Hi
Mum is in a care home, in the very later stages of Alzheimers. She is 85 and physically quite well considering her age. She cannot communicate verbally but talks constantly repeating phrases like "in this place" for hours on end, even in her sleep. She can let us know how she is feeling by her facial expression and body language, but what she is communicating is the most profound distress, fear and anxiety.
She has been on Risperidone but it did not agree with her and she has recently changed to Quetiapine. Her dosage has been increased but she is still very distressed. She had a fall at the weekend and broke her arm. She and I spent 12 hours in A&E, waiting 4 hours to even be seen by a doctor. It was the most terrifying, awful experience for her. She was not even offered pain relief despite my requests. Eventually she only got morphine when the doctor realised that she could not be x-rayed without it...in others words she got pain relief to suit the medical team, not her clear and obvious need of it. She was desperately afraid of everyone who came near her.
I can calm her down. She still gets comfort from my presence and physical contact with me, She does not recognise anyone now, but she knows I am a friend, someone she is not scared of. She hallucinates frequently, seeing strangers who want to hurt or or who are laughing at her. If we up her dose of the anti-psychotic anymore she becomes rigid. Her muscles seize up. So we are at the maximum dose.
I am worried that I am getting to the stage where I cannot cope with watching this awful disease anymore. I am off work today as I thought yesterday that I was having a breakdown. I can do a little to help her distress so I have to keep going but I feel I am close to the end of what I can do. I have no other siblings in this country. My brother lives in Dubai. Mum is scared of my husband and my two sons as they are big, burly men she does not recognise so they cannot help with visiting.
I feel very alone and desperate.
Mum is in a care home, in the very later stages of Alzheimers. She is 85 and physically quite well considering her age. She cannot communicate verbally but talks constantly repeating phrases like "in this place" for hours on end, even in her sleep. She can let us know how she is feeling by her facial expression and body language, but what she is communicating is the most profound distress, fear and anxiety.
She has been on Risperidone but it did not agree with her and she has recently changed to Quetiapine. Her dosage has been increased but she is still very distressed. She had a fall at the weekend and broke her arm. She and I spent 12 hours in A&E, waiting 4 hours to even be seen by a doctor. It was the most terrifying, awful experience for her. She was not even offered pain relief despite my requests. Eventually she only got morphine when the doctor realised that she could not be x-rayed without it...in others words she got pain relief to suit the medical team, not her clear and obvious need of it. She was desperately afraid of everyone who came near her.
I can calm her down. She still gets comfort from my presence and physical contact with me, She does not recognise anyone now, but she knows I am a friend, someone she is not scared of. She hallucinates frequently, seeing strangers who want to hurt or or who are laughing at her. If we up her dose of the anti-psychotic anymore she becomes rigid. Her muscles seize up. So we are at the maximum dose.
I am worried that I am getting to the stage where I cannot cope with watching this awful disease anymore. I am off work today as I thought yesterday that I was having a breakdown. I can do a little to help her distress so I have to keep going but I feel I am close to the end of what I can do. I have no other siblings in this country. My brother lives in Dubai. Mum is scared of my husband and my two sons as they are big, burly men she does not recognise so they cannot help with visiting.
I feel very alone and desperate.