Strange things happening with my dad.

[smilie]

My mom just called me to let me know that some odd things have been happening with my dad. He's been to the doctors the past couple months trying to regulate extremely high blood pressure. On top of that he has glaucoma and just found out he has cataracts. Well, now she called me because he's had 2 seperate incidents where he has confusion. She said it's like he doesn't know where he is and doesn't know what year it is. He's going to the doctor today and they're going to ask him about it. Has anyone had any experience with something like this? Could it be caused by high blood pressure or is it most likely something else?

 

[Christine]

Well, of course, the first worry is Alzheimer's and I guess they have specfic things they can do to look for that.

One other thing comes to mind is if your dad is on any new medications (because of his BP)? Many drugs will cause this to happen, especially if he is older.

 

[smilie]

I didn't think about reactions. He's only 53 so I'm hoping that it is NOT Alzheimers.

 

[Virgo10]

I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV but this happened to my father when he was having mini strokes.

I hope they can figure out what is going on with your dad.

 

[Blondie]

I thought of a stroke too. Any time there is a change in mental status there's reason for an immediate doctor's visit IMHO. I hope it's nothing too serious. Please keep us posted!

 

[WDWAurora]

At 53 it's unlikely to be Alzheimer's (and chances are they won't diagnose it). My mom is 54 and has Frontotemporal Dementia-which is a lot like Alzheimer's. It took a lot of testing to get a diagnosis, and a lot of convincing to get her to see a doctor in the first place. It would have been better had she seen a doctor sooner, so the fact that he's going now is definitely good.

That being said, there are SO many things that can cause that type of reaction I wouldn't be too worried yet. Even depression (VERY common in that age group) can cause some memory issues. Try not to worry until he's gotten some testing done--I know that's impossible since I've been there, but try.

 

[golfgal]

It can be caused by high blood pressure or drops in blood pressure too. Any time the brain isn't getting the proper amount of blood your thinking will be effected. I would also say have him checked for mini-strokes, most definitely related to high blood pressure. I would call his DR, NOW, and get in. You will want him to see a neurologist, too.

 

[nativetxn]

Medication can cause disorientation. Did he recognize the people around him? I'm so glad he will be seeing a physician soon. Hopefully they will be able to get to the bottom of this and it won't be anything serious.

I just said a quick prayer for your father, praying that this is nothing serious.

Katholyn

 

[smilie]

I haven't started worrying yet, my mom is doing that enough for everyone. I just hope it's nothing serious. His appointment is this afternoon, so we should know something today-hopefully. Thanks for all of the replies.

 

[DisOrBust]

Agreed!!! Call the Doc or even go to the ER and have them rule out Stroke. You can have stroke-like-symptoms that are necessarly One sided weakness or slurred speech. It all depends on what part of the brain is affected.

It could be something TOTALLY unrelated however now they want to treat Stokes ASAP Better safe then sorry.

 

[experiment626mom]

Could be a blood sugar thing too. If it drops too rapidly this could happen. My dad would get like that and the paramedics and doctors would tell her to get him a glass of orange juice. Worked everytime.

I'm glad to hear he is heading to a doctor. Please keep us updated.

 

[SEAlla]

Your dad sounds like my dad.

My dad went through this 2 summers ago and we found out that it was a drug interaction with another drug he had just started using. Once they figured it out, he was fine.

 

[momoftwins]

the exact same thing happened to my father. It went on for about two weeks. And only after a major stroke occurred, did we put this all together. I would also bet he is having mini-strokes.

I would get him to the doc's asap!