Hi Everyone, I am recently new to the group & I care for my husband's 94 yr old grandmother whom is living with us since November 2015. Before she moved in with us she was in independent living for 2 1/2 years. She put herself in heart failure for not taking care of herself. She has low sodium, A-Fib, dementia, & also mental issues. Daughter is 72 whom is bi-polar manic depressive. Grandma came to live with us after being treated for heart failure in November. Keep in mind we found out the dimentia & psychosis just recently which explains all the repeated patterns of many hospital trips, in & out of the doctors offices which was constant as there were many complaints of constant tiredness, back hurting, itching etc...Every time we would get one issue settled, we were back in doc's office for something else. All of this for attention...part of her compulsiveness which led into the heart failure as she refused to take care of herself, she wants a man to take care of her...a man who has vitality..she wants one who drives & is in perfect health. Prior to her heart failure, she was in pretty good shape, no major illnesses, no incontinence etc! Seriously....constant, negative complainer. Never happy, always negative. Since moving in, we have had to deal with paranoia, extreme aggression, sundowners which is really bad, spitting out her meds. She is seeing psychiatrist who put her on 150mg seroquel which I give her before sundown, 30mg Mertazapine at bedtime & .05mg clonzapam which she is chemically dependent on. Yet she is still awake & up half the night. Her blood pressure shoots up & down. This morning it was 140//79 & pulse of 97, I took it hour & half later & it went down to 93/59 with pulse of 78. I am the only person who cares for her 24/7 & she acts like she requires 24/7 help....she does not, she wants it. I have had many conversations with her & she wants to die, but she is up batting curtains, people in her room, room is lit up like an airport at night , tv blaring all night long. Night before, she was up at midnight slamming her door. She says she acts this way because she is old & dying but yet does nothing to be a part of the living. Shows no interest in anything except to complain to visiting nurse how she wants to do things, but her only interest is sleeping all day & up all night. I think her spirit is restless as her meds should be keeping her down at night but all its doing is keeping her from wandering at night, not sleeping, her agitation level is down but still meds do not seem to be making her wanting to sleep at night, Her appetite has decreased....what do I need to expect here as she will be fighting it every step of the way, but yet refuses to do anything unless there is a man....I have been observing this behavior since she moved in....we had to increase her clonzapam as she was suffering withdrawl symptoms however this is still not keeping her sleeping...her blood pressure has been fluctuating alot in the past month...running high, now running low....hospice is not on board yet...
Frankly I wouldn't worry too much about her BP or diet at this point in her life, at 94 she deserves her little treats if it makes her happier. The reversal of day and night is a bigger concern, and one of the big reasons caregivers burn out.
If you are seriously wondering about end of life signs just google it, there are dozens of good sites, or do a search on this site. While nothing is certain when you are 94 I don't think she is showing any obvious signs yet.
I think she needs to be evaluated by a doctor to see what is going on, it could be something treatable. If she is truly declining then it may be time for an evaluation by hospice, they can provide a lot of help and knowledge to both the family and you, and assist in keeping her comfortable day to day.
94 years of age is a pretty good sign of end of life .
jeBus freakin freakshow !! .
thats really old ..
the freaking bandana is going to dry rot at some point .
i hope science can come up with a better bandana but we have to deal with our place in history .
bandana technology is dragging @s# .
dont ask me a straight question if you dont want a straight answer .
ive been cutting on the great sahara forest . you younger folk dont get what im talking about because its DESERT now ..
the point where it turns to steam.