Hallucinations or confusion?

mindy10
mindy10 Member Posts: 182 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi everyone hope all is doing well. I have a quick question. Did any caregiver notice there loved ones hallucinating towards the end of life? My dad was on pain killers and he started to get confused and have hallucinations. They took him off it and for about a week he had no hallucinations. Now a week later he is on Oxycodone (percercets) sorry for the spelling and a small dose of morphine and he is confused again. Im confused if this is a sign of end of life or the pills are causing it. I read that hallucinations can mean they only have weeks to live. Has anyone heard that? Thanks for any replies. Im sorry I guess im just trying to figure how much time he has left and I know only God knows that. But I know Hospice tells people how much time they have left and I dont know how they figure that out. He does not have Hospice yet. I Dr has not suggested it so my parents wont apply for it. Mindy

Comments

  • cherriann
    cherriann Member Posts: 155 Member
    #2
    hi mindy,
    i took care of my elderly aunt for many years before her death and whenever she took narcotics she always hallucinated.it didnt matter what they gave her so i would say that the drugs could be causing this as i also heard from other people the effects of drugs on the elderly.
    cherri
  • JoyceCanada
    JoyceCanada Member Posts: 134
    #3
    cherriann said:

    hi mindy,
    i took care of my elderly aunt for many years before her death and whenever she took narcotics she always hallucinated.it didnt matter what they gave her so i would say that the drugs could be causing this as i also heard from other people the effects of drugs on the elderly.
    cherri

    I don't think of myself as "elderly" at age 60. I hallucinated when I was on Morphine right after my operation. I was talking to "angels" - cute little ones who looked like telly tubbies with wings :-) I remember talking to my daughter and telling her what I saw....freaked her right out!!! Then there was the "imaginary" lady bug I kept trying to catch that I saw walking on my curtains.
  • marym29
    marym29 Member Posts: 71 Member
    #4
    Hi Mindy,
    My mom is stage IV and initically she was on A LOT of pain medication (some stuff she didn't even need to be taking). And although I go to all of her treatments with her; one of her treatments in the beginning she was hallusinating (sp?) and walking around like a complete and total zombie.

    I cried, and it was just SO incredibly hard to see her walking around and acting like this... totally NOT like her normal self so...

    I hope this helps you out some; and puts your mind to ease a bit! You and your entire family are in my sincerest thoughts and prayers.

    Sincerely,
    Mary from WI
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #5
    JoyceCanada said:

    I don't think of myself as "elderly" at age 60. I hallucinated when I was on Morphine right after my operation. I was talking to "angels" - cute little ones who looked like telly tubbies with wings :-) I remember talking to my daughter and telling her what I saw....freaked her right out!!! Then there was the "imaginary" lady bug I kept trying to catch that I saw walking on my curtains.

    50 years young here, and some of my best dream sequences came during my Morphine drip after surgery...bummer came later, tho....plugged me up, but good (this in a colon that was barely 2 days post-op and trying to work again!).
    Hugs, Kathi
  • cal79
    cal79 Member Posts: 57
    #6
    Hi Mindy,

    I think morphine has that effect on a lot of people, I hallucinated for weeks after taking it post surgery. I remember deciding not to talk to people any more as I couldn't work out whether they were actually there or not. And I don't think age was much of a factor here as I was 25 at the time, but I think that some people would have stronger reactions than others to the medication.

    My thoughts are with you and your dad.

    Cal :)
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #7
    Mindy -

    Certainly not trying to push an agenda here, but maybe your folks or someone needs to acually sit down with the doc and ask the hard questions - including bringing up if the doctor feels that hospice is the right decision now. Allowing themselves to exist in a vacuum where they don't hear something they don't want to hear "hospice" isn't necessarily an answer. If they really want what is "right" for your dad then they need to proactively seek it out and not wait for the doctor to serve it up for them. Maybe it isn't the right option at this point, but we cannot leave the doctors to think of every aspect of our treatment regime.

    As the questions, compel the professionals to provide the information you and your parents need to make an informed decision. The doctors are your advisors. Theultimate decision is yours.

    Food for thought.

    Keeping you and your dad in my prayers.

    - SpongeBob
  • Betsydoglover
    Betsydoglover Member Posts: 1,248 Member
    #8
    Hi Mindy -

    This sure sounds like drugs. Amazing what opioids can do to the brain.

    I wish you and your family well. I think perhaps you should directly ask your Dad's oncologist about hospice care. But the fact remains that this really seems related to the narcotics. The fact that he seemed normal for the week off drugs would tend to confirm that. Since he seems to need serious pain relief, however, I would think that involving hospice could only help. They should be experts at providing the most pain relief with the least psychological effects - which I think is what you want now.

    You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

    Betsy
  • debcanmcg
    debcanmcg Member Posts: 32
    #9
    I was told and did not listen. Towards the end my husband hallucinated and was confused, Paid meds and liver failure contributed to it all. I said I would not post again after his death, but I have no friends to talk to about him
  • chynabear
    chynabear Member Posts: 481 Member
    #10
    debcanmcg said:

    I was told and did not listen. Towards the end my husband hallucinated and was confused, Paid meds and liver failure contributed to it all. I said I would not post again after his death, but I have no friends to talk to about him

    My father-in-law fell through the ceiling nearly five weeks ago. While he was in the ICU and on high doses of pain meds he had some very bad dreams and hallucinations. In fact, he ripped out his feeding tube and ventilator and his hospial gown.

    I also know that I am very sensitive to any drugs. I have had hallucinations on several different flavor of pain med. According to my surgeon, I also tried to "help" during my colon resection.

    From the what you describe, I would suspect the drugs.

    I also agree with those above who have suggested just having the hard discussion with the doctors about these concerns.

    I pray for you and your family.

    Tricia
  • Believermjh
    Believermjh Member Posts: 36
    #11
    debcanmcg said:

    I was told and did not listen. Towards the end my husband hallucinated and was confused, Paid meds and liver failure contributed to it all. I said I would not post again after his death, but I have no friends to talk to about him

    you can talk to me...my husband is IV stage cc mets to liver & separate prostate cancer...we spent today in emergency room...I understand not having someone who really wants to hear what you want to say, God Bless tia
  • Btrcup
    Btrcup Member Posts: 286
    #12
    Mindy, my husband, Scott, did hallucinate some toward the end. Now I don't know if this was from the meds or what, and I don't mean to imply this is the end, but you should prepare yourself.

    Please have your mom call hospice. I actually went to Scott's oncologist and asked him if he thought Scott was ready and he thought he was. You may have to take that first step.

    Please email me if you need anything.

    Linda
  • steved
    steved Member Posts: 834 Member
    #13
    People are right above- it could well be the opiate drugs taht he is on- they can classically cause both hallucinations and ocnfusion, especially in older people. There are lots of other reasons though too taht he may be exoeriencing these things- changes in his blood chemistry, other meds, or other hysical conditions can all cause this. It will be taken seriously by your medical team and canbe dealt with through a series of ways eg lowering doses of opiates, checking for other causes or using an antihallucination drug to treat it.

    As for its relation to the end of life- tehre is no cleare evidence that hallucinations are a good indicator that the end is close. It is always very hard to give any accurate predictions about the length of time. The doctors won't be holding this fromyo it is just that they won;t want to be telling you things they don't know themselves for sure. The hospice is often more accurate because they usually only take people in the very final stages so their scope for being inaccurate is less.
    I would reiterate what some of teh others have said abot taling openly with your team and ensuring there is appropriate and adequate support. This board is always here too for you.

    Steve

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