Background: My mom will be 96 in two months. She has dementia. She has CHF. She has hypertension. The CHF causes edema so she is on lasik and her dr has been a real wizard in managing the dose even though it impacts her kidneys. One year ago her GFR was in the high 50’s. 3 months ago it was 30.2. Now it is 22. She is not a candidate for either dialysis or a transplant. Lastly, she lives in assisted-living. I am scared that she will go into Stage 5 and everything I read about Stage 5 seems to be about people who are on dialysis but I cannot find information addressing people who are 96 years old with CHF and dementia who enter Stage 5.
I have so many questions that I cannot get answers to. The dr is non committal and says no one knows, things can change slowly or quickly etc. but no hard answers. So maybe someone knows the answers to my questions or can point me to a place I might find them. Here are my questions:
1) exactly a year ago my mom’s GFR was in the high 50’s and three months ago it was 30.2 and now it’s 22 . Does that seem like a quick decline or is that to be expected knowing all her other issues?
2) Would the fact that her kidneys are damaged mean that they will continue to degrade as she cannot have dialysis or a transplant? Or could she just remain at 22 for a long time even without any sort of intervention and regardless of being on lasik and having CHF and dementia?
3) how do I find out what to expect if she crosses into stage 5 with CHF and no chance of dialysis or transplant? Will she be in pain? What am I meant to do for her?
4) what happens if she crosses into stage five but we don’t know it because it happens before they do the next quarterly blood draw? What am I meant to be looking for so that I can alert the doctor? Should I be asking the doctor to draw blood more frequently than every three months because she’s now at 22?
5) it seems to me that crossing into stage five means that my mother will pass? If that’s the truth, will it happen quickly once she makes it into stage five? Or can you be in stage five for a while? I really don’t understand stage five.
I am so ill educated about this and I hate that that’s the case but I just can’t find the answers that I need as I cannot find information addressing people who are 96 years old with CHF and dementia who enter Stage 5. If anyone can help me, I would appreciate it.
I apologize if I have said anything inappropriate or upset anyone as that was not my intention. I am just at sea and I just don’t know what to do or what to expect.
Again thank you for any help you can give me