Grandma very poorly

gilly This is a very upsetting time for you, but you've loved and cared for your Grandma to the best of your ability and she knows that.
I hope she is feeling better this morning, spend as much time with her as you can now, for both your sakes (((hugs)))

Give her time to get over the tramadol - it is fiendish stuff and hopefully she will surface and be more like the gran that you know.

You need some care going in there - how would you feel about chatting to social services?

I'm sure Grandma has lived a good life well lived to be so loved. My thoughts and prayers at this time. The good memories of better times will sustain.

Sympathy and [flowers} gillybob. How are things this morning

Gillybob
So sorry to hear your distressing news. I wonder how things are this morning? Thinking of you and your beloved Grandma.

gillybob I've only just seen your post and I'm so very sorry you're in this distressing situation, I can well imagine how helpless and upset you must be feeling. I know nothing about Tramadol but others have given their experiences and advice. My thoughts are with you x

Oh gillybob, I know so well how you feel in this heartbreaking situation and can offer no comfort except to remind you what a deeply caring and loving granddaughter you have been and are being. I suspect that this may be the end of the line for your beloved grandmother and I am guessing that you suspect so too. Thinking of you, dear friend.

I`m so sorry about your Grandma Gillybob, how good that she has someone there who cares for her the way you do. I do hope that she can bounce back from this.
My husband was prescribed Tramadol, amongst other drugs, after his ops last July and August. It may not be due to the Tramadol, but he seems to have turned into a vague, and sometimes vacant sort of person, and has aged more or less overnight. I asked at the surgery whether he still needed all the tablets he`s on, and was told he should keep taking them till he next saw the consultant at the hospital. That was today, and the consultant said that he should stop taking the Tramadol and Omeprazole, so hopefully he`ll improve. I can`t take Tramadol, it makes me very sick.

I am so glad you stopped the medication gillybob, but think now you may have to stay with your grandmother overnight until she is better. Is there anyone else who can help you and take turns. I wouldn't leave her on her own unless it's for short periods.

gillybob I'm so sorry to hear about your grandma. I know from your previous posts how dear she is to you and I'm sure that, even though she is confused and upset, your care and concern is a comfort to her.

Well done for withdrawing the tramadol gillybob. You must be emotionally worn out now and so it's no wonder you're feeling overwhelmed. Hopefully your grandma will be feeling more herself tomorrow and after a good night's sleep so will you. In the meantime give yourself a pat on the back for sorting out the medication and remind yourself that your grandma knows how much you love her. and (((hugs)))

Oh gilly does this mean you have to stay with your Grandma all night? You must be so tired as well as worried sick. She is very lucky to have you; I'm sure all of us would love to think our grandchildren will love us as much as you love her and will be there for us when we are very old.

Hold on to the thought that she is tough, and that she was relatively well quite recently, which must mean that she has a good chance of fighting back from this. I will be thinking of you tonight and hoping for better news by the morning

Gilly I'm glad that you were able to speak to your Grandma's usual GP, at least, but I'm so sorry you are going through this. I'm sure your Grandma knows how much you love her and that will have enriched her life and made her old age happier than many others. You couldn't have done more for her.
Thinking of you

Oh gillybob; I'm so sorry for you and your grandmother. At least the nice doctor contacted you. We're all thinking of you [hug].

Gillybob ((((hugs)))) I hope she improves.

Even I know that pain killers have very bad effects on the elderly and I am not a GP. Many years as a social worker taught me that, simple UTIs or other infections can cause confusion as well.

Thankyou all for such lovely comments and helpful advice. It is all much appreciated. Late night update. 5pm . My grandma was totally out of it. Mumbling and clutching the TV remote that she insisted was the telephone and she could not get a line. I am upset writing this now as this is not the lady I love. She could not string a sentence together and has eaten nothing at all today. I telephoned her surgery and told the receptionist that I wanted it on record that I was stopping the Tramadol as from "now" and I would be taking it home with me tonight. I was told that her doctor would give me a telephone appointment at 7.30 after the surgery closed. Her (lovely) GP called me and I spoke to him at length and he agreed that she had been "wrongly" ( he didn't say those words) prescribed the Tramadol and that he would be happy for me to withdraw it, providing I would make myself available to her for 6 hours (apparently the time it takes to wear off) he said that she was very poorly (I know) and that there was very little he could do for her now at her age. My grandma doesn't want to go into hospital. I know she thinks that if they get her in there she may never come out again. To be honest I am becoming overwhelmed by the whole situation. I love her so much and can't bear this. Why does it have to be like this? Why when she had so much dignity (choosing her lovely blouse for church last week and doing a crossword I couldn't even begin to tackle) am I wiping slops from her chin today ? This is wrong. I hate saying this but I wish she could just go to sleep. I love her so much.

Sorry.

When my MiL was like this she was in hospital on intravenous antibiotics which were the only thing that improved her legs at all. I don't know what your out of hours doctors are like but I would try ringing them in the evening. Ours are always willing to make house calls and will send plenty of time talking to you and are quick to send a patient to hospital if they think it is necessary.

gillybob I'm afraid I would simply stop giving your grandma the tramadol and tell the GP this is what you've done and ask for a second opinion. If you don't entirely trust the medicine this doctor has prescribed is the correct one then it's not unreasonable to request an opinion from another GP. It's a horrid situation and I feel frustrated for you that you're having to deal with it. Sad for grandma too.

If she is not in pain, do not give them to her.

If she is in pain, then you need to be asking for a treatment that is more appropriate to her age and the degree of pain.

Prescribing for the elderly is an art - if you get it wrong, then the whole of person's ability to support themselves at home and their personality and cognitive functioning can be impaired. and it can be a slippery slope.

The surgery is bound to tell you to take what the doc has prescribed. But you are at liberty to question it - you are the one who can see what it does to her. You need to see a different doc.

Oh dear, Gillybob. We were just talking about your grandma the other week and you were saying just how feisty she is. I only know of Tramadol being used for serious pain. If it was my elderly relative, I don't think I'd be giving it to her without getting another opinion.

gillybob to you and your Grandma

Some of us react badly to Tramadol. I took one dose and said 'never again'. My son did the same, and one of my sisters can't take it either. The doctor should know that this can happen.

I'm sorry your Grandma is so poorly and hope you can sort this out and she feels better soon Gilly.

I was prescribed Tramodal a few years back and hallucinated on it as well. I felt so il I stopped it and my hospital notes state that I'm allergic to it.

jingle That's terrible.

I agree with janea. I had the same reaction to Tramadol that Crow had last year, and was taken off it immediately. I cannot see why your grandma is on it if she is not in pain. It's wrong.
Good luck.

From the website, Drugs.com: Tramadol can slow or stop your breathing"

I would find out from that doctor, or perhaps another one, exactly why she has been prescribed that.

gillybob