Have got an elderly FIL with dementia who now spends approx 20 hours a day in bed.
Kind of a tricky situation, he was diagnosed during 2020 lockdown and then discharged by the dementia clinic and referred back to the GP for management.
MiL doesn't want any more involvement from the dementia clinic. She didn't find them useful.
We are wondering if the increased time in bed means he's progressed to the more severe stages. GP said it's likely to have progressed but can't be specific about how advanced things are without various tests and MiL isn't keen on pursuing. She seems to just want to look after him at home as best she can. He can still stand and walk and (mostly) get to the toilet when needed. As of yet MiL doesn't feel she needs support from carers. We all think it would be great for her.
His speech is slurred and he eats a soft diet.
It's very sad. I just wondered if anyone has been through it? Is this near the end?
Elderly parents
Dementia
warmmfeet · 03/02/2024 22:37
statetrooperstacey · 04/02/2024 15:35
No not necessarily, I look after many people with dementia, they can have years left bed bound, Providing they are being adequately looked after it doesn’t seem to make any difference .
warmmfeet · 14/02/2024 09:17
@MereDintofPandiculation hi I just wanted to ask, has he been mostly asleep and bed bound? Or just more comfortable in bed but conscious. FiL sleeps 20 hours out of 24.
warmmfeet · 14/02/2024 10:02
@MereDintofPandiculation oh wow! 101. Well I'm glad he was comfortable for his 101st.
My FiL only 75.
indianrunnerduck · 29/02/2024 14:44
@DocOck thank you! It is a nightmare, my Mum promised my Dad that he could stay at home until the end, as she was adamant that he would be terrified in hospital or a care home and therefore I was inevitably on board to support both of them. My Mum is 89, with her own diminished cognitive function. I have a POA for both of them. I realise now that neither of us had anything like enough information or experience to take this on. My Mum has to deal with the daily grind of listening to the same phrase being repeated 30 times an hour and all the rest as I don't live with them. But I am back and forth constantly and on the phone several times a day and organising their whole lives in the background. I am completely and utterly exhausted and realise now that we are both waiting for him to die, that I am repeating to myself "nothing lasts forever" which sounds shocking written down but I feel that I have unwittingly surrendered my life to this cause. As you say, how many times will we have to gear ourselves up to say goodbye, only for them to somehow rally round once again? I love my Dad but he will never recover even a tiny fraction of his former self or quality of life & I long for us all to be set free from this suffering.
indianrunnerduck · 29/02/2024 16:10
@MagnificentHats Thank you for sharing. Even if my Mum would consider a care home, I have a feeling we may have left it too late, we live in a rural/coastal area which isn't well served by support services & facilities. We do have a carer coming in to give My Dad a shower, hair wash & shave three times a week (as he became averse to getting washed, showered, dressed this year) also he has, I am grateful to say, just been accepted for hospice at home support, now that he is thought to be close to the actively dying stage. They don't provide caring or day to day nursing but they do keep an eye on how things are changing & are committed to being there towards the end, to ensure that people have a comfortable & pain free death and that family members are informed and supported, leading up to & after the death. I may be naive but I hope we can muddle through, doing our best, until it's all over and then begin to recover.
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