My husband is currently with his parents, so I’m getting this information second hand. This morning, my husband was called to the bathroom where his father (he’ll be 91 next month) was standing, holding a cup of coffee, completely unresponsive to anyone. This lasted for a minute or two (best guess) and they were able to bring a chair behind him and force him to sit. Then he came out of it with no memory of anything happening and seemed fine.
I know he has a pacemaker and he’s been having lots of issues with high and low blood pressure, plus he’s got back, shoulder, and leg problems and weakness. My personal, totally untrained opinion is that he may also be in early stages of dementia - it’s very obvious to me that he’s not only not as sharp as he used to be, but his short-term memory is really, really bad. We live 800 miles from them so we don’t see the day-to-day, but when we’ve visited, it’s obvious that age is taking its toll.
Which brings me to my question - what the heck may have happened to cause him to space out like that? Is it something to be addressed with a GP? His cardiologist? A neurologist? FIL, of course, insists he’s fine. MIL, naturally, is worried. My first thought was “Holy crap - what if that happened while he was driving??” Apparently that occurred to those present also, and MIL’s solution was that he should no longer drive. Um, OK, but that doesn’t solve the problem.
I certainly don’t expect a diagnosis here, but I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction so I can pass some ideas to my husband and he can discuss it with his parents.
IANAD, but my first thought was stroke/mini-stroke (TIA):
If it were me, I’d be calling his primary care physician, and – if I couldn’t connect immediately – going to the ER (preferably) or Urgent Care (less preferable).
That sounds very much like the first descriptions of Alzheimer’s I remember hearing when I was a kid. But it’s not listed on a current list of symptoms:
Alzheimer’s (and dementia in general) is associated with having strokes, and strokes are associated with having Alzheimer’s (and dementia in general). So I think you are probably remembering from a time when they had to just lump some of that stuff in together.
They’ve now got better information on stroke and dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Based on what you describe, I was also thinking of a TIA. It also seems to possibly describe an “absence seizure” (a.k.a. “petit mal seizure”), though what I’m reading indicates that those usually occur in kids, not 91 year olds.
If you know who his medical provider is, I would give them a call. They can’t tell you anything, but they can take information. At least it’s in the chart and can maybe be checked at a future visit if he won’t go see someone sooner.
I don’t know any specifics about his doctors, meds, or treatments but my husband has been trying to care for his folks long distance. He’s with them now because they couldn’t figure out how to get their COVID shots - Florida is pretty screwed up. He’s gone to help them with medical issues many times, being the only one of his brothers who can.
I gave him the information shared here, but he can’t force his dad to do anything… it’s a touchy situation for a variety of reasons.
There are a lot of things that might cause a brief period of unresponsiveness. It would not be appropriate to say it has to be one thing, or one type of specialist is best. It could be something as simple as transient low blood sugar or low blood pressure from a quick change of position, or it could be a warning of a more serious stroke over the next month.
He needs some tests. If I saw him in an ER, I would check his blood pressure and heart rate sitting and standing, his blood sugar, listen to his heart and lungs, look in his eyes with a light, and look under his tongue. I would watch him walk, and ask him do a number of specific movements. I would also do a general exam and ask many questions.
He likely needs a cardiogram and Holter monitor. He certainly needs basic blood work including a blood count, lytes, sugar, Troponin, urea, creatinine and urine sample. A CT of his head might be reasonable depending on the other things. His history and medications likely would prompt other tests, questions or physical exam.
Dementia does not tend to be transient and tests could be done for the spectrum - which ranged from subjective cognitive impairment, depression, delirium and worse. Seizures are possible, but unlikely, they do not usually start at late ages without more to it. Strokes and mini-strokes tend to last much longer and should not rule out looking for the large number of other causes.
Good luck to you! It might be nothing too important, but he needs to have a generalist look him over. Things like medications, doses and any missed tablets are very relevant too.
Tomorrow, my inlaws will arrive here for a 12 day visit - my husband is driving, so no problem there. They were visiting my MIL’s sister when the incident occurred. We shall see if there’s any recurrence, and when we take them back to FL on the 24th, we’ll hang around a few days to get them settled.
Or we’ll end up taking him to the hospital. Or burying him. Dealing with a stubborn old man is not fun, especially when his wife is as stubborn as he is.
Oh, and I forgot about his Parkinson’s, of all things. Don’t know how that slipped my mind. Could that be playing into all this?
TIA seems most likely, but that usually involves loss of balance, which he didn’t have. An outside possibility that might be investigated if the most obvious possibilities aren’t the cause is a late onset petit mal seizure. According to the information I accessed, it is not a rarity by any means.