Mum lives alone and independently bar visits from me or DSis every 2-3 weeks or so. She has COPD and early heart failure, also being treated for a heart arrthymia, so is on loads of medications.
She has grow steadily less able to do active things over the past few years - she can do so much then suddenly becomes catastrophically tired and feels dreadful, gets an unpleasant headache, and can be wiped out - at worst, for several days. How much she can do before that happens has been dwindling slowly for years, but now, is rapidly diminishing to the point where I fear she won't be able to carry on independently - and more to the point, I fear she won't be able to get any pleasure out of life at all.
She has talked to both her GP and cardiologist about this but they have never really been able to explain it- they order ecgs etc and say nothing much has changed.
She isn't on oxygen as her sats are OK, and she hasn't got a lot of fluid retention etc either.
My hunch is that it is probably an effect of her many many medications, combined with the fact that the less she does, the less she can do. But it is not for the want of trying, she isn't lazy - she is constantly having to 'titrate' what she can do vs how much she has in the tank before she regrets doing 'just a bit too much'.
She is trying to arrange to get a cleaner coming in, though organising that in itself is a dauting (exhausting) prospect for her now. But with things changing so fast, not sure how long even that would keep her going.
Does anyone recognise this? - in particular, in association with heart failure (or any of the other things she has). Just looking for similar experiences really - I am not madly hopeful there is much anyone can do, but thought it was worth asking.