Anesthesia Haze

Saya_G

How long after surgery does the anesthesia haze last?

SusanB-dil

Hi Saya G -

Googled it and it reads the following:    Most people are awake in the recovery room immediately after an operation but remain groggy for a few hours afterward. Your body will take up to a week to completely eliminate the medicines from your system but most people will not notice much effect after about 24 hours.

The effects of general anesthesia may appear to linger for days after surgery for many reasons. Tiredness after a procedure is commonly attributed to anesthetics. But modern anesthetics wear off completely in a couple of hours, so the real picture is usually more complicated.

 It is common to experience a mild fever during the first few days after surgery along with nausea, light-headedness and dizziness from anesthesia or narcotic medications. Drinking fluids, deep breathing exercises and getting up and moving around should help. These symptoms should typically improve in 2-5 days.

 Hope this helps.

Stuck in the middle

They told me to have someone with me for 24 hours.  The amnestic meds last longer than the anesthetics, and the judgment is whack until they wear off.

harshedbuzz

The meds used for anesthesia should clear the system in a matter of hours/days. Beyond that, pain, pain medication and poor sleep could be issues for someone who doesn't have cognitive decline. 

dayn2nite2

For a person with normal cognition, about 1-2 days.  For a person with dementia, often it's weeks, sometimes months, and usually will push the person further along in the disease.

If you're referring to your LOs situations, your mother really should be placed, your sister is a puzzle - I don't believe at all she has a "pseudo" anything, she is full-blown dementia.  The reason your mom needs to be placed is because whatever eating disorder your sister has she has been essentially starving your mother with 1 meal and Ensures and that is just not acceptable.  Your sister probably also needs placement but I would NOT put her in the same facility your mom is going to because she will attempt to control your mother's food intake and interfere with caregivers tending to her.

MN Chickadee

Hard to say with dementia. Usually a matter of hours or days when it happens to a cognitively normal senior, but with dementia it can be anywhere from a few days after getting out of the hospital to permanent. 

I've been following your recent posts, and I would definitely use this as an opportunity to right the ship for their care. This is your chance to move mom to MC where she will get the proper level of care she needs. Sister cannot and will not be involved in that decision and you have a perfect fiblet, which is that it is "temporary" while sister recovers. Sister's long term plan may be more complicated, but hopefully her MRI brings some clarity of what to do after rehab. Is it possible to get a neurology consult while she is in the hospital? Make sure her physicians are aware of the whole picture at home, like the not eating and poor decision making for her own self and mother. 

Jo C.

Another huge issue that so often goes undetected/undiagnosed by healthcare providers is, "Hospital Induced Delirium."  Delirium is an extremely serious problem issue and it happens quite often.  Some LOs may take weeks to months to recover; not all individuals fully recover.

It is extremely important that if one sees a LO with such changes that the carer/family bring up the specter of delirium asap and steps are taken to intervene and lessen the impact.

I had experienced this twice with a LO who had dementia and developed delirium during hospitalization; it was extremely dramatic and initially I thought it was an advancement of dementia, but got a grip by looking closer and discovered it was not.

So . . . anesthesia OR delirium OR a combination of both?  Good to get "on it" quickly and do not let the physician or nursing staff blame it on, "just the dementia getting worse."  That judgment does happen and we must advocate against that stance like the furies.

J.

DrinaJGB

It hugely affects a person with dementia/brain damage issues. It takes week, months and even years to recoup if at all.

Saya_G

Thank you all for your wonderful replies! I so much appreciate the support and the input! 

I am replying via cell phone, so please excuse any typos! 

I have been trying to get my ducks in a row for admitting my mother in to long term care.

As for the haze I was asking about it in relation to my sister, who I believe has at least mild dementia (in my opinion). She was literally out of it for several days after surgery. She is getting better. That said, I found Jo’s reply about hospital induced delirium (HID) very interesting. I truly think Jo hit the nail on the head! I asked if the hospital staff thought that HID could have been a contributing factor to my sister’s delirium. They looked at me like they had never heard of it! As I said, she is getting better, so I don’t expect the hospital staff will he investigating her delirium any further.

Sis is still waiting to go to rehab, having problems finding a facility that takes her insurance. Changing from Cigna HMO, as soon as I can! Ugh!

Again thanks for the support