What is going on? Red faced and hot! (my mom)

If that avatar photo is you then i think it can not be, but i was about to say that one possibility is that she is menopausal?

sounds like her blood pressure could be spiking at times

Menopause? Hyperthyroid? Maybe it’s time for her to see an endocrinologist.

If it comes and goes it sounds like a hotflash.

She is 87 years old…not menopause. Not hotflashes….and she has a perfect blood pressure! But, thank you for the info.

Did she ever have breast-cancer treatment, such as Tamoxifin? That can cause post-treatment hot flashes.

Rosacea?
Web MD says:
Some people may notice that their skin has become very sensitive or that they blush easily before they notice other symptoms of rosacea. For example, facial products may burn their skin.

As rosacea develops, redness on the cheeks lingers, like a slight sunburn. This redness and other symptoms of rosacea come and go

@gailcalled no Gail…but, thank you for the info!

@chyna i also looked that up…thank you for the info also!

Deleted as it was a repeat answer. (Note to self: read other answers first.)

At her age, the sun may be too much for her. The very old and the very young do not have good temperature controls.

@marinelife she never goes out in the sun (maybe to walk to the car)...but, thank you!

Heat stroke? Dehydration? Is she drinking enough?

Try a different doctor?

@Lightlyseared ditto!!!!!!!!!

It’s just her face? Nothing on her abdomen or in her eyes? And it’s been constant? Is she on any medication? What about headaches? Does your family have a history of glaucoma? Vessel dilation can be caused by quite a few things. I’m hoping the the doctors tested her kidney and liver function and listened to her heart? I found this:

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/sym/blood_vessel_inflammation.htm

…..‘The clinical picture will often point to the diagnosis. For example, a flushed face with obesity would suggest Cushing syndrome. A flushed face with a heart murmur would suggest mitral stenosis or a right to left shunt with polycythemia. A flushed face with wheezing would suggest pulmonary emphysema. A flushed face and chronic diarrhea would prompt one to consider a carcinoid syndrome.’

Hope she finds the problem.

An allergic reaction to some medication? Look up the possible side effects of whatever she is taking.

@cazzie she is on a lot of medication. Maybe a reaction from a new medication. She had a pacemaker instill about two weeks ago and is on new meds. This was her third operation in the last 4 months.

@Jeruba ditto…

loll seniorist…Should read, she had a pacemaker installed about blah blab…..

Mitral stenosis, where the back pressure from the heart causes congestion of the capillaries? The irregular heart beat could be masked now by the pacemaker. Are her ankles swollen? Did she have Rheumatic Fever as a child?

@cazzie wow…yes, but they have always been swollen. She has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, but that was 7 years old. Her blood pressure is good, her breathing is good..

In the last three years Cazzie, we have been to the emergency room, conservative speaking, over 50 times…

Have been talking to the doctor about putting her on some kind of beta blocker…think mom has panic attacks that causes some of this stuff.

Yeah, the congestive heart failure it most likely the cause of her flushed face. It’s probably My father had this too, but when they put him on heavy steroids for his lungs they weren’t as noticeable because of the swelling.

Is she on this drug? Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or another vasodialator? A common side effect of vasodialators is flushing. Makes sense when you think about it.

They are often prescribed for your mother’s condition and help open (dilate) the arteries, making it easier for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. Studies have shown that these drugs, which are often used to treat high blood pressure, can improve symptoms and reduce the risk for sudden death from heart failure.

Perhaps even beta blockers and something for the oedema (a diuretic).

I’m NOT a doctor, but I do a lot of research. Perhaps I’ve given you some questions to raise when you go to your next doctor appointment.

@cazzie thank you my friend…great information to discuss with her doctor…have a good one!

Occasionally (almost never) I will taste a piece of dark chocolate cake. My face immediately feels hot; it is an allergic reaction and I never eat enough to find out what might happen. But this is old news for me.

The issues you raise about your mom are troubling; have you talked to her cardiologist about the procedure and the list of meds.? Does she have one primary physician who is overseeing the meds., their possible interactions, and any possible complications from three operations?

