Hey ladies, Before you all respond, I know you are not doctors, I am merely looking to see if anyone has had something similar happen to them or a loved one.
So here it goes, Back in December my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, thank god they caught it at barely stage one, and the type of lung cancer she had was a non aggressive type. The nodule was small yet touching a blood vessel so long story short the miracle doctors at Dana Farber opted to shrink it with radiation and chemo prior to surgery. While going through chemo she was out to lunch with a friend, she had been feeling great, all of a sudden she became dizzy and off balance and fainted. She was rushed to the hospital and had a whole work up done, and they said her body was just reacting to the treatment ect... So May 7th she had the surgery where they removed the upper lobe of her right lung, The surgeon came out and said all margins were clean, He called it a "Home Run". That day was by far one of the best days of my life!!!!
So she has been home recovering, and my father and I have been a little concerned as she is so tired all the time, and still in some really bad pain. She was sent home with Diloted which is a pain killer, 800 mg motrin, and 1000mg of Tylenol. She has been trying not to take the pain med too much or at all because of fear she will get addicted. She does take the motrin and Tylenol. So yesterday was my brothers 40th birthday party, he lives 2 hours away so my parents and me and my family got a hotel. This was her first real time going anywhere since the surgery. This morning we were waiting to have breakfast at the hotel and she started nodding off, at first I thought she was just in pain, but then noticed she was incoherent, and seemed confused. I had her stand up and she was un easy and could barely walk. I screamed call 911, I feared a stroke, Also to mention she is a diabetic. So I thought maybe her sugar was low. The paramedics came and rushed her to the hospital, her sugar was fine. They did a CT scan and that was fine, all blood work fine, no infections, and not dehydrated. She is now back to herself, and has no memory of the episode. My fear is this was a stroke, When my grandmother had a stroke the CT scan was also normal, it was the MRI that they took 3 days, yes 3 days later!!!!!! I have spoken with the doctors they are going to do a full work up on her heart tomorrow, and I asked if before they discharge her they do an MRI, The doctor said maybe but that she was not showing any signs of a stroke????? Anyone have this happen to them or someone they know??? Also she took last night an ambien to sleep, and a diloted because she was in such pain from the busy day. But she has done that before. Could that have caused this? I have never taken pain meds so I do not know, the doctors say Diloted is very very strong.
I am such a wreck, I feel like every time I take a breath something else falls apart. Thank you for any stories, or advice........
To Diane B, I KNOW I am not going to get medical advice on this forum, GOSH, Didn't I make it clear I was not looking for that, rather people who may have or known someone who had the same type of episode? It seems we always have someone on this site that needs to get feisty. I am not coming to this site alone for answers, I am in touch with the many doctors treating my mother, I am here looking for personal stories, and feed back on any situations that may be similar. Kind of a back up........ So to all who gave me their personal experiences THANK YOU!!!!!
It could have been a reaction to the Ambien and Dilaudid....
http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/ambien-with-dilaud...
I don't know the half-life of the medications, but the combination of the two could cause dizziness, confusion, and impaired thinking.... it could also be that she didn't have enough sleep to "sleep it off", and got up earlier than she would have if she were at home....
I could've been a TIA, transeschemic attack. I've been with people having those and that is what this sounds like. It means that blood flow was briefly cut off but resumed. Has the doctor not mentioned that possibility.
Yes, extreme pain could cause your mother's reaction. Extreme pain is very difficult on one's body. She must take the pain medication.
I've had a lobe of my lung removed because of cancer. It's very important for your mother to take the pain medication, dilauded. She has to keep on top of the pain so that it doesn't get so bad. I was on oxycodone and oxycontain for 3 or 4 weeks and did not become addicted. Taking the medication as prescribed will not result in addiction. Addiction occurs when the patient doesn't follow directions.
She should begin taking the prescription pain medication every so many hours as instructed. Once her pain subsides some she can then skip a dose some of the time but must take it before the pain gets severe again.
My cancer was also non aggressive. It is called a carcinoid. I've been cancer free for 10 years. If you don't know the name of your mother's cancer ask. If it was a carcinoid, those infrequently return.
Talk with your mother's doctor so that you can be less frightened. Ask your mother to give permission so you can do that.
I googled dilauded and seizures as well as weakness can be a side affect. If she'd take a pill or perhaps too many pills then they may've caused the symptoms. A seizure can have those symptoms.
I reluctantly tell you this because it's important for you mom to take the medication and she's already afraid of it. It is very important to follow doctors directions. I doubt that this would've happened if she'd been doing that. It's more likely to have happened if she took a pill, forgot she took, took another one and perhaps another one after that.
Perhaps the doctor could give her a different med, one that she'd feel more comfortable with. And perhaps you need to monitor her taking the medication.
As to being chronically tired, does she exercise at all, such as taking walks? She will not regain her strength unless she does this. At one month post surgery I was walking many blocks every day.
I have a friend who complains of chronic tiredness. She does nothing exercise wise. She even has others do her shopping for her. Doctors have told her she must walk to gain energy and she says she's too tired to do so. She won't do it and so pays the price.
After your SWH: All those typical tests will only show a stroke if she suffered brain damage from one. My father had a stroke, spend several days in the hospital but had no after affects. Those tests would not show that he had a stroke.
And a TIA is not the same are a "real" stroke. A vessel is briefly plugged and then the plug is dissolved and the blood returns to a normal flow. It's not likely that one TIA would show up in a CT or MRI.
They suggested that what had happened is that he had a slow bleed from a vessel which then sealed it's self up. He didn't have any more strokes and lived several years afterwards.
Yes, you should trust the doctors. Sounds like more than one doctor is involved and they wouldn't all be wrong. Sounds like you need to ask more questions of the doctors.
