Halucinations after a minor surgery..

I just found out about this and I am still trying to wrap my mind around this...I apologize if this is the wrong forum. (all of my information is second hand through my sister as they live 5 states away)

My mother had open heart surgery in 2010, they have bounced her meds all over the place as various specialist get into pissing contests about the proper dosage or even what pills to put her on.

Finally her body started breaking down and they had to put her on Dialysis, and things improved immediately, she was doing so well they decided to install a permanent port for the dialysis in her arm last week. surgery went fine till they tried to wake her up from the anesthesia, it took a while for them to wake her up.

The family said she was ok but a little loopy for a couple days and then she has started hallucinating... example my sister got a call from her telling her to come get her daughter because she was being disrespectful and snooping through things she shouldn't... problem with that was she is out of state with her father. Recently my sister went over to watch her while my dad went to my sisters to cut the grass, mom woke up went into my dads office and started to argue with him... again he was not there.

To top it off she has decided she will not do dialysis anymore, and refuses to go see a doctor (as of yesterday, her last dialysis was Friday)... so she has what 2-3 weeks tops before her body quits.

Anyone ever heard of this kind of post surgery complication... any experience or suggestions on where to go would be greatly appreciated.

I know first thing tomorrow at work I am going to the base hospital to try and get some off the books advice, either from a doctor or a psychiatrist to see how to get her declared mentally unfit to take care of herself (as a last resort I don't want to do that, but till we are sure she is of sound mind can I let her commit suicide while she argues with people that are not there)... or see if that is even an option I don't know.. right now I need to know where to look to get information so we can make an informed decision.

a reply to: Irishhaf

I got some hallucinations after surgery, seeing a goblin poking at my side and causing my pain. That was only after several surgeries, and I don't like surgeries after that.

The only thing I can advice, is maybe to talk to your mother with an open mind. Meaning, that whatever hallucinations that she might be having, just play along and be on her side of things.

Hope things work out for you and your mother ... you have my sympathies.

I'm not sure about the anesthesia. My mother has had some problems with her kidneys lately and sometimes that makes her a little confused. She does a lot of things like you described your mother doing. Mine will have conversations with me on the phone. But she's talking into the remote and not to me.
I hope your mother gets well soon.

Thank you both for sharing, gives me hope.

My guess is a bacterial infection somewhere - some toxins they give off might be hallucinogenic. Some fungii also give off hallucinogenic spores. She should get a blood test to see if there are elevated levels of white blood cells.

a reply to: Irishhaf

I work with elderly patients in rehab after all kinds of surgery. Dementia and hallucinations are common after anesthesia in older patients. I'm not a doctor so I can't tell you the physical reasoning behind it, but my elderly patients that experience it are generally very disoriented and hallucinating up to a week or two after surgery, then they slowly improve. Sometimes it takes a month for them to become themselves again. Your main concern right now is getting your mom to dialysis. She is not in her right mind currently and cannot make this decision herself. Make her physicians aware of her mental state and, hopefully, they can administer her treatment anyway. Also, since she is not currently receiving dialysis, toxins are building up in her system and may contribute to her mental disorientation. Hope this helps and best wishes.

Some dialysis patients can have trouble with their calcium levels. My mom had this happen and until they got the levels normalized, she hallucinated. Make sure they check it. We were told at the time, if this hadn't been caught, it would have been assumed she had developed dementia. Also check on side effects of drugs and their combinations.

I'd like to make a suggestion.

I recently read of a Japanese practice of drinking several glasses of pure water at the start of every day.

It is supposed to cure many different kinds of ailments, from the slight to the severe.

It can't hurt and might be effective in removing whatever is causing the problem.

You can google it to find out more.

I hope she comes around soon.

originally posted by: stormcell
My guess is a bacterial infection somewhere - some toxins they give off might be hallucinogenic. Some fungii also give off hallucinogenic spores. She should get a blood test to see if there are elevated levels of white blood cells.

My first thought as well. A friend of my mother's got an infection after a surgery and started hallucinating.

a reply to: Irishhaf

I work in psychiatry and it is indeed possible, I have seen patients enter a complete delirium where they were unidentifiable from a dementia patient.

originally posted by: trollz

originally posted by: stormcell

My guess is a bacterial infection somewhere - some toxins they give off might be hallucinogenic. Some fungii also give off hallucinogenic spores. She should get a blood test to see if there are elevated levels of white blood cells.

My first thought as well. A friend of my mother's got an infection after a surgery and started hallucinating.

Anaesthesia is a known cause of hallucinations and delirium in some people.

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

Absolutely true.

I went thru some nasty times with hallucination after my surgeries and when I look back I laugh at some of the things I remember but my wife remembers those days with a tear in her eyes because she could not understand what was going on.

originally posted by: thesaneone
a reply to: OccamsRazor04



Absolutely true.



I went thru some nasty times with hallucination after my surgeries and when I look back I laugh at some of the things I remember but my wife remembers those days with a tear in her eyes because she could not understand what was going on.

You best give her love for dealing with that

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

Everyday.

Thank your for the responses, I passed the information along I wish I was there to help my sister, I am told she seems more coherent today so here is to hoping...