Last week my grandmother, 81, started complaining about hip and back pain. Her heating pad and Tylenol seemed to help. By Monday of this week, she was only able to be on her feet a total of 15-20 before the pain 'all over' was too bad for her. She has spent most of the week on the couch or in bed with heating pads. I have stayed with her the past few nights and tonight is fairly worse than the others. She has taken double her prescribed dose of Xanax and ibuprofen and she is miserable. She hurts so bad she cannot sleep and needed help getting to the bathroom. Has anyne experienced this? How can I help her? When do I need to put my foot down and force the woman into seeing her doctor? She's just declined so much over the past month.....
To help her accept going, it might help to use "I" statements and also frame suggestions as ways to help her attain her goals, like "I'm very worried about you and we need to have you seen so we can understand what's going on and get you walking comfortably again." Also good to find out what her fears are "Tell me what's worrying you about going to the doctor, I'd really like to understand better because I'm worried about you and want you to feel better."
If she's in excruciating pain and can't walk, you can call 911 as people here have recommended. But it's also generally it's ok to try to move people as long as they haven't just had a fall.
FYI both ibuprofen and Xanax are on the list of medications to avoid or use with caution in older adults, so you may eventually want to ask the doctor to review benefits and risks. There are often safer alternatives for pain and anxiety.
Good luck!
You mentioned she does not like to go to the doctor, so they may not have much on her overall health on file, so they will need to do a complete workup to know exactly what is going on. Your grandmother is not that old but after 80 and particularly after 85 an elder needs to keep regular doctor visits to keep things under control medically.
When they refuse to make time for these visits, readjustments in their meds etc they will not do well and will end up in the ER for one crisis after another. At this age it is the old "stitch in time saves nine".
Good luck --I fear she may have a fracture or a disc problem. It can happen so easily at this stage of life. Your note seems to indicate she is living alone. This may not be an option much longer either. I would have a medical alert button on her and perhaps a part time home health aide to assist her and keep her safe.
The other posts here are very true. With brittle bones, you can fracture a bone without even falling down. It sounds like she's afraid and that's why she doesn't want to see a doctor. It's just too risky to wait this out.
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