My mom has been in the ALF for about 5 months now. In that time she has allowed herself to be bathed and has taken her meds readily. In the last two weeks she has refused to bath and is spitting her meds out. A complete change in behavior. I have done blood work (all is normal) and checked for a UTI. She came back normal. Any idea why her behavior would changed so dramatically? Is this just part of the general decline? She does seem more confused.
A change in mental status is a symptom and possibly a medical emergency and should be reported to the patient's doctor immediately.
Everyone, please remember this!!
Other causes could be a TIA (mini stroke), dehydration, vitamin deficiency, and other health issues. If she eats decently and takes a multivitamin, then a deficiency is probably not the issue).
Also, please know that most medications, when crush, are incomprehensibly bitter and no type of food will mask the awful taste. And some medications *should not* be crushed if they have a time-release component.