Connect
← Return to Effects of elective surgery, anesthesia on MCI due to Lewy Body diseas
Discussion
Effects of elective surgery, anesthesia on MCI due to Lewy Body diseas
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: 16 hours ago | Replies (12)Comment receiving replies
Thank you!
And in reply to your prior response, my husband is still a (usually) well-functioning MCI due-to-Lewy-Bodies person. He will not be confused going into a surgery or hospitalization, but I am concerned the surgery, pain, and anesthesia might push him into a lower functioning state. I have read that potential responses for surgical patients with Lewy Body disease differ from those related to other causes, such as Alzheimer’s. I figure I would need to be there to distinguish between LBD-related RBD and delirium, which could happen post op with any MCI or dementia. As a long time nurse, did you observe anything like this?
Replies to "Thank you! And in reply to your prior response, my husband is still a (usually) well-functioning..."
@nelms We had confused patients all the time!! But we never made a distinction between types of dementia. We just treated them all the same: insure their safety, have them talk with their spouse, and even have someone they know come and sit with them.
Connect
Whatever you do, if your spouse needs to stay overnight, don't leave. Sleep in the chair no matter how many nights it is. After two nights in the ER, I went home to sleep after my husband's Pacemaker surgery. He had not yet been diagnosed with ALZ. I had never heard of hospital delirium, until the nurse called and told me that my husband had to be restrained and sedated; security had been called in. WHAT! Surely, they couldn't be talking about my husband. He had a total melt down and tried to bite, hit, rip down the curtains and escape. He had to stay another night. The nurses were so appreciative of my sleeping in the chair which kept him calm. It was yet another step in my learning curve on the road to ALZ.