My mom had a total shoulder replacement yesterday causing her dementia to worsen with the anesthesia. Any tips on how to manage her arguing with me on everything?
Don't argue is the best tip. No matter what she says your reply to her should be "Is that so, Mom. Let me think about that a bit".
Your concerns now should be for the short term and long term care. If dementia is too severe then Mom won't be able to participate in rehab, which will mean poor healing. Hopefully she will be able to transfer to SNF (Skilled nursing) for a while. There you should meet with all doing care as to any progress she can make.
This is something you must now accept as "day to day", and it isn't easily predicted. When she is back in a more normal environment she may improve. Again, she may NOT. This is one-day-at-a-time. I sure do wish you the best of luck.
Yes, stop arguing back. There's absolutely nothing to be gained from arguing with someone who has a broken brain.
As everyone has stated, there's a good chance this is temporary and, if your mum is distressed, you could ask for her to be given a mild sedative to calm her down.
Otherwise, I'd advise the word, "okay," then walk away for a moment, if only to give yourself a breather.
I hope this phase doesn't continue. Wishing you all the best.
Ask about a med to calm her down . My sister with dementia , got delirium after back surgery . She was very argumentative , and paranoid . They gave her Seroquel . They did also test for a UTI and scans for stroke .
This is a common phenomenon in elders after surgery called "hospital delirium". It can take a while for it to clear up, but sometimes it doesn't. Or, she has a UTI that is creating the symptoms. It wouldn't hurt to have her tested for this since it is treatable.
There's really not much you can do to "help her" other than not to argue with someone with a broken brain. Anesthesia is known to make dementia worse in those suffering from dementia initially, and all you can do is hope that in time it will improve as sometimes it does and in some cases it does not. And I guess you can help make sure when it comes time for PT, that your mom does her exercises to get that that shoulder moving again, as she won't be able to remember to do things on her own. Dementia sucks no ifs ands or buts, and I'm sorry that you are one of the millions dealing with a LO with it.
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No matter what she says your reply to her should be "Is that so, Mom. Let me think about that a bit".
Your concerns now should be for the short term and long term care. If dementia is too severe then Mom won't be able to participate in rehab, which will mean poor healing. Hopefully she will be able to transfer to SNF (Skilled nursing) for a while. There you should meet with all doing care as to any progress she can make.
This is something you must now accept as "day to day", and it isn't easily predicted. When she is back in a more normal environment she may improve. Again, she may NOT. This is one-day-at-a-time. I sure do wish you the best of luck.
As everyone has stated, there's a good chance this is temporary and, if your mum is distressed, you could ask for her to be given a mild sedative to calm her down.
Otherwise, I'd advise the word, "okay," then walk away for a moment, if only to give yourself a breather.
I hope this phase doesn't continue. Wishing you all the best.
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Get her out in the sunshine daily. Make sure she is getting plenty of fluids and eating protein to heal the shoulder.
The PT is important.
My sister with dementia , got delirium after back surgery . She was very argumentative , and paranoid . They gave her Seroquel .
They did also test for a UTI and scans for stroke .
Anesthesia is known to make dementia worse in those suffering from dementia initially, and all you can do is hope that in time it will improve as sometimes it does and in some cases it does not.
And I guess you can help make sure when it comes time for PT, that your mom does her exercises to get that that shoulder moving again, as she won't be able to remember to do things on her own.
Dementia sucks no ifs ands or buts, and I'm sorry that you are one of the millions dealing with a LO with it.