My mom is 92 with later stages of dementia and pretty healthy. My mom is taking neudexta, trazadone, and Aricept. She has had UTIs in the past and I have been taking her to the hospital for IVs and that seemed to help.
I just don't know if this behavior with wanting to be in bed is the dementia progressing or something medical and can someone have a good BP and O2 and still have something wrong with her heart.
Thank you everybody!
well said. Words to live by .
great response. I agree-do what we can and leave the rest to God and the professionals we trust to take care of them.
I am a retired banker and watched the turmoil of families who would come in without a clue of their loved ones wishes. It was not all elderly. Get a POA and healthcare directive prepared for yourself as soon as possible. Consult with an attorney.
We all love our mothers and fathers who are elderly. Start making them as comfortable as possible and leave the rest to the professionals and God.
They say with dementia when they stop eating this will probably be the end. Is this true? joyce
What's the surprise? No one lives forever! Having had well over a dozen pets (cats and dogs) over the last 30 years, I can tell you that one of the greatest lessons they teach us is how the lifespan works. As living creatures age, they slow down. My MIL now sleeps and eats like my very elderly dogs and my now 17 year old cat did/do.
I don't understand why anyone would do anything other than keep the person comfortable and cared for, i.e., eating well, bathed, taking their medications as scheduled, etc. My MIL has some skin tumors that are likely cancerous. She's had a number of these removed in the last 10 years. Are we going to have her treated at this point for some others? NO!!!! The general anesthesia she had to remove the others - sometimes as often as 3 x/year - NO DOUBT contributed to her current acelerating dementia (yes there are studies that have found such a link - especially in women and people who have general anesthesia/surgery after 55). We won't allow her to be operated on with the likelihood that she will either not wake up or - far worse - wake up and not know ANYthing or ANYone (including herself). And she's much more likely to slow down to the point of "stopping" - due to metabolism and vascular issues - than to die of cancer anyway.