Please or to access all these features

Elderly parents

End of life without cognitive decline?

64 replies

Magnificentkitteh · 06/12/2025 14:11

My DM seems to have a lot of signs that she is approaching end of life from decompensated heart failure - lack of appetite, sleeping a lot, reduced body temperature, v low blood pressure, incontinence, dry mouth, milky eyes, I could go on. She is currently in hospital with flu and pneumonia but she also has acute kidney injury, anaemia, low minerals of various kinds a broken arm, osteoporosis. In short she's in a bad way. But mentally she is still pretty well when not asleep, and getting really fed up with them keeping finding new things wrong and treating one thing that makes another thing worse. My head is all over the place. I feel like she's in the final days of life if I'm honest, but no doctors have said this, they're treating her with antibiotics, infusions of various kinds, a bear hug blanket thing filled with air, and talking about intensive physio at a rehab hospital.

Can someone help me understand what to expect? I'm currently with her but don't know whether to go home to London (2 hours away on train) and come back next weekend, or if we really are at the end stage. I've posted similar threads before and got helpful advice but things have moved on a bit so thought I'd start a new one.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Harassedevictee · 15/12/2025 18:08

💐 sorry for your loss.

Candleabra · 15/12/2025 07:03

So sorry for your loss x

SleafordSods · 15/12/2025 06:56

I’m so sorry. Death of a loved one isn’t easy even if you know that they are going to pass.

I’m glad though that you were with her Flowers

Cat1504 · 14/12/2025 19:42

💐

Allthesnowallthetime · 14/12/2025 19:32

I'm so sorry for your loss, OP Flowers

FinallyHere · 14/12/2025 19:21

Thinking of you @Magnificentkitteh

may she rest in peace

Aslican · 14/12/2025 19:08

May she Rest in Peace ❤️

jay55 · 14/12/2025 18:39

Sorry for you loss, glad it ended relatively swiftly for her.

gogomomo2 · 14/12/2025 18:26

Sorry op x

been there and it still upsetting even if you know it’s coming and they are in such bad health but I hope like me you can remember the wonderful person they were and the life they had rather than the sadness and sickness at the end. Take care

biscuitscake · 14/12/2025 18:23

Magnificentkitteh · 14/12/2025 18:14

Thank you everyone. My DM passed away peacefully in the early hours of this morning with me by her side. She could still understand and respond appropriately until a few hours before the end but was finding it increasingly difficult to speak. I felt calmer as soon as I felt the doctors and I were on the same page. The second guessing is really hard. With love to all who have shared painful losses. Thank you. It did help me orient myself when I felt at sixes and sevens.

So very sorry for your loss OP. Sending hugs to you and your family - your lovely Mum is now at peace.

Magnificentkitteh · 14/12/2025 18:14

Thank you everyone. My DM passed away peacefully in the early hours of this morning with me by her side. She could still understand and respond appropriately until a few hours before the end but was finding it increasingly difficult to speak. I felt calmer as soon as I felt the doctors and I were on the same page. The second guessing is really hard. With love to all who have shared painful losses. Thank you. It did help me orient myself when I felt at sixes and sevens.

OP posts:
jay55 · 14/12/2025 17:09

I’m sorry you’re at this point, I’m glad she’s being well looked after. Take care.

BusySittingDown · 14/12/2025 13:37

I have nothing really useful to say but I am so sorry that you're going through this. It's absolutely horrible.

For the past five years my mum has been treated as EOL quite a few times and we stayed at her bedside and she rallied round every time. She did have cognitive decline as her frailty was due to multiple strokes.

My mum eventually passed away 3 weeks ago, my sister and I by her side. All of the other times I had had a feeling that she would come back around but the last time was different. Her breathing was very laboured and rattling. It switched between being very fast and then slow. I just knew it was the end.

It's so hard to know what to do. I always get the feeling that the nurses and staff prefer you there anyway, just to take some of the pressure off them.

I'm so sorry, sending you love and strength 💐

whatohwhattodo · 14/12/2025 08:30

Magnificentkitteh · 13/12/2025 20:17

Just wanted to update the thread. My mum is now on end of life care. She finally moved from the acute care ward to the complex care for the elderly ward and things moved quite quickly after that. My sister and I are here and will stay as long as we need to. Thank you all x

I’m sorry. I lost my mum 2 months ago.

