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MedHelp Member's Question

Delirium after a stroke

by millertime78, Feb 06, 2008 03:44AM
My Dad has been diagnosed with having delirium after a stroke. He is continuously restless and agitated, he is always pulling at the bedclothes or taking off his own clothes. Is there any treatment for delirium and is it reversible?
Member Comments (43)

by PamRam228, Feb 06, 2008 04:46PM
To: millertime78
When did your dad have the stroke and what kind of stroke?  Sounds like he's doing what my husband did while in the hospital...pulling his clothes off and exposing himself.

by lahinva, Feb 06, 2008 08:22PM
To: millertime78
My dad also did this.  The doctors said it was a normal effect of the stroke.  They called it "picking".  My dad would pick at the air.  It was like he saw something in the air and would try to grab it.  He would also pull the sheets and his clothes off.  He even would try to pull out the catheter.  What was sad was that he got so bad they had to put his good hand in a restraint so that he would quit pulling at everything.  It seems like I only remember it lasting a couple of weeks.  

by millertime78, Feb 07, 2008 04:25AM
To: PamRam228
Dad is doing exactly what both your loved ones did. He is "picking" at the air also and will pull the catheter out of his hand/leg etc. He pulls the sheets off his bed and is always removing his clothes. Although he can walk with assistance he cannot look after himself, he cannot feed himself or go to the bathroom.  I'm praying that this will subside. Did both your loved ones recover their mental faculties???

by lahinva, Feb 07, 2008 06:45AM
To: millertime78
Yes, my dad recover some of his mental capacities.  He still cannot walk much, and his short term memory is pretty bad, but other than that he is pretty good.  One thing is they had my dad on dilantin from the time of his stroke until just this past month.  While he was on this, he would do weird things like wanting to go home whenever he was already home.  Every day he seams to get a little better.  It is a long hard road, and we have been through many ups and downs, but hopefully he will continue to get better.

Good luck...

by PamRam228, Feb 07, 2008 09:46PM
To: millertime78
Well, my husband has made a remarkable recovery.  The delirium has subsided.  He wasn't able to go to the bathroom on his own but now the incontinence is gone.  I'd say that took about  5 weeks to recover.  My husband can walk unassisted but I feel better if he would at least use a cane.  It took him about 6 weeks for him to start walking again.  While in the neuroscience ward my husband tried to get out of bed and he fell.  This was at 4 in the morning and the hospital called me to let me know what happened. They did a CT scan which showed he was ok, but, my husband thought that he had fallen through a wall (which was his head going through the CT scan opening).  

Also, when I was able to bring him home he kept thinking I was some strange man and that he was in someone elses house.  He also thought the hospital was someones house I just dropped him off at.  His mental state was shot!  Now, he's greatly improved.  He realizes that his thinking was off.  He no longer thinks I'm someone else and he knows where he is now.  It has been 7 months since his stroke and he is doing wonderful.

I'm sure your dads mental capacity will come back to him.  How long has it been since the stroke?  Keep us posted and thanks for sharing.

by millertime78, Feb 08, 2008 03:55AM
To: PamRam228
It's wonderful that your husband made such a good recovery. I'm sure he's getting stronger every day. Dad had his stroke 15 days ago. He has improved in some ways since it happened, he's eating, can be fairly alert and responsive and can walk short distances when assisted. He's still very restless and is always pulling at the bedclothes, the bed or pulling his clothes off. He's not yet able to use the toilet. At times I believe he recognises us. They are treating his delirium (with what I'm not sure but will find out) so hopefully it will subside soon.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It is a great consolation to know that someone else has been though it and came out the other side ok!

Will keep posting!

by millertime78, Feb 10, 2008 02:41PM
To: PamRam228
Just to update, Dad is still quite restless, he is eating which great but cannot yet use the toilet.At times he seems to recognise us and sometimes responds when asked a question though it is difficult to understand what he is saying.  We're praying the next week will bring noticeable improvement.

by millertime78, Feb 13, 2008 04:23PM
Another update. Dad seems much improved, he's holding and reading the newspaper and does seem alert. We've brought family photos into him and he seems transfixed by them. He's eating well but is very grumpy and frustrated. His memory seems to be coming back in spots but his speech is still very slurred. However he is engaging more with those around him

by PamRam228, Feb 13, 2008 06:08PM
To: millertime78
HURRAY!  Congrats on your dads improvement!  You have much to look forward to because it's so early in recovery for your dad and he is already doing better.  Once he gets into rehab you should see even more improvements.  Thanks fo the updates and, please, keep them coming.  

by millertime78, Feb 19, 2008 03:37AM
Still very slow going here, little or no noticeable improvement this week, he's very sleepy and will doze off into a deep sleep in a matter of minutes. He's still incontinent and his speech is still slurred. He babbles on incoherently and points to his right alot. He isn't receptive to therapy and rarely interacts with those around him. It's hard, we're trying to be patient but we're praying for a glimmer of recognition to give us renewed hope.

by millertime78, Feb 22, 2008 03:06AM
Latest update. He's quite alert at the moment, still won't interact with us and cannot yet feed himself or go to the toilet. However he is walking around but is still in a state of confusion. It's been one month since the stroke.

by pixie822, Feb 23, 2008 11:28PM
To: millertime78
Pray ans BELIEVE and it WILL happen.  That's whating I've been doing, and it's working!

by millertime78, Feb 26, 2008 04:25AM
Latest update: The doctors are happy with his motor function but he still has severe behavioural problems - removing his clothes, pulling at the bed and anything around him, trying to eat the newspaper, tissues etc ( this sounds funny but it's heartbreaking) They have him on haloperidol to ease the restlessness but it doesn't seem to be working.

I just don't know what to do other than pray, we really need a positive sign

by PamRam228, Feb 26, 2008 12:06PM
To: millertime78
Thank you so much for posting the progress of your dad.  I look forward to seeing posts from you.  The behavioural problems you mentioned doesn't sound funny one bit to me.  My heart dropped when I read it.  It doesn't sound funny because my husband had some issues like that, too.  One day when he was eating, he tried to eat the design off the napkin.  Another time he tried to drink milk without removing the lid first.  That's only a couple of instances.  It was heartbreaking to see this and I kept wondering how I could take care of him when he got him.  Thank God that subsided as his brain healed.  

It's barely been a month since your dads stroke.  It took my husband nearly two months for the delirium to go away.  Keep the faith.  Your prayers will be heard.
God be with you and your family.

by millertime78, Feb 26, 2008 12:35PM
To: PamRam228
Thank you so much for your kind words. God Bless you and your family also I take comfort, strength and courage from them. I will keep updating the progress however slow. Hopefully we'll have a breakthrough soon.