My mother has moderate dementia & COPD. Until recently, she remained stable on a Ventolin inhaler administered with a spacer so that timing wasn't a big issue. Unfortunately, despite 4 time per day usage, that no longer works for her & she wheezed like some old steam engine. The doctor has tried Advair, Dulera & Spiriva, all of which have worked well but my mother adamantly refuses to allow refill of either script because of the monthly price... $300 range for the Advair or Spiriva & $1000 (!!) for the Dulera. I convinced her doc to prescribe a nebulized Albuterol solution thinking the longer administration time would open her up better, get the medicine deeper into her lungs & keep the shortness of breath at bay longer than just a pocket inhaler. I had explained the nebulizer to her & she agreed that she would do it & she was very pleased with the $4/mo pricing at Walmart. Now, of course, that I have everything arranged & purchased the nebulizer machine, she refuses to use the nebulizer for more than a minute or two so she's not even coming close to getting a full treatment. It's just a matter of time before the inadequate treatments catch up with her & she'll become significantly short of breath but no amount of talking, explaining, begging or even threatening will get her to complete a full treatment OR take even a partial one more than twice a day. Of course, when she becomes short of breath, that's all I hear about..."I feel so bad."..."I'm so short of breath"..."I don't understand why I'm so short of breath all of the sudden", etc. When I try to explain why, she becomes angry & denies everything I tell her as being untrue. The longer I try to convince her otherwise the angrier, NASTIER & more adamant she becomes. Any ideas on how I can get her to comply with the nebulizer?
When she get's short of breath, you can say nicely, just let me know if you'd like any help setting up your nebulizer. The suggestion of using a mask is a good one if this is possible for her. You could do some digging there. But unless she is cognitively impaired to the point that she needs complete intervention, you may find that she will respond better to a more relaxed approach, leaving the responsibility of feeling better in her hands - with your standing offer to help. If this is too dangerous for her situation, then ask the doctor for some suggestions for people like her. Please keep us updated.
Carol
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