General Medical issues thread

[Pushka]

Is there another option? Dad would love to be home but if he cannot walk he'd need full time care. A live in nurse would be expensive and a total change in our life too.

Believe me, putting someone in a Nursing Home is a total change in your life. Emotionally and financially. They hold you to ransom. Are your parents on Centrelink? Do they own their home? It’s a financial minefield.

Nursing home might not be an option if the current problem is not sorted out. You might find he gets punted back to hospital

This is true. At the slightest whiff of extra need it’s straight back to Hospital. But to keep the bed you still have to pay their daily charge. And they keep the bond as well. I hate the Nursing Home Concept. There are much better and less expensive options out there, eg home care through say ECH. And just being in a wheelchair does not mean you need to go into full time care.

 

[drron]

John it is not easy coping with the situation you find yourself in.Unfortunately delirium is reasonably common when patients older than myself are admitted to hospital.Infections are a common cause but drugs are also a common cause.I wouldn't rule out the endone.
When my father had an admission to hospital towards the end of his life I was told by a professor he was demented.however when he got out and we insisted on endone being ceased his "dementia"was cured.

 

[Pushka]

John it is not easy coping with the situation you find yourself in.Unfortunately delirium is reasonably common when patients older than myself are admitted to hospital.Infections are a common cause but drugs are also a common cause.I wouldn't rule out the endone.
When my father had an admission to hospital towards the end of his life I was told by a professor he was demented.however when he got out and we insisted on endone being ceased his "dementia"was cured.

I recall the MIL went somewhat ‘unsettled’ when her drugs hadn’t been reduced to match her declining weight. She did have terminal cancer and someone didn’t think about it. Bladder infections can also affect mental acuity.

 

[JohnK]

Nursing home might not be an option if the current problem is not sorted out. You might find he gets punted back to hospital

God works in mysterious ways.

Cut a long story short but his cardiologist visits Concord Hospital every week and spoke with dad this morning. Visit wasn't planned as far as I am aware. Dad asked him for help to leave. Cardiologist said where you will go? If you don't fix your hips you'll remain paralysed. Dad respects cardiologist and I think that chat has knocked some sense in to him.

Another MRI today. Issue could be the hips and may need operation but that was surprises me the most is they're still not certain.

P.S. Dad doesn't appear to be suffering from delirium now. They stopped the drugs a few days ago. It may not have been the endone but the gabapentin that was causing the issue.

The past few weeks have been really strange.

 

[love_the_life]

God works in mysterious ways.

Cut a long story short but his cardiologist visits Concord Hospital every week and spoke with dad this morning. Visit wasn't planned as far as I am aware. Dad asked him for help to leave. Cardiologist said where you will go? If you don't fix your hips you'll remain paralysed. Dad respects cardiologist and I think that chat has knocked some sense in to him.

Another MRI today. Issue could be the hips and may need operation but that was surprises me the most is they're still not certain.

P.S. Dad doesn't appear to be suffering from delirium now. They stopped the drugs a few days ago. It may not have been the endone but the gabapentin that was causing the issue.

The past few weeks have been really strange.

Interesting to read. Glad that someone your Dad trusts could see him and discuss his condition with him. That will help your Dad I think. Next step the hips? Whatever they are looking to do there.
SIL's knee replacement a couple of weeks ago went well though still in some discomfort as to be expected and in line with what the doctors told her. She is to have a hip replacement in about 3 months, once this has healed.

 

[drron]

Yes gabapentin can knock you like that.

 

[Renato1]

John it is not easy coping with the situation you find yourself in.Unfortunately delirium is reasonably common when patients older than myself are admitted to hospital.Infections are a common cause but drugs are also a common cause.I wouldn't rule out the endone.
When my father had an admission to hospital towards the end of his life I was told by a professor he was demented.however when he got out and we insisted on endone being ceased his "dementia"was cured.

