OUDoc or anyone else with Morphine experience...

[OU4LIFE]

My grandfather is having some issues. Many of you that attend tailgates have met him, sharp guy very much still intact mentally and physically and still sees patients 6 days a week, he's a D.O.

ANYWAY, really really long story short, he wanted/needed hip replacement surgery. Had it done last Wednesday, I was concerned about anesthesia at his age and pushed him towards the epidural option for safety's sake. He came out of the surgery great, the Dr. said his tissue and bone was really unique for a man his age(He's 96), and incredibly good dense bone a strong tissue. So anyway, we see him after surgery and he's TOTALLY with it, absolutely his normal self. We go to lunch and come back, same thing...doing good understands everything that's going on, very lucid.

then, cut to Thursday and everything has just gone crazy, he hallucinating, doesn't recognize people, is combatative and angry and mean. has tried to get out of bed and fallen. Motor skills are terrible, etc.

So in my head I'm thinking it HAS to be some medication given AFTER the fact, as he was great even 4-5 hours after surgery. Nurse and Dr. seem to think it might be the morphine he was given for pain, and from what i've heard and read it can take several days to clear your system. They took him off morphine thursday sometime, and he's been getting better but very slowly, IMO. He's still having a lot of problems, but at least when I was there Saturday, he knew who I was, where he was, how old I was etc, but didn't know the month(thought it was May).

can morphine do that? could there be some other causes?

I can't even begin to tell you how hard it is to see him this way, I mean I just played 18 holes of golf with the man two weeks ago. He works out 3 days a week, sees patients 6 days a week, and plays golf at least 3 days a week....he's just not the same dude right now.

[Mixer!]

Damn! Prayer sent for your Grandad, Marc. :(

[OU4LIFE]

Thanks Stevie.

Spell my name wrong again and I will kill you. ;)

[tidalmouse]

Hopefully just a Medication issue and will Pass.Hope you and your GrandFather Play many more Rounds of Golf. :)

[OUDoc]

Morphine could definitely do that, but I'd wonder about it still affecting him days later. Just being in the hospital makes people (especially elderly people) confused. I would wonder if he had infection, especially a urinary tract infection or pneumonia. There would be other signs of infection, but sometimes older people don't even develop a fever. I would worry about stroke, but the signs would probably be fairly obvious and the docs would have caught that. Then it could be a combination of all of these things.
If he's getting better, I'd probably just watch him, assuming everything else looks okay (blood pressure, temperature, stuff like that).

Good luck, Marque.

[AggieTool]

I had morphine after my surgery and all it did was make the pain tolerable.

It did nothing otherwise.

The big misconception about morphine is that you get high on it when properly administered.

For folks in real pain, it doesn't get you high, and it isn't addictive.

It should only be used as a transition to other painkillers like Lortab.

[OU4LIFE]

Good luck, Marque.

are you TRYING to get on my DIAF list?

thanks for the info, he's not showing any other signs of anything, fever...stroke....nothing. BP and everything within ranges. Only thing going on is his kidneys aren't processing as well as they'd like, and he's not drinking much to help flush them. We'll just have to wait a couple of days and see how it shakes out. Just hate the helpless feeling.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

prayers for your grandfather man....

And no I will not spell your name wrong Scott.

[Mjcpr]

Dude, that sounds EXACTLY like what happened with my grandmother except that she had pretty strong signs of a mental impairment when she was well. I'm sure it was Alzheimer's, but she functioned on her own and knew everyone and all of that, so it wasn't severe yet.

One night she turned on a lamp and I guess the bulb went out and popped and she somehow fell because of it, breaking her hip. She dragged herself to the phone and called 911....they operated on her. I saw her after the surgery and she was fine, the next day she was completely out of her mind with accusations and getting out of bed and the like. She calmed some but was never, ever the same person that she was before going in to the hospital and got progressively worse over time.

Not trying to give you bad news because it sounds like your grandpa is well on his way to getting better, just sharing my experience. I don't know what it is but there is definitely something about a major health issue like this changing the personality of an elderly person. I'd sure like to know what that's all about.

Get well soon, gramps!

[IB4OU2]

My grandfather is having some issues. Many of you that attend tailgates have met him, sharp guy very much still intact mentally and physically and still sees patients 6 days a week, he's a D.O.

ANYWAY, really really long story short, he wanted/needed hip replacement surgery. Had it done last Wednesday, I was concerned about anesthesia at his age and pushed him towards the epidural option for safety's sake. He came out of the surgery great, the Dr. said his tissue and bone was really unique for a man his age(He's 96), and incredibly good dense bone a strong tissue. So anyway, we see him after surgery and he's TOTALLY with it, absolutely his normal self. We go to lunch and come back, same thing...doing good understands everything that's going on, very lucid.

then, cut to Thursday and everything has just gone crazy, he hallucinating, doesn't recognize people, is combatative and angry and mean. has tried to get out of bed and fallen. Motor skills are terrible, etc.

