I really need to know when we're getting to close to my Mom passing away. I feel that she's very tired. She's cold all the time, has began wetting her pants, we started using paper underwear. She always exhausted from a bath, or a trip to the store. Her Dr. has put her on a walker.
Paper underwear? What? Older people can become incontinent. Sleeping and fatigue are common in older people. What exactly are you asking?
Is she dying from this/ these symptoms? I don't know know? Is she? What do health care professionals say? Is she on hospice? I read desperation but I think we need more specifics to give you some direction.
My Moms been cold and tired for 20 years, and was on a walker for 6. Incontinance started a few years ago. So those behaviors themselves aren’t necessarily signs of impending death. I know these may be scary times for you, but if you have concerns please talk to her doctor.
www.dementiacarecentral.com/aboutdementia/facts/stages/#scales
While the brain deterioration of the various forms of dementia is eventually fatal the actual cause of death usually has something to do with the general health and age of the person, without knowing any of that I would put her incontinence and needing a walker as an early middle stage. Time for you to get busy educating yourself, this site has many, many helpful articles listed by care topic (in the blue/green banner at the top of the page).
Severe Alzheimer's disease (late stage) "(stages 6 & 7)"
In the final stage of this disease, dementia symptoms are severe. Individuals lose the ability to respond to their environment, to carry on a conversation and, eventually, to control movement. They may still say words or phrases, but communicating pain becomes difficult. As memory and cognitive skills continue to worsen, significant personality changes may take place and individuals need extensive help with daily activities.
At this stage, individuals may:
Need round-the-clock assistance with daily activities and personal care,
Lose awareness of recent experiences as well as of their surroundings,
Experience changes in physical abilities, including the ability to walk, sit and, eventually, swallow (eat/drink),
Have increasing difficulty communicating
Become vulnerable to infections, especially pneumonia.
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My mother has been in mid-stage 6 for a year and a half. Everyone progresses differently and at no specific rate. She can walk with a walker but needs help getting up from the chair, she can feed herself, she can hold #2 but often is incontinent of urine and uses a diaper, she doesn't know any family members but recognizes my face and the name of her sister. She is always cold and wears a sweater or coat most of the time. She remembers nothing of her previous life. She doesn't remember anything you say at the moment and will ask the same question every 30 seconds.
In the VERY end (end stage 7), they will loose the ability to walk, sit up, smile, swallow, talk and will be bedridden, then pass away.
My mom is 96 and I'm hoping she will just pass away in her sleep before having to suffer through the final stage.
Please educate yourself on more symptoms either on this board or at Alz.org. Knowledge is power. God bless us all.