Mum is terminally ill with cancer. In a nursing home. She has never been good at drinking water. Coffee and tea but that's it.
Now she barely eats or drinks anything.
I'm getting a bit frustrated with her though of course I never show that to her. Every time I go and see her she moans endlessly that her mouth is so dry. She sees an advert on the TV for throat sweets and she says she needs them for her dry mouth.
I took her new hydrating face cream and she plastered her mouth in it saying her mouth is so dry she can't stand it.
The key to solving the dry mouth is fluid intake and she won't do it. As far as i can see she wont drink anything much at all.
Every time I go and see her she sits with a jug of water untouched, a glass of juice untouched, I bring a take away coffee she likes and she takes one sip and puts it down. I finally told her she needs to drink for the dry mouth.
She complained the water bottle my sister bought her is too heavy and she drops it. So I ordered her a small water bottle designed for children with a silicone straw and a sippy cup meant for toddlers. I flled both with a small amount of water so it isn't too heavy and she sat holding both for the 2 hours I was there and didn't even try drinking from them whilst complaining non stop about her dry mouth.
Her cancer got as advanced as it was as she refused to do anything about it and it was stage 4 by the time she sought treatment and its palliative only. She's not having chemo or radiotherapy as it's pointless at her age and this late stage.
I've got to the point where I just want to make sympathetic noises and not try and solve it anymore if she won't do anything herself.
Unless anyone has suggestions? The staff encourage but she won't drink.