Mum always in distress.

Sirena

Registered User
Feb 27, 2018
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That's good to hear @alang I am glad to hear how well it is working out.

There are residents at various stages at my mother's CH, many seem to be more advanced than her but when they have the right prompts some will spark up.
 

alang

Registered User
Jul 31, 2017
59
0
Leicestershire
It's really amazed me how good moving to the home has been for mum. Of course her faculties can only deteriorate, but she's happier now than she's been for years, even before she showed signs of dementia. She loves to sit near her 'boyfriend', a frail chap with limited communication who, she says, comes to her house every day & takes her out, sometimes on his bike! It's great just to sit & go along with it all, without having to remind her to do this & that, like I had to when she was on her own.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
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South coast
Your story is very much like my mum @alang

My mum became quite paranoid in her own home, worrying that her husband (died 30 years previously) was having an affair, that people were coming in through locked doors and stealing from her, that the school above her bungalow made such a lot of noise and that she had to go home to her parents. Once she settled in her care home she lost all of this and became much happier. Yes, she still lived in an alternative reality where the queen came to visit and she had just been holiday, but the old mum shone through and she became a lot of fun to visit. Although her last year was marred by a lot of illness, she had two good years in her care home and she retained her personality right up to the end.

I too feel that moving mum to her care home was the best thing that happened to mum.
 

alang

Registered User
Jul 31, 2017
59
0
Leicestershire
I wonder if anyone can identify with this latest chapter in mum's story.
Having cracked a pelvic bone in a fall at her care home recently my mum was in hospital, one way or another, for three weeks. Firstly for three days in one hospital then sent home, far too early in my opinion. She was taken back in to a different hospital after only two days, still suffering with severe pain from the injury & by now dehydration. Two weeks later she was discharged from there only to fall again & cut her head. She was taken again, as a precaution, to the second hospital where she stayed for five days on an emergency frailty unit. Throughout all this of course I wasn't able to visit & had to rely on very sparse & hard to access information by phone.
My concern though is this. Before the first fall mum was very alert, articulate - albeit within her own world where she lived with her parents & went to work every day - and quite independently mobile. Since returning from hospital however she no longer speaks coherently, although seemingly understanding what is being said to her & tires easily. She's been up & around, with supervision, at the care home, and her carers tell me they're seeing gradual improvement from when she returned there ten days ago. But this decline in her speech & general cognition seems to have taken place rather rapidly & as a direct result of her hospital stay. I don't know what to think - is this only to be expected with Alzheimer's disease? Is it connected with the trauma of being away from her usual surroundings & in a hospital, where she would not have had anything like the level of interaction at her care home. Along with all the tests & poking & prodding etc? Has the dehydration episode caused damage, or has there been something like a TIA that has gone unrecognised? Although whilst in hospital she did have a head CT scan which presumably didn't reveal anything significant. We are currently awaiting a blood test, carried out by the district nurse last Friday, to rule out anything there which may be out of balance. I don't want to think it's a case of ''Well, what do you expect at this stage?'' if there's actually something that's caused her to deteriorate disproportionately.
 

Adoralan

Registered User
Mar 2, 2021
58
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My mum spent about 4 months in and out of hospital due to severe Covid and complications. During that time her cognition deteriorated very badly, to the point where my sister and I thought a nursing home would be the only option. When she finally came home for good, after the third discharge attempt, we were amazed at how much she improved. I managed to get in to see mum in the hospital a few times whilst she was there and could see how the isolation, unfamiliar situation and illness was making her confusion so much worse. Your mum has suffered severe pain and dehydration - it may be that she has had delirium at some point? It's very hard for medical staff who don't know the baseline cognition level for a person with dementia to be able to identify this. If she has had delirium, I was told by the doctors that improvement/recovery can be expected over approx 3 months after which that's the new baseline, but I'm not sure if that's a definite. She may also be depressed - my mum was given an anti-depressant whilst in recovery in hospital and that improved her a lot. Obviously deterioration over time happens with dementia, but a sudden change may well be due to something else. I think sometimes medical/care staff focus on physical needs and don't realise that mental health has also suffered and needs to be supported. I would focus on providing mum with emotional support and mental stimulation now and maybe see her GP/medical staff to discuss the change in your mum - make sure they know how much she has changed in a short time. I don't want to offer false hope, but I wish you and mum all the very best.
 

GordonCambs

Registered User
Sep 20, 2020
19
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Everything posted here is spot on. You can't wait to get your Mum's approval. Have a look at my post on Care Home Update

I was going to post a link but I can't do that as I am a new member but I'm sure you can search for my posts

See if you recognise anything. It is quite long, and I have missed out lots about her behaviour etc but that is just the same as many, many other posts
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Unfortunately , infections of any kind, broken bones, pain, anesthetics and hospital admission will all progress dementia. Dehydration doesnt help either, although that is reversible. My mum fell and broke her hip and this caused massive decline in her dementia.

I think you can only see how much improvement she gets.
 

Sirena

Registered User
Feb 27, 2018
2,324
0
Hello again @alang I remember your mum's story.
As Canary says, there is no way of knowing yet whether these changes are temporary or permanent.

My mother fell and broke her hip in her care home about 3 years ago. She was in hospital for ten days and I visited every other day. She was very confused.

But unlike Canary's mum, my mother didn't deteriorate permanently. After a month of rehabbing back at the care home, she got back to 'her normal'.

One thing which seems to cause my mother to visibly deteriorate is if she is in untreated physical pain (she was once discharged from A&E without the doctors revealing she had a cracked rib and the carers couldn't understand why she was so withdrawn - the GP saw her xray and then gave appropriate pain relief). So it would be a good idea to check that she is on the correct medication, and for the GP to review her if necessary.

It's possible your mum will improve, but it's likely to take a while, it's early days.
 

alang

Registered User
Jul 31, 2017
59
0
Leicestershire
Thank you so much, everyone, your replies are most reassuring. We are currently awaiting blood test results, so that may or may not reveal something & I'll contact her GPs for a telephone consultation - she has the same practice as me. Of course mum will decline as has always been expected, but reading the personal experiences here I have some hope that she may regain a little of her pre hospital self. I don't think I realised just how long that could take, if at all.
Luckily the carers at mum's home are excellent & always keen to keep the residents engaged. Mum is someone who thrives on the social side of the home & will have missed that a great deal whilst in hospital.
 

Pots and Pans

Registered User
Jan 13, 2020
298
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A suggestion? For anyone whose PWD has gone into residential, especially due to emotional needs, and possibly promoted by a SW or CPN who you may no longer have contact with, a short note to SS - manager if possible - detailing previous issues and how much better CH has proved for dementia as a result than continuing with the at home scenario may help future family carers get swifter and more understanding help? Just a thought... as so many have to struggle to get the right help and I wonder if they ever get positive feedback?
 

Kph100

Registered User
Sep 3, 2021
10
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I think there is a link between anaesthesia for the hip operation and progression of dementia, there certainly was with my grandmother, hoping that my father can avoid any falls as long as possible.
 

Pots and Pans

Registered User
Jan 13, 2020
298
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I think there is a link between anaesthesia for the hip operation and progression of dementia, there certainly was with my grandmother, hoping that my father can avoid any falls as long as possible.
Think you are right. My OH had mild cognitive issues before his fall, went into hospital and came out a different person 4 days later .. .
 

Adoralan

Registered User
Mar 2, 2021
58
0
My mum had a knee replacement op a few years ago and certainly had delirium post- operatively. Thankfully she recovered from that back to her previous level of cognition. General anaesthetics and dementia don't seem to mix well.