I have to ask "weird" how? If it is sort of a vacant look that is common with dementia not just with pain medications. If she has this look prior to getting medications it is "normal", if she does not have the same look before she gets medicated it is possible it is a result of the medications sort of that "stoned" look it is possible that she is over medicated. I have a theory about the vacant look that is so common with dementia... The saying that "the eyes are the window to the soul".....I have said that I think God takes the soul of a person with dementia early so they do not have to deal with what is happening to their bodies. This results in the empty look in the eyes. (that's just me justifying what became an empty shell that had been the love of my life for so many years)
Depending on what stage of dementia your mom is in right now, staring off into space and/or looking spaced out is part of the disease. Odd/weird behavior in general is par for the course, and every day is a brand new day in terms of what to expect, which makes things doubly hard. Yes, pain meds tend to dilate the pupils a bit, contributing to a spaced out look........so I wouldn't worry about it too much. As long as she's relaxed and not in pain, that is the primary goal, right?
Best of luck dealing with a very troublesome disease; I know, my mother is 93 with dementia & living in Memory Care. Every day it's something else to deal with, literally.
You can get pupil dilation and constriction with pain meds. You also can get a sort of fixated stare. Not certain what you are seeing, but yes, it happens.
yes, kind of like what I can only think of as a “death stare”. Like she’s not really there. It’s not every day but occasionally but it’s distressing because she doesn’t look like herself. Just wondering if it’s common with patients getting pain meds or is something that happens in general with dementia patients.
I have a theory about the vacant look that is so common with dementia...
The saying that "the eyes are the window to the soul".....I have said that I think God takes the soul of a person with dementia early so they do not have to deal with what is happening to their bodies. This results in the empty look in the eyes.
(that's just me justifying what became an empty shell that had been the love of my life for so many years)
Best of luck dealing with a very troublesome disease; I know, my mother is 93 with dementia & living in Memory Care. Every day it's something else to deal with, literally.