advice/support

[GemGem95]

My elderly great auntie age 86 was diagnosed with vascular dementia a couple of years ago.

She doesn’t move at ALL as she also broke her hip, she was supposed to go to this retreat which had specialist nurses that would help her walk after have her hip replacement however she refused.

Because she hasn’t walk md to strength her leg she doesn’t move after being told by doctors,brother and my mum to move she doesn’t.

Because she doesn’t move whenever she gets out of bed her blood pressure rise which cause her to have dizzy spells.

Her doctor did a blood test and said that her kidney level were higher but not alarming and her blood sugar was high but not alarming.

She keeps complying if a headache and feeling rotten every morning and takes some phosphate codine tablet which was given for her back pain.

We’ve tried taking her out but she refuses and she will keep need the toilet and uses that excuse all the time.

She makes it more difficult and doesn’t help us out.

[lell1]

Hi GemGem95

these oldies are buggers for being stubborn huh? It's straightforward, move or lose movement! We offer all kinds of support/opportunities/options to help! Grrr! I, and possibly thousands of others, have all thought these things.

Now from your great aunt's viewpoint (don't know where she's at with her dementia) it's a whole different picture! She is more forgetful to start with, then she 'knows that she did it', then it moves on to 'do what?' Time starts out with 'blimey, where's that time gone?', to trying to work out what time it really is (these new-fangled digital clocks don't help!) In doing this, they don't realise that they have lost another skill. I used to hear my dad working out the time by where the hands were in relation to the numbers and the complexities of telling the time became apparent to me. Concept of time has no real impact. So, it takes ages to get him to do things. an average of 3 hours to get him up and dressed, sitting with breakfast.

As she has a broken hip, she is in additional pain. And this additional pain came from falling (either inside the house or outside). So, by moving she may feel that she could fall again? What many people don't realise is that loss of cognitive skills is not linear. So, where she doesn't have any real concept of time, she may be very aware of falling leading to pain, and that moving could result in another fall; the overall feeling being fear. Scared to move, scared to go out, scared to get up and do things...just in case! Processing the knowledge that not moving can/does lead to more difficulties is not happening, maybe as a result of the nature and nuances of dementia. Prior understanding of physiology will also play a part as she won't understand what you try to explain to her. With it being new knowledge it won't be stored in memory and therefore can't be processed. So, has no real meaning.

Most people's blood pressure rises when we get up, more so when we get up too fast! High blood pressure can lead to nauseas feeling, dizziness. Most of us feel yuk first thing? We just don't focus on it. However, for your great-aunt, it may be one of the first things that she is aware of? Her venerable age brings with it incumbent aches and pains, failing muscles, organs etc., together with the effects of numerous pills and potions, so really we shouldn't be surprised that the yukky feeling is prominent? If she has raised sugar levels she will need the loo more often too. So maybe try lowering the sugar and/or naughty carbs in her diet. Going to the loo less often may help her feel less yukky and 'safer' in going out? Being old is not good for our health!

Sorry if I've gone on a bit, but the professionals tend to only give you the symptoms!

[BUDGIEBURDEKIN in reply to lell1]

Hi, sadly when one has dementia are right and so believe what they say is true and there’s no way round it, part of my living alone, lol, it isn’t their fault. Honestly. X