Concerns about grandmother

[pinetree]

Hi everyone,

My Granny (aged 81) seems to be getting worse and worse with her memory, and I'm really concerned about her... but I don't know what to do, because she really doesn't want to go to the doctor's about it, and I'm scared she's going to forget vital things (she's type 2 diabetic, for one, and is on a few medications). For instance...

- She forgot my parents' anniversary (they've been married 32 years and she's never forgotten it before)
- She keeps asking my Mum if she's coming to coffee, thinking it's Saturday when it's actually Thursday or Friday
- She asked Dad to take her to a certain street so she could see the doctor, but the doctor's surgery hasn't been there for over 25 years
- She sent a joint Christmas card to my parents' friends who have been divorced for over 10 years, and hasn't made that mistake in the past

I'm worried about her; she's always been there for me, and I really don't want her to get confused and forget to eat, or something... but I don't want her to get annoyed with me nagging her to go to the doctor about it. What should I do?

 

[janemit]

A hard call . What do your parents think?
I had a word with my mum's GP but he wasn't very helpful as she has capacity ?... it wasn't until she was falling that they started intervening.
Does she forget to take her medication? You could suggest dosette box for medication, try to suggest way of remembering what day it is I.e. crossing day off on the calendar?
Encourage her to see GP with you he may feel further tests are available she might have an underlying problem which isn't dementia.
Take care

 

[pinetree]

A hard call . What do your parents think?
I had a word with my mum's GP but he wasn't very helpful as she has capacity ?... it wasn't until she was falling that they started intervening.
Does she forget to take her medication? You could suggest dosette box for medication, try to suggest way of remembering what day it is I.e. crossing day off on the calendar?
Encourage her to see GP with you he may feel further tests are available she might have an underlying problem which isn't dementia.
Take care

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. My parents have tried to convince her to talk to her doctor (well, to a doctor, as her GP passed away and she was assigned to another GP), but I don't think she thinks there's a problem. I'm not sure if she forgets to take her medication or not as she lives alone and there's no real way of checking.
I'd encourage her to see her GP but I fear she'd end up at the building where her GP was years and years ago and wouldn't get anywhere... It'd be nice if she could get a home visit or something, but I don't want to make her annoyed or make her feel like an 'invalid' - she's a proud person and doesn't want people to hassle over her, so it's difficult to give her the attention she needs. I just feel bad about the whole thing, because she's such a caring, thoughtful woman and I don't want her to suffer...