Are hallucinations after surgery normal?
It sounds like your husband had some delirium from the anesthesia. When people undergo a complicated surgery, sometimes they get confused, agitated, or delirious afterwards. While, it is interesting that he thinks he went to Russia, it seems like he absolutely believes that this really happened. This is a delusional thought. A hallucination would be to hear and see things that are not there.
What I would try to do first is reassure him that while he thinks he went to Russia, he really was in the hospital recovering from a procedure. I would not laugh or joke about it, as the experience was very real to him. Tell him he was reacting to the medications they gave him, but not to worry, as he recovered well. Hopefully, this will make him understand.
One last thought: If he continues to have any new delusions, I would definitely let his health care provider know, as this can be a sign of something more serious.
When I had surgery on the lining of my lung to remove 700 mls of liquid in May of 2007, I was in the ICU for three days and I was convinced the Israelis were going to take over the hospital. I remember telling the nurse who was at a desk close to me and she just shook her head an told me not to worry. I was petrified and then they came – I watched as the lift came up to the 10th floor and made a leap for the stairs. I found myself walking on the Main Road in my home suburb. When I eventually did wake up my son laughed at me and told me I was hallucinating. It seemed So very real at the time but I noticed I was catheterised and realised I could not possibly have gotten out of the hospital and it was only a nightmare!
My husband just went thru a 9 hour open heart surgery, and was in the CICU for 12 days on a ventilator. His confusion level was thru the roof. He had several delusions that he is convinced truly happened. One was where he thought there was a conspiracy in the hospital and the nurses were plotting a takeover..He thought that Brian Williams came to interview him. He also got very angry at me for bringing the ICU home and putting all the doctors and nurses in our basement.....He had no day/night to gauge things by, was on a ton of medications etc. I've just let him tell me his stories, then I tell him what really was going on. He's 4 weeks out from the surgery and finally coming home today, but he has very little memory of even the 2 months prior to his surgery, so each day I just go back to his last memory and try to fill in the blanks. It's taken a while for him to beleive that I am telling him the truth, but the more I reinforce his reality, the more things are coming back to him.
I guess I'm lucky, because there was a man who had the same surgery as my husband, and when he woke up he refused to let his wife into his room!! He was 100% convinced that she was having an affair with his anthesthesiologist....whch did not happen. It took quite a while for the staff to convince him that it was just post surgical delusions.
Hope this helps..I've been told it is very very common...Just keep acknowledging that what he beleives is real, was something he was dreaming, but remind him of what is real. I've begun telling it all like a bedtime story...he's starting to be able to separate what is real, and what he imagined.
Good luck to you!
i recently had a large portion of my lung surgically removed due to lung cancer. After surgery i remember very little but do remember the horrible severe pain. I was released from hospital after 12 days and for two weeks was hallucinating ( seeing naked people dancing in the front yard ) and such things. y children and friends tried to help me and called the doctors and even the emergency for an ambulance, lbut they found no help. I finally woke up to reality when i was taken to a doctor after my daughter made and appointment and i was in the office at the clinic. I knew NOTHING of the past 24 days and to this day have no memory of it all. I do not even remember the hallucinations and my children told me of them. I had run out of the clinic beleiving that the doctor who saw mw was going to committ me to a phsiciatric unit . The doctoor called the police and i became so scared that i walked home and got in my car and drove to my mothers home scared out of my mind and completely unaware of all these weeks . Since then, i have noticed loss of past memories and daily memory problems as well...i do not know what caused this but think that it may have been the drugs i was given or the anesthetic. I know that i was under huge stress and my body could not take the pain .
I had an emergency admission to Hospital in India for electrolyte imbalance in 2007. I was in ICU for a week or so. When shifted to ward I had severe delusions and what the doctor described as " confusion" I would say a lot of silly things whenever asked to take my food. I told my wife not to ask my daughter to come to the hospital as some one will kidnap her. The doctor told me that this was caused because the drips administered at the time had to be given very slowly; but since it was for a long period and many persons had handled it, sometime it might have been given too fast. I am 78 now and have other health problems including difficulty with memory. Even for the above facts I had to verify with my wife. But the main reason why I am writing this is to let all know that juat about a fortnight back I have started an Ayurvedic treatment. The Dr. has given me a "maanasa mitra" tablet to be taken at bed time. I believe it helps remove the past impressions like these. I have to wait for the full results. Good luck to all those suffering from such delusions and their care givers. Don't lose hope.
