Help! Elderly confused after colon surgery and not getting better - Mental Health Message Board

pretty_vegas · 05-07-2006, 05:37 PM

My grandmother is 83 years old. Her husband of 64 yr died Oct 11, 2005. She moved into an apartment and has been adjusting to the single life well. As of Thursday April 27, 2006 she was living alone, driving a car, playing bingo twice a week, going shopping, cooking, visiting the beauty shop. She doesn't look like she's 83 and has always been in good health. She loves American Idol and we talk during the commercial breaks every Tuesday night. She has also been a life long Atlanta Braves fan and nevers misses a game on TV. Recently she had a colonoscopy which reveled a colon polyp. A biopsy determined it was not cancerous but her doctor advised her to have it removed so that it wouldn't turn into cancer at some point. He talked with the family about the risks of surgery and indicited that due to her age it may take a little longer for her to be back to normal. We urged her to get the surgery. She had the surgery on Friday April 28, 2006. Upon waking up, she was terribly confused. Didn't recognize her family and didn't know where she was. The doctor said that's normal and she should be back to normal within 72 hours. It has now been 9 days. I saw her today, she doesnt know me, she sees little people, she sees flying objects, she thinks she either in the car or at her apartment, she wanders the hospital looking for her room, she uses the bathroom in the closet and on the chairs. She hasnt spoke a word that made any sense since her surgery. The doctor said he thought she would be fine be now. A neurologist was brought in yesterday and did a ct scan and mri which were normal..she did a spinal tap today but we dont know how that turned out yet. Her white blood cell count is high indicating infection somewhere. She has no fever and doesnt seem to feel bad. Could the infection be the cause of the delirius behavior? Is there any chance of getting my grandmother back? Or has it been too long now. What's wrong with her??? I feel like I've lost my best friend and it seems so bad now that I'm afraid she is too far gone to be brought back. I know my grandmother would not want to live this way.

pretty_vegas · 05-08-2006, 08:15 PM

the spinal tap was normal. the neuologist says there nothing more she can do and would refer my grandmother to the senior psychiatric center for evaluation. i am so mad right now. of course the senior center will evaluate her and tell us she's nuts but we know that!!!! what happened to her? how come she won't come back to us?

Jennita · 05-09-2006, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pretty_vegas

the spinal tap was normal. the neuologist says there nothing more she can do and would refer my grandmother to the senior psychiatric center for evaluation. i am so mad right now. of course the senior center will evaluate her and tell us she's nuts but we know that!!!! what happened to her? how come she won't come back to us?

I can't say for sure what's wrong.... but maybe it's possible it could be some after-effects of the drugs given at the hospital or perhaps any prescription drugs she has taken home with her. I know my own mother was given some medication once that had her seeing all sorts of things! Is your grandmother on any medication now?