Posted by gardenergirl on July 10, 2006, at 14:28:41
In reply to Re: weird question re: painkiller from surgery, posted by cecilia on July 10, 2006, at 5:20:57
I'm sorry about your mother. Unfortunately, I've seen that happen several times with older adults. I used to work in a nursing home, and when someone with any kind of cognitive impairment went in for surgery, it frequently seemed to trigger a noticeable progression in a dementia process. I never did learn what it was related to. I do know that anesthesia takes longer to clear out in older adults, although I don't know the physiology of it. So there can be some improvement in time if it's anesthesia related versus a dementia process.
Alzheimers and other dementias are a terrible, terrible thing. I feel for you, and I hope you have support while you cope with your mother's illness.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:664156
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060709/msgs/665759.html