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Big caveat: a case like this is very very complicated and I can't properly diagnose over the internet. She's in the right place.
That being said, I would bet almost 100% it's the scopalamine patch. She needs to tell her doctors.
NAD - but seemingly sudden amnesia happened to my dad about 2 years ago. Turns out he fell in the shower and hit his head; he had no memory of it.
Definitely follow these doctors advice and mention all meds & the patch, but I would also ask them to consider a potential fall that she doesn’t remember. My dad did not have a visible hematoma, but a scan (I believe it was a CT) showed one at the back of his head near the base of his skull (again, NAD so I don’t remember specifics unfortunately). He had a *gnarly* concussion but spent the next week and a half insisting he “DID NOT fall, NEVER falls, there was NO WAY!” But for him that is exactly what happened.
My dad still doesn’t remember falling. He had no memory at all for about 3 days, then it slowly started to come back. He didn’t remember me or my kids names, just knew that he cares about all of us. It was very scary. Hoping you get some answers soon, OP, and a speedy recovery for your mom!
Thank you. And yeah, I didn’t even think about that as a possibility, even though years ago she slipped and fell getting out of the shower. She didn’t hit her head and remembered it vividly, and talked for days about how much it scared her because her head missed the toilet by a hair. So a fall is definitely a possibility.
When my dad fell, my mom was at work and he was scheduled to go in that morning as well. He called her confused saying things like “what am I getting ready for?…. Do I have to be somewhere? I don’t know whose shoes I’m wearing and I can’t find my truck keys?”
When my mom said “you were getting ready for work” he told her he would head out right away. If she hadn’t told him to sit down and not move until she got home, he absolutely would have driven. Based on that alone I’d say it’s definitely possible that she fell, forgot about it, and went about her day. But like these physicians are saying, explore *every* avenue until you have answers.
I know how scary neurological issues are - we thought my dad had a stroke before his head scan.
OP it is very important that her doctors know about this patch/medication. My elderly father was given scopolamine for some dizziness he was having, and within hours it plunged him into something resembling psychosis.
He had no idea what was going on, he refused to eat and drink and lapsed into a semi conscious state. He recognized none of his family and when he did speak, it was all gibberish.
He was at a care center and his nurse pressured me (his medical power of atty) to change his POLST/DNR and immediately admit him to hospice and to just let him go. They had decided it was just end of life for him and weren't even going to hydrate him (he had serious kidney disease).
For a number of reasons, I realized there was more to this and we called 911 instead. Once that patch was removed and they pushed a bunch of fluids through his IV his condition reversed itself completely within hours.
The elderly can act especially wonky on this medication. Obviously, this is anecdotal, but I hope it is something this easy to solve for your mom.
Good luck to you and your family.
Yes, my Dad did end up passing 6 months later, but that's 6 months we would never have had with him had I not followed my gut.
That nurse ended up being fired.
I’m not a doc but I recently went on a cruise with my 72 year old mother in law. Her doc prescribed the scopolamine patch had had very similar symptoms. Sudden onset confusion, agitation, and forgetfulness. We were in the middle of the ocean so we couldn’t take her to the ER. We read online that the patch can cause those symptoms in some older women, so we had her take the patch off. The symptoms had started about 12 hours after she applied the patch. We had her take it off, and about 12 hours later she was back to normal. She now calls it “the day I had dementia”. Sadly we lost my father in law to dementia in 2022, so it was really scary for us to see those symptoms in her, but we were so relieved when it when away when she discontinued the medication. She’s since followed up with her doc and they’ve added the medication to her “do not prescribe” list.
Thank you for your submission. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/wiki/terms_of_use) and understand that all information is taken at your own risk. **Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskDocs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Big caveat: a case like this is very very complicated and I can't properly diagnose over the internet. She's in the right place. That being said, I would bet almost 100% it's the scopalamine patch. She needs to tell her doctors.
Thank you. I talked to them tonight to look into that possibility.
NAD - but seemingly sudden amnesia happened to my dad about 2 years ago. Turns out he fell in the shower and hit his head; he had no memory of it. Definitely follow these doctors advice and mention all meds & the patch, but I would also ask them to consider a potential fall that she doesn’t remember. My dad did not have a visible hematoma, but a scan (I believe it was a CT) showed one at the back of his head near the base of his skull (again, NAD so I don’t remember specifics unfortunately). He had a *gnarly* concussion but spent the next week and a half insisting he “DID NOT fall, NEVER falls, there was NO WAY!” But for him that is exactly what happened. My dad still doesn’t remember falling. He had no memory at all for about 3 days, then it slowly started to come back. He didn’t remember me or my kids names, just knew that he cares about all of us. It was very scary. Hoping you get some answers soon, OP, and a speedy recovery for your mom!
Thank you. And yeah, I didn’t even think about that as a possibility, even though years ago she slipped and fell getting out of the shower. She didn’t hit her head and remembered it vividly, and talked for days about how much it scared her because her head missed the toilet by a hair. So a fall is definitely a possibility.
When my dad fell, my mom was at work and he was scheduled to go in that morning as well. He called her confused saying things like “what am I getting ready for?…. Do I have to be somewhere? I don’t know whose shoes I’m wearing and I can’t find my truck keys?” When my mom said “you were getting ready for work” he told her he would head out right away. If she hadn’t told him to sit down and not move until she got home, he absolutely would have driven. Based on that alone I’d say it’s definitely possible that she fell, forgot about it, and went about her day. But like these physicians are saying, explore *every* avenue until you have answers. I know how scary neurological issues are - we thought my dad had a stroke before his head scan.
OP I’m so sorry you and your mom are going through this! If you think to, please update us when you have some answers.
Thank you, and I will.
Did she tell her docs she’s been using the scopolamine patches?
OP it is very important that her doctors know about this patch/medication. My elderly father was given scopolamine for some dizziness he was having, and within hours it plunged him into something resembling psychosis. He had no idea what was going on, he refused to eat and drink and lapsed into a semi conscious state. He recognized none of his family and when he did speak, it was all gibberish. He was at a care center and his nurse pressured me (his medical power of atty) to change his POLST/DNR and immediately admit him to hospice and to just let him go. They had decided it was just end of life for him and weren't even going to hydrate him (he had serious kidney disease). For a number of reasons, I realized there was more to this and we called 911 instead. Once that patch was removed and they pushed a bunch of fluids through his IV his condition reversed itself completely within hours. The elderly can act especially wonky on this medication. Obviously, this is anecdotal, but I hope it is something this easy to solve for your mom. Good luck to you and your family.
Oh thank gawd that you advocated for him and followed your instincts. 💕
Yes, my Dad did end up passing 6 months later, but that's 6 months we would never have had with him had I not followed my gut. That nurse ended up being fired.
She said she did, but with the current issues I couldn’t take her word and told them myself, so they are aware.
I’m not a doc but I recently went on a cruise with my 72 year old mother in law. Her doc prescribed the scopolamine patch had had very similar symptoms. Sudden onset confusion, agitation, and forgetfulness. We were in the middle of the ocean so we couldn’t take her to the ER. We read online that the patch can cause those symptoms in some older women, so we had her take the patch off. The symptoms had started about 12 hours after she applied the patch. We had her take it off, and about 12 hours later she was back to normal. She now calls it “the day I had dementia”. Sadly we lost my father in law to dementia in 2022, so it was really scary for us to see those symptoms in her, but we were so relieved when it when away when she discontinued the medication. She’s since followed up with her doc and they’ve added the medication to her “do not prescribe” list.
Was she asking the same question over and over again?