Continued Doctor visits for 93 yr old mother?

[nymima01]

Good Evening All! My mother is 93 yrs old with dry amd in both eyes. Actually, her left eye is only good for fingers held up close to her face. The right eye is 2200 with her glasses on. My mother has congestive heart failure which has just taken a turn for the last stage recently and she also has squamous cell carcInoma. She has slowed down with surgeries for this as she does not heal well anymore. It takes a lot out if her.

My question is this: Does anyone think she should even bother with more visits to the ophthalmologist to have her eyes dialated so he can tell us that nothing changed? Nothing has changed in about 3 yrs. Is there a good purpose for continued visits? We have gone for palliative care with her skin cancer and we are looking into comfort care for her chf.

I say we should stop her visits with her eye care. I have been her caregiver for over 7 yrs and we’ve made every 6 month visit for all these years.

[Hidden]

Your poor mother. I think it would be a very reasonable decision as she appears to have late dry AMD, with vision below treatment guidelines should it become wet. All the best.

[Tetrazzini]

Very difficult when you are doing everything your mother could hope for. On balance, I would think the eye visits probably cause a degree of discomfort which outweighs any benefit which may accrue.

With best wishes for you both, John

[Hidden]

My sympathies to you both x

As a carer myself the default position is always " it's their choice" but if they are asking for a reason to be able to stop, or are unable to make an informed decision due to poor cognitive processing and the balance of probability is they will suffer unnecessarily by continuing then I think it's reasonable to discontinue as others have said.

I don't know what difference a worsening in vision would make for all practical purposes but if it will be noticeable to her i suggest you find a way to ensure others who deal with your mum are aware of the possibility and can check&react accordingly ( eg are they putting drinks too far out of sight?).

Best wishes to you both in such difficult times x

[arwmd]

Sorry for you and sorry for her. Yikes, what a lot on the plate. At 93 if she is still rational I would opt for giving her the choice. At least that way she can feel she still has some control over her life. Plus to me it is the respectful way to proceed. Bless you for caring.