New Here
Hi, my mom has been having cognitive decline for a few years but hasn't been diagnosed. She turned 70 last year and Ive been trying to help but have little help or resources. She can still mostly take care of herself, has my father.. so power of attorney is not in the cards yet. My father has his own problems and won't be much help in this process. I am living here right now and feel so overwhelmed. I feel useless when I cant help her with her doctors or appointments. Shes very stubborn and won't let me know anything. Maybe I shouldn't be here, if I cant really help and am just depressed in the chaos.
Comments
-
Even with your dad there, she still needs a DPOA. If something were to happen to your dad there would be no one assigned to make decisions for her or manage finances. If your dad needed to put her in a facility because he can’t care for her at home, I believe he would still need a DPOA. You did say he has his own problems and won’t be much help. Does that mean he will not be able to care for her as things progress? If he isn’t attending doctors appointments that’s a problem. Someone needs to be able to talk with the doctor about her symptoms and with hipaa you need a DPOA. She can take those hipaa right (that she signs in the doctors office) away from family at any time. Your dad also needs a DPOA. If he starts having symptoms (it happens) or needs to be hospitalized, someone will need to manage their finances. DPOA is something that MUST be done in advance! They need to be of sound mind. If you wait too long guardianship may be necessary and that is expensive and involves the courts. I would recommend you keep things low key when discussing the DPOA. Tell her it’s just because she is getting older and it’s one of those things that needs to be addressed. Maybe even tell her you are having some legal paperwork done too. She should also do a will.
She is not just stubborn! She has anosognosia. This is the inability to recognize their symptoms or limitations. It’s very common with dementia. I think hands down one of the worst middle stage symptoms. A person with dementia is not going to ask for help. They will continue to use the stove and drive until they burn the house down or get in a car accident. I had to insert myself into mom’s business. She hated it(still does) and is often annoyed and even angry with me. But I can talk with her doctors about her care and she is safe and cared for. Ideally you insert yourself into things with excuses or stories. It’s always best to avoid pointing out to a person with dementia their symptoms or limitations (since they believe they have non). So suggest you would like to meet her doctor because you are thinking about finding a new doctor. You make up an excuse that she will buy into. I know being dishonest goes against what most of us have been taught, but it’s being done to help her.Is she still driving? Should she be? Dementia is about way more than just memory issues. Visual spatial issues, lack of good judgment, problems planning and organizing, reaction time, I could go on and on. If she is not safe to drive I would disable the car!
I have attached a few resources that may help.6 -
The beginning stages are very difficult because our PWD doesn't think they need help even though you can see the decline. Does your mom have a neurologist or geriatric psychiatrist? My mom was initially diagnosed by a neurologist, but they were of no real help with managing her symptoms. Her geriatric psychiatrist has managed her medications and monitored her symptoms (depression, agitation).
As you probably know, at some point you will need to become authorized representative for her health care. This will allow you to speak with doctors directly. For now, try to convince your mom and dad that you respect their wishes and are not there to intrude or treat them like children, but to help fill in the gaps should something happen. The first couple years of going to my mom's appointments I didn't really speak at all unless the doctors spoke to me directly, which gained my mother's trust.
I would pursue getting the DPOA for both of your parents now and making sure they have an advanced directive since both of your parents are experiencing issues (health, cognitive, emotional). If they are resistant to comply you can try to tell them that this is their way of having some control of their future. My mother was able to complete her advanced directive during a hospital stay years ago before her dementia took over. She also gave POA at that time. She was very pleased that she made arrangements based on her decisions and did not view it as taking away control. During my mother's last hospitalization, the geriatric psychiatrist and another physician deemed her incapacitated and activated the DPOA for us to be able to move things along quickly for her care. Check with your state's Dept of Aging/Dept of Health to see what resources they have available for dementia care. Many here will tell you to consult an elder attorney. We didn't because my mom was already on Medicaid and had no assets to help pay for care. Keep coming back to this forum for info and support. It has been a life saver to me and has helped me immensely.
