Sudden sleepiness and decline in parent

[Teslagirls]

Hi All, My dad has vascular dementia and currently resides in a care home. He was until a fortnight ago generally alert, able to make conversation, play dominoes, watch TV etc. He has had a cough for a while. A couple of weeks ago he started to be unable to drink with a straw. He was admitted to hospital one evening when the care home staff found he was unresponsive and was treated with antibiotics. The doctor in A and E diagnosed a number of issues, including lung problems caused by compacted food, gout, conjunctivitis and low blood pressure. Unfortunately, I guess due to bed pressures and the fact he is 90, they sent him back to care home. Since then he has really struggled and been asleep, falling asleep, having eyes closed almost all the time. He is really struggling to eat and although he is talking makes little sense. He sits slumped to one side. I'm really concerned as to what is going on and don't know if it's just af effects of illness or a decline in health linked to dementia. Is this familiar to anyone else? Any advice gratefully received

 

[charlie10]

@Teslagirls ....how worrying for you! Have the Care Home people made any comment on what they think is happening? They see him the most and might have some ideas. You say he has VaD......do you know if they checked him for stroke/TIA in the hospital? I always associate speech difficulty and one'sidedness with something vascular like that....even if they checked in the hospital he could have had an event since discharge. Perhaps you could ask the NH to have him checked by their GP. There doesn't seem to be anything definite about this horrible disease.....feels like trying to pick up a blob of mercury.....I hope you manage to put your mind at rest and your dad improves.

PS just thought, has he been checked for infections such as UTI? I'm not a hands-on carer, but that is often something suggested to look for by more knowledgeable forumites when there's been a change....

 

[Teslagirls]

Thank you for your range of suggestions. Care home staff seem at a bit of a loss for ideas. Think a GP assessment is way forward but treatment of elderly patients seems to below on their list!

 

[Moggymad]

Hi @Teslagirls i am assuming the hospital treated him for the conditions they found? Just wondering how successful that was since he was sent back to the care home pretty quickly. With his drinking issues is he getting enough fluids & not constipated? I would say GP should see him to assess things ASAP.

 

[canary]

The doctor in A and E diagnosed a number of issues, including lung problems caused by compacted food,

Does that mean that they have found food in his lungs? If so, then it seems likely that his cough was due to aspiration - it can lead to aspiration pneumonia.
Has anyone checked his swallow? If not perhaps you could ask for a Speech And Language Therapist (SALT) assessment as they are the experts in swallowing problems,

 

[Moog]

My Dad is 85 with Parkinson's. He's always a bit groggy but when he sleeps too much, it's always:

• a urine infection - easily tested by a pee sample and a dip-test by a doctor
• anaemia - he was only slightly below the minimum for haemoglobin but it was enough to knock him out so much he was hard to wake up.Two days on liquid iron (ferrous fumarate) and he's much more alert
• dehydration: not drinking enough causes instant temporary dementia and sleepiness. A few glasse of juice and 30mins later, my Dad is much more alert.

Best of luck x

 

[Teslagirls]

Thank you all. Dad was readmitted to hospital and is still receiving treatment. Fingers crossed