Thanks @travelnut he does not have CHF, but he had the symptoms and they think it turned out to be anemia and pneumonia, both of which have been & are being treated. Yes to some level of confusion, mainly he has short term memory loss. He is still very much him & not confused in the moment, but later does not recall what happened
@somemom I find that caregivers often want to medicate their clients to avoid the hassle of night time awakening. I see no reason to medicate with medication such as Ambien or Restoril which are not recommended for the elderly (nor is Benadryl and that is a large dose!) as they increase injury and may contribute to mental status changes. They don’t wear off on the elderly during the day. This is not a problem for your FIL, but an inconvenience for the caregiver. It’s what they signed up for and shouldn’t be recommending sedatives. I tell caregivers that their elderly client will sleep about 7 hours. If they sleep at all during the day, it will rob some nighttime sleep. The exposure to natural light is a good one and I will start suggesting that as well. But, with complaints of staying up all night, 100% of caregivers admit that their elderly charge is sleeping during the day. There is no magic pill for “getting days and nights mixed up.” It takes discipline to make sure the elderly client is kept busy and avoid sleeping during the day.
I’m new to this thread, so bear with me! My 91 yo MIL is back in her home following a hospital and rehab stay. No specific diagnosis other than weakness and bladder/bowel leakage. One son lives with her, but works. Some kind of home care agency is sending someone to do an assessment on Monday. I am wondering how much care we can expect from Medicare. My concern is that she is at considerable risk for a fall, and her semi-incontinence calls for frequent clean up. I anticipate that one SIL will insist “we” can manage all this. If this situation becomes the new normal for us though, I have my doubts. Would love to hear what others experiences were like.
When we had home care for my mother at age 93 it was not covered by medicare or her secondary insurance. The assisted living is also not covered that she is in now. When she was in rehab after a fall and in assisted living they covered about a month. When my father at age 87 was on hospice they covered it at home . When my FIL age 95 in a nursing home had extra care the hospice covered it. When he was in rehab after the stroke and before hospice they did cover it for so many days and not a resuming of coverage because his second stroke was too close to the last one and a certain amount of days had to lapse. I would think that the home care agency will know how much if any is covered. I would look into plan B such as an assisted living option and cost.
This thread is an excellent source of information and if you have the time, reading through it piece by piece will help get a perspective on things and what to ask.
@juniebug, no experience with Medicare covering anything; I know that in NY, Medicaid can cover quite a bit but it varies a lot from state to state. Just wanted to offer my sympathy and empathy–this is an amazingly supportive and helpful little corner of College Confidential, enough so that I have it bookmarked two years after my dad and stepmother died. Lots of experience here with unrealistic and uncooperative siblings and inlaws!
I had another 8 hours at the ER then 2 hours while they admitted mom last night. One of the sibs brought her down - we were concerned, and rightly so, she had another UTI. Actually, the last one didn’t go away.
Pokes and prods, 3 blood draws from her tiny, tiny veins in the one arm they can use. She was so angry.
IV antibiotics, rehydrating drip, a blood transfusion today for anemia. They want to keep her in until Monday.
Sib and I left at 2:30am, and another of the family went in at 10 this morning. It wasn’t pleasant between those hours, I guess, so someone will be staying in the room overnight. Mom usually gets very angry and physically combative when she is confused and alone, but as she all but pushed us out last night, we thought things would be ok. Not. The nurses didn’t ask for anyone to stay, we just can’t leave her be.
UTIs are the devil. The AFH aides do so much for her, but she’s stubborn and can always say no. She doesn’t like being incontinent, so drinks less, and away we go.
@juniebug, like others, Medicare did nothing beyond rehab. We looked into private care, but @24 hours a day it was more than each of us makes annually and mom certainly couldn’t afford it.
Growing old is tough on elders and their children!
@zeebamom, sympathy and empathy. For what it’s worth, my dad’s blood tests were done via easier-to-find veins in his hand.
@zeebamom Would the physician consider giving her prophylactic antibiotics. Something she can take daily? Alternatively, can the AFH aides collect a urine as soon as she shows signs of a UTI? Certainly frequent hospital visits are difficult for everyone.
@juniebug Typically, Medicare covers “skilled nursing.” Something you need an RN to come by and assess. It’s not for custodial needs. For example, they won’t pay for someone to clean up due to incontinence, change, and turn her, but they will pay for someone to come in to assess and manage the bed sore she gets as a result of lying in one spot on spoiled bed linen.
@GTalum, this is what I heard this morning: “Just saw Dr. Urinalysis only showed 5000 whatever you call it, when 100,000 is what they see for a UTI. That’s why they took urine this morning so they can check again. Another chest X-ray just to make sure then can probably go home tomorrow morning.”
This is from what they collected on Friday night via catheter. The urine was almost opaque. Several vials of blood were taken then to check for other things at the same time.
We considered prophylactic abx at one point, but I can’t remember why not. The AFH does the strip check for possible UTI fairly regularly, especially when one is suspected. She also has a dr who makes house calls there, as many as needed in the monthly fee we pay him, so care is good. This is all just so draining for all of us.
Thanks for the replies! I went with H to see her today and gave her a bath. Seems like that’s the sort of help she needs. She is taking advantage of the disposable undergarments rather than using the potty chair. Naturally, this is bad for her skin, as she’s not getting cleaned up often enough. She dislikes the window ac we put in. Doesn’t need it. The BIL and SIL who are there the most think the heat isn’t a problem. I’m hoping she gets stronger soon.
@juniebug, we can always hope, but at your MIL’s age, “getting stronger soon” is probably a long shot, alas.
Re the A/C: I don’t recall that you said where your MIL lives, but for sure elderly people tend to be comfortable in warmer temperatures than those of us who are younger. Of course if we’re talking many hours of indoor temps in the 90s, that’s another story.
I’m at the hospital surgery waiting room. Mom is having surgery for a baseball-size clot in her bladder. The CT scan also showed diverticulitis. No wonder she’s has pain.
The fun never ends.
Oy, zeebamom, that’s a lot! Hope they can make her comfortable.
Yeeks, zeebamon ! Baseball size clot in bladder- horrific !
All the best with this, zeebamom. I hope this will reduce her distress.
@zeebamom , sending sunny CA energy and hopes for a good outcome.
That’s a pretty big clot. Do they know how or why it formed? Good luck with the surgery and blessing to the caregivers.
Good luck with the surgery and hopes for an uncomplicated recovery for your mother…and for you.
Thanks, all.
The clot was golfball sized and pretty firm. No signs of a tumor, which the dr said was common when there is a clot that size. The lining of her bladder is thick and irritated with a lot of little blood vessels seeping. She cauterized some and mom is now on a flushing catheter set up to keep new clots from forming.
She is also in an active diverticulitis episode. All part of her elevated WBC. Also - probably not the number of UTIs we thought.
She came out of surgery well and is eating and drinking. Hoping she is out of hospital by Friday.
She is begging to go home to the AFH “where they take better care of her.” A far cry from her usual wanting to be anywhere but there.
She insists that she won’t forget any of this and will make our lives miserable. We fully expect her to have forgotten all within the month.