My mother is 95 and had gall bladder surgery and now can't seen to stay awake, and needs assistance for basic functions. What to do?
She recognizes me and can verbalize simple questions etc. But if I try to watch TV with her she falls asleep immediately. I'm pretty sure the general anesthesia she add for the operation may had caused cognitive problems.
For a someone younger they can snap back in a week or so but elderly take a lot longer to bounce back.
If she sleeps when she sits up she might be in some discomfort or pain. If she's been checked for internal swelling or drainage then she's just taking longer to recover.
Make sure she's getting all her nutrients. Give her a pillow to hug when she sits up, it may help her feel better. Keep an eye on any more changes in her and discuss with her doctor or nurse. Take care.
Because removal of gall stones is a relatively simple procedure and she was in pain Panda, so the choice would be to live in pain or attempt a cure.
I think the OP needs to understand that even without the effects of anesthesia she will take much, much longer to recover at her age, hopefully the symptoms that caused her to seek surgical relief are no longer troubling her. At 95 years old every new day is an amazing gift of longevity.
GA is terrible on geriatrics! They say that one hour 'under' GA will take one month to "throw off". So, 3 hrs= 3 months. Kind of a rough estimate, and honestly, a lot of very elderly patients do not ever completely return.
I'm so sorry. In cases where there has to be GA (such as your mom) you just have to bite the bullet and hope for the best.
Sounds like you know why she's so dozy---is she living with you or in a care facility or on her own? She will need help for quite some time. A surgery such as gallbladder has become very routine and much less traumatizing to the body, but at 95--her 'guts' are very susceptible to bruising and she will be sore for some time. And possibly not able to voice that kind of pain. Make sure she's comfortable, out of pain and also getting up and moving. Getting constipated from the pain meds after such a procedure would be awful.
what are you really asking? She needs time to heal and round the clock care for a while---what was her baseline like? Pretty independent or no? She won't come back 'better'--you can hope for 'the same' or 'not much worse'.
I had my gallbladder out at age 40 and it took me a year to recover-but I had major post surgical issues. Most people bounce back fairly well from this if it's done with a laprascope.
I am living with her 24/7. She did not have the gall bladder removed. The doctors decided it best to move the gall stones and insert a tube for about a month to make sure she was draining OK. She was pretty independent prior to this (could dress feed, toilet). When she lies in bed I can talk with her but when I get her up she gets drowsy. Anyway thanks for your comments.. this is all new to me and I am confused how to proceed.
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For a someone younger they can snap back in a week or so but elderly take a lot longer to bounce back.
If she sleeps when she sits up she might be in some discomfort or pain. If she's been checked for internal swelling or drainage then she's just taking longer to recover.
Make sure she's getting all her nutrients. Give her a pillow to hug when she sits up, it may help her feel better. Keep an eye on any more changes in her and discuss with her doctor or nurse. Take care.
I think the OP needs to understand that even without the effects of anesthesia she will take much, much longer to recover at her age, hopefully the symptoms that caused her to seek surgical relief are no longer troubling her. At 95 years old every new day is an amazing gift of longevity.
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I'm so sorry. In cases where there has to be GA (such as your mom) you just have to bite the bullet and hope for the best.
Sounds like you know why she's so dozy---is she living with you or in a care facility or on her own? She will need help for quite some time. A surgery such as gallbladder has become very routine and much less traumatizing to the body, but at 95--her 'guts' are very susceptible to bruising and she will be sore for some time. And possibly not able to voice that kind of pain. Make sure she's comfortable, out of pain and also getting up and moving. Getting constipated from the pain meds after such a procedure would be awful.
what are you really asking? She needs time to heal and round the clock care for a while---what was her baseline like? Pretty independent or no? She won't come back 'better'--you can hope for 'the same' or 'not much worse'.
I had my gallbladder out at age 40 and it took me a year to recover-but I had major post surgical issues. Most people bounce back fairly well from this if it's done with a laprascope.
this is all new to me and I am confused how to proceed.