Alzheimers and Christian Science

amyb516

My "mother in law" (boyfriend's mother) was recently diagnosed with Alzheimers. We've had suspicions for a while. As we are starting to navigate more caregiving with her around this, we consistently run into tension around her faith, Christian Science. She basically believes it's mind over matter, she will be healed thru her faith, doesn't want to take meds (even for her osteoporosis), and it feels like it's an added thing to tackle on top of just trying to manage her alzheimers and keep her safe. We worry we are just going to watch her get worse even faster due to her unwillingness to do anything medical for her alzheimers or any other medical issues. The fact we even got her to do the MRI and labs was somewhat miraculous. We both thankfully already live with her even before the diagnosis so we are already set up to caregive.

Has anyone had this experience?

Arrowhead

A person's beliefs, whether religious or not, are hard to dissuade. You will probably not be able to convince her to do what she needs to do, so you need to find ways to work around them. For instance, there may be medications that can be mixed with her food. You could ask her physician if that option is available.

amyb516

We've been told that before and I just worry at what point is forcing her to take medication against her beliefs wrong? I know that her osteoporosis makes any falls higher risk but… if she's technically still "competent" to make her own decisions, even on some level, can we make that choice against her wishes… or does the ALZ diagnosis just void out competency?

sandwichone123

There are no medications that really do anything for Alzheimer's anyway, so I wouldn't sweat that. By the time you need medications to manage behaviors, she will be in a place where I would feel it was entirely appropriate to hide them in her food.

Damiross

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/76247/alzheimers-and-christian-science

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/274467#Comment_274467

No medications may cure it but I have found that Gabapentin and Quetiapine go a long way to calming my wife down.

As a Christian, I believe in God. I believe He gives us doctors and medicine to help cure us or relieve pain. need to question any religion that denies this.

My wife refuses to take her meds. She loves hot chocolate so the meds go into that. She also loves scrambled eggs so her breakfast has the medicine in it.

Sunfish47

The situation of religious folks not wanting to avail themselves of medical remedies reminds me of a cartoon drawing I saw a few years back during covid - - -

The man was ill, on a ventilator, lying in a hospital bed, crying out: “Jesus why didn’t you help me?” And Jesus standing right near his bed says: “I gave you a vaccine. You didn’t take it.”

H1235

Welcome. You are in a tough spot. I would try to imagine how she would react to this situation 5-10 years ago before dementia. Would she be okay with no medication for extreme anxiety hallucinations, paranoia and insomnia (all common symptoms with dementia). Do you believe that if she had a full understanding of these possibilities she would still choose no medication? If so I think you should respect her wishes, provided you can find a care facility that will do the same. I would not agree to are for someone with dementia who is not willing to take medication. Would she be ok with a nursing home and no medication (I’m not even sure how a facility would handle something like this) vs in home care and proper medicine. As others have said meditation is not going to cure the dementia only treat the symptoms. The lack of some medication may shorten her life (blood pressure medication, this only effects her), but other medication is just going to improve the quality if the life she has left (anxiety and depression are a big concern) and make caring for her manageable. Even with anxiety medication I could not imagine my mom living in my home. She is still so grumpy, demanding, and difficult that I just couldn’t do it. Every person with dementia is different, but being a caregiver without the benefits of medication, seems almost impossible to me. Untreated anxiety could be very ugly! Without medication for anxiety she may become very very difficult to care for in the home. I would do what you think she would want if she truly knew and understood all the facts. Are there any legal documents? Just because she has dementia doesn’t mean she can’t make decisions for herself (mom signed legal documents shortly after diagnosis) and I believe she made the same decisions she would have pre-dementia. But it also doesn’t mean she is perfectly capable until she the point she can no longer form complete sentences (after meeting with the lawyer mom insisted she was perfectly capable of mowing her lawn, she uses a walker). Is so tricky to determine what decisions they can make and what they can’t. Many with dementia develop anosognosia. This is an inability to recognize their symptoms or limitations. I’m not sure how this plays into things with your mom. I will attach a few resources. Good luck

understanding-the-dementia-experience.pdf

Anosognosia and Dementia - AgingCare.com.pdf

https://iona.org/therapeutic-fibs-ok/

Maru

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/76247/alzheimers-and-christian-science

Sadly, the medications that are available only delay symptoms at best. The infusions that can be given carry some pretty serious possible side effects and, again, only delay the progress. We are not Christian Scientists but still decided against taking any of the Alz meds because of the possible side effects vs the possible benefits. The only circumstance that i would force someone to take drugs against their will is if they become a danger to themselves or to others, or if that person had a lot of agitation.

