Hello everyone,
Haven't had time to post lately as Mum has been a bit of a handful and I have been totally exhausted. However things have been moving along. Out of the blue we had a phone call and made arrangements for a CPN to come and see Mum. I wasn't able to be there but she rang me immediately afterwards and said that there is definitely some form of dementia and we now have an assessment appointment on 31st May. It's for the whole afternoon and Mum will see a doctor, a psychotherapist, a psychiatrist and a physiotherapist - it's going to be quite an afternoon! They have asked that I attend and they explained very nicely that there is no cure for dementia but that there are drugs available which can slow the deterioration down, and which they will discuss with me. This is where I have a problem and I would appreciate other people's thoughts.
Mum is 90. She has arthritis and walks with 2 sticks and she is incontinent (although she still denies this).She has no other physical problems and takes no medication for anything. To a great extent the dementia does not affect her life because she does not acknowledge it. The caring, the worry and the extra work falls on my Dad, my sister and myself. If I agree to her being prescribed drugs will the benefit to her outweigh the additional strain on my Dad, as he will be the person who has to administer them? I apologise if this line of thought offends anyone but I feel that my Dad has to be considered as well and the strain really does show on him these days. This has been on my mind since the appointment was made and I feel like I am being asked to play God with their lives. If anyone else has been in this position I would be grateful to know how you dealt with it.
Haven't had time to post lately as Mum has been a bit of a handful and I have been totally exhausted. However things have been moving along. Out of the blue we had a phone call and made arrangements for a CPN to come and see Mum. I wasn't able to be there but she rang me immediately afterwards and said that there is definitely some form of dementia and we now have an assessment appointment on 31st May. It's for the whole afternoon and Mum will see a doctor, a psychotherapist, a psychiatrist and a physiotherapist - it's going to be quite an afternoon! They have asked that I attend and they explained very nicely that there is no cure for dementia but that there are drugs available which can slow the deterioration down, and which they will discuss with me. This is where I have a problem and I would appreciate other people's thoughts.
Mum is 90. She has arthritis and walks with 2 sticks and she is incontinent (although she still denies this).She has no other physical problems and takes no medication for anything. To a great extent the dementia does not affect her life because she does not acknowledge it. The caring, the worry and the extra work falls on my Dad, my sister and myself. If I agree to her being prescribed drugs will the benefit to her outweigh the additional strain on my Dad, as he will be the person who has to administer them? I apologise if this line of thought offends anyone but I feel that my Dad has to be considered as well and the strain really does show on him these days. This has been on my mind since the appointment was made and I feel like I am being asked to play God with their lives. If anyone else has been in this position I would be grateful to know how you dealt with it.