They may want to arrange some tests at the hospital or if your FIL is fine they may well just wait and see.

 

[CJinUSA]

Hello
I have been a member for ages and love reading all posts but I don't comment often.
I wonder if anyone can advise me?
My father in law is in a care home. He is 83 and usually fit. He has vascular dementia.

The home have just called to say that he has had a kind of fit (how they described it)
His arms and legs shook and his eyes rolled back. The manager says that he came out of it okay and didnt know what had happened. She phoned the emergency doc who said that if he was okay now there was nothing to do really. She had checked his BP which was normal and he had a cup of tea and is now in bed.

I've obviously said that any change to call and I will go over and sit with him. They are going to check on him half hourly.

Does anyone have any advice or indeed any idea what this could have been?
I am very grateful for any comments.

Hello. Your description is consistent with activities and effects of seizure, not TIA. If his arms elevated by themselves or if they thrashed about a bit, this was a seizure, not a TIA. I have seen both, in my mother's case, and have been instructed how to differentiate between the two. (The nursing home staff needs instruction, it seems to me, so that they can differentiate between the two.) Your FIL should be checked - soon! - for seizure activity. My mother is now on a drug against seizures, which are fairly common with Alzheimer's. I don't know about whether they are to be anticipated with vascular dementia. The eyes rolling back suggest seizure, not TIA. I am not a medical professional, but this is my experience in witnessing these events with my mother and based on the instruction I have received from her neurologist. My mother no longer has seizures, thanks to her meds, and she hasn't had a TIA in well over a year. If they would check your FIL, he might be prescribed meds that could improve his situation and feeling of wellbeing.

I'm sorry. I hope you can persuade his physician to test him and evaluate his medications.

 

[Liz57]

I'm a little surprised the doctor wouldn't do anything but for what its worth, this sounds a little like my late husband. He didn't have dementia but did have a whole host of other medical problems, one of which was unstable blood pressure. Sometimes his blood pressure would drop suddenly and the result would be "the shakes". He'd sometimes pass out (not always) and it was eventually diagnosed as postural hypotension (I think thats what its called). Initially this happened when he got up from a chair but in the later stages it would happen even without him moving. It got to the stage that our dog would recognise when he was likely to have one of these "fits" and would push him into a chair if he wasn't already sitting down! He'd often be a bit sleepy afterwards but didn't seem to suffer any ill effects afterwards providedhe didn't fall and hurt himself.

 

[DIANE69]

HELLO
My husband had vascular dementia.I agree that what you describe does sound like a seizure.My husband suffered seizures every few months as part of his vascular dementia and was prescribed epilepsy medication and a blood thinning medication.I also had medication I could use in case he had multiple seizures one after another.After a seizure he never quite recovered fully and I found it was often his mobility that deteriorated.If this his his first seizure I would definitely want to discuss it with the GP.I also found that my husband was more likely to have a seizure if he had a infection of any type.