[scott's sis]

My brother is a C4 quad for 14 years. He was hospitalized last Tuesday with severe pneumonia. They finally got the pneumonia under control but he's hallucinating. At first, he didn't recognize people, didn't speak in complete sentences and made no sense. Now he's speaking more completely but is still talking out of his head. He is home now, dr feels familiarity will help his mind. He really hasn't slept much in the last week -- could be sleep deprivation. Has anyone ever heard of this? Normally, he functions well, works thru computer at home, etc. He's never had this before. No additional meds that I know of. Any ideas?

[qbounce]

I've heard about this happening usually through older patients as a form of "hospital demencia."
The drugs given may help cause confusion too. I hope your brother's doing better at home.

[Tired of hurting]

I just went through a black out for 4 days. They say reaction to marcaine spinal block. Your brother could be having a reaction to antibiotics. Ask if they could switch to something he has taken before? It's not fun being confused like that...

[longhaul]

Is he taking a sleeping med? The side effects of some are hallucination's

[kewlcatkez]

scott's sis, on Mar 5 2008, 03:41 AM, said:

My brother is a C4 quad for 14 years. He was hospitalized last Tuesday with severe pneumonia. They finally got the pneumonia under control but he's hallucinating. At first, he didn't recognize people, didn't speak in complete sentences and made no sense. Now he's speaking more completely but is still talking out of his head. He is home now, dr feels familiarity will help his mind. He really hasn't slept much in the last week -- could be sleep deprivation. Has anyone ever heard of this? Normally, he functions well, works thru computer at home, etc. He's never had this before. No additional meds that I know of. Any ideas?

Helo,

Firstly the others have in my opinion, given you spot on advice as to what may be causing this. Like they say it could be due to Opiates/Narcotics which may have been given to help with his pain, especially if he is not used to taking such medications.

Also, Codeine is a number one culprit for causing Hallucinations and confusion. I have nursed countless people who have had those symptoms after taking Codeine either by itself or with Paracetamol (tylenol for those in the USA). It is usually rectified by ceasation of the drug. Also, interestingly, people who are unaffected by Opiates and other stronger medications in this way, DO have issues with Codeine. It is in part due to how it is metabolised.

Also, I was thinking along the lines that any "Fever" quite commonly can cause Delirium and Hallucinations. This is due to the abnormally high pyrexia (temperature) which causes the Brain to have mixed signals and metabolic changes to occur as the body tries desparately to lower the temperature. Of course, if he is Hypothermic he can also develop them due to that and also if warmed/cooled to quickly ( as a result of shock).

Other causes include hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose due to not eating), severe/moderate Dehydration (where the Urea and Electrolytes in the blood are effected), and hypoxia (lowered Oxygen Levels) In that case the blood is diverted to the heart and vital brain functions ( such as breathing) but deprives others - hence the confusion. Hypoxia can of course go hand in hand with Pneumonia/Respiratory infections.

Of course, last but not least, if he is usually partial to a bit of a tipple alcohol wise, an abrupt interruption to this (even if he is not a heavy drinker) can lead to DTs (delirium Tremors), of which Hallucinations are a feature. The same can also be true of Recreational and prescription drugs withdrawn abruptly. I am of course not insinuating anything, just giving the numerous possible causes, only he and you and his drs can work out the *probable* ones..

I hope this helps too,

Take care,

K

This post has been edited by kewlcatkez: 14 March 2008 - 11:08 PM

[tony_brooklyn]

scott's sis, on Mar 4 2008, 07:41 PM, said:

My brother is a C4 quad for 14 years. He was hospitalized last Tuesday with severe pneumonia. They finally got the pneumonia under control but he's hallucinating. At first, he didn't recognize people, didn't speak in complete sentences and made no sense. Now he's speaking more completely but is still talking out of his head. He is home now, dr feels familiarity will help his mind. He really hasn't slept much in the last week -- could be sleep deprivation. Has anyone ever heard of this? Normally, he functions well, works thru computer at home, etc. He's never had this before. No additional meds that I know of. Any ideas?

Check if he might have a brain tumor. It's a possibility. You got nothing to lose. I could be wrong.

[teeg1973]

My mom had about a month when she was in the hospital where she was hallucinating something fierce. The best we could figure was that it was due to either the pain meds or the infection, but were never able to determine exactly which it was. It all stopped just about as quickly as it started.

Hopefully it will be a quick course for your brother.

Good luck,
Tracy