I advice you to learn the signs of a stoke. There is a quick test you could perform on the person you think may be having a stoke. (ie. tell them to smile etc...) Anything is possible and it could have been a mini stroke (TIA). I just read that 30% of people that have a TIA have a full blown stroke within a year. (My 30 year old cousin was just diagnosed with a TIA).
Also, you should learn how to test your mom's sugar since levels can fluctuate very quickly.
Best of luck to your mom.
I am sure the doctors will follow up on everything. Take that deep breath.
I am sorry your mom is experiencing this.
Could be a reaction to the pain meds but it's really sounding like a TIA. A small transient ischemic attack. Or a mini stroke. I am sure they will check out that possibility. Be sure and ask about her driving.
If you are out again like that, ask her to smile. If the side of her mouth is drooping, you are looking at a possible stroke.
I am sure with all her prior med problems, she has her medical power of attorney in place and you know her wishes about long term intervention?
First, no, not a doctor, just a mom: It may be a little seizure which is an effect of some medicines, but it does sound like a TIA to me. I attended a stroke seminar this May and my husband was the case study they discussed at length, but at the beginning they did go through the normal signs, prevention, treatment, etc, etc and they spent some time on TIAs and said that many people do have those (sounds similar to what you described) and it's a warning for a future "real" stroke later. Have them do the testing, she may have a post-surgery clot (my husband had 2 following a back surgery 12 months before his stroke, but we didn't know about them until his sudden, no warning stroke---a #33 on the scale, terrifying). He is doing great now (amazingly so) even though there's a lot he's still having to work through now (tired, ability to concentrate, a new blind spot in his vision), but he has to take blood thinner and a cholesterol medicine (even though the nutritionist said our diet is great--it's just a hereditary thing with him). You can trust doctors, but to a point. The fact is, something is wrong. You don't know what is wrong, but what is happening is not normal or ok. So until they can tell you WHAT is wrong and what they're going to do about it, don't let them drop it. I've had doctors in my own life say "well, you say this this and this but the blood work came back fine...." and act like "the end". NO that's not the end of the discussion because I still have the same symptoms. We need to figure it out or go elsewhere. Ask them to check for a clot (Jeremy had surgery on his spine around his tailbone, but when they found the clots they were at his brainstem...I think it was a specific MRI they did to find them). That's the route I would take, but do follow the doctors too. They know much more than us.
My mother-in-law also had lung cancer and the same lobe removed a year ago. It took a lot longer than I would have expected for her to feel "normal" again. Lots of exhaustion and pain. Keep after your mom to do her breathing exercises.
MIL also had some strange symptoms about 15 years ago and it turned out she had an aneurysm on a major artery in her brain. The pressure from the aneurysm was creating her intermittent symptoms. She was scheduled to have a stent installed in the aneurysm and discovered she'd had 2 mild strokes during the pre-op testing.
Keep asking questions. I think you are onto something.
I don't have any advice but my guess is that the Dilaudid and the Ambien may be having an effect on her. I would look up the side effects of those drugs (including the more rare side effects) and see if any of those match what you were noticing. And I would wonder if there were any cross-reactions with her diabetes or diabetes drugs.
I've always wondered if my MIL has had a mild stroke or two, but her doctors insist that she hasn't, and they seem reluctant to do deeper diagnostic work-ups (she's on an HMO - surprise surprise).
Again, I would suspect those drugs first, and then talk with the doctor about what you are seeing with your mom.
Good luck.
It could have been a TIA, which is kind of a mini-stroke. Sometimes they can't detect one. A TIA is considered a precourser for a full-blown stroke.
Have they checked for blockages? They should. Does she have high cholesterol? Does she take statins? She probably should be.
I would have a neurologist work with her now.
Ambien and Dilaudid could (would almost) most certainly do this. Strong combo. Wise to have her checked out, but if her symptoms resolved and CT looks OK, I would not do that medication combo again.
Could be anything. A TIA (transient eschemic attack) is a kind of mini-stroke - not all strokes have paralysis or one-side issues. Speech impairment, confusion, weakness could all be signs.
She's also got a ton of medication that may or may not go well together. Ambien can cause behavioral abnormalities.
And she's a diabetic. That causes a lot of problems with coherence, balance, circulation and so on.
And she's very likely got residual effects of all the cancer treatments.
I think you aren't going to get answers on this forum. You post a lot about her issues and your emotions as a result, but it doesn't sound to me like she has coordinated care among her physicians, nor that she is doing anything non-medical to boost her immune system. Honestly, I don't think we can help you, and I don't think she can help herself if she's not able or willing to look at better options. I'm sorry.
She might have had a bad reaction to Dilaudid and Ambien together or it simply hit her very strongly. Some people don't do well with Ambien, and some people REALLY don't do well with Dilaudid. Put them together and it can be a combination that your mother might not have been able to handle in her condition.
My mom was recently in the hospital for two weeks and the Dilaudid knocked her out. The nurses kept pushing Ambien and I had to tell them to knock it off since the Dilaudid was doing the job of numbing the pain and making her sleep. It made her a little loopy and dopey. I know that's how I felt when I was on it during my hospital stay. And I didn't know better at the time not to take Ambien with it.
From what you're describing, it's very similar to how the Dilaudid affected my mom and myself. I don't believe she had a stroke, especially if the doctors did the CT scan and it came back normal, as well as her other tests.
Try to get her to start minor exercising--walking, swimming, eat more fiber.
Could have taken too much pain med or took it on an empty stomach.
Have them check her potassium levels too. My MIL would have seizures and they could never figure out a cause after CT scans and MRIs. It was her potassium. Good luck.
