Mum's Frustration

[Eddcorner]

Mum has changed dramatically over the past six months (her diagnosis over five years ago now), what scares me is the pace of which this deterioration has happened during this period. Her level of engagement has dropped off and her ability to communicate verbally is practically nil (although she can have an occasional lucid day). Similarly she is unable to process what I am saying; again don't get me wrong we more than manage to decipher each other's exchanges but it is upsetting seeing how frustrated mum can become..

 

[Cat27]

That’s so frustrating for both of you. I used to resort to hand gestures to get my point across.

 

[nae sporran]

I never thought of that @Cat27.
Sorry you're mum is having similar problems to my partner @Eddcorner. We've not quite reached that stage, but she will ask questions and then reply as if I said something completely different to what I actually said. That is getting slowly worse since April and is frustrating enough for both of us, so very upsetting for you and your mum to deal with something a stage worse off.

 

[Weasell]

Mum has changed dramatically over the past six months (her diagnosis over five years ago now), what scares me is the pace of which this deterioration has happened during this period. Her level of engagement has dropped off and her ability to communicate verbally is practically nil (although she can have an occasional lucid day). Similarly she is unable to process what I am saying; again don't get me wrong we more than manage to decipher each other's exchanges but it is upsetting seeing how frustrated mum can become..

Sometime they prescribe an anti depressant tablet.
( For your mum, not you !)
Do you think it is worth considering ?

 

[Eddcorner]

That’s so frustrating for both of you. I used to resort to hand gestures to get my point across.

Hi, yes I use hand gestures as well as communicating verbally - I think enables her to draw some context from our exchanges. Mum used to be so articulate and the frustration is a natural response I suppose but with support and a lot of patience we manage, however you want to more than manage... It's a ******!

 

[Eddcorner]

I never thought of that @Cat27.
Sorry you're mum is having similar problems to my partner @Eddcorner. We've not quite reached that stage, but she will ask questions and then reply as if I said something completely different to what I actually said. That is getting slowly worse since April and is frustrating enough for both of us, so very upsetting for you and your mum to deal with something a stage worse off.

Thank you. Yes I understand, mum would often nod and take non-verbal cues and give the impression of comprehension but in reality had little understanding of what was being conveyed. Now I use facial and other prompts to give mum some context as well as speaking, this works to some degree although having less of an impact of late. I hope you and your partner are able to navigate this transition although it can manifest differently for other individuals; communication is a biggy but it can be managed.! Fingers crossed as always

 

[Eddcorner]

Sometime they prescribe an anti depressant tablet.
( For your mum, not you !)
Do you think it is worth considering ?

Hi and thanks. It's not a path I believe is the right one for mum at this time although I know these interventions work quite well for others.

Mum's journey is a complicated one, fraught with lots of challenges for us both and I'm very fortunate to have some knowledge & experience (although that gets turned on its head sometimes haha) of working in this field... I guess it's about facing these difficulties down and reassuring her that she doesn't have to walk this path alone