I put Mom in a nursing home five days ago. She'd had some occasional mild confusion at home, but often was coherent and oriented. On the day she was admitted she was lucid and coherent. The next morning when I went to see her she was totally disoriented and was hallucinating. She has not slept at night except for a few hours in the wee hours of the morning. The staff tells me it's not unusual for someone to be very confused for the first couple of weeks, that it takes that long to get acclimated. They were going to contact the dr today to go over her meds and see if he wanted to make any changes or order a sleeping pill. Does anyone have experience with this? Is this confusion and hallucinating a normal reaction to nh placement? Help!
Thanks for the advice. I already did that with the drug record yesterday. I'm a nurse, so I know what I was looking at, and she hasn't had any medications that she wasn't already on at home. In fact, after her first night of not sleeping I asked if they gave her the Elavil. The doctor ordered it prn (as needed) but I was giving to her every night because she couldn't sleep without it. They hadn't given it to her because I hadn't signed the form to give her tranquillizers or other mood-altering drugs. My checks since then show they've been giving her just one per night. I kinda don't think medications are the problem here.
When she was home I gave her both, lorazepam and mirtazapine-in the NH, they gave her just one because one of them said "as needed". I explained to them that she needed both every night and she's been ok every since.
NH's cannot be blamed for everything that our loved ones do or don't do.
I get tired of hearing how bad NH's are, they give wonderful care, at least where my Mom is, they do.
We complain about caring for one person, they take care of several, all a bit different and they do it with compassion.
It is true that most of them aren't happy all the time, Mom isn't but she wasn't when she was home either.
I'm not happy all the time,show me a person that is and I'll show you a real nut !!!
I checked this place out on the medicare website where they do NH inspections, and it has historically done very well. I've been impressed with how caring and concerned the staff is. They are into transparency, no formal visiting hrs, you can show up any time day or night, can walk into the therapy room and talk with the therapists without appointments, etc. As I said, I'm a nurse and know what to look for, and I think she's getting quality care. I have seen places where I wouldn't put my dog, but this isn't one of them.
By the way, I know some people who would qualify as real nuts by your definition, but I think they're faking it most of the time :)
When I have concerns for Dad's behavior, I have asked them to check his meds. They do that often anyway. The one time he was sleeping, and could barely walk, I asked, and they changed it right away (Ativan prn). They are pretty good, and know much more than me. Not infallible, though. All I know is that Dad is doing better than he did at home with Mom, better than he did in the other NH, and my limitations. The rest we leave to God. I do try to stay alert, though. Thanks for reminding us to keep checking when in doubt.
I'm very glad to hear that it wasn't a NH.
I do agree with checking on things--too bad we have to, but---
As with everything else, all NH's aren't great but the one Mom is in, is very nice.
It still goes on today. I hate going to the hospital. I had a heart attach in 2007. I told them I couldn't take BP meds. They said well you BP is up. She gave me a pill to bring it down. After they put the stents in they kept me on BP meds. My BP was so low it stoped my kidneys from working. I didn't know what they were giving me. They called another doctor and he took me off of all meds. for HBP. Wouldn't you think my heart guy would have know that. Scary, yes?
As to the drugging patients, back in the 1950's they used to call it chemical restraints. The practice has pretty much fallen by the wayside, hence the need for me to sign forms for EACH tranquillizer that is ordered to allow the nurses to give the med.
Didn't they do that to people that were really depressed?
Yes, we need to give credit to the good NH and people who truly do care. Mom was in a very bad one for 2 weeks when we went on vacation. For the first week I was home since they had a 2 week minimum. Everyday, 3 times a day I was there to get things done correctly. Now I know that if we need to do a placement again, I have better choices in our area. When we move, I will have to do my homework again. But putting in the effort to do your research and not just complain is worthwhile. Not all are good, but then again, not all are bad.
Chemical restraints, shock therapy, physical restraints... Sometimes just a Vascular Infarct (mini stroke) can cause confusion and hallucinations. There are other causes, too. My FIL has Vascular Dementia, and hallucinates. He's been helped with medication, and seems a little better now. No longer seeing piles of ants disappearing when he goes to pick them up. No longer seeing spiders covering the ceiling, and going after them with housekeeping's brooms. No longer moving furniture and tearing out drawers to find imaginary cats in hiding. But the medication hasn't removed this 94 year old widower's desire to buy a house on ten acres, grow raspberries, marry and have children. He expects to get paid for the work he does at the NH. But even with bouts of hallucinations, he can still whip his adult son and grandchild at Checkers and put together jig saw puzzles. For both our dad's, medications absolutely helps their condition. They have been blessed.
Rather than explain it, anyone interested can fiind plenty of material on the subject - through google or medical sites....don't rely on the popular 'webmd' type sites..not much there.
I saw a difference in my mom's behavior which was stable when the construction on our street started using toxic compounds to resurface their driveway. They are fragile, and one day we might be too. Nursing homes are no panacea - if you are stressed and can't handle caring for them at home thats perfectly ok. Nursing homes are by nature imperfect and impersonal despite what the brochures say - so a vibrant sociable elder may like assisted living or having sing a longs, but I wonder if lying in a convalescant home with 24 tvs blaring up & down the halls and no visitors is not a future I want for myself, or my mom. Bless everyone who tries their hardest no matter where their loved ones are.