My mom had hip surgery and it went very well, but she has become somewhat delusional at rehab. What do I say or do?

When you are older everything takes great deal longer. At 68 I had my first hip replacement and was well enough to have the knee done on the same side four months later. Now ten years later my left hip broke and I had it replaced. Now six months later I am far from recovered. I expect it will take at least a year to recover whatever functionality is possible.

My Mom had this also and we had the dr. flush out all the pain meds with Iv Fluids and that really helped. It took a day or two but she was back to herself. They also started her on another type of pain medication that was not so strong. It is a very long process unfortunately. It truly took my mom a year to recover but she is finally feeling better. Hang in there.

Everyone is very encouraging.......thank you for your very kind words - really.
I am told that I have to be patient......so so so hard to sit by and watch someone that would have a knock-down, drag-out argument about politics, retreat to someone that doesn't know me.
Please pray for my mom, not even me, just her.
xo

This happened to my mom after she broke her pelvis. She fell 6 times in 9 days in rehab. Totally berserk. Geriatric phych. Hospital trip fixed her up with meds. It's so awful while going through this but so much better after time. Good luck and you are not alone! All the medication in the hospital just made my mom go wild.

My mom had a stroke, spent a week or so in acute rehab and the transferred to subacute.

The day after mom got to subacute, she informed that you had to pay for everything at this place. I told her that Medicare was covering the cost and she rolled her eyes. I looked over at her roomste, convinced that the woman was filling mom's head with nonsense.

The next day, I was sitting with Mom when the RN came in to give her her meds. After mom swallowed her pills, she gave me a significant look and said
" I have to manage my own meds here". I asked her what she meant and she pointed to her watcher pitcher, again me a significant look.

I followed the Rn out of the room and asked "What is going on?" I was told that it might be vascular dementia and the geriatric psych would be along soon

isoland, I certainly empathize with you concerning Mom's delusions. I had my fair share of them but as I got better they left . Frequent flyer is absolutely right this is a very common problem especially with elders. Some recover and some don't if there is dementia concerned it is likely to advance.
Have you been able to spend time with Mom in the hospital? If you can don't let her see you are distressed just go with the flow. Is there a plan for her to leave rehab once she regains her strength? It sounds as though she was already in a long term care situation.
I only spent four days in rehab and I can assure you I would have become delusional had I stayed there much longer. When I worked as a nurse with geriatric patients fifty years ago when conditions were far worse than they are today we observed that if a patient was admitted with a clear mind, within three months they had sunk to the level of the other patients. It was awful and so very sad. 25 patients in a single big ward over looking the graveyard made famous by Dickens.
Not that this helps your situation but there a many people on this forum who are or who have become single parents and are also managing alone .
Often they get in this situation because of the stress of caregiving alone. Remember to take care of yourself and get medical assistance for yourself if the nausia continues. You need to be on the top of your game to get through this and you will.

isloan, at least 90% of elders have some form of delirium while in the hospital/rehab.

When you think about it, they aren't in an environment they are not familiar with so they become scared. All these new faces, new sounds, new food, the room isn't home, the lighting is different, no sunlight, etc. Limited sleep as someone is always waking them up at 4 a.m. to draw blood, etc.

Note that around 20% of much younger people, even in their 20's, have some form of delirium after having surgery.

Hugs, Isloan. The good news is she's through the surgery. The bad news is that recovering can take its sweet time, and often feels like two steps forward, one-and-a-half steps back.

Try to go with the flow for another four weeks at least. And when you're next speaking to her doctor, ask what pain relief she is being given and what side effects it might have. She does need the pain relief, I'm not suggesting you ask them to stop it! But it could be that the mental symptoms you're noticing are to do with that, and understanding what's going on in her head will give you some peace of mind.

There is almost certainly a psychiatry department at the hospital as well. Is she still having delusions? Ask for a psych consult while she's there.

She fell at rehab trying to get out of bed, which she shouldn't have done...there is a geriatric psychiatrist at rehab.... if she could just get back there. Hopefully in the next few days...
Thanks everyone; this is especially hard for an only child-single mom.
: (

What did she end up back in the hospital for?

The BEST consult we got at rehab was from a geriatric psychiatrist. The good ones are so worth it.

Surgery was on September 23.
Today she's back with the program, but is so very sad bc she's by herself in the hospital. She should be transferred back to rehab by Friday if not tomorrow.
I feel so terrible for her. 😢

Mother did the exact same thing. It was (probably) a combination of the anesthesia and the pain meds she was on. Took us quite a while to figure out what was wrong.

Anesthesia is very hard on older people. It can a long time to throw off the effects of it. Do check into her pain meds and such. Also, it's possible she is starting a UTI.

Good Luck with this---

I'm so sorry!

Start by talking to either the director of Nursing or the doctor at the rehab and tell them what you've observed.

And let us know how it's going....we care!!

Its most likely the meds but you should discuss with her health care provider and have them rule out stroke or allergies to meds. Sadly, surgery can bring on other health issues.

When did she have the surgery? What does her doctor say about it? Could it be medication? Is her pain being managed okay? I'd explore that and see how she progresses. I hope she gets better. What are the delusions?