Caregivers Support Group
A voluntary caregiver is a spouse, relative, friend or neighbor of a disabled person or child who assists with activities of daily living and assists those unable to fully take care of themselves. The challenges of a caregiver are unique and sometimes it's hard to find people to talk to who know what you're going through. Join the conversation and find others who...
Hello Everyone;
I just joined this group and wanted to introduce myself. I've been caring for my 86 year old mother for the last 3 years. Until September of this year she did very well in fact she's still driving at this time. In September she became ill with what we thought was the flu. I went down to her room and found her completely out of breath making her bed. I called her doctor at 9:00am when they opened and took her straight in. First EKG showed Afib, (Atrial Fibrillation). It's taken some time to get her blood tests regulated and we're still having some difficulty. Well, the difficulty comes from her not eating correctly whenever I'm not in the house...............
Over the last several weeks, I've noticed that her memory is not what it used to be prior to getting sick. I realize that her medications can cause memory problems but I've noticed that she becoming very forgetful. In talking with her doctor I was told that this could either still be a side affect of the meds or could be early onset dementia; which; scares the heck out of me.
Anyway, enough of my complaining, I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello.
Sincerely,
PD
Anyw
I just joined this group and wanted to introduce myself. I've been caring for my 86 year old mother for the last 3 years. Until September of this year she did very well in fact she's still driving at this time. In September she became ill with what we thought was the flu. I went down to her room and found her completely out of breath making her bed. I called her doctor at 9:00am when they opened and took her straight in. First EKG showed Afib, (Atrial Fibrillation). It's taken some time to get her blood tests regulated and we're still having some difficulty. Well, the difficulty comes from her not eating correctly whenever I'm not in the house...............
Over the last several weeks, I've noticed that her memory is not what it used to be prior to getting sick. I realize that her medications can cause memory problems but I've noticed that she becoming very forgetful. In talking with her doctor I was told that this could either still be a side affect of the meds or could be early onset dementia; which; scares the heck out of me.
Anyway, enough of my complaining, I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello.
Sincerely,
PD
Anyw
First I would suggest you get a second opinion regarding your moms memory. There are a few tests that can be done to verify if it's true dementia or just a med issue. Second do you have a pulse oximeter to check your moms oxygen levels at home. Low oxygen and or poor circulation can cause memory issues too.
Bless you for taking care of your Mom!
I should have given a bit more background. My father suffered with Alzheimer's Disease for 10 years prior to passing 4 years ago. His illness was a tough one; he was for the most part a violent patient. My MIL presently is in hospice care; end stage Alzheimers so I'm very familiar with the stage deterioration; personality changes and care giving burnout.
My mother came to live with DH and I three years ago. She's always been very active and self supporting. I just recently started noticing subtle changes in her personality. Short tempered, misplacing items, using wrong utensils to cook with AND throwing some of my most prized utensils in the trash..... There's a lot more there but I'll stop picking on her for now... lol
Yes, Sandy, she has the oximeter and bp monitor that we use frequently. Her doctor didn't seem to have much concern about her forgetfulness which burned me up. And, if this continues and I still get blown off by her doctor, I'll request another opinion.
I think the reason that I'm so concerned now with her mental changes is that I know exactly what's coming down the pike and it scares me to death. I don't want to happen to her what happened with my father or MIL.
She's my best friend and I enjoy her company, advice and just plain shopping with her. Don't get me wrong; I've had many days where I wanted to run out into the woods for a "good primal scream"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you both for responding; that was very kind of you both.
Best, PD