Questions about the mental condition of my grandmother who is currently hospitalized

[brianx1976]

Hi, my grandmother recently had a fall and injured her leg and hip, she also had a fall and injured herself last year, and she has not only been on medication to recover from her physical injuries sustained from her falls of last year and this recent fall, but is on some other medications for a few other physical issues, including her heart.

There is a debate amongst the family though, and that is over her presumed diagnosis of having dementia, I believe that the mental symptoms she suffers from, which resemble dementia, are not necessarily caused because by dementia but are simply a result of being highly medicated, you see, after her first fall, she was put on six different medications, and recently she was put on over 14 different medications for a recent flu-like, stomach related sickness she was recently suffering from, and that is not counting any new additional medication that she's been put on since her recent fall, which happened 4 days ago, btw.

My grandmother is 89, and prior to her initial fall last year, her mental health was normal, she was, from my perceptions, her normal self, and was perfectly functional and independent, and after her initial fall, she was put on a whole bunch of medications and her mental condition became what it is today, and it's seemingly gotten worse whenever she's put on more medication.

And as far I know, even after recovering from her initial fall last year, she continuted to be prescribed all of 6 medications she was put on, and her amount of meds has only increased, not decreased, Like I said, she's now on 14 different medications, at the least, and possibly more now.

I've seen, visited, and spent time with my grandmother every day, both before and after the increases in her meds, my mother and her sister, who are also close with grandma, but never quite as close to her as I am, go along with the dementia diagnosis, and my grandmother is on the verge of being put into a nursing home because of her mental issues.

Is it possible that my grandmother's diagnosis of dementia is just a mistake and that all the meds she's taking are what's causing her to be mentally disadvantaged compared to what she normally would be if not on all of those meds?

And if so, what should I do for her? And what can I do for her?

[specialmom]

Hi there. One thing is clear. You love your Grandmother very much. I'm sorry these mental status changes are occurring no matter what the cause is. It's very hard. I feel for you and her. And all who love her. It's hard to say what is going on. Do you know any of the names she's taking? We could look at each one. Most certainly, medications can affect our brain health negatively as well as can interact with one another. Some things may be essential for her being able to stay with you if it's things like blood pressure medication, etc. So, if you have that list, we can go through it. There is also the possibility that she's just aged and things like blood pressure in earlier years led to issues that now result in dementia. Or that she had a brain injury when she fell. Not enough to make waves but none the less impactful.

Who is her caregiver as in 'the' designated person? Does she have children?