Hi. I'm writing this in tears, partly frustration with my mum. Mum and I live together and she has been diagnosed as having a mild cognitive impairment.
Mum has always been stubborn and to be honest a bit of a bully, but we've rubbed along. However, in the last 12 months she has become more verbally aggressive and irrational, the smallest thing sets her off, everyone other than mum is in the wrong and the whole world is against her. She is so very bitter.
The main bone of contention is mum's medication. After Easter mum had a TIA, possibly the result of her hit and miss attitude to tablet taking for blood pressure and diabetes, I would ask had she taken them and she would say yes. Foolishly I accepted her word for it, but after her TIA I found boxes of hidden untaken tablets which she claimed she had as the doctor had given too many. I feel bad that I should have spotted there was a problem earlier, but cannot fix what happened, but I am determined it will not happen again. Mum is fighting me every step of the way. I put the tablets in a weekly dispenser, which she loathes, she says I am interfering, or more often than not screeches it at me and has claimed I am trying to overdose her. I promise I am not.
This morning mum was up first. I followed her down, the morning tablets (9 of them) were gone from the dispenser and she was taking another set out of the boxes. I suggested she'd already had them and she flew of the handle, swallowed the duplicates faster than I've seen her take tablets in her life and ranted and raved about how I was interfering in something that was none of my business.
Part of my problem is that she will not accept she has any memory problems, she claims I am trying to make out she's ill when she isn't, but family members and even her GP can recognise there is a problem, not just me. How do you help someone who does not want help? I know I should go with the flow and try not to argue, but not when it comes to medication! Mum is proud, stubborn, she's always believed she was in the right and had never been able to see someone else's side of things, there is no chance she will change and I am not sure how much more of the worry and stress I can cope with, whilst she won't accept she has a problem there is no chance she will accept extra help coming in, that avenue seems blocked at present. I know there are people on talking point dealing with so much more than me, but I just needed to get rid of some of my frustration and ask how other people have got around this whilst still allowing my mum to feel in control.
Mum has always been stubborn and to be honest a bit of a bully, but we've rubbed along. However, in the last 12 months she has become more verbally aggressive and irrational, the smallest thing sets her off, everyone other than mum is in the wrong and the whole world is against her. She is so very bitter.
The main bone of contention is mum's medication. After Easter mum had a TIA, possibly the result of her hit and miss attitude to tablet taking for blood pressure and diabetes, I would ask had she taken them and she would say yes. Foolishly I accepted her word for it, but after her TIA I found boxes of hidden untaken tablets which she claimed she had as the doctor had given too many. I feel bad that I should have spotted there was a problem earlier, but cannot fix what happened, but I am determined it will not happen again. Mum is fighting me every step of the way. I put the tablets in a weekly dispenser, which she loathes, she says I am interfering, or more often than not screeches it at me and has claimed I am trying to overdose her. I promise I am not.
This morning mum was up first. I followed her down, the morning tablets (9 of them) were gone from the dispenser and she was taking another set out of the boxes. I suggested she'd already had them and she flew of the handle, swallowed the duplicates faster than I've seen her take tablets in her life and ranted and raved about how I was interfering in something that was none of my business.
Part of my problem is that she will not accept she has any memory problems, she claims I am trying to make out she's ill when she isn't, but family members and even her GP can recognise there is a problem, not just me. How do you help someone who does not want help? I know I should go with the flow and try not to argue, but not when it comes to medication! Mum is proud, stubborn, she's always believed she was in the right and had never been able to see someone else's side of things, there is no chance she will change and I am not sure how much more of the worry and stress I can cope with, whilst she won't accept she has a problem there is no chance she will accept extra help coming in, that avenue seems blocked at present. I know there are people on talking point dealing with so much more than me, but I just needed to get rid of some of my frustration and ask how other people have got around this whilst still allowing my mum to feel in control.