Completely confused after a hospital stay

kenrbnsn

My DW, stage 3 or maybe early stage 4, was in the hospital for DVT (blood clot in her arm which was caught just in time). She went in last Monday and I brought her home last night (Thursday). When we got home she was completely confused as to which day she entered the hospital and how long she was there.

She was given a medicine to take on a specific schedule so she started writing it down. She got confused on which days she had to take 2 pills twice a day and then 1 pill twice a day. I helped her write it correctly. Now I will have to make sure she follows the schedule.

I just hope the hospital stay didn't cause any worsening of her condition.

jfkoc

A hospital stay can be very detrimental but your wife will likely not have lasting effects. Time will be on her side.

charley0419

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/66874/completely-confused-after-a-hospital-stay

My wife diagnosed about yr ago. Short memory and gets confused easy.I have her write 2 checks a month and it’s a chore each time. Sad!!!! This women ran own business 30 yrs.

Ed1937

When things like this happen, it's time for you to take over things. Don't trust them to do anything on any type of schedule. That likely is a thing of the past, at least for now. I agree that she will likely come back to baseline before long. But in the meantime, it's your responsibility to make sure it's done. It will eventually be up to you all the time.

ImMaggieMae

kenrbnsn, increased confusion after a hospital stay is very common. They even have a name for it, “hospital delirium”. My husband experienced it after a hospital stay but returned to baseline a week or two after coming home. Try to keep things calm and familiar. Looking at old photos, listening to music she likes, familiar tv shows and just giving her a lot of attention could help. This might be a good time to take over administration of her medications. Some meds can cause serious problems if not taken on their correct schedule. I have one of those day of the week pill boxes and fill them once a week. I have one for myself too. With so many other things on my mind with his condition, keeping track can be a problem.

kenrbnsn

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/186793#Comment_186793

She's been using those pill containers ever since I met her in 2011 (she takes a lot of meds and vitamins). She has morning meds & evening meds. She used to do weeks of containers at a time, but she can't concentrate enough to do that anymore.