Trouble thinking clearly, putting thoughts into action
Posted , 8 users are following.
Son is 11 weeks LTHR postop & tells me that since the surgery, he often has trouble thinking clearly. Whether this is because the brain is healing in addition to the body - even the surgeon was no help with this.
This is an aside, but surgeons are the mechanics of medicine & orthopedic surgeons the jocks ( this from a nurse friend). THEY have not had total hip replacement themselves & only know how to take apart & put together. So their answers about recovery are textbook & general.
Back to the main point -
1) Have you experienced this mental fog/cloudiness?
2) If yes, how did you combat it?
When I'm with him (right now I'm in Hawaii & he's in the MidWest) son will state points of concern, I'll write them on a whiteboard, we'll discuss, cross out or add to. I'm not always clear myself, whether from a sleep deficit or aging.
Mahalo for your insights on this.
Aloha, Soos
2 likes, 41 replies
linda38528 Soos2016
Posted
And there was some foggiest but seemed to clear up earlier.
Is this foggiest clearing up at all or remaining constant?
I hope the nurses chime in - I bet they have insights on this.
I wish I could help and I really hope this clears up for him.
Big hugs for both of you.
L
Soos2016 linda38528
Posted
So, not a great sleep pattern either.
Yes, I'd be interested in whether the nurses have anything to share.
What motivated me to start this thread is 6Rocketman SG6UK's comment to Cindy in her Mental Status thread - "now I forget things at work that I was expert in before" - and I wondered if ways of thinking, memory, concentration are affected by THR & the painkillers. And what therapies might help improve them.
Yeah, thinking too much apparently runs in the family, Linda. Mahalo for weighing in.
lyn1951 Soos2016
Posted
I have come to the conculsion that it is partially our body adjusting to the foreign object in our body, Dr's would deny it of course.
Also having been in pain for sooo long prior to that THR surgery, the affects of the sugery itself, the painkillers, the shock of the assault to our body, cutting, blood loss, broken bones even if deliberaty to dooo the surgery.
All of this adds up to our body taking its time to recover, as it does evetually, my specialist told me 12 months, I scoffed at him, he was right I'm afraid somwhere about 8 - 9 months, I relized that my right hip replacement was finally as though it had never been a problem, 35 years of problems, physio visits, and as usual nobody listening to me, my left, well thats another story over a year later.
Also Soos I fear you son may have been overdoing, I can see he is impatient to get well, but his body does not agree I think, he has to learn to beee still and listen, his body will tell him what it needs.
Have been following you posts from the beginning, and cam sympathize with where you are coming from.
linda38528 lyn1951
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Soos2016 lyn1951
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Son had no energy to do anything one day of the conference so definitely overdid it another day. He'll be drained after an appointment & it may take him until the next day to recover.
There are things related to school that he feels he must get done, so yes, Lyn, he is frustrated. And it is so hard for me to tell him it will take 6 months to recover, much less a year.
Mahalo, Lyn for keeping an eye on us. I am trying not to be a sMother.
Wishing the best for, especially with your left hip!
Aloha, Soos
Soos2016 linda38528
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bini31328 Soos2016
Posted
Did he have a GA ? As it can take months to properly clear your system . I don't feel mentally foggy myself but I still tire very easily 😞- I am sure just the trauma of it all is enough to reduce mental alertness , it certainly wears you out physically so I'm not surprised it can do so mentally as well! Xxxxx
Soos2016 bini31328
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Mahalo, we will have to find ways to increase alertness & clarity that don't involve caffeine. I appreciate your thoughts on this.
Aloha, Soos
bini31328 Soos2016
Posted
I would suggest the brain training games you can do online can really help the brain focus again as can crosswords/ soduko etc but also some supplements like ginseng can be good - although I'm a nurse I am very respectful of Chinese medicine as an alternative option - it was around 5000 years before ours !xxxx
Soos2016 bini31328
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You're in my thoughts & prayers for your own recovery.
Mahalo, Soos
lynn66084 Soos2016
Posted
Has he been checked for anemia, I have had it and it was like my head was in a fishbowl, surrounded by loads of cotton wool and just looking out, but taking nothing in.
Soos2016 lynn66084
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Lynn, did iron supplements help with your anemia? Mahalo for your thoughts on this discussion.
Best, Soos
lynn66084 Soos2016
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Hope your son soon gets sorted Soos. x
Soos2016 lynn66084
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Thanks for your good wishes.
Aloha, Soos
lynn66084 Soos2016
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Soos2016 lynn66084
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