She is under the care of a neurologist, but all they tell me is "there will be good days and bad days". It's hard to see her cry so often and it's so stressful for me as well. She calls 5-8 times a day, crying and saying she "can't get it together" or she "never wanted to live like this" or "I need to find another doctor!". Any advice would be a God-send. Thank you.
I got her a little notebook and put "Mom's Notes" on it. I wanted her to put all of her notes and things to remember in there. Unfortunately I gave it to her too late in her memory loss for her to remember it's there. But now I will write notes and pin them on her couch, which is right next to where she sits. So she can look over and see that her medication helpers come in between 7:30-8 AM and 7-7:30 PM. She's funny, when I ask her if they've come in yet, she'll read me the note. So she definitely remembers that is there.
So with poor memory, if you can keep your reminders in front of them (however that would work for your mom) that helps a great deal. But it's a moving target with my mom. She knows her memory is awful, but she'll still say, "Oh I can remember that" (when I tell her about a TV show that is coming up that I know she'll like). But I'll call her anyway when it's starting to turn it on. So I take as much of the necessity for a good memory away from her as I can. She'll still get frustrated from time to time, but I just tell her she can't help it and we'll do the best we can.
Tell us more about what your mom is forgetting and you may get good ideas about how to help her. Routine is everything to my mom. So that's also important.
Maybe you should tell her doctor the pills aren't working. I know with my Mom we had to try several for a couple weeks each to find one that worked for her daily panic attacks!! Be happy you weren't on AC then having to listen to me complain..LOL
Is your mom functioning enough to be able to write down that she had a conversation? Would she do it? My mom is past that point. Her notes to herself are totally undecipherable at this point. She can't remember that my brother called her the next day, or even an hour later. Luckily she's not called upon to have to remember. She called my brother to thank him for some flowers. And called again five minutes later. That happens frequently. We just act like each call is the first one.
It sounds like your siblings need to step up to share some of the burden. And you need to be able to accept that you can't fix this and your mom won't be happy until she gets to the point of acceptance. Luckily for me, my mom is there. So take care of yourself - this is a marathon and not a sprint. And maybe limit the time you spend talking to/visiting with your mom. It sounds like she has a good support system in place - so let them share more of the burden. Hugs to you.