Can somebody help me understand this?
Question:
Please, only serious answers.
Answers:
You mentioned you father's liver is in bad shape. Even though the doctors are monitoring his liver enzyme levels, have they tested him for the ammonia level in his blood, yet? If not, ask his doctors to have him tested for that, too.
Perhaps his mental instability isn't due to the seizure at all, but from a condition called hepatic encephalopathy. Liver damage, regardless what caused it can bring on H.E.
Some of the symptoms of H.E. include:
* changes in mental state, consciousness, behavior, personality
o forgetfulness
o confusion, disorientation
o delirium (acute, severe confusion with fluctuating level of consciousness)
o dementia (loss of memory, intellect, reasoning, and other functions)
o changes in mood
o decreased alertness, daytime sleepiness
o decreased responsiveness, progressive stupor
o coma
* decreased self-care ability
* deterioration of handwriting or loss of other small hand movements
* coarse muscle tremors
* muscle stiffness or rigidity
* seizures (rare)
* speech impairment
* movement, uncontrollable
* movement, dysfunctional
* agitation
My husband has H.E. that rears it's ugly head from time to time and I know how tough it is dealing with the mental changes and mood swings. Don't take it personally because he truly can't help being this way. Just bite your tongue and walk away when things get really bad so you won't say something you'll regret later.
In case your father does have H.E., the good news is that it can be effectively managed or reversed with Lactulose which is "liver friendly".
I've added 2 links below for you to check out.
Best wishes for your father and for you, too!
Other Answers:
there isnt a whole lot you can do about this. He may need more advanced care
be patient with him. ALways love him. He has a lot on his mind to . Tell him you Love him! You have to be patient and realize that it isn't his fault. If he could choose to be this way, he wouldn't. I hope he recovers. *hugs*
The whole family needs to understand what's going on, here. Ask the doctor is there are any support groups that help with this type of situation in your area. It could be an education class or psychological counseling for all affected. There is NO easy answer, but there may be some help and relief. Sometimes volunteers will actually come in to tend him so the family can have some hours off.
check out
www.healthrefer.com
http://www.webmd.com/diseases_and_conditions/symptom_checker.htm
trace it through the symptoms. the best possible help I can give, can't giv advice- I am not a doctor.
but it's more on controlling hid diet.
extract juice from carrots, and other natural ways.
Has he had an MRI or something for his head, that way the docs can rule out a tumor or something? epilepsy can cause brain damage. Basically what happens is a strong seizure could have effected the part of his brain that memory is involved in. So that would be a good indication of why the memory loss- and with that, there really isn't much you can do except wait for time to heal anything if at all.
As far as the mood swings.. that's all medication related most likely. anti-convulsants are also used as mood stabilizers, but that is all dependent on the person's brain chemistry. some people react differently to different medications.
It seems that temporarily your father is a little like a child. His sense of time is distorted. He is recovering but it takes time. If you get too annoyed, then take a walk and scream outside while someone else looks after him but don't show this to him. You can try to help him calmly by reminding him that it's now the year 2006, that he has some memory loss but you should never show to him your frustration. It's really as I said above very much like looking after a child. You could also see another specialist for a second opinion. Maybe the medication can be improved upon.
In all cases, you must remain calm in front of him. Think of all the years when he looked after you. It's an opportunity for you to show that you care about him as he did about you.
Usually the memory gets better after some time. It took around 6 months in the case of someone I know. Then he was OK again.
Keep strong but do look after yourself as well. Only bottle up your feelings in front of him but do let out what you feel outside or if only by punching a pillow extremely hard or whatever else you can think of which is not harmful but will help you cope with the situation which is likely to improve with time.
Good luck.
What tests has he had done? Has he had an MRI or CT scan? How long has been on his meds? If it's only been a month then he needs time to adjust to them and this can take up to 8 weeks especially if his liver function is not 100%. Be sure to read up all you can on his disorder and go to his doctors armed with questions and information. Disorders of the brain are particularly difficult as we don't know enough about the brain to treat it directly. Also with regards to him going over things that happened years ago, you try what they call Validation. Validate his concerns by saying that you understand his concerns. Check out the site below, I know it's for dementia but it works for other disorders as well.
Good luck xxx
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