confusion

grahampw
grahampw Member Posts: 6
edited March 2014 in Brain Cancer #1
My husband had his oligodendroglioma tumor removed in Sept.06& had 33 radiation treatments. Then it came back & he has now had it surgically removed again (sept. 07). This surgery recovery has been much more difficult & one of the biggest problems is his confusion. He often does not know where he is. I can point things out inside & outside the house, but he's still confused. I got him a digital am/pm clock, but he thinks the clock is playing tricks on him. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Comments

  • janinemah
    janinemah Member Posts: 53
    #2
    Hello,
    I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. My mom had a GBM iV tumor..Confusion is one of the many side effects to tumors and medication, Have you talked to his Dr's about it? They might be abl to adjust his meds..like maybe his steroids for swelling.
    Hang in there,
    Janine
  • mark7
    mark7 Member Posts: 23 Member
    #3
    hi! i am a 3x survivor of an oligodendroglioma,a less agressive form,i gotmy first one in 1993.i received 20 treatments of rads.as the swelling went down i was getting seizures.i could not drive for 6wks i could not work for a few months,and also i could not talk with to much sense and i did get confused with a few things that is all due to the mds iwas taking.just mention it to the dr.and he will help you in understanding all the side effects.i will pray for all of you.GOD BLESS!
  • Goodkind
    Goodkind Member Posts: 10
    #4
    My prayers are with you. My dad has MAJOR confusion. He seems to be twenty years in the past. He did not recognize me because he remembered me as a little girl, not a adult. He thought his grandson was his nephew. He thought he was working at a job that he worked at 20 years ago. I asked the doctor about this and they told me that my dad had a UTI and sometimes that causes confusion. They got rid of the UTI and his memory has improved a little bit, sometimes I wonder if his mind can not handle the reality and has taken him to a time that was happier. The best thing is to be patient and not to let them see your frustration.
  • grahampw
    grahampw Member Posts: 6
    #5
    janinemah said:

    Hello,
    I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. My mom had a GBM iV tumor..Confusion is one of the many side effects to tumors and medication, Have you talked to his Dr's about it? They might be abl to adjust his meds..like maybe his steroids for swelling.
    Hang in there,
    Janine

    Hi Janine,
    Thank you for replying to my message. I was sorry to hear about your mom. I have talked to his Dr.'s about this & they did not want to introduce a new medicine just yet as Andy (my husband) had just started chemo a month ago. They suggested we wait another month & see if the confusion got worse or better or stayed the same. Unfortunately, it is getting worse. Andy has been off of steroids (thank god) for about 3 months now. Thanks again for answering me.

    Pam
  • grahampw
    grahampw Member Posts: 6
    #6
    mark7 said:

    hi! i am a 3x survivor of an oligodendroglioma,a less agressive form,i gotmy first one in 1993.i received 20 treatments of rads.as the swelling went down i was getting seizures.i could not drive for 6wks i could not work for a few months,and also i could not talk with to much sense and i did get confused with a few things that is all due to the mds iwas taking.just mention it to the dr.and he will help you in understanding all the side effects.i will pray for all of you.GOD BLESS!

    Hi Mark,
    Thank you for answering my request. Congratulations to you for being a 3x survivor!! Did you have surgery everytime?

    Pam
  • grahampw
    grahampw Member Posts: 6
    #7
    Goodkind said:

    My prayers are with you. My dad has MAJOR confusion. He seems to be twenty years in the past. He did not recognize me because he remembered me as a little girl, not a adult. He thought his grandson was his nephew. He thought he was working at a job that he worked at 20 years ago. I asked the doctor about this and they told me that my dad had a UTI and sometimes that causes confusion. They got rid of the UTI and his memory has improved a little bit, sometimes I wonder if his mind can not handle the reality and has taken him to a time that was happier. The best thing is to be patient and not to let them see your frustration.

    Hi,
    Thanks for replying. I'm glad to know your Dad is doing better. Did your Dad's confusion come from a brain tumor or from medications b/c of a brain tumor?

