Hi everyone. After a stroke in the spring and then heart surgery this fall (late 70s) my LO still is trying to refuse to take the one med they need: the blood thinner. What do we do? I feel like my LO still has the opportunity to make a good recovery, but her obstinance in that area could compromise her length of life. How do I handle this? I feel deep frustration rise every time that we have a meds conversation with her (she is a retired medical professional as well, which doesn’t help lol)
Could it be your LO has had enough? Late 70's isn't all that old nowadays, but for how long has she been battling illness? Could it be she's tired of it all? If so, it might be time to talk about a hospice evaluation.
One thing you might want to consider doing: when she has her next doctor's appointment, the 3 of you discuss this together - for YOUR protection. See, if your LO is ever brought to an ER, the chances are the medical staff there isn't going to ask her why she isn't taking her meds...but they very well might ask you why YOU'RE not giving her her meds. I would bring this up to her doctor, while she's there, and INSIST they make a note in her chart that she's capable of making her own decisions, and she is deciding HERSELF to not take her prescribed medication. It might save you some serious heartache down the road, especially if some over-zealous ER attending decides to notify the authorities that you're "denying" her medication.
Good luck.
Since you don't mention anywhere, even in your profile, that your LO has any cognitive decline/impairment what reason does she give for refusing?
Since her stroke has she has any cognitive problems? Or does she have any problems swallowing any foods/liquids since her stroke? Has she ever had a swallow test?
What forms of the medication have you tried giving her? Does the med she needs come in patch, liquid or suppository? Are you breaking up the current meds and trying to give it to her in her food? If so, the meds can be extremely bitter...
More info would be helpful, but in the end if she has all her mental capacity she is allowed to make her own decisions and refuse the meds.
That was almost 4 years ago and she's still alive today.
If your loved one is refusing to take blood thinners, so be it. If s/he is of sound mind, it is their right to do as they see fit. If refusal to take this medication shortens their life on Earth, that is their prerogative too. That won't necessarily be the case, though, see above for more details.
IMO, elders take WAY too many medications anyway. And blood thinners tend to create more problems than they cure.
The CT revealed 2 subdural hematomas which required surgery. He has not taken any blood thinners since May 2019, not even aspirin. He was scheduled for a Watchman procedure which he refused to go thru with. He has had no problems thus far. If and when he does, we will deal with it.
It happened with my FIL. He wouldn't even take an aspirin, but he did take his blood thinners. Had he known that if he hit his head he could die, I guarantee you he wouldn't have taken them. However, not being especially informed was his specialty, so he didn't take aspirin because he feared becoming addicted to painkillers(!) and he didn't pay attention when his doctor told him he could get a brain bleed from his blood thinners. Because he didn't inform himself, he lived with terrible knee pain and died after hitting his head and being too proud to admit it.
Blood thinners are a mixed bag of blessings. They’re prescribed so the person doesn’t have a cardiovascular stroke. However, they GREATLY increase the chances of a vascular stroke (the blood vessels in the brain hemorrhaging) which is what happened to my father in August, aged 75. The result has been disastrous, and we’re looking at a 6-18 month recovery, with the possibility of vascular dementia. Now, it’s possible that we’ve avoided another kind of stroke, but seeing my father so debilitated, so unlike himself, so confused and angry…I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Talk to her doctor if you have Medical POA. If not, her choice. After seeing my father go through this, I honestly don’t know if I would take them either.
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