Bowerbird

I cannot really address the issue of medicines for other disorders, but Alzheimer's is a progressive terminal disease, so she will never be healed in that regard. Taking medicines for Alzheimer's or not is not going to affect it in the long run; it will run its course in due time. I guess picking your battles regarding what medicines she will take for other issues would be my advice.

JulietteBee

@amyb516, you are in a tough spot indeed. What does your bf have to say about the matter? After all, it is HIS mother. Do they share the same faith?

As far as the "Morality" issue of giving someone medicine against their religious belief, as an RN, I can tell you that doctors & hospitals do try to afford patients religious accommodations. With that said, if let us say a Jehovah's Witness is going to surgery. The surgery is known to cause blood loss. Their religious belief states they do not receive any blood or blood products. The person is given a consent form for them to read, in its entirety, and sign. Their signature changes a plain, informational form, into a legally binding document. If they bleed out on the table, the surgeon & hospital are protected from any malpractice lawsuit.

The same applies to your bf's mom. Assuming she is currently of a sound mind, able to sign legal forms, make an appointment for her to see an attorney. She NEEDS to indicate all her wishes at this point, while able to. She needs to assign someone the role of being her Healthcare Surrogate. That person is expected to know her wishes and to speak on her behalf when she is unable to. She needs to sign a Living Will. In that document, she will state whether she wants nutrition, water, medication, or heroics, should she experience cardiac or respiratory arrest. Next, she needs to assign someone to be her financial power of attorney. That person will be able to spend, save, or transfer her assets to meet all her financial obligations or to oversee her investment portfolio. Lastly, and for good measure, she should have a "Last Will & Testament" drafted. That will minimize post death family drama. Her estate will be spared from the state's involvement and she gets to decide who gets what and how much.

I would NOT recommend you hide meds in her food. If she has any level of competency or awareness, that will be the BEST way to lose her trust forever. Older patients, demented or not, develop some level of paranoia. If she finds or feels the meds in her food, it will only feed her paranoia. She will then have it in her mind, and will tell others, that you are trying to kill her.

All the best as you begin your journey down this horrible road. 🫂

SDianeL

I would also have a conversation with the attorney about giving her medications in her food.

ARIL

@JulietteBee gives good advice in my opinion. I would not medicate someone against her wishes. But your bf needs legal clarity on exactly what her wishes are.

Damiross

Did she have an advanced Health Directive? If it says not specifically no medicine then you'll have to listen to her. Hopefully when she needs the medicine she'll realize that the medicine is a way of God helping her. If there's no mention about medicine, then go ahead and medicate her.

harshedbuzz

@amyb516

Hi and welcome. I am sorry for your reason to be here but pleased you found this place.

FWIW, there are no medications that cure dementia. There are some oral meds that help some folks function better day-to-day but they can have unpleasant side effects. There are newer injectable meds that require an Alzheimer's diagnosis specifically. In a best-case scenario, these can prolong the time spent in earliest stages (MCI to stage 3-ish) by 6-8 months. They require monthly/bi-weekly infusions and follow-up MRIs. Some studies show they don't work as well for women, the elderly and people of color. I wouldn't bleed on this hill.

I might consider psychoactive meds if she becomes agitated or aggressive at some point. Not all PWD will need these kinds of meds. No MCF or SNF will accept a PWD who is aggressive or violent.

HB

amyb516

Thank you everyone for all the advice. We truly appreciate it (I've been reading all responses to my boyfriend)

I should clarify as I didn't make it clear in my first post- we are not trying to give her meds for ALZ. She has turned those down and we are respecting that. She has osteoporosis and is refusing the medicine for that. Our concern is as time goes on that she will become more unsteady, fall, and break a bone. And then the time in bed/ recuperating will make her ALZ decline. We know the osteoporosis med doesn't magically cure osteoporosis but without it, it's not going to improve and will simply get worse. So we are really just trying to manage a comorbidity disease she has especially because we know that if she gets hurt, it will probably speed up her ALZ decline.

He does have some POAs, two of her friends are the medical POAs because he is not Christian Science like his mom (neither are either of the friends, but oh well). We do know we need to sit down with a lawyer around next steps.

She has historically gone against her religion in some treatments. She had a hip surgery almost 2 years ago. Saw a doctor for a fall 4 months ago and took meds for that. And also took meds with some shoulder pain a couple months ago. So she's willing to change her beliefs when she decides.

Thank you again for all the advice and suggestions, they are all extremely helpful and reminding us we are not alone ❤️

JDancer

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/274467#Comment_274467

Exactly this!