So in my head I'm thinking it HAS to be some medication given AFTER the fact, as he was great even 4-5 hours after surgery. Nurse and Dr. seem to think it might be the morphine he was given for pain, and from what i've heard and read it can take several days to clear your system. They took him off morphine thursday sometime, and he's been getting better but very slowly, IMO. He's still having a lot of problems, but at least when I was there Saturday, he knew who I was, where he was, how old I was etc, but didn't know the month(thought it was May).

can morphine do that? could there be some other causes?

I can't even begin to tell you how hard it is to see him this way, I mean I just played 18 holes of golf with the man two weeks ago. He works out 3 days a week, sees patients 6 days a week, and plays golf at least 3 days a week....he's just not the same dude right now.

I hope he recovers from all this...Morphine can really alter your perceptions and make you hallucinate. My thoughts are with your Grandfather and you.

[KC//CRIMSON]

Here's to hoping your grandpappy makes a speedy recovery.

Good luck, Jebediah.

[OU4LIFE]

UPDATE:

Last night he was better, mentioned that he knew something had been going on 'up here' and pointing at his head. More lucid and understanding, wanting to know how long he had been there, and why he hadn't been moved to the physical therapy place yet. So, all in all, signs of improvement.

thanks for the prayers all.

and for finally getting my name right.

Jebidiah Scott Marque Marc.

[Mixer!]

Glad to hear he's feeling better, Mork. ;)

[Sooner_Bob]

Good news . . . glad he's doing better.

Tell him he's got a bunch of Sooner fans hoping for a speedy recovery.

[StoopTroup]

Hey Mak...

Good to hear he's getting better.

When I had my gallbladder taken out, I was in pain when I woke up. I remember the Nurse telling me she needed to get my pain levels under control. I was shaking and nearly hallucinating. She injected something into my IV and suddenly everything was right in the World. I looked right at her and asked "What was that?". She said "Dilaudid". I said..."Can I get a To Go box for the rest of that?".

I remember them giving me morphine the last time I had twin kidney stones too. It worked to kill the initial pain but after that it was like water to me.

I wonder if some people just don't do well on morphine?

[MojoRisen]

Morphine can cause major hallucinations and also amnesia...

[StoopTroup]

Also...

Don't they put some stuff in your General Anesthetic that is designed to make you forget the trauma you were under?

Just a thought.

Maybe it was a reaction to the GA?

[OU4LIFE]

motherfu.....

well, apparently he had a pretty bad day yesterday, agitated, unruly and extremely confused. Found out they'd been giving him Ativan.

Now, I realize I'm no Dr. and I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but when the side effects they list are confusion, depressed mood, thoughts of suicide or hurting yourself; hyperactivity, agitation, hostility; hallucinations; drowsiness, dizziness, tiredness; blurred vision; muscle weakness, lack of balance or coordination; amnesia or forgetfulness, trouble concentrating, and it SPECIFICALLY SAYS it can be worse on older patients. Well then, if I have a patient that is showing damn near ALL of these symptoms...then why in the holy **** would you keep giving it to them?

srsly, it took every ounce of restraint I have to not got up there and clean house.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

jeez dude....

[OUDoc]

That's the problem. In some elderly (not your grandfather) they have dementia and it makes them agitated, combative and confused. If you give them something to calm them down (Ativan, Valium, Xanax), sometimes it just makes them even more confused which makes them more agitated and combative.
Sounds like in your grandfather's case, he doesn't need it in the first place. Ask why they are giving it and if they would stop giving it to him.

[OU4LIFE]

We told them, and his Dr. seconded, to stop with ALL medication other than ibuprofen for the pain, and a small amount of Lortab if needed....but they gave it to him anyway.

Honestly, it's like they just do whatever..

[OUDoc]

Most nurses view "doctor's orders" as recommendations anyway. :rolleyes:

If a family member is always with him (or if he's alert enough now) as them every time to tell him what each pill is and what it's for. They might get annoyed by this, but any good nurse should tell the patient what he's taking anyway. Better safe than sorry.

The next step is to tell the doctor and let him tear into the nurses for ignoring his orders to withhold the medicine.

[OU4LIFE]

thanks Doc.

[Howzit]

No ideas, but I';m really sorry to hear this. I met him and he seemed like an exceptional individual.

All the best, Mahrk.

[soonerboomer93]

UPDATE:

Last night he was better, mentioned that he knew something had been going on 'up here' and pointing at his head. More lucid and understanding, wanting to know how long he had been there, and why he hadn't been moved to the physical therapy place yet. So, all in all, signs of improvement.

thanks for the prayers all.

and for finally getting my name right.

Jebidiah Scott Marque Marc.

Glad he's doing better Funky Bunch