Hello everyone. My mother has always been very difficult to deal with as long as I can remember. She isolated herself from most of her family, she would have panic attacks so she eventually stopped driving out of town, and most recently, she had a Cerebellar Stroke several years ago, but is still able to live on her own, she does not drive, wash clothes (because washer and dryer are in the basement) or cook much. She has left side weakness. Most recently, she went into the hospital for dizziness and they discharged her to assisted living for two weeks because she did not want to come home. The first week of her being there was a nightmare. She called me the first night twice, because the nurse wouldn't bring her tylenol and she was hurting. The nurse told her that it would be a little bit as they had to wait for the medicine to come from the pharmacy. Then she called me back about an hour later and said that she was scared to take the tylenol because the nurse had looked at her so hateful when she gave it to her. She insisted that I bring her a tv, because the one in her room was not working right, I did and she told me that she was not staying past Monday. Last night after I got home, she called and said that the nurses lied to her in saying that the doctor was coming to visit her that evening and we all know that this is assisted living, there would be no doctor available to see her at night. Everything has been wrong since she has been in there, the food, the staff, etc. but she made the decision to go there instead of going home, as I am not her POA. I am not able to figure out if she is doing these things to try to disrupt my life horribly or if she is really this crazy. She always has been very hard to deal with, but the ridiculousness is at an all time high, even for her. I am afraid of what I will have to deal with when she comes home and am trying to gather information from home health agencies, to try to ease the burden, as I have three children and I am trying to raise them. I tell her all the time, mom I can't deal with you if you are going to be like this constantly and she says I know, but tomorrow she starts all over again and says that she can't help it. My husband is also about to lose his marbles, because she is causing such a huge disruption and he sees how upset she makes me. Has anyone out there dealt with this kind of thing from their mother often?
I wish you great good luck. You have insight, but you are not acting on it. You understand on a deep level that this is your Mom, that this has ALWAYS been your Mom, and that your Mom will not be changing. You recognize the damage she is doing to you and all you love. But you are unable to take those further steps for yourself.
Seek help.