Depression and suicidal thoughts

mpang123

My dad, 88 with VD, has been telling me, his daughter, and my mom and his doctor that he doesn't want to wear a catheter anymore and if he dies, he won't care. He reluctantly endured the insertion of another catheter but when he came home, he went straight to bed and seemed so depressed and deflated. I saw in his medical chart that he was given Lexapro, an antidepressant, over a year ago but he got anaphylaxis. He refuses to take any new meds other than the 3 he takes daily. He has been mentioning of death and dying more often now. Seems like he is expecting to die soon. Does anybody know what to do in situations like this?

M1

Is a hospice evaluation appropriate?

Quilting brings calm

I would call hospice.

Emily 123

Hello mpang,

Since he's already receiving palliative care, why not discuss this with his team and see if it's time to bring hospice on board?

H1235

Could meds for depression be crushed and put in his food? Kind of surprised his doctor wouldn’t work with you to find an antidepressant that would work for him. The right anti depressant may make a big difference??? As suggested above I would also consider if it’s time for a hospice evaluation.