Hi All
its been quite a while since i posted and boy what a change over that time. My MIL was found by my wife on her bedroom floor at the end of Aug 2020 had a stay in hospital for a few days due to a severe UTI and then came home, was ok for the first few days and then bang she took to her bed and just slept and slept, when awake refused food and drink, it was a nightmare. Getting a GP to come out was even worse and has continued like that throughout the whole of lockdown. The end result was my wife moved in to take care of her mother full time and i go round each day after work (luckily from home at present) which is 20 min walk away so not far and I stay over from Fri evening - Sun each week. MIL started to accept ensure plus drinks and gradually became more awake but had no capability of standing or walking, we eventually managed to get a hospital bed in her lounge but we had the difficult task of getting her downstairs as all agencies said it was not their responsibility? eventually we managed it and we contacted a local care group and then got a social worker involved who managed to get MIL assessed for CHC and we were successful in getting that passed and 2 carers 4 x a day coming in to assist with daily hygiene needs and changing as MIL double incontinent by now. MIL was angry and very rude to not only my wife and myself but towards the carers and this went on for months getting worse by the day with her swearing and trying to hit them. We changed care providers as a big part of the problem was all carers were of various nationalities with English not being their first language plus masks on MIL found it hard to understand them and she didnt like when the male carers tried to wash or dry her in intimate areas. The new provider understood the issues and luckily we now have an all female team whom all speak English as their first language so MIL understands them a lot more.
now as this seems a terribly long thread which I apologise for I will jump to the steroids, MIL was diagnosed with so many other things recently that she was put on Steroids and OMG what a change almost overnight, she became so much more friendlier seemed happier, laughed a lot and was very alert and even started eating again infact everything we put in front of her goes down a treat and drinking, tea, coffee, Hot choclate you name it, we just couldnt believe it. In the last month or so she has been like a different person and not one word said in anger from her lips even the carers noticed a change in her behaviour, We even managed to get her out of bed and into a recliner chair for a few hours at a time.
Sadly the consultant treating her conditions has said she cannot stay on steroids and we have to wean her off of them, well since this has started her dark moods are beginning to slowly but surely rear their ugly head and she is giving my wife a bit of a hard time again.
I just wonder really if a person has dementia and is at the point where their life consists of being almost constantly in bed, cant use a commode and has no interest in things other than being nasty to others around her wouldnt it be better that she is given steroids and has a happier but maybe shorter life rather than take her off of them and prolong the agony of dementia? Maybe I am being selfish and thinking of my wife and others who are at the sharp end of her tongue and moods.....
Does anybody else have experience of steroids and the mood enhancer they seem to be in some Dementia patients?
its been quite a while since i posted and boy what a change over that time. My MIL was found by my wife on her bedroom floor at the end of Aug 2020 had a stay in hospital for a few days due to a severe UTI and then came home, was ok for the first few days and then bang she took to her bed and just slept and slept, when awake refused food and drink, it was a nightmare. Getting a GP to come out was even worse and has continued like that throughout the whole of lockdown. The end result was my wife moved in to take care of her mother full time and i go round each day after work (luckily from home at present) which is 20 min walk away so not far and I stay over from Fri evening - Sun each week. MIL started to accept ensure plus drinks and gradually became more awake but had no capability of standing or walking, we eventually managed to get a hospital bed in her lounge but we had the difficult task of getting her downstairs as all agencies said it was not their responsibility? eventually we managed it and we contacted a local care group and then got a social worker involved who managed to get MIL assessed for CHC and we were successful in getting that passed and 2 carers 4 x a day coming in to assist with daily hygiene needs and changing as MIL double incontinent by now. MIL was angry and very rude to not only my wife and myself but towards the carers and this went on for months getting worse by the day with her swearing and trying to hit them. We changed care providers as a big part of the problem was all carers were of various nationalities with English not being their first language plus masks on MIL found it hard to understand them and she didnt like when the male carers tried to wash or dry her in intimate areas. The new provider understood the issues and luckily we now have an all female team whom all speak English as their first language so MIL understands them a lot more.
now as this seems a terribly long thread which I apologise for I will jump to the steroids, MIL was diagnosed with so many other things recently that she was put on Steroids and OMG what a change almost overnight, she became so much more friendlier seemed happier, laughed a lot and was very alert and even started eating again infact everything we put in front of her goes down a treat and drinking, tea, coffee, Hot choclate you name it, we just couldnt believe it. In the last month or so she has been like a different person and not one word said in anger from her lips even the carers noticed a change in her behaviour, We even managed to get her out of bed and into a recliner chair for a few hours at a time.
Sadly the consultant treating her conditions has said she cannot stay on steroids and we have to wean her off of them, well since this has started her dark moods are beginning to slowly but surely rear their ugly head and she is giving my wife a bit of a hard time again.
I just wonder really if a person has dementia and is at the point where their life consists of being almost constantly in bed, cant use a commode and has no interest in things other than being nasty to others around her wouldnt it be better that she is given steroids and has a happier but maybe shorter life rather than take her off of them and prolong the agony of dementia? Maybe I am being selfish and thinking of my wife and others who are at the sharp end of her tongue and moods.....
Does anybody else have experience of steroids and the mood enhancer they seem to be in some Dementia patients?
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