Hi. My mother is currently experiencing an episode of delirium. She was admitted to hospital last week and spent 4 days there. The cause of the delirium was due to her sodium levels dropping suddenly. She’s now been discharged and home with me and my father. She was much better the day she was discharged and yesterday but today it seems to have come back. I’m just looking for advice from anyone who has experienced this and to understand how long this will last. She’s never suffered from any mental health issues before and we were told there is every chance it will get better when she’s home. I’m just worried it will never go away. Thanks, Gareth.
Delirium
- Thread starter Gareth1981
- Start date
Generally, delirium does go once the cause of the delirium has gone but it can take a while - weeks or even months. However, the person may not return to his/her previous baseline and, in some cases, the delirium 'unmasks' dementia in people who have not previously had a diagnosis of dementia.
Sometimes, the delirium does not resolve and the person has to be prescribed anti-psychotics. That happened to my friend's MIL who didn't have dementia and, as far as I'm aware, never developed dementia.
Sometimes, the delirium does not resolve and the person has to be prescribed anti-psychotics. That happened to my friend's MIL who didn't have dementia and, as far as I'm aware, never developed dementia.
Was the low sodium levels caused by an infection @Gareth1981 ?
If so, perhaps the infections hasnt completely cleared and has returned
If so, perhaps the infections hasnt completely cleared and has returned
Hi. No, the DRs think it was most likely due to taking MIRTAZAPINE (anxiety drug) which she was prescribed about ten days ago. She had called her local GP complaining of feeling a bit off and feeling anxious. Her GP prescribed this stuff over the phone for her. She only took it twice tho, as the behavioral changes and confusion started after taking just the two pills. She was admitted to hospital a few days later. Thanks
Hi, I replied on your other post. Does your mum have dementia? Is she on any other medication? Low sodium can have devastating mental impacts on the healthiest of people. I've had personal experience of this with two people this year so know what you are going through. I would suggest following up why your mum was feeling off in the first place. Could be viral or medicine related but you might need to be pushy with the GP to get to the bottom of it. Best wishes.
No she doesn’t have dementia (well not yet officially an). She’s on medicine for thyroid and was also on 2 blood pressures drugs and 1 for cholesterol, but those were stopped by her GP before she was admitted to hospital. We think maybe her sodium levels were declining anyway before all this, and before she took the mirtazapine. She’d been complaining of cramps for a good few weeks. Drs think the mirtazapine just accelerated the drop in sodium quite significantly. It’s just so hard to figure out what to do now that we’re back home. The day before she was discharged the DR said he’d refer her to a “hub” for something but it didnt really make much sense to me what they were going on about , but we’ve heard nothing since. So I guess we’ll need to follow that up with the GP when we see them. Thanks
OK, has her thyroid medication manufacturer changed recently, this could be the cause. Same pills but different producer?
Mum had low sodium. We found this out during a routine hospital appointment, she was falling about once a week at the time. GP and I got very brave and took her off as many meds as we could. Balance improved dramatically
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