All so true! 2 years ago my 91 year old mother was advised to have an aortic valve replacement. Dr told her she might live 2 years without it. She opted for surgery plus a stent. I had read about problems with anesthesia on this forum and raised my concerns with her drs. She was given a 5 minute cognitive assessment that my cat could have passed and cleared for surgery.

I kept asking if the different types of drugs could be used based on her age and was told that the hospital had not approved their use. Her insurance would only cover her at that hospital so we were stuck. I could only hope that my continued questioning would make them cautious.

Fast forward 2 years and Mom is now in a SNF with full blown dementia, sleeps most of the time, is sedated for agitation and trying to get out of bed at night. We noticed her decline immediately after the surgeries, from delusions bad enough that she had a psych evaluation, to seeing things in corners, personality changes, you name it.

So instead of living her last few years aware and part of our family she is now in a constant twilight "Waiting for God." I wish the surgeons and cardiologist had left well enough alone, just because you CAN do something is no reason to do it.

Thank you for the Anesthesia information. My question is what to do if a senior with Alzheimer’s and dementia , High BP, and tachycardia needs dental treatment. He/she might need the anesthesia in order for a dentist to do his work without the patient resisting treatment.

In 2004, at age 59, I had a bilateral knee replacement. I was in a large, metropolitan hospital. It took me a long time, according to my husband, to become aware of what went on around me, although I would answer simple questions. I awoke to vivid hallucinations, frightening and putting me into the "flight or fight" response so badly that I was in progressive care and, at one point, under restraint. I had sitters 24 hours a day. I was seen by a neurologist and other doctors and they all had the same questions; Do you drink? NO Do you use recreational/street drugs? NO I had a strange chemical taste in my mouth for over a week and couldn't eat. It scared my husband to death. They finally decided that I was suffering from morphine psychosis. It wasn't until I read this and other articles about anesthesia studies that I realized it could have been the anesthesia. I know I was under too deep. I usually wake up aware and in pain in the recovery room. I don't remember anything until I was in my room and my husband was trying to feed me. Everything after that was in and out and definitely weird. It was as if I were living in a horror story. I am happy to have ANY explanation of why that happened to me.

As a quadriplegic, my husband is greatly affected by many things like anesthesia and blood pressure drugs. Being elderly, hard of hearing and paralyzed don't give him an even chance of being properly evaluated because he is rather passive and doesn't like to complain. Hospital and home health staff tend to make observations based upon their own experience and dismiss spouse/family concerns. Watch for this. If you are not successful in intervention and concerns are not acknowledged, call loudly for an administrator. They may not necessarily be directly involved in patient care at the facility, but they should consult a physician about the situation. My husband is fully coherent and intelligent and I will not have him dismissed as "just confused" or having issues that can't be troubled with based on perceptions that discriminate against him. He is deserving of all attention and I don't want him just "kept comfortable". Basically, this is an allergy to some medications and they can change dosage or order something different or prescribe something to counteract the bad reaction. And they must talk to me!

I was never aware anesthetic could affect the brain this way.This answers a lot of questions of why a 61 year old became lethargic,said she couldn't think or operate her power chair properly since a shoulder replacement and trauma surgery on her leg. More should be done to monitor brain activity during surgery. I read an article how there is a higher risk to children for permanent neurodevelopmental like language comprehension and a lower IQ.

Thank you for this information. I am in the process of coordination healthcare for my 91 year old mother. Drs want her to have an aortic heart valve replacement. After previous surgeries for a hip replacement I observed many of the symptoms described here. So I have requested a review with her cardiologist to discuss the concerns. We are weighing an operation that could extend her life with complications that could seriously affect her quality of life. She currently lives independently but this could easily result in ending her life in a nursing home, her chief horror.

All these comments sound very familiar my 82year old mother was fine and had her faculties she had a knee replacement last Aug , shes never been the same since .
Suffered pneumonia , delirium which never left her she’s now in a nursing home as her needs are too complex
Bed bound and doubly incontinent I am chasing the nhs for answers my mums quality of life should have been improved but it’s been taken .

