In article >,
flitterbit > wrote:

> Omelet wrote:
> > In article >,
> > "Cheryl" > wrote:
> >
> >> Not sure how to take that, but I'm glad she's in good spirits!
> >
> > Hospital psychosis sucks. I went thru that with my Aunt.
> >
> > It's all the crap they pump into your veins imho.
> >
> >
> Sometimes the problem is a specific medication.
>
> My stepfather was hospitalized in 2004 with liver failure and internal
> bleeding. He was given Ativan to keep him calm, but had what's known as
> a "paradoxical" reaction to it: instead of being calmed, he was
> agitated, delusional and extremely aggressive, throwing punches at
> anyone and everyone who came near him. The hospital in question refused
> to use any kind of restraints and instead insisted that a family member
> sit at his bedside 24/7 because they didn't have the staff for the job.
> They also told us to see about signing a DNR since it appeared he wasn't
> long for this world, ie, they presumed the delusional behaviour was
> strictly a result of his damaged liver, nothing else, and that he was
> going to get worse and worse until he died of a heart attack or something.
>
> His delusions would start up within 30 minutes of being administered the
> drug and disappear once it wore off, which suggested to my brother, my
> husband and I that perhaps medication was an issue. We found a copy of
> the medication textbook on the counter at the nurse's station and read
> up on his meds and sure enough, in some patients, Ativan had the effects
> we'd seen. We had to insist they stop administering this drug; it didn't
> occur to anyone on staff to consider checking into his meds.
>
> They fortunately agreed to stop administering the drug, all delusions
> stopped, and stepdad's still alive and kicking four years later.

I am so glad for you that you did that... :-)
--
Peace! Om

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." -- Dalai Lama