mum had another fall

[larivy]

it looks like i cant win mum only called me twice last night which was brilliant. mum struggles to walk but i try to keep her out of the wheelchair in doors this morning i got her in the bathroom turned round for 2 seconds and bang she was down hitting her head on the door. phoned the gp who came and checked her out all ok just a big lump got to watch her. gp said the tablets zopiclone that's shes on can cause her to have falls or it could be the mnd. what do i do take stop the zopiclone or what. has any one else had this problem on zopiclone please gp is going to see if there is any other tablets that would be suitable love larivy

 

[gigi]

Sorry your mum has had another fall, Larivy.

Eric can fall and he doesn't take Zopiclone..or anything else. They just happen...

Glad mum wasn't too badly hurt.

what do i do take stop the zopiclone or what.

I'd be inclined to take the GP's advice on this one.

Perhaps he can find an alternative medication that will settle mum at night but not make her feel so woozy in the mornings.

Love xx

 

[Grannie G]

There is a possibility Dhiren`s falls are medication related larivy but also a possibility they can be due to a deterioration in his condition.
Can your mother`s drug be reduced?

 

[connie]

Sorry to read this larivy. Hope mum is feeling better this evening.

Lionel's falls and general lack of mobility/spatial awareness were always down to the illness - rather than medication, although that was suggested once.

These continued after he went into care, and finally a seizure laid him off his feet forever. That was 2.5 years ago.

Wish I had some answers.

 

[larivy]

they have just increased the zopiclone to help her sleep the gp has telephoned to say that the consultant did say falling could be a side effect of the drug gp recommends that mum stays in her wheelchair now at least for a few days then hopefully she will get used to them. the only thing is im worried that once she stays in her wheelchair that will be it the mnd consultant said it will not be long before mum needs to be in it permanently that was back in October i have tried so hard to keep her out of it as much as possible indoors now torn between the devil and the deep blue sea larivy

 

[DeborahBlythe]

So sorry to hear your mum had a fall Larivy. I fully understand why you want to keep the use of the wheelchair to a minimum. Does your mum have a Zimmer she could use for support, or any other aids around the home, like grab rails?

 

[larivy]

unfortunatly Deborah mum has no use in her arms and hands so can not hold on anything larivy

 

[DeborahBlythe]

unfortunatly Deborah mum has no use in her arms and hands so can not hold on anything larivy

Gosh, that's hard for her, Larivy.

 

[sad nell]

Larivy ,it is so difficult when you are trying to keep mum mobile, i try getting trev up on his and sometimes it does end in a fall, but i know once i do not do this ,he will become totallt imobile, just do not know which is the worse of the two choices. hope mum is non the worse for her fall love to you both pam

 

[DeborahBlythe]

So up until now she manages to mobilise/transfer from, say, a sitting position without using her arms to give her any leverage?

 

[Bookworm]

I read about your "devil & the deep blue sea" - There is no choice Larivy - you must get your sleep - your GP has given the go ahead to keep on with the medicine. If this is the start of a new phase of being in the chair - maybe that's just something you face when you get there - but may not be the result of a few days in it. Maybe she can do some exercises for you in the chair? Maybe do press ups on the legs?? Maybe push against you or a wall (with you pushing the chair) or something similar. If the sedation gives you what you need, then use it. Maybe the fall was not much to do with the sedative and might have happened next week anyway? Maybe you are not changing the course of your mum's history with your need to sleep.

xoxox

 

[larivy]

i lift her up and down out of the chair and out of the bed we have got a raiser chair that helps . but i must admit i usually just lift her up although i have used it since my opp deborah
Sue i know where your coming from and deep down i know your right i will keep her on the meds im going to the mnd support group for the first time tomorrow so i will ask there as well. it would help if we had the right chair to use indoors but as of yet we are still waiting nearly 9 months now. the one the mnd have lent us is to big for indoor use. i tried telephoning the nhs ot today answer machine again left message but no contact yet i know the mnd were pushing for the chair so they may be able to tell me more tomorrow thanks for all the advise larivy

 

[Helen33]

Hi larivy,

Well I promised a reply but it's nothing special I'm afraid because lack of mobility is out of my experience. I was glad to read though that you will be attending a MND support group and I would imagine you will come back armed with support and suggestions.

The current medication and the falls are another reason for your mum's case to be dealt with urgently and hopefully you will be offered some help to expedite matters tomorrow.

You are doing a marvellous job Larivy

Love

 

[foxhound]

A couple of thoughts. By and large, I think upping the Zopiclone so that everyone gets a nights rest is sound thinking. My understanding is that it is a drug which is eliminated from the system quite quickly, so day-time wobbles should not be caused by it. However, it may well be the cause of unsteadiness if yr mother does still wake in the night. Perhaps some some sort of alarm (pressure pad or similiar) to get you up if that happens would be a good idea.

There is, however, an argument that it may increase day-time confusion, so keep an eye on that.

As to staying out of a wheelchair - that is exactly what I tried to do with my mother. We've now given in pretty well, and it must be said that I think the old girl finds it rather a relief.
SO don't worry about that side of things. If you do go for a new inside chair, I suggest getting one with a removable seat which converts into a wheeled commode (just slide it over the loo). Good luck.

 

[larivy]

up date on mum

took mum to the MND support group today believe it or not there was a lady who was as mad as me she was looking after her mum so it was nice and we had a good laugh alot of the people could not talk due to MND there was also a lot of other conditions that were alot like AD. i noticed somethings that was happening to mum was quite normal for this complaint. they did answer a few of my questions though no one was on Zopiclone but there was a mcmillan nurse there and she told me that they could cause people to be unsteady on their feet and she recommended that i keep mum in the wheelchair all the time. something i do not really want to do. i am going to try taking mum off the Zopiclone just for a few nights if she keeps me awake then i will put her back on them but at least i know i have tried my best.my brothers have said that as im the one looking after her it should be my decision so im going to try tonight and tomorrow.mum seems no worse for her fall she seemed to enjoy it today well at least she liked the mince pie, cakes,biscuits and sweets. it looked like i had not feed her love larivy

 

[Grannie G]

Why don`t you try the Zopiclone on alternate nights larivy to see if it keeps your mother a bit steadier on her feet v=but helps her sleep too.

 

[Scottie45]

Hi Larivy

Sorry to hear about your mum falling,glad she wasn,t hurt.Pleased to hear that she enjoyed today at the MND support group,hope you get a sleep tonight,take care Marian xx

 

[larivy]

thanks sylvia i will try that never gave it to her last night she only had me up 3 times which is quite normal larivy