This post comes to us from Jean D'Amore.
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I found your website today and have been reading non stop. It is so reassuring when you discover that others go through the same experiences as you have when it comes to being a caregiver of a loved one with Alzheimer's. I care for my husband's mom. She is 94, a below the knee amputee and mostly in a wheel chair. The best thing I was able to do for myself was find a medical Day Care that mom now attends 3 days a week. Every time we are ready to go she asks if I am taking her to "that place" again and then tells me it is stupid. I blame her doctor...it isn't me who insists, but the doctor. This helps her reluctantly put on her coat and go. As of late, she is dealing with phantom pain. It seems to be severe and I think she believes it is new. The reality of the situation is that she has had this pain for 14 years. I had her checked out by the appropriate doctor for this situation and he prescribed a lidoderm patch. She seems to be in more pain when I or my husband are in the room with her. If I listen over the baby monitor, there are no sounds of pain, so it is difficult to know if this is her acting out or real. When I ask if the patch is helping, she says she needs pain pills. SO, now I am administering this really powerful pain medication....TIC TACS. I have four colors...when these stop working we plan to move to the next color. This has only been going on a few days, so not sure this is working and I will bring her back to the doctor if this lasts more than another week. Mom doesn't need physical care as much as she needs supervision. It seems every time I go out for a brief time she manages to get into trouble. For these reasons I don't get out much. Sometimes this is ok...sometimes it is not and I get somewhat depressed. My husband takes over most evenings, so I get out a little then. And thank goodness for my daycare days. I work on one of them and the other two I generally run all the errands I cannot do when mom is home. I'm glad I found your website, I will continue to visit and also look for your posts on Facebook.
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I found your website today and have been reading non stop. It is so reassuring when you discover that others go through the same experiences as you have when it comes to being a caregiver of a loved one with Alzheimer's. I care for my husband's mom. She is 94, a below the knee amputee and mostly in a wheel chair. The best thing I was able to do for myself was find a medical Day Care that mom now attends 3 days a week. Every time we are ready to go she asks if I am taking her to "that place" again and then tells me it is stupid. I blame her doctor...it isn't me who insists, but the doctor. This helps her reluctantly put on her coat and go. As of late, she is dealing with phantom pain. It seems to be severe and I think she believes it is new. The reality of the situation is that she has had this pain for 14 years. I had her checked out by the appropriate doctor for this situation and he prescribed a lidoderm patch. She seems to be in more pain when I or my husband are in the room with her. If I listen over the baby monitor, there are no sounds of pain, so it is difficult to know if this is her acting out or real. When I ask if the patch is helping, she says she needs pain pills. SO, now I am administering this really powerful pain medication....TIC TACS. I have four colors...when these stop working we plan to move to the next color. This has only been going on a few days, so not sure this is working and I will bring her back to the doctor if this lasts more than another week. Mom doesn't need physical care as much as she needs supervision. It seems every time I go out for a brief time she manages to get into trouble. For these reasons I don't get out much. Sometimes this is ok...sometimes it is not and I get somewhat depressed. My husband takes over most evenings, so I get out a little then. And thank goodness for my daycare days. I work on one of them and the other two I generally run all the errands I cannot do when mom is home. I'm glad I found your website, I will continue to visit and also look for your posts on Facebook.
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