1 -
Agree with the above posts. The time for DPOA is now. For every adult. Even a young, healthy person can be rendered incompetent by a head injury - it's important that they have chosen a proxy decision maker that they trust to act in their best interests.
0 -
Get DPOAs NOW for both of them. Get them to an attorney. You can tell them YOU are setting up your affairs(DPOA Will, etc) hopefully you and attorney can persuade them to get their affairs set ‘while you are all there’. If you have to, give your mother DPOA on YOU, which can immediately be destroyed to nullify it.
You keep all originals of course & give her copies if she insists.
0 -
Thank you H1235 for your comments and documents! My Mom is currently undiagnosed but your comment - "She is not just stubborn! She has anosognosia. This is the inability to recognize their symptoms or limitations” - is exactly what I’m experiencing now. I'm at a loss on how to approach her. How do you get someone who doesn’t think there is anything wrong with them to get a DPOA?
At her recent doctor's appointment, he mentioned that she could have some cognitive decline (he hadn't seen her in over a year). She got angry with him and me when I pointed out to him some memory loss. The doctor asked her if she had DPOA and she said yes, but she does not have a DPOA. When we got home, I gently asked her to make sure she had a DPOA, and she said she would speak with her attorney and asked me to stop talking to her like a child. She will not call her attorney because she doesn't think there is anything wrong with her, or she will just forget. Her doctor asked her to complete a POLST (Physicians Order for Life Sustaining Treatment), but she has already forgotten about it.
I joined this forum today because about 1 hour ago she came back from getting lab work her doctor ordered (yes, she still drives) and she was upset because her doctor put the word "Alzheimer's" on her order. I didn't know what to say. I just said, "well, I think that he just wants to make sure everything okay and that tests might reveal something. I am also concerned about your memory”. I only realized after I said this, that she didn’t remember her doctor mentioning the cognitive issue.
I'm not sure what to say or do going forward, but I will continue reading through materials and forum posts.1 -
I got my husband to do the DPOA by telling him we were both getting older and needed to have our paperwork in order. I did not mention his memory issues. I spoke to the attorney ahead of time and explained the situation. He never mentioned Alzheimer’s or dementia. He did have to be sure my husband was capable of understanding the documents. I made the appointment and didn’t tell my husband until we were in the parking lot. I casually said we were going to stop by the attorneys office. I promised an ice cream treat after we finished. It worked. I would stop talking to your Mom about her memory loss and Alzheimer’s. It only causes her more Anxiety. She should no longer be driving. If she was in an accident with Alzheimer’s in her medical record she could be sued and lose everything and her insurance could refuse to pay. Disable the car or have it moved to another family member’s house. Tell her it’s in the shop waiting for parts. Rinse repeat. Fibs are your friend. Yes she will be angry but you must keep her safe.
1 -
Thank you SDianeL for your response, so very helpful. I like your plan and will implement it all going forward. Preventing her from driving may be the easiest to do since she prefers I drive her places but sometimes I have to work. I will make sure her appointments are arranged so I can always take her. Thank you!
1
Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more
Categories
- All Categories
- 645 Living With Alzheimer's or Dementia
- 359 I Am Living With Alzheimer's or Other Dementia
- 286 I Am Living With Younger Onset Alzheimer's
- 18K Supporting Someone Living with Dementia
- 5.7K I Am a Caregiver (General Topics)
- 8.8K Caring For a Spouse or Partner
- 3K Caring for a Parent
- 234 Caring Long Distance
- 188 Supporting Those Who Have Lost Someone
- 13 Discusiones en Español
- 1 Vivir con Alzheimer u Otra Demencia
- 1 Vivo con Alzheimer u Otra Demencia
- Vivo con Alzheimer de Inicio Más Joven
- 12 Prestación de Cuidado
- 3 Soy Cuidador (Temas Generales)
- 8 Cuidar de un Padre
- 23 ALZConnected Resources
- View Discussions For People Living with Dementia
- View Discussions for Caregivers
- Discusiones en Español
- Browse All Discussions
- Dementia Resources
- 8 Account Assistance
- 15 Help
