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pretzel123 Asked October 2012

Anyone ever gone from memory care back to assisted living?

My mom was diagnosed with AD, psychosis and depression in July. Spent 13 days in geriatric psych after calling police during an episode of hallucinating. She has been in a memory care unit for 3 months and is the most high functioning person there. She is a different person after 3 months of 5mg Aricept, Lexapro and two anti psychotic drugs. She was a "wanderer" at her independent living facility. A recent eval done by a dr at the memory care facility showed a 3/5 on the mini cog and the dr is recommending she go to AL. My Mom is still psychotic, insisting she has been kidnapped and is held against her will and the dr has taken all her money, etc. and my sister and I fear for her safety if moved to AL. Her memory care obviously is a locked down unit. We want her to be happy of course, but are afraid a move like this could end up with her being harmed while attempting to hitchhike to live with her cousins (which she has indicated she wants to do), or wandering the grounds and falling. Mom is miserable where she is. She has been miserable the last 10 years because of her mental health issues (depression mainly). We feel like we are robbing her of her happiness, as she would like her privacy and more freedome offered by AL but we fear for her safety is she is moved from memory care. Any suggestions/comments would be welcomed!

yankeejo Oct 2012
he safety is #1 so memory care seems appropriate. My dad with dementia sleep walks outside so I had no other choice but to choose a memory care unit for his care even though he seems to be the highest functioning person there. We all tend to feel guilty about placing our parents in facilities even though most tell us it's the best option.

Lynn60 Oct 2012
It would be good to get a second doctor to look at your Mom and tell him what she's done in the pass and present. And it's a good idea to check out other AL's. Hugs!

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2busy4me Oct 2012
Maybe find another AL with a lock-down unit might be the answer. If she is still showing signs like you say, I would have another doctor look at her to see if her meds are at the right dosage.

I know how you feel about robbing her of her happiness, I have felt that way for some time after my dad was placed in the memory wing of his AL after a mental break. His mind is there, but his body isn't cooperating, makes me wish I could had convinced him to move to the AL sooner.

Wish you all the best.

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