Sorry this is long! We need advice on getting my angry grandmother help. She is paranoid and delusional, won't let anyone help her. She just recently reached a point where she is still trying to cook and burning everything and trying to drive(long story), not able to care for herself. We recently took her car and now the police have told us to return it(didn't say it needs to run). This is mind blowing, knowing full well she shouldn't be driving. Her DL has been taken, but that won't stop her. This is horribly frustrating, my entire family is so worried and we are working 24/7 trying to jump through hoops trying to figure out what to do. She was recently in the hospital(she is fine)she screamed at everyone there, talking in circles and they had to medicate her.The Dr. and hospital social worker would not allow her to go home alone because of her mental state, there must be some way to get those doctors to help with a psych evaluation, so she can get help? 3-4 social workers have paid wellness visits and they say she is ok. 1 social worker was suppose to call me for a phone interview and I left several messages, she never did return any of my calls!! Thank you for any advice!
I'm so sorry to hear what is happening with your grandmother. I know your entire family is trying to do the best they can. Its a very difficult situation. I guess it could be anything, dehydration, poor diet, over medication, under medication, low blood sugar, mental decline. I would seek a second and third medical opinion and try to get her evaluated. I don't know what her blood work shows. Or if its more mental. But try to get her evaluated properly.
MsMadge, I'm totally with you. They wanted to put my dad on Serquol in the hospital when he was agitated. But he was dying! Reason he was up and trying to go home. Sometimes it seems all doctors want to do is push the pills without doing a proper analysis of what is needed.
The UTI test normally isn't done at a physical, one has to request such a test. The test is fairly easy, Grandmother would need to pee in a cup. If the test is positive, then antibiotics are given to chase away the infection.
My mom's internist referred her to a neurologist
If gma has dementia and is experiencing problems with anxiety and behavior then unfortunately she will likely need meds
Even more unfortunate is that there are no meds that I've been advised that handle these issues therefore anti-psych drugs are used in an off-label manner I.e., a low dose of an anti-seizure or bipolar or schizophrenic drug may be used as these change the chemicals in the brain
i reluctantly agreed to give my mom seroquel but it didn't really help her agitation and made her very sleepy so we switched to another about 4 months ago - her mood is calmer but she is more confused now - at her next follow-up I may ask about decreasing the dosage
Others on this forum may advise you to have her put in a psych unit in order to get meds adjusted
Bit of a gap there: so what happened that allowed your grandmother's return home? How was it arranged?
Since she is so angry with the family and we don't want to cause her any more unhappiness or paranoia, our goal is to get the state of Arizona to help her asap, but it's been impossible to get them to take any action. Any advice?
Who is living with her now, and reporting that she's getting up hourly during the night?