My elderly mother (90) has been showing signs of dementia for nearly a year now. She has refused all help from the doctors. She says that she is okay and wants to be left alone. Mum is confused, repetitive, vague and lacks concentration. I see her most days because she lives next door to me and I am her daughter.
I have received some amazingly helpful advice from the people on this forum which I have taken on board and used with some success. I don't give mum choices now and I do all of her shopping on line which has taken the stress away of going shopping with her. I take her out for lunch and a day out every week and I just address her needs not her wants. I know that this sounds harsh but it is self preservation.
Mum does spent lots of time on her own, watching tv, doing the crossword in the daily paper and seems reasonably content. She has no sense of time passing and doesn't know the day, month or year sometimes. She has a terrible fear of being taken into care and I think this is what is behind her fear of going to her GP.
She is pretty good at going for things like urine test, ECG and blood tests though and will go to the hospital for help with her glaucoma. However, when it came to any issues with her memory then she became very stubborn and refused to see the GP for a memory test.
Mum recently went for a routine blood test and the results tell her that she has chronic kidney disease and she is to contact the surgery for an appointment.
Does anyone know if CKD triggers dementia? Mum is extremely frail and has lost a lot of weight. I am not sure she is eating properly. Does anyone have any experience of this with an elderly relative. Does it get worse, what is the treatment? Would it affect mum staying her home or would she have to accept outside help?
Any advice, info or thoughts would be most welcome.
Thank you
MrsC
I have received some amazingly helpful advice from the people on this forum which I have taken on board and used with some success. I don't give mum choices now and I do all of her shopping on line which has taken the stress away of going shopping with her. I take her out for lunch and a day out every week and I just address her needs not her wants. I know that this sounds harsh but it is self preservation.
Mum does spent lots of time on her own, watching tv, doing the crossword in the daily paper and seems reasonably content. She has no sense of time passing and doesn't know the day, month or year sometimes. She has a terrible fear of being taken into care and I think this is what is behind her fear of going to her GP.
She is pretty good at going for things like urine test, ECG and blood tests though and will go to the hospital for help with her glaucoma. However, when it came to any issues with her memory then she became very stubborn and refused to see the GP for a memory test.
Mum recently went for a routine blood test and the results tell her that she has chronic kidney disease and she is to contact the surgery for an appointment.
Does anyone know if CKD triggers dementia? Mum is extremely frail and has lost a lot of weight. I am not sure she is eating properly. Does anyone have any experience of this with an elderly relative. Does it get worse, what is the treatment? Would it affect mum staying her home or would she have to accept outside help?
Any advice, info or thoughts would be most welcome.
Thank you
MrsC