Palliative care suggested playing favourite music or similar so I brought in a laptop and played some heartbeat episodes for her.

I am not sure whether she knew it was there - once they actively stopped treatment she wasn’t alert at all as far as I could see.

the hospital were really nice - I could store food for me in the ward fridge etc and use the staff coffee machine so I didn’t keep having to go to cafe.

SleafordSods · 13/12/2025 22:27

I’m so sorry Magnificent. It seems to have all moved pretty quickly. I hope you can take some comfort from the fact that you’re able to be with her Flowers

Ineedanewsofa · 13/12/2025 21:41

My DF had no signs of cognitive decline until the very last day when he seemed a little confused - it coincided with an increase in his pain meds as it was also the first day he complained if any pain. We left him at 7pm and he passed a few hours later. His greatest fear was dementia so in many ways I’m grateful for how his last months played out. Wishing you strength for what’s to come x

Aslican · 13/12/2025 21:34

Thinking of you and glad you can be there with her.

magentacaramel · 13/12/2025 21:09

So sorry to hear this. Praying for you all Flowers

Ineffable23 · 13/12/2025 20:50

I'm sorry you're losing your mum OP, but glad you've got a bit more clarity. It sounds like you had an inkling before the doctors did.

We had a relative died recently and I was clear as soon as I arrived at hospital that he wasn't coming out but the doctors seemed to think it was 50-50. There were more and more last ditch attempts to treat him until eventually they decided it was time to let him pass peacefully without further intervention.

Fleurdalys · 13/12/2025 20:49

Thinking of you xx

justasking111 · 13/12/2025 20:43

I'm glad you are in a better place knowledge wise and hope the staff can clarify things for you both.

Magnificentkitteh · 13/12/2025 20:17

Just wanted to update the thread. My mum is now on end of life care. She finally moved from the acute care ward to the complex care for the elderly ward and things moved quite quickly after that. My sister and I are here and will stay as long as we need to. Thank you all x

OP posts:
Magnificentkitteh · 07/12/2025 15:24

olderbutwiser · 07/12/2025 14:41

I think the fact she's only 81 and has no cognitive decline may be a confounding factor. By today's standards it's quite young, and there is likely to be an expectation that she can bounce back from this whereas a 90-year-old with dementia wouldn't.

Yes I think you're right. They've barely mentioned the heart failure really except like you might mention a bit of eczema.....Even though to my eyes it is end stage. She doesn't eat so has all sorts of deficiencies and her blood pressure and blood sugars drop dangerously low - this is her 3rd admission in 2 months. Her kidneys are wrecked (though they call them "a bit dry").. Her blood pressure and blood sugars drop dangerously low.

OP posts:
olderbutwiser · 07/12/2025 14:41

I think the fact she's only 81 and has no cognitive decline may be a confounding factor. By today's standards it's quite young, and there is likely to be an expectation that she can bounce back from this whereas a 90-year-old with dementia wouldn't.

Magnificentkitteh · 07/12/2025 10:18

Earlydarkdays · 07/12/2025 08:54

I lost my Dad to heart failure last year. He had no cognitive decline either and was sitting up in bed doing a crossword with me was than 48 hours before he died which I still look back on in disbelief. He was in hospital for 4 weeks before he died. They actively tried to treat him for 2.5 of those weeks then had a pretty clear cut conversation with us that he was dying and they wanted to get palliative care involved. However, they then continued to actively treat him alongside palliative care which confused us no end. It was only in the last 5 days before he died that they withdrew treatment and palliative care took over completely.

I found the palliative care team much more informative and open with us about what we were looking at.

I think it would be worth asking if they think palliative care should get involved for your DM at this stage. They were clear that even if my Dad recovered, palliative care could help support us and him in the longer term as it was about keeping him comfortable.

I’m sorry your DM is so unwell and you are having to try to juggle all of this. Sending you strength as you navigate this.

Thank you. This sounds like the way to go, and I am sorry that you and other PPs had to go through similar.

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread