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Denmar Asked February 2018

Does anyone have a loved one with Alzheimer's who also has COPD and is on oxygen?

My mom has Alzheimer's/dementia and her asthma diagnosis has been changed to COPD. She is to be on oxygen 24/7 but we cannot get her to leave it on as she can't remember she needs it or doesn't think she does. We also took her off all inhalers as she was damaging her mouth and throat from improper use and she get any meds through nebulizer. Our issues currently are her demanding to have her inhaler and wearing the oxygen. Has anyone had an issue like this with a loved one? Any tips, tricks or advice? I'm beginning to be at a loss on this one and mom's behavior over it is getting increasingly angry.

Eyerishlass Feb 2018
iIagree that the oxygen issue will be challenging. Have you asked her doctor for suggestions on how to ensure she wears it? Depending on how advanced her Alzheimer's is, maybe you can strike a deal with your mom. She wears the oxygen for one hour and then she gets to go without it for 1/2 hour. Then she wears it for another hour and so on. However, this may not be reasonable depending on her Alzheimer's but if this would work it's better than her not wearing it at all.

As for her inhalers, try giving her an empty inhaler and let her puff on it. There's no medicine inside to harm her or affect her mouth and throat and she may not realize that it's empty. Again, this is depending on how advanced her Alzheimer's is. 

Shane1124 Feb 2018
She still needs her maintenance inhalers so I wouldn’t “take her off” these but supervise her daily doses to assure she takes them correctly. Stopping the inhalers will make her breathing more difficult and then the oxygen will become an urgent need.
As far as ways to get her to use the oxygen 24/7 that is an ongoing challenge, especially at night. I would just suggest supervision during the day to assure she gets the benefits at least during awake hours and try your best with the nasal cannula at night by putting a bit of Vaseline where the tubing sits on her nose and placing the cannula tubing to the rear of her head vs the front. This will be an ongoing challenge.

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