    Pam
  • mark7
    mark7 Member Posts: 23 Member
    #8
    grahampw said:

    Hi Mark,
    Thank you for answering my request. Congratulations to you for being a 3x survivor!! Did you have surgery everytime?

    Pam

    hi pam!yes i did have surgery the 2nd and3rd time.each time i had the surgery it was a little smallr to remove my 2nd tumor came back in mar.of 2001 then the3rd tumor came back in apr.of 03.each time the surgery was successful as you can tell.there was still recovery time with each surgery, about 6 wks each time.the strength that i received was 1st from my faith in GOD,then my family.it worked!!!just follow up care with my dr.keep in touch.GOD BLESS!
  • Goodkind
    Goodkind Member Posts: 10
    #9
    grahampw said:

    Hi,
    Thanks for replying. I'm glad to know your Dad is doing better. Did your Dad's confusion come from a brain tumor or from medications b/c of a brain tumor?

    Pam

    His confusion is from the brain tumor. The last time he went into the hospital it seemed that his memory was gone. When they discharged him from the hospital and into the nursing home they put him on ativan because of his anxiety. They had him on so much that he seemed comatose. I had them lower his dose and for the first week he seemed to remember everything and then his memory seemed to slowly go away. He remembers me and my family. He told me last night that he was tired and was going to go home and take a nap. What do you say to that besides ok.
  • grahampw
    grahampw Member Posts: 6
    #10
    mark7 said:

    hi pam!yes i did have surgery the 2nd and3rd time.each time i had the surgery it was a little smallr to remove my 2nd tumor came back in mar.of 2001 then the3rd tumor came back in apr.of 03.each time the surgery was successful as you can tell.there was still recovery time with each surgery, about 6 wks each time.the strength that i received was 1st from my faith in GOD,then my family.it worked!!!just follow up care with my dr.keep in touch.GOD BLESS!

    Hi Mark,
    Thank you for the encouraging words & for helping me to remember to have faith. Did you have to have radiation &/or chemo & if so, did you have them together or seperately?
  • grahampw
    grahampw Member Posts: 6
    #11
    Goodkind said:

    His confusion is from the brain tumor. The last time he went into the hospital it seemed that his memory was gone. When they discharged him from the hospital and into the nursing home they put him on ativan because of his anxiety. They had him on so much that he seemed comatose. I had them lower his dose and for the first week he seemed to remember everything and then his memory seemed to slowly go away. He remembers me and my family. He told me last night that he was tired and was going to go home and take a nap. What do you say to that besides ok.

    Hi,
    I'm so sorry that you are having to go through this, I feel your pain. We are having a speech therapist starting to work w/my husband (I didn't know they do more than just speech stuff). Anyway, she said she is cautiously hopeful. Does the nursing home your Dad is in offer that service?
  • mark7
    mark7 Member Posts: 23 Member
    #12
    grahampw said:

    Hi Mark,
    Thank you for the encouraging words & for helping me to remember to have faith. Did you have to have radiation &/or chemo & if so, did you have them together or seperately?

    hi pam!i did have rads, 20 treatments,with a machine called a linear exhillerator after my 1st surgery.then my 2nd & 3rd surgeries,i didn't have any.just meds and rest for about 6 wks.that's it.no chemo my tumor was a low grade tumor.slow growing,the chemo would've made me really sick i did not want it.keep in touch.GOD BLESS YOU!
  • mark7
    mark7 Member Posts: 23 Member
    #13
    grahampw said:

    Hi Mark,
    Thank you for the encouraging words & for helping me to remember to have faith. Did you have to have radiation &/or chemo & if so, did you have them together or seperately?

    hi pam!i did have rads, 20 treatments,with a machine called a linear exhillerator after my 1st surgery.then my 2nd & 3rd surgeries,i didn't have any.just meds and rest for about 6 wks.that's it.no chemo my tumor was a low grade tumor.slow growing,the chemo would've made me really sick i did not want it.keep in touch.GOD BLESS YOU!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #14
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