Reading has always been my mothers first love. I can't remeber a time in her life when mom didn't have a book going. Mom would read up to three books a week - everything from serious political or religious books to biographys to best seller crime novels. In the last couple of months mom has stopped reading - barely glances at magazines. When I talked to mom about it last week she said she couldn't see well enough to read anymore. I'm not convinced this is the cause as she has lost intrest in just about everything save her cat! However, I'm willing to give it a shot and take her to the eye doctor. Has anyone taken someone with dementia to the eye doctor? Moms dementia is probably considered moderate these days. Since I took her to a Getiatric Psychiatrist in December and he did a complete medication overhaul, mom has been 100x easier to get along with and is usually pleasant and agreeable. Still I'm not sure she could manage the "which one is better? This one or this one, this one or this one"? That bit makes me crazy when I go to the eye doctor! So - worthwhile attempt or exercise in futility? Lastly, a large chain bookstores offers a wide variety of those larger magnified reading assisters - some with or without an attached light. Has anyone used one that is worthwhile? Mom would need something on the larger side that she didn't have to grip and move along like a typical magnifying glass.
I'm sure it will go well. My mom used a natural light that contained a magnifying glass that was held up for her. She used it for sewing. She got it as Joann fabrics. It worked wonderfully. Maybe that will help her.
I'm sure by now you have heard all the information regarding your mom's diagnosis. You seem to be keeping a good tract on everything. So hear is my best answer when looking at most dementia patients. The problem may not be the seeing rather it maybe the ability to retain the reading process. In other words your mom may be reading a paragraph and when she arrives at the end of the paragraph she cannot remember the beginning of it.
What you can do start with is see how well she does with an audiobook. Please help her to set it up, since this maybe a new task for her. If possible begin with a book she really liked.
What we are talking about in general here is quality of life. This may not be the time for cataract surgery. If it is frightening for her or the benefit will not out weigh the procedure. You are the best person to make this decision.
Please let me know if I can of further assistance.
I agree with the others. Call ahead of time and tell them of the dementia, and the inability to do the which one is better test. Make sure they will be able to do the exam and have had experience with people who have dementia. The only thing that they still try to do with my husband is the peripheral vision test where they have to press a button if they see a light flash. He can't remember to press the button so I now ask they not put him through that one.
The advice here has been so helpful - making moms appointment later today. I figure at a minimum we will get an idea of the health of her eyes.
My elderly father has issues with technology, and if your mother is the same, I would not go out and buy a tablet like a Kindle or Ipad, as many seniors cannot figure out how to use them. If you already have one, you could test her on that one. If she can't learn how to use it, like my father, then you have saved the cost of a new tablet. If she does learn how to use it and likes it, then give her your old one (once she is then used to) and, if you need to, get yourself a new one. I personally have a couple of old ones that still work, so I wouldn't have to buy anything new if I were in this situation
My Mom has glaucoma and has 4 drops twice a day, she can still read words but doesn't remember what she read..
Even with the glaucoma she also read several books a week but not anymore...
You may have to assist her in choosing books to read and getting them delivered to her device through your own computer.
If you already have a notebook, laptop, or desk top computer, you can open Amazon's webpage (amazon.com) and set up a free reader and she can use the device you already have.
I spend all of my life either reclining or in my power chair, but mostly in the recliner with legs elevated due to poor circulation. Reading is my only activity, since we do not have TV. I am out of the recliner for 2-3 hours after each meal, and generally use my desktop computer to stay abreast of other things and correspondence. My Kindle saved my life, truly.
She also had the issue with dad wanting to keep the house dark - to save money.
And mom was hard of hearing as well - and the bandage contact did heal the blisters but then was still left with the implant issue, which, he did remove, btw, which led to other issues stemming from her not going to the cornea specialist, because in removing the implant - and not sure if anything could have been done differently, anyway - he did something which made fixing the cornea issue a problem, what had happened they had scraped the back of her cornea in doing the implant - but having said all that, she didn't really understand any of that; she just knew she couldn't see and they weren't fixing it
oh but I had managed to get with the eye doc she'd been going to before all this happened and then call while I knew she was there so we could get her consent and get her sent to the local Dept of the Blind and Visually impaired, which might be an option, except that all they basically did for her was bring her a lighted magnifier, which wasn't really big enough to read by, so guess not; we did get her one of those sheet magnifiers that seemed to be more help
Mom would want to go to the eye doctor office every 6 months, thinking that stronger lenses glasses would help her... but eventually there came a point where no matter what the strength of her glasses, nothing would help.
Then Dad decided to change all the light bulbs to those florescent curly lights and that made it worse for Mom to see. So Mom had to use a flashlight to help her read :P
Going to the eye doctor wasn't easy as Mom was constantly blinking like she was trying to blink away that grey cloud in her eye. The techs would try to take a photo of the inside of her eye but Mom just couldn't stop blinking. And the eye test itself [which is better A or B] wasn't easy as Mom was also hard of hearing. But her long time eye doctor had a lot of patience with her and had a voice that Mom was able to understand most of the time :)