hello everyone
my father (75) is dealing with, what we believe to be delirium for now. He had an ischemic stroke in January and the doctors diagnosed him with delirium less than three days after being admitted to the hospital.
He has been discharged home just over a month ago and his confusion was getting better but now it’s getting worse. Here are some things I’ve noted as of recently:
- for a few days, he forgot where the washroom was (lasted 3 days)
- he forgot who he lives with (lasted 2 days)
- he cannot differentiate the TV remote to a cell phone and a remote for a light switch
- he has great long term memory, but poor short term memory.
- he has trouble understanding the numbers on the TV remote. For example, if I tell him to press numbers 3-4-1, he will press 2-7-1.
- he is paranoid of me (his daughter) and thinks I’m lying to him all the time.
- he gets aggravated easily.
- I need to give him daily eye drops so I usually hand him a tissue to wipe his eyes afterwards, but he grabs the tissue and blows his nose instead.
however, he is able to dress himself, sometimes his sweater is inside out but that’s it.
he is able to eat on his own when I bring him food.
he is able to fill his water bottle when it’s running low.
he now remembers where the washroom is and who lives with him. He remembers his family very well even though he hasn’t seen them in years.
he just has a very confused behaviour.
my issue is that I cannot help but he frustrated by it. We do not have a dementia diagnosis yet and I’m aware it could be vascular dementia but we will test for that in June during his stroke follow-up appointment.
does this sound like dementia or general confusion from a stroke?
i should add that he has high blood pressure and heart disease and has not been taking his medication properly due to refusal and forgetting. Can these health issues increase confusion?
as I’ve mentioned, the confusion got worse after a few weeks of coming home from the hospital. He was tested for infections and the tests came back negative.
I just need advice and information. I have no family to help with this and I’m overwhelmed. I’m scared and very anxious around him and I feel guilty for that.
anything helps..
Her physical condition previous to the stroke was amazingly good, and she left the hospital at her request 2 nights after she got there.
Other than a pretty significant deficit in both expressive and receptive language (her SPEECH was relatively clear), she could quickly demonstrate that her cognitive/intellectual skills were intact.
She lived over 4 years by herself in her own home, until she fell and pulverized her hip, and following the hip surgery, was obviously (to me and her medical team)unable to take care of herself or return to her own home.
After bringing her into my own home (then gaining 60 pounds, losing my job, and living mostly without sleep for almost a year) I tearfully took her to a very fine residential care center, where she lived joyfully until a week before her 95th birthday.
So truthfully, every case is different, but I’d feel safe guessing that cognitive issues are at least entering his personal horizon.
Sometimes determining what you’re dealing with in terms of diagnosis isn’t nearly as useful as what he is actually DOING as you observe him through the day.
If you can, try to keep some anecdotal records of what he’s doing at home so that you can share them with his medical/therapy staff.
Good luck to you both.
Is it possible to get that June review appointment moved closer?
I agree with Beatty. Please see if you can get his appointment scheduled sooner. Tell them exactly what is going on and that you need help in determining what care he needs.
All the best to you and your family.