confusion and memory loss

• By cabbage
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 9:38 am

Are his blood calcium levels normal? High calcium would make your father-in-law appear confused and have difficulty with motor skills such as walking. My husband experience this problem at the very end of his battle with NSCLC Stage IV in June. My husband also couldn't eat very much. I believe his elevated calcium level might have been due to mets to the bone, but I do not know for sure. May you have God's blessings at this difficult time. Sincerely, Patty

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• By cancerconfused
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 10:48 am

Patty, Yes the calcium was checked, ans it is 100% perfect. He also had a 2 cat scans of his brain, one to check for cancer, and one to check for a stroke, both were ok. We are just totally lost. Thank you for your blessing, and I wish the same for you.

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• By Monica65
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 10:50 am

Yes- check the calcium level. My mom went through the same thing too. She also had to be restrained

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• By LindaFL
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 12:22 pm

Is the oncologist involved, or are you just dealing with hospital staff? I would start making alot of noise at the hospital...clearly something is wrong and it doesn't sound like they're doing enough to find out what. Is he on any new medications?

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• By cancerconfused
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 1:24 pm

His calcium is totally fine. He was put on an anti depressant for 1 day, then taken off to see if it would stimulate his appetite.

The oncologist is involved, but frankly they all seem clueless and dont seem to care a whole lot.

We just want him back, and want some answers.

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• By charsteer
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 7:27 pm

It sounds to me like know one knows what they're doing. Why put him on an antidepressant for one day? Good grief, it takes weeks for them to work. It just sounds like they're throwing things at a wall and hoping something sticks! Ask for a multidisciplinary conference where everyone (including family) hashes over his symptoms and tries to come up with a diagnosis. Has he seen a neurologist? Clearly, something is wrong and they need to look for it instead of saying, "well, he's stage IV NSCLC; what's the difference". He may even benefit from psychological testing to see if the problem is organic or severe depression, which can have an enormous physical effect. KEEP PUSHING THEM!

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• By charsteer
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 7:33 pm

Hi,
Sorry for running on and on; I've worked in the medical field for years and things keep occuring me. You didn't say how old he is. Since this occured in the hospital after a number of days, is it possible he got a little confused and had "sundowners". They get confused due to the lack of clear day and night and get very confused. What is his oxygen saturation? Is it good enough or could a lack of oxygen be causing symptoms. And finally, have they repeated the CT scan a couple of times since the fall? It is possible he could have a slow bleed (like a subdural hematoma) that didn't show up on the initial scan but may show up 4 or 5 days later.
KEEP PUSHING THEM. Don't let them intimidate you. Medicine is an ART and not a science! They don't always have all the answers.
Charlotte

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• By cancerconfused
• Posted August 27, 2008 at 9:33 pm

He is 58. We looked up the symptoms of a subdural hematona and it is him to a T!!! We are going to try and see if we can get another CT scan done... however our medical system SUCKS, so we will see....

thank you.

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• By texaszan
• Posted August 28, 2008 at 2:32 pm

If his scans look good it may not be a subdural hematona because I think they show up on scan. My husband is having substantial confusion from the chemo. I read that chemo can cause a disruption in the blood flow to the frontal cortex. Maybe some people are more affected by this than others. No one thought my husband would have any problem with chemo but he's having a lot of trouble with cognition.

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• By cancerconfused
• Posted August 28, 2008 at 3:22 pm

Well we have just learned that he has small cell lung cancer, stage 4. We were not told this before. The life span on that cancer is apparently 8 months. This to me is bull ****. My grandmother had bile duct cancer and was told 6 months, but she lived a wonderful 13 months. He has now been moved to palliative care, but seems to be doing a bit better. We are taking up the things we found online about the hematomas today, as well as pictures of him with his granddaughter. I am pushing to keep my husband positive, tho it is hard. I just wish that people thought ahead before they made decisions on their health like this!!
The smokers in the rest of the family, still havent stopped. What can you do I guess...

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• By sull
• Posted August 30, 2008 at 10:48 am

I feel for you. My father has advanced small cell cancer. Small cell cancer is more aggressive then non-small cancer. My father was diagnosed last August. He had spread to the liver. He did first line chemo for 6 months with no major side effects. Unfortunately, the cancer became active within 2 months. He then went on second line chemo for a few months. Unfortunately, he is end stage now. Without chemo they only gave him 3 weeks to 3 months. He had a great quality of life this year. Not sure if your dad wants to or is able to undergo chemotherapy.

Like your grandmother, I lost my husband to bile duct cancer five years ago. He was only 38 and I was only 32. He lived for 18 months, but was very ill for the last nine months.

I wish you strength at this difficult time.

Hugs to you,
m

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• By simplyklb
• Posted August 30, 2008 at 11:29 am

My dad was diagnosed with extensive small cell lung cancer this past May. His brain has been impacted. We are trying to determine if it is something chemical (had undiagnosed mental issues before diagnosis) or a combinaion of pain meds and chemo. My dad has lost the ability to concentrate. His short term memory is really bad. He cannot handle the finances anymore. I handle those. He gets mad if I don't let him do the online banking. I don't want him paying things that have already been paid. It's been very trying to deal with the memory loss, confusion, and other mental and emotional issues.

Kristi

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• By cancerconfused
• Posted August 30, 2008 at 1:10 pm

My father in law passed away yesterday. Thank you for all of your help and suggestions.

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• By erinroro
• Posted August 30, 2008 at 2:40 pm

I am so sorry to hear that. You and your husband, and the rest of the family will be in my thoughts and prayers. Please know that your father-in-law is now in a place where he is whole, healthy and happy. He is not confused now, and is only sad because he sees his family sad. Please look for signs from him - I am sure that he is sending his love and comfort to you right now.

Erin

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• By bluestar30
• Posted August 31, 2008 at 4:16 pm

OMG, that was so fast! I am so sorry for your loss. It has been a little more than a year since I lost my dad to SMLC. And I DO remember the confusion at the end. It was almost as though he was already someplace else. One thing I remember so well, when hospice came in, he wanted to take charge of the situation, and said, why didn't anybody tell me it was going to be this fast? It was as though the disease took him completely by surprise, even though he has been going to chemo for 9 months and knew it wasn't working.
I am so sorry you are going through this....but I can tell you, that after a year, I am finally able to get through the days without falling apart, and I didn't think that would ever happen. Best of luck....Chris

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• By hce12345
• Posted September 2, 2008 at 12:12 pm

I am very sorry for your loss as well. My father also exhibited similar confusion and died a few days afterwords. The doctors couldnt explain why. He had non-small cell LC and was doing quite well after bone mets. He got gamma and steroid treatments following brain mets, and he checked himself into the hospital with thrush and dizziness. Then, it turned out, he started to be "confused." So, from checking himself into the hospital energetically, to starting to forget things, and then getting completely dazed. There were two small mini-strokes and some seizure activity, but the neurologist said it was not enough to produce this kind of extreme lethargy and confusion. So, we'll never know why the confusion, whether it was related to brain metastasis or the approach of death or something else. He said very slowly that he was tired of this and ready for the next stage. So he basically decided that he was ready to go. But noone knows why this confusion..if anyone has any ideas on what it is related to and how he could become so quickly non-responsive and decline and get confused in only 2-3 days, let me know. The doctors had no explanation other than "advanced cancer", but it seemed like things were under control and he was so apparently healthy several days before. So, yeah, stroke-like behavior but without reasonable explanation. So, I commiserate with your concern about the confusion, and suddenly followed by death....Hilda

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