Does anyone have any experience with pain medicine after a broken hip with a loved one who has dementia?

I am an 80 year old female with a planned right hip replacement about ten years ago and agree it is painful for a few weeks but after that pain should not be a problem. My second hip fracture 2 yrs ago from osteoporosis and of course It caused me to fall. I elected a full replacement and went to rehab (shudder), it infected so back to the hosp and it was opened up again and cleaned out and with IV antibiotics - at home everything was fine.

I did not feel the pain was as bad the second hip but I did use narcotic, Vocodin in my case. Despite being geriatric with no history of dementia I tolerated everything just fine and now just take a couple of Tylenol for all my other aches and pains.

TNtechie's comfort care sounds the best solution, but it is very important with every patient to use just enough pain meds to keep them comfortable. The elderly seem to tend not to need as large dose as those younger but never let the pain get so bad that your loved one is in agony because it takes bigger doses to control pain that is out of control

Tramadol is not good for the elderly. It caused hallucinations in my Mom. You can request the AL to ask the Dr. for a script for OTC meds. Saying to give them when needed.

Good luck, miserable is hard to be around. Thank you for your answer! I share all this info with my siblings.

My 89 yr. old mom is in rehab now for a broken hip. She tripped and fell ( without her walker). She has severe osteoporosis, compression fractures in her back and PMR (polymyelgia rheumatica.....treated with low dose prednisone). Before her fall she was taking 50mg. Tramadol twice daily with mid day Tylenol and 25 mg tramadol as needed when she wakes during the night to use the commode. This has kept her relatively pain free, and hopefully when she returns home the same regime will to continue to work. She seems to tolerate this well in spite of her dementia. My only concern is at some point this dose will have to be bumped up over time and I’m not sure how this will affect her mental state. I would expect her use of Tramadol is a long term solution, but so far so good. That said we are amazed of the transformation in her personality since in rehab.....we have been told at the facility she is sweet and a joy. At home she is demanding and miserable to be around. She is not happy where she is and wants to come home....so my guess she is being agreeable as possible. Go figure.

All opiates have an addiction potential and can increase cognitive problems and impact balance; so their use should be as limited as possible with the elderly. I try to use buffered aspirin, gel packs and heating pads during the day when my parents were moving around. Their pain was mostly following therapy sessions so I often tucked them into a recliner with a snack and a small dose of medication. A cold gel pack with a washcloth folded at least double to keep it directly off the skin would reduce swelling and pain better than opiates, particularly when paired with aspirin which also reduces swelling. If they remained in pain, then they got the narcotic as needed but we tried to make it a one time dose to limit the side effects.