I am so new at this. My 80 year old mom, we think has Alzheimer's. Her Dr. who is not a geriatric Dr. does not think so, but I am not sure he is the right one for her. He says her electrolytes are out of whack and that is why she does not know where she is or delusional at times. She has been in and out of rehab because of the low potassium and sodium, which she has been taking Potassium and what I thought was a sodium pill (Levothyroxine) is in fact a pill for Thyroids. I called him to ask about that and he did not return my calls. I live in NC and my brother lives with her in Florida, he is her caregiver and for years I was trying to get her up here with me but she does not like cold weather. This summer, after a needed break for him, I went down and picked her up to stay with me for a month. The first 3 weeks where great and manageable. She needs assistance in everything, going to the bathroom, standing up, bathing, washing and eating. this week, after a high blood pressure reading and a missed potassium pill, she has taken a turn for the worst! She is week, afraid, won't even try to walk or get up, I have to lift her and keep a diaper on her throughout the day as opposed to just at night, she completely checked out and sleepy all the time! She threw up everything I gave her yesterday and refuses to drink any gatorade, protein shake or water I try to give her. Could it be that the change of her familiar setting could have triggered this decline? Could missing one potassium pill set her back like this? We are going back to Florida tomorrow and the first thing I am doing is looking for anew Dr. We can't put her in a home, English is not her native language so it will be hard for her to participate in any activities. Any advice on anything mentioned would be great!
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Saw the note she is having swallowing trouble - that can be anything from a little dry mouth, ot esophageal spasm, maybe brought on by reflux, to just a subtle nausea, to onset of serious dysphagia. Let the doc know about this, and if you temporarily need to crush stuff up make sure its OK with each individual pill; if there is somethng that just has to go down intact, they make a little sippy pill-swallowing cup that can help.
In his last years I took my husband for a massage once or twice a week. He was then a frail, short, elderly gentleman. The woman assigned to him was sturdy, tall, muscular, and did their deep tissue massages. I heard the receptionist comment as they walked by, "She'll kill him!" But she turned out to be very gentle with him and he always wanted his appointments with her.
Sometimes looks fool us!
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Frankly, if this is new behavior for her? I would take her to the emergency room. Unless there's another diagnosis, her being unable to get around on her own would be, I think, very unusual for an 80-year-old. She could just be so weak from dehydration she can't do anything. And THAT could be from over-medicating with a diuretic. A severely dehydrated person will refuse water. Further, you shouldn't force it on her. Our body learns to live on what water it has. To force her to drink when she isn't thirsty could "drown" her.
In this layperson's opinion, missing one potassium pill would not cause the symptoms you describe. Neither would a change in scenery. ER for her stat. Tonight.