My mother (95) is getting a new pacemaker on May.10. We are not happy about putting her through this but have no choice. Her face is a normal color however, and she takes only Norvasc (for B/P) and Aricept (for senile dementia). She will be done in a OR but with local numbing in the area only. We probably will try to keep her calm in order to avoid even the pre-op sedative.

Keep us posted.

@gailcalled Gail, mother has had three surgeries in the last 5 months. Each time, she had a different doctor. Our hospital, (this is crazy) has their own doctors. Mother’s doctor cannot see her after the surgery. Have had some interesting conversation with management at this hospital. (Oh, this hospital is the largest rural hospital in the United States…they have an attitude! It is only big hospital in 100 miles.) You could be correct…due to her seeing a different doctor and being in the hospital approx. 10 times in the last 5 months, what you said, sure make sense…it could be an interaction with her drugs. We are going to find out this week…hopefully!

Mother is in the first stages of Alzhimer’s! She is in a real nice assisted care facility. Mother had been very happy until this event with the pacemaker. Since then, things have gone down hill. They told mother off Zoloft and a lot of problems are related to panic attacks, I think Gail…she worry about dying!

Will keep you posted…and sure hope everything goes good with your mom!

@BoBo1946: It sounds like a typical medical nightmare. What happened to “do no harm”?

Do you have other family members to help you and add some muscle. How can a hospital prevent your mother’s primary care physician from seeing her? Isn’t that illegal?

I suppose you cannot suggest to her that we are all dying; worrying changes nothing.
Is she taking Aricept, which is the drug of choice (actually the only drug and it is marginally effective in simply slowing down the decline) for Alzheimer’s?

Aww… it sounds like a typical ageing nightmare to me and really exacerbated by the lack of continuation of care. I hope you find a doctor that will spend some proper time with you and your mother to help you both through this change. There are other vasiodialators but I don’t know how easy or safe it is to change meds. If you’re also worried about medication interactions, talk to your pharmacist. I’m sure there are people at her care facility that may have specialist knowledge, right? All the best BoBo.

@gailcalled I’m it….no family here, but a niece that has caused more problems than i care to mention. When you get a lack of, shall i say, ‘the train of evidence,” with a different doctor each time, it is a medical and family nightmare. I’m exhausted with the whole thing…would not wish my last two years on anyone…and mother, bless her heart, she has been a real trooper through the whole mess.

Thank you so much for the good info Gail…again, hope everything works out with your mom!

@cazzie you “hit the nail on the head” Cazzie…the people at her care facility have their hands tied due to lawsuits (being a comparative negligent state, lawyers are very active here). They can only give her what is prescribed by the doctor. Also, everytime we take her to the emergency room, a new doctor appears. Her primary physician has been out of action for two months as she had major surgery.

Thank you Cassie for the caring attitude…take care!

@BoBo1946: I am truly sorry for the misery and stress that both of you are feeling. I am lucky, probably, living in a more sophisticated area near two teaching hospitals.one of which is very user-friendy.

The primary care physician should be at the top of the procedure pyramid. Surgeons do talk to non-surgeons; my primary gets info routinely from my oncologist, dermatologist and from hospital for procedures such as mammograms. Surely the hospital has an ombudsman or a social worker who can give you some help in sorting through the morass.

The few times I’ve been in the hospital, my primary popped in. (Some of his motivation was being able to bill it as a visit) but he knew that I had had a bad fall and broken some ribs and bonked myself on the head. He didn’t learn it from me.

If you have the energy, ask her primary why he has been left out of the loop for two months. That is bad medicine.

Anyway, I wish I could help more. Gail

Could it be something to do with her Alzheimers? My mother-in-law became very frustrated and angry in her first stages of this awful disease. She was naturally a very happy and carefree person before this. Thinking of you. Hugs

@gailcalled thank you Gail…your compassion helps…take care!

Oh, btw, she was better this morning….

@partyparty after talking with the nurse this morning, think it was an allergic reaction to something MsP! Thank goodness, she is better today. But, having said that, she was in constant motion this morning…they gave her a pain pill and hopefully she will go to sleep.