I should have mentioned mom is just over 2 yrs post op, and the knee replacement has made it easier to walk than before but still causes her discomfort. She tells us all the time - I had surgery one time and my knee still hurts, as though you might not have known that. She is incontinent and very weak, some days she lacks the motivation and/or strength to even get dressed. It has progressed and we wonder how long and how bad it will get. She is

My mother was 86 and had been in very good health all her life. She had one bout with colon cancer 15 yrs previous to her knee replacement. Alzheimer's does run in her family, however, her dad and several siblings were in their early / mid 70's at onset. As dad puts it, the woman we sent in to surgery was not the woman who woke up. According to the psychologist with whom mom did testing, the anesthesia 'unmasked' her Alzheimer's. They put it this way because Alz is a build up of plaque in the brain and that wouldn't happen overnight. It has been a devastation for all but especially my dad, who at 89 is her main caregiver. We kids all still work and help as often as we can but it is really tough on dad. What a shame the surgeon and anesthesiologist didn't opt for the spinal block, which they could have done, but they thought mom was in such good health it would be ok. Why would you ever take a chance..... we didn't realize this possibility at the time, but have since met many people who have had similar experience.

This article is so true.

Mom had cataract surgery done both eyes separately, then 2 weeks later she had rectal bleeding from her heart medicine, and my Dad immediately called ambulance. Hospital or big pharma put her under again, to do unnecessary colonoscopy, family was unaware, only my 84 year old Dad.

She took days to recover from anesthesia. Hospital kept dosing her to keep her asleep.
Well she was never the same when she came home. Moms memory rapidly declined and could not function with daily activities. Dementia set in at full force.
Had to go to nursing home, she became a vegetable.

4 years later died at 65 pounds and not knowing anything.
I would rather take my chances and not see, then go like this. Oh, and we stopped all her heart medicine 4 years ago and she had good blood pressure up until she died. I still think her family Dr was getting a kickback from pharma for prescribing unnecessary medication.

I'm 62 years old and had a navel hernia repaired 6 weeks ago. I have been having a problem with my memory since the surgery. I'm hoping that this goes away, but worry that it will persist and get worse. Should I take any vitamins or supplements to make my memory better?

My father had hernia surgery at age 80 and he is now 84. It always seemed to me that his dementia began following this surgery. He is healthy otherwise. Is it possible that he suffered permanent effects from the anesthesia?

Maybe it is too obvious (or too risky for Big Pharma profits), but too much anesthetic, like too much alcohol, is clearly not good for the brain, especially in those over 50.

The goal of my non-profit Goldilocks Anesthesia Foundation is to make brain monitoring a standard of care.

Vital signs, like heart rate and blood pressure, only reflect brain stem activity. However, the target of anesthetics is the cortex, the top part of the brain.

Since 1996, we have the ability to directly measure brain response to anesthetics. The BIS may not be perfect but it is the best available technology to avoid routine over medication, the standard practice without this critical information.

To properly inform prospective surgery patients, read 'Getting Over Going Under, 5 things you MUST know before anesthesia.'

A "general" .... something that I've always suspected, but now know.
One must weigh the consequences of a general anesthetic, as opposed to suffering from whatever your condiditon is. For example, Cataract surgery will allow one to see ( very important ) as opposed to not having it to save the memory. I'd rather see in my last years.

Oh, how I can attest to the truth in this article! It is not surprising to see that two studies on this came with different conclusions: although clinical studies are based on only that which can be concisely, accurately documented, there are so many variations inherent in every person, and their reactions to drugs, that it's difficult to come to any final conclusions....there will hopefully be more studies in this! It is desperately needed!

As for my scenario, mom absolutely had to have a 2nd major operation (hip replacement): the first hip replacement had been done with an implanted device that was recalled by the mfr.; this we discovered after mom had suffered 3 hip displacements. We knew she would most likely be worse off mentally afterward and we were correct. Her dementia is profound, she is completely wheelchair-bound, will not even attempt to walk (refused PT almost immediately after the 2nd surgery, got so combative that it was pointless to continue), is completely incontinent and will spend the rest of her life in a nursing home. It is incredibly tragic and sad; difficult to deal with and has radically changed everyone's life in our family.

I applaud every bit of information that this site makes available to caregivers. Knowledge is power!