She is 93 with moderate dementia. She has always been this way coming back from childhood, her way of control, this I am aware of and not wanting to give into that control. It is quite difficult that now I am the sole caregiver for her, my brother, the other sibling, died twelve years ago with cancer and his family is very distant with us. So it is hard to be doing this alone after thirty years, caring for my father who died of cancer in 1987, my elderly grandmother who died in 1997, my brother who died in 2002 and now my mother. I would appreciate any advice or input you might have.
After she was done ranting about it I said, "I guess someone has to start a new magazine, The OLD New Yorker."
She didn't seem to get the joke. Good thing I laugh at my own remarks, if I can get them in sideways.
Has your late brother's family been in your thoughts more than usual, recently? I ask because twelve years is quite a lengthy adjustment period, so it seems unlikely that you would suddenly be feeling his loss more deeply unless, perhaps, some particular milestone or memory had come to mind.
Handling your mother's outbursts: there are numerous guides to dealing with challenging behaviour. From your description of your mother I would recommend Christine Lawson's book on the Borderline Mother (but then I would! - I've recently discovered it) - there are plenty to choose from for further reading, and meanwhile forum members will have excellent advice based on practical experience.
But aside from that, what respite do you get from your mother? I'm finding out for myself that regular breaks are sanity-savers. I personally get four hours a week, when the lovely Liz comes to sit with my mother; and I'm trying to establish a pattern of a week's residential respite care for her every three months or so. Getting time away, even if it's only so that you can lie down and drum your heels in peace, does seem to be vital.
So, returning to the subject of family, have you perhaps been thinking of building bridges? Does your mother have grandchildren she doesn't know (and would like to, and who would benefit from her attention - goodness it gets complicated!) on your brother's side?
In any case, however, while a rapprochement could DV prove rewarding, I shouldn't count on it for actual, practical support even in the best of circumstances. So I would also be looking for some outside caregiving resources. Start by asking your mother's medical team about what would be both suitable (they'll need to know what they're doing) and available. And affordable, if that's an issue.
The thing is, it's an awful lot easier to handle challenging behaviour in a calm and constructive way when you're not already exhausted and driven to distraction yourself: hence the need for time off. Best of luck, let us know how you're getting on.
My uncle became very combative a few years into his dementia and the doctor prescribed some sort of sedative. The effects were dramatic which saved my aunt from a life of caregiving h*ll. It's five years later and my uncle is still being cared for by her at home and he seems quite content. He does sleep a lot (12-14 hours a day).
Medication is not just about making things easier for the caregiver it's also about making life better for the patient. In my opinion sleeping half the day is far preferable than being fearful, angry and hostile, he is none of those things now.
Hugs its very hard and so stressful but you get tougher and stronger if not youll crack!
Then she saw someone outside and shouted, "My daughter is a b*tch!"
Makes me laugh at it now, but then I was devastated. Now I see it is a mental problem, as it has always been but everyone covered it up.
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