delirium?

[prendi]

my aunty was taken in to hospital 2 weeks ago,very confused,and hallucinating.they thought she had a water infection ,but hadnt.they now say she has delirium as she is still seeing kids in her room and picking things out of mid air.it is terrible to see her like this.she is 85yrs old and is normally as sane as i am.what causes delirium and how long does it take to snap out of it?She was taking codiene as i mentioned before ,but is off it now.

[ljdksa]

It depends what's causing it - infection, dehydration, etc etc. Have the hospital given any reasons and done tests? I don't know if she has other conditions, such as dementia, schizphrenia, but I'm sure you would have mentioned that. Does she have a fever?

[Sqad]

Many,many causes of delirium in an 85 year old.

Investigations in hospital will be necessary to identify the cause.

[prendi]

my aunt has had a brain scan,chest x ray,blood tests galore,urine tests,a specialist came and diagnosed delirium.she prescribed haloperidol,that is for schizophrenia and it seemed to calm her down,but last night when we visited she was seeing kids all over the ward and claiming that the nurses had tied her up in a room for 3 hours,its very upsetting to see her like this,as i say she was sane not long ago.

[ljdksa]

I'm sure it's very distressing. I really hope they find the cause. Personally, I have only seen delirium in people with measles and people with schizophrenia - I don't know if this is something that can manifest later in life that suddenly. I assume they have also checked her eyes and that these are not visual disturbances? I wish you both all the best, but I think the hospital should be in a much better position to reassure you.

[Sqad]

prendi..to sum up after the tests....no organic cause for her delirium, so it rests in the hands of the Psychiatrists.

[Headbanger]

Is she taking any other pain-killers? My mum was put on tramadol after a fall l and she started hallucinating and talking to the people on the ceiling.This is one of the possible side-effects of tramadol.Is she very old or underweight as this increases the chances of side-effects?

[prendi]

Headbanger...... my aunt is 85yrs old but is not underweight,she is around 11 stones.she takes a lot of paracetemol during the day and is on around 17 different tablets a day for various ailments.I wondered if the codeine was reacting with any of them.she has stopped the codeine now ,thank God,i personally think that was the root cause of it all.

[ladyalex]

Hope your aunt recovers quickly, prendi.
My Mother-in-law suddenly started hallucinating, seeing people in her living room who wouldn't leave etc. At the time she was just beginning to show some signs of dementia. You would hardly have known anything was wrong with her. She was seen by the psycho-geriatricians , prescribed some sedative drugs on a very low dose and the hallucinations disappeared. She continued to have a good quality of life for quite a few years.
As sqad says, in the absence of any physical problem, it's over to the psychiatrists, but try, if you can, to ensure that it is an Old Age Psychiatrist that she sees.
All the best.

[prendi]

thanks for all the good wishes folks,my aunt seems a lot better now the codeine is out of her system.she was given co-amoxiclav for a chest infection that she got in hospital,it made her very sick with bad chest and back pains.we told the doc and he said not to give her any more!Do the doctors think we are guinea pigs or what??

[Mamyalynne]

I am glad to hear she is improving.

[treetops1]

My uncle has just come out of a Mental Health ward because of Statins, I think they just give you anything and hope for the best.

[prendi]

its true isnt it? they give you 1 tablet and if it sends you do lally they just say dont take it any more,and leave you to it !!