Mom will not go to her doctor appointments

Smyles7720

Hello everyone,

When the pandemic hit it was not an issue Mom  not seeing her doctors since the main issue was keeping Mom safe from Covid.  Last year Mom had an appointment with her cardiologist and I had to reschedule (she never kept the new appointment).  Today Mom had an appointment with her cardiologist and I had to reschedule again. I usually say to Mom, “we have to stop by the doctor’s office  to pickup up your prescription before the doctor goes on vacation. It will be real quick.”  Mom never had negative experiences during her doctor visits and liked getting out.   The reasons for not wanting to go  varies: I am tired, I don’t feel like going, I’ll go tomorrow, Why am I seeing the doctor I am fine. I think Mom is comfortable staying home and does not have the desire to go outside.  Mom is mobile and finds things to do in the house. So, mobility is not the problem.

Does anyone else have this problem? Any advise on solutions?

Thanks. 

sandwichone123

My loved one doesn't want any medical care, and refuses to have labs drawn. Since he already has a terrible fatal illness I do not push him to give up today's happiness for an extended, but not improved, tomorrow. He takes the meds he has but they will not be renewed because his doc fired him for refusing to have labs drawn.

Phoenix1966

The only way I was able to get my grandmother to go to an appointment was to lie and say the doctor would not renew her prescriptions(she was good about taking one specific high-blood pressure med and said more than once she would die if she missed a dose) without an in-person visit. 

And I continued to use this lie for follow-up appointments by saying her doctor was only issuing refills on a month-to-month basis because he needed to do lab work each time to make sure the medication was still at an effective dosage level. 

acadiapark

I support what Phoenix just wrote. I have to use various types of "deception" to get my wife to do some things. I recently participated in a research project at regional med center about use of deception with dementia patients. The neurologist's main point was that deception can be effective and that the caregiver should not feel guilty about it.

Hope that helps.