DW despondent in MC

Norm 22

My DW Has been in MC since the end of April.   She generally knows who her friends and family members are.  She lost a significant amount of weight before MC and continues to do so.    At times, her short-term memory is nonexistent. I went to see her this morning. One of her friends went to see her this afternoon and called me so I could talk to DW.   She did not remember I was there in the morning, and described herself as despondent and not knowing what to do with herself.   She essentially said she wants to do away with herself.  I don't have a clue what if anything I can do.

Quilting brings calm

Is she already on antidepressants?   If not, get her on them.  If yes, get the dosage up.  There is not really much you can do otherwise than to encourage her to go to the activities, try to bring things to keep her busy.   

Joydean

Was she despondent when you were there this morning? Have you talked to the nurse at the MC? Is this something new or does this happen in the afternoon? 

DJnAZ

According to the staff at my wife's MC facility, she is starting to adjust to her new world after only 3 weeks. So all is good it appears...until she sees me. As a nurse said, she sees me as her ticket out of there. She keeps her things packed and ready to go.

When I had to leave Saturday the staff was forced to physically restrain her. For the next hour or two, from what they told me, describing her as despondent would be an upgrade. Once the antidepressants took effect, however, she settled down. In future visits I plan to call and hour or two before arriving and ask them to give her a pill so my being there isn't so stressful.

Seeing her very briefly this weekend and knowing how much she wants to leave makes me sick. Dementia is slowly killing her and it isn't doing me any good either.

David J

Norm, I found that my wife’s medication needed adjustment after she went to MC. I kept her existing psychiatrist, rather than switch to the psychiatrist under available through the MCF. There have been some communication issues, but I can generally get him on the phone within a few hours, and we have a good relationship with him. Whether you are using the MCF psychiatric service, your own, please make the call and report the symptoms and your concerns. If your wife is still able to interact on a video call, do that so the psychiatrist can see and hear her responses. When it comes down to it, antidepressants and antipsychotics are necessary for PWDs. 

Dave