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justask
justask Member Posts: 6
Second Anniversary First Comment
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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.

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  • pamu
    pamu Member Posts: 88
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    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.

  • psg712
    psg712 Member Posts: 710
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    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.

  • terei
    terei Member Posts: 892
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    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.

  • dpitt1179
    dpitt1179 Member Posts: 2
    First Comment
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    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.
  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 3,293
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    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.

  • dpitt1179
    dpitt1179 Member Posts: 2
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    Member

    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!

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
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