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Can someone help me understand blood test results?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Jan 12 5:02pm | Replies (18)Comment receiving replies
Hi! I cannot tell you enough how thankful I am for your thoughtful and detailed reply, that really helped me a lot! Thank you a bunch!
I believe these tests were done on March 17th. There have been ups and downs in regard to his confusion since then. Some days were surprisingly bad, so much that I couldn't help but cry a little bit and some days (rare ones) were almost like his usual self. But there are definitely more confused days than not.
I've noticed that he also is not sleeping nearly as much as he used to. I'm guessing the confusion gets worse when he's not getting enough sleep. He is taking melatonin and trazodone at night to help with sleep but for some reason, he maybe sleeps only 4-5 hours a night with a one hour nap a day.
He had an issue where he would need to use the washroom maybe 5 or 6 times within the hour! That was happening around the time we did those tests but the doctor said he was taking a lot of water pills which would explain the frequent urination. It seems to be back to normal now.
I'm just confused and frustrated. Doctors are not helping in this case and I feel scared and trapped.
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It’s just so sad to hear that your dad is basically falling through the cracks of his medical care. He’s obviously got a few issues that need followups with his doctor and they’re not answering the phone. Yikes. My heart goes out to you as I remember many years ago when my mom was getting the runaround with her doctor. He totally missed the diagnosis and I could see it! So thankfully, I made an appt for mom with my doctor who quickly assessed and addressed the stage 4 uterine cancer…she went on to live many more healthy years.
So the key here, if possible might be to get a second opinion for your dad. Is there an opportunity for that to happen? A larger clinic or teaching hospital? If not, you’ll need to be your dad’s advocate and be assertive in getting some answers. It’s ok to get a little pushy!
A couple pieces of the puzzle regarding your dad’s confusion came to mind when you mentioned he’s taking both Trazodone and Melatonin at the same time.
Melatonin is a great sleep aid, but if your dad is already taking Trazodone to help with sleep, that may be too much for his system to handle.
Trazodone is an antidepressant but can be used (off label) as a sleep aid. As people age, some medications can take more time to process through the system. Antidepressants have the possibility to cause confusion in older patients.
I found an article that might be helpful for you regarding the mixing of those two drugs at the same time:
https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/melatonin-with-trazodone-1548-0-2228-0.html
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Two more links to information on Trazodone: https://www.drugs.com/trazodone.html
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https://www.drugs.com/tips/trazodone-patient-tips
You might talk this over with your dad and suggest backing off the melatonin to see if that makes a difference for him. Sadly, as we age, that luxurious 8 hours of sleep seldom happens anymore so what he’s going through might be normal with 4-5 hours at night and naps. (My husband at 72 is the same way)
While he might stop the melatonin, your dad can’t stop taking the Trazodone cold turkey…that’s a med which needs tapering and also consistency once started.
Stopping the melatonin might be worth a try, what do you think?