HI Dale
Have you considered this?
The dangers of hospital delirium in older people - Harvard Health Blog
The dangers of hospital delirium in older people - H...
Many older people develop delirium when they are hospitalized. Delirium is a sudden change in mental status characterized by confusion, disorientatio...
View on www.health.harvard.edu
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Best Wishes Domenic
Delusions in dementia
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domenicstanghini
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:00 pm
Re: Delusions in dementia
Good job, Dale, good luck with her and thank you for taking so much interest in her.
An elder can really end up in a mucking fess in a hospital or nursing home, under solely allopathic care/mindthink, as so much is missed/misunderstood/mistreated.
If I understood your post correctly, you said it looks like it could be a UTI. If so, and that is properly managed, i so hope it causes a huge positive change in her sense and sensibilities, so that you might get a clearer picture of what else may be going on and needed.
Having worked w/elders w/Alzheimers/Dementia w/Sundowners, when sudden mental/emotional changes, and especially vivid hallucinations suddenly come about, I learned quickly to immediately rule out UTI's first. It's actually frightening what an effect it can have on a person, and is often one of the last things most folks think about.
Bless your heart.
D
She was not until very recently. The nursing home put her on a very small dose of Lexapro for depression a couple of weeks ago, and a few days ago added Lamictal for the delusions. Apparently they gave her a dose of Ativan yesterday without the family's approval.
I decided after sending that post yesterday to try cell salts, so today started her on Kali-phos. and Nat-sulph. 3 of each, three times a day. I've treated patients at this nursing home before, but never with remedies that required multiple doses a day. It was interesting, to say the least, getting approval for this so the nurses could dispense the remedies.
Unfortunately, this same woman is now in the hospital after having gotten belligerent while on an outing. Looks like a UTI.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, but I do think this may be a deficiency issue, which is why cell salts seemed appropriate.
Peace,
Dale
An elder can really end up in a mucking fess in a hospital or nursing home, under solely allopathic care/mindthink, as so much is missed/misunderstood/mistreated.
If I understood your post correctly, you said it looks like it could be a UTI. If so, and that is properly managed, i so hope it causes a huge positive change in her sense and sensibilities, so that you might get a clearer picture of what else may be going on and needed.
Having worked w/elders w/Alzheimers/Dementia w/Sundowners, when sudden mental/emotional changes, and especially vivid hallucinations suddenly come about, I learned quickly to immediately rule out UTI's first. It's actually frightening what an effect it can have on a person, and is often one of the last things most folks think about.
Bless your heart.
D
She was not until very recently. The nursing home put her on a very small dose of Lexapro for depression a couple of weeks ago, and a few days ago added Lamictal for the delusions. Apparently they gave her a dose of Ativan yesterday without the family's approval.
I decided after sending that post yesterday to try cell salts, so today started her on Kali-phos. and Nat-sulph. 3 of each, three times a day. I've treated patients at this nursing home before, but never with remedies that required multiple doses a day. It was interesting, to say the least, getting approval for this so the nurses could dispense the remedies.
Unfortunately, this same woman is now in the hospital after having gotten belligerent while on an outing. Looks like a UTI.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, but I do think this may be a deficiency issue, which is why cell salts seemed appropriate.
Peace,
Dale
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Shannon Nelson
- Posts: 8848
- Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2002 10:00 pm
Re: Delusions in dementia
Can you see what remedies might have been suggested by her case before the dementia set in, or before it became so extreme?
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Jean Doherty
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 10:00 pm
Re: Delusions in dementia
Seeking approbation . Could Palladium possibly be considered. Hopefully the cell salts will help . Jean
Re: Delusions in dementia
With the elderly and dementia/psychosis , always check their vit B 12 levels. Does no harm to give frequently, 2ml imi per week. Might be too late but if it's deficient, then give it.
Regards,
Paul
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Regards,
Paul
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Re: Delusions in dementia
With the elderly and dementia/psychosis , always check their vit B 12 levels. Does no harm to give frequently, 2ml imi per week. Might be too late but if it's deficient, then give it.
Regards,
Paul
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Regards,
Paul
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Re: Delusions in dementia
Thanks, Domenic. I gather she was quite calm in the hospital, however; the delusions came before going there. From what I can observe, she doesn't appear to be reading people correctly, so the most innocuous comment or movement she can suddenly take as a threat.
She also does appear to be sundowning. Agitation and aggressive behavior were repeated today. Her mental state seems to be deteriorating rapidly, so her brain may just be shutting down.
In the mornings she's fine, and a day of cell salts has increased her appetite, which is a minor miracle, since she's been eating hardly anything and has lost weight.
Peace,
Dale
The dangers of hospital delirium in older people - H...
Many older people develop delirium when they are hospitalized. Delirium is a sudden change in mental status characterized by confusion, disorientatio...
View on www.health.harvard.edu
Preview by Yahoo
She also does appear to be sundowning. Agitation and aggressive behavior were repeated today. Her mental state seems to be deteriorating rapidly, so her brain may just be shutting down.
In the mornings she's fine, and a day of cell salts has increased her appetite, which is a minor miracle, since she's been eating hardly anything and has lost weight.
Peace,
Dale
The dangers of hospital delirium in older people - H...
Many older people develop delirium when they are hospitalized. Delirium is a sudden change in mental status characterized by confusion, disorientatio...
View on www.health.harvard.edu
Preview by Yahoo
Re: Delusions in dementia
Thank you, Diane. Apparently no UTI (that would be too easy!), but definite sundowning.
Speaking of UTIs, I had a case last week of a woman with numerous recurrent UTIs that started going quickly to her kidneys. When she made the appointment, she was on Cipro for her latest, so I thought there was time to come up with a remedy. But when she showed up, it turned out they'd had to pull her off Cipro (and everything in that family) because her Achilles were threatening to rupture. So a chronic problem suddenly became an emergency.
I gave her a remedy and repped later. The remedy was Berberis 1M, and she's responding beautifully. Thanks ye gods of homeopathy!
Peace,
Dale
Speaking of UTIs, I had a case last week of a woman with numerous recurrent UTIs that started going quickly to her kidneys. When she made the appointment, she was on Cipro for her latest, so I thought there was time to come up with a remedy. But when she showed up, it turned out they'd had to pull her off Cipro (and everything in that family) because her Achilles were threatening to rupture. So a chronic problem suddenly became an emergency.
I gave her a remedy and repped later. The remedy was Berberis 1M, and she's responding beautifully. Thanks ye gods of homeopathy!
Peace,
Dale
Re: Delusions in dementia
Thanks, Paul. B-12 levels have been checked in the past (and have been okay), but I don't know if there have been any recent checks. She's in the hospital now for a second evaluation after another bout of aggressiveness (kicking and biting), and I understand she will probably be referred to a geriatic psych unit for evaluation. Whether I'll be allowed to intervene remains to be seen.
Peace,
Dale
Peace,
Dale