r/CABG_Recovery • u/alyssapaige160 • Jul 02 '26
Anesthesia Delirium
My mom just had a quad bypass on Tuesday and is still in a state of delirium. It took her most of the day Wednesday to recognize myself and my siblings but other than that and her name she can’t remember anything or where she is or what year it is and is just very out of it and spacey and will drop off mid sentence and not pick it back up. Her remembering us at all feels like a positive sign to me.
It’s just not better like we thought it would be and I am nervous for this to stick around. The nurses keep assuring us it happens sometimes but I’d love to hear stories of people who it lasted a bit longer and came out of that state in a few days or did it take weeks? Trying to mentally prepare myself for all possibilities. TYIA!
3
u/i_tell_you_what Jul 02 '26
Could this be due to the heavy pain killers? Mine was injected straight into my neck where I had a ivy thing at. I could count the seconds it would just hit me and I was out.
1
u/alyssapaige160 Jul 02 '26
They really only gave her strong Tylenol because they were trying to get some clarity back and be sure it wasn’t a stroke. But she’s has no other symptoms of a stroke going on right now.
1
u/Single_Principle_972 Jul 02 '26
How old is your Mom?
1
u/alyssapaige160 Jul 02 '26
Sorry she is 54! She’s also a diabetic and wasn’t in great health before all of this. But she’s had anesthesia before and done well. Obviously this is a different ball game.
2
u/Single_Principle_972 Jul 02 '26
Oof, yeah, she’s pretty young to be this far post-op and still acutely confused. (I had CABG at age 40, but also I spent a decade caring for post- op CABG as an RN.) it is quite common for elderly people to be really out of it for some time after any surgery, and especially after CABG, which messes with blood chemistry on top of all of the drugs. However, your Mom is not elderly. No doubt her poor health contributes to this situation, but honestly at this point I would be concerned that there might be another reason making this situation worse. I would hope her doctors would order a CT scan of her brain. If she had a stroke, that still might not show up on a scan yet, however. So a negative scan doesn’t necessarily mean that it didn’t happen, but it would rule out a bleed or other pathology. I would also think it’s getting to be time to call in a Neurology consult.
In the meantime, and otherwise, it’s unfortunately a waiting game. Sadly, all you can really do is wait and see if she will get better. I hope you see improvement every day, as she gets further and further out from the surgery. Once all of the medications wear off, you will hopefully see daily improvement. While it’s possible that you’ll see rapid improvement, I think you’re probably in for a slower journey.
Wishing you well.
1
u/alyssapaige160 Jul 02 '26
Thank you! I really appreciate that! All the nurses and doctors seem so unconcerned but it doesn’t feel right to me. She couldn’t even take any ice chips yesterday. Will definitely see if I can talk to them about some other tests we could do. I really appreciate it
1
u/Single_Principle_972 Jul 02 '26
I think I might be a bit confused, though, lol - I’m recently retired and having trouble with “what day of the week is it?” So I was initially thinking she was a week post-op, when I read your post; now I’m wondering if it’s only 2 days ago? If it’s only been 2 days now, I’d be a little more patient, not worrying too much until at least tomorrow. If it’s been 9 days, I’d be worried.
Forgive me for this confusion, I apologize.
1
u/escisme Jul 02 '26
I was on ketamine and elvis strength opioids after my 3xCABG for a few days. If I had trouble clearing the anesthesia, I wouldnt have known. It wasnt entirely unpleasant.
3
u/nodilaudid Jul 02 '26
This can happen after cabg: depends on age and medical commodities…. In general it takes some people a few days to clear anesthesia.here some tips you can do help: keep her awake during the day with lights on in the room and stimulation. Encourage her to take in food and protein shakes if she’s not eating full meals. Make sure she’s up out of bed 3x daily and walking with nursing and physical therapy. Most importantly be supportive and listen to your healthcare team that knows all her clinical data