Second day of dialysis

[ODAT]

I'm confused. I don't think I've ever seen on these boards anyone ever talk about the first few days of dialysis being mentally "out there." Mom's surgeon said it was the toxins causing mom to not be thinking clearly. There is a difference, I think, between not thinking clearly and hallucinating. Mom sees spiders, thinks she has something in her hand and doesn't, swears it's raining on her in her hospital bed, hears thunder, thinks someone threw something at her and swipes it off her arm, thought three nurses took her out of the hospital to an apartment and screamed at them asking where she was, and told me that across the building on the roof she saw a cat and squirrel sitting next to each other.

Her treatment yesterday was 1 1/2 hours, today it was 3. I never realized how yellow her skin was, especially her face, until I see it with color. Her tremours are 90% gone. She sounds better, but this is really scary how she's thinking. I called my sister in Florida so she could talk to mom. Mom said "here, I'll give the phone to Kim so she can put it near the window and you can hear how hard it's raining." It wasn't raining at all.

I think it's the pain meds. Has anyone experienced this?

[silverhead]

In my case, I figured out it was the pain meds, after a long and tough surgery they gave me injections of morphine on demand, that worked great for a day or so, but then the hallucinations began as the pain lessened, thank heavens my mind was working somewhat and I was able to ask for something less powerful and was able to taper them  pretty quickly, I really hated not being in control of where my mind wandered ( I still wonder how addicts can possibly like being "high" if this is what they experience).
In your Mom's case maybe it is a combination of the toxins and the meds working together?

[Yvonne]

John often hallucinates and he is still not on dialysis, or he says he has said something or asked me for something and know he has not said it. I think it must be to do with his kidney playing up so I dread to think of what he might be like if he goes on dialysis.

[monrein]

The hallucinations are probably due to morphine or dilaudid and being out of it can be attributed to toxins.

[ODAT]

It must have been the pain meds that caused mom to have the tremors - twitches. She didn't start hallucinating until she did dialysis. Doctor said it was a combination and that's why they switched her to vicodan.

She is doing soooo much better now! She is coherent, talkative, eating, and doing well at therapy. She goes to The Living Center tomorrow to stay for another week or so to get her knee up and going. Her dialysis will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

After my class ends Tuesday, I'm going to come back and catch up on everybody. Hope you are doing well with your transplant Monrein.

[Sunny]

So glad things are better for your Mom now. Sounds like it was something as simple as switching her meds to resolve the problem.I hope things will get better for her.

[The Wife]

Give your mom a hug from me....and one for you oo.