Hello! My 93 year old Mom has been in Memory Care for over 2 months and still struggles with settling in, even though the nurses and aides have been wonderful with her.
My problem is that she insisted she keeps her outside doctor. To make a long story short, it is rather difficult to get into her outside doctor, and even his nurse and her favorite nurse in Memory Care said it would make it easier to switch her to the doctor at her Memory Care so she could get attention to her constant issues that arise.
For instance, she is having delusions more and more often. Last time, it took days to get an order for a urinalysis from her outside doctor to get to Memory Care, who sent the results the next morning. But it took 5 days to hear back from her outside doctor and get the medicine she needed, while my Mom was miserable and calling me constantly for the results.
I know she won't like it, but I'm just thinking of switching her over to the doctor at her Memory Care, which should also help her anxiety from becoming more and more confused.
Any advice as to how to best handle it, or should I just gently say that this is how it's going to be? Thank you for your help!
I think I used the fib that their insurance covered more of the cost if they used in house services. At this point they both had some level of dementia, there was no way to reason with them about the simplest issues but they always were all in if they thought something was a bargain.
With assited living and in house services my life became 1000% easier.
If I had to use outside doctors and resources for my mother's continuous issues, I'd be bald from ripping my hair out by now! I even use the mobile dentist who comes in and does extractions in her ROOM!!!! Praise the Lord for all of it, that's my take on things!
Good luck!
You can put your foot down and say it's going to be that way because you said so, but you're just creating an argument/anxiety that doesn't have to happen. Just let her continue to think her own doctor is her 'real' doctor and this new guy is coming this time.
No show timing, no sitting in offices for hours. No having to go to the lab and waiting there, either. Entire mornings of additional stress for both of us, gone. Docs keep in great communication with me.
By the way, two months is not really a very long time to adjust to making such a significant life change.