My mom who is 95 and has dementia has over the past month shown a loss of appetite and is extremely weak, but appears content with no pain.
Blood test today showed:
Creatinine level at 1.7. Prior levels this year: April - 0.9, June - 0.8 and Sept - 0.8.
GFR is now at 29.7 (stage 4). Prior level this year: April - 62, June - 71 and Sept - 70.8 (stage 2).
I'm surprised at how fast these numbers have spiked/declined respectively.
Home Care NP offered two options: Hospital with a 50/50 chance of treatment or hospice care.
My sibling feels we should do hospice care for various valid reasons. I know she does have stones from previous abdominal x-rays. Last one in April showed no sign of blockage.
Personally torn between the two options. Thank you for reading. Just needed to share.
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NKF64
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Hard decisions. My mom also had dementia. Personally, I would go with hospice care as it should be easier on your mom and will support your family. God bless you.
Sadly my mum is experiencing something similar with her 84y/o aunt. Whilst no dementia, her kidney function deteriorated rapidly in past ~month from egfr 50 to mid-20s. Other longstanding issues too eg heart failure, edema.
We are "hoping" the CKD decline is due to temporary AKI caused by medication 🤞🤞.
It's take your pick on the options with ibruprofen my favourite but others eg diuretic and Metformin.
Mother Nature is often gentle and understanding with our cherished ones - giving us a window of time to love on them, to share experiences with them, to peacefully watch the sunrises and sunsets together in a comfortable setting. Some value that opportunity to make those type of memories. Others prefer seeing a loved one for more days, to buy time so to speak, which can involve seeing a loved one in a hospital environment with nurses busying themselves taking blood pressure and labs and perhaps applying machines and medications. Your mother is 95 years old - that's very impressive - it's close to a full century of life. It's rare, really, for the human body to go that distance. May we all be so blessed. As you take a good look at the situation, I agree with jflorax to trust yourself to make the best decision for her. And also find calm and peace in that outcome for yourself. Hugs!
I was diagnosed in 2017. I decided then that I would not want dialysis. I am now 83, my decision is the same. I will choose palliative care.
I looked for an explanation of the difference between palliative care and hospice: "Palliative and hospice care both aim to enhance quality of life through symptom management and pain relief, but hospice care is for patients with a terminal illness who have chosen to stop curative treatments. On the other hand, palliative care supports individuals with serious or chronic illnesses who are continuing treatments to improve or extend their lives."
Is there the possibility of starting with palliative care and moving to hospice when appropriate?
My memories over my mom's passing is making me cry. She wanted to go smoothly and easily...as nature intended. I convinced her to sign up for "hydration measures" because I was worried she would be parched and thirsty. She very reluctantly did so. Then she suffered a massive stroke. As she was peacefully sleeping, she suddenly started to drown with all the fluids given her building up in her lungs. I'm forever indebted to my brother who stepped in to stop it and later on waved off the machines and paddles so she could continue to peacefully sleep her way to the great hereafter. She was in her late 80s. You've made a great decision.
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