Interesting thanks. My late father got hospitalised a three times (heart issues), and every time he was there he would go irrational and start hallucinating that there were people in the room who weren't there, and was seeing dead people walking around, and was totally paranoid with all the kind hospital staff supposedly out to get him and do him in.

I asked the Doctors what they were giving him, trying to figure out what was turning him into an utter nut case. It turned out that plain old Panadiene was the cause. After they stopped giving him that, he became normal and cheerful again quite quickly.
Regards,
Renato

 

[JohnK]

Yes gabapentin can knock you like that.

That's a dangerous side effect?

 

[Quickstatus]

Causes of delirium:
Advanced age
Dementia
Psychological stress
Pain
Poor nutrition - fasting, unable to eat due to illness
Psychoactive drugs
Acute illness or injury
Infection
Sleep deprivation
Unfamiliar surroundings - hospitalisation
Heightened sensory inputs - bright lights, sounds 24/7

It may be one or more commonly a combination of several factors. Hospitalisation for elderly is a bad prognosis as all of the above happens in a hospital

 

[cove]

I have witnessed a senior with a urinary tract infection. Like taking crazy pills if there is such a product.
My previous cardiologist tried nicotinic acid on me as a medication but I couldn’t handle the side effects.
Four days of a high level amount of prednisolone and stopping cold turkey made me feel like my mind had been hijacked.

 

[JohnM]

Yikes! I am very glad that I take no medication at all! Long may it stay that way...

 

[JohnK]

It may be one or more commonly a combination of several factors. Hospitalisation for elderly is a bad prognosis as all of the above happens in a hospital

Dad was fine before Gabapentin and is fine again now they stopped the Gabapentin. That's a very dangerous drug if that's a common side effect.

Apparently they will operate on dad in the coming week to try and clean up around L4-L5.

 

[suze2000]

Dad was fine before Gabapentin and is fine again now they stopped the Gabapentin. That's a very dangerous drug if that's a common side effect.

Apparently they will operate on dad in the coming week to try and clean up around L4-L5.

I'm glad he's getting the surgery he needs, hopefully will get him mobile again.

But "common" in medical parlance is different to what you or I might think of as common. You can have them add to his file that he's "allergic" to gabapentin (one of the many reasons the My Health Record could be a good thing for the elderly).

 

[Quickstatus]

Not an allergy - that has a specific and technical meaning in medical world.

I would say “reaction” or “sensitivity” to gabapentin

 

[love_the_life]

Not an allergy - that has a specific and technical meaning in medical world.

I would say “reaction” or “sensitivity” to gabapentin

Agree. I have a sensitivity to whatever the drug is in Maxolon. Makes the symptoms worse. It’s not an allergy; I just don’t react well to it.

 

[Pushka]

So an allergy is restricted to the anaphylactic kind of episode? I wonder how many allergies might suddenly ‘disappear’ if that’s the case.

I get a dreadful headache if I take augmentin but the usual penicillin is fine. Dad on the other hand was highly allergic to penicillin and was given some for pneumonia whilst on a aircraft carrier during Naval Service on the way to S Korea. He almost didn’t make it through.

 

[drron]

Doesn't have to be anaphylaxis.May be skin rash or fever for example.A headache with Augmentin but not other penicillins is a side effect not an allergy.

 

[suze2000]

You're all quite correct, I just couldn't remember the correct way to describe it while writing the post. "Allergies/reactions" is what I meant.

 

[Quickstatus]

Whether allergy or reaction it all gets lumped into one "Allergies/reactions" box on the medication cart.

Rather than trying to work out which one it is most medicos prefer patients just say "reaction/sensitive" and what the reaction is.

So: "I get a reaction to drug x and the reaction is a sore 3rd toe on the left foot"

 

[Flashback]

Decided to pop over for a game of hockey during my fly-by trip to Oz and have ended up busted my ankle (for the 2nd time!). Any advice for when flying, as I assume the swelling will go up even further? Flying Y+ so more difficult to keep it elevated (only been able to nab the bulkhead for 1 leg).