OT-Sad about my mom

I have not been on the board much lately because my mom is the hospital at vanderbilt. She has not been herself for about 2-3 months. She does not eat because she thinks the food is not good for her. She won't drink much either. This made her potassium low and sodium either low or high.She has gotten dehydrated 3 times in the last 2months. She has been in the hospital 3 time in the last 2 months. Her urine was very strong too. They said she was starving herself. And she lost 38lbs the last time in less than 3 weeks, and this time she lost 13 pounds. She did gain some back the last time but then lost 13lbs this last time in less than a week.She is 4'11" and did weigh 216 and now weighs 178 or less now. They say it is not medical but mental. She was in the hospital two weeks ago for not eating, drinking, and not taking her medication. She has high blood pressure, Lupus, and arthritis. They say she was suffering from depression and paranoia. They prescribed Prozac and Zyprexa for these symptoms. I decided to go give her medicine 2x a day for her if it would help. My sisters also tried this too. It did help for about 3 days. Then, she started complaining about the medicine, and she was not eating much or drinking again. She fought with us to get in the car to the hospital. She didnt want to go. She thinks no one can help her. She is terrified with the doctors and tests. I know she hated taking pills too. She fought with this too. She tried to hide it. She doesnt' want to take care of her personal needs such as bathing either. This has happened every time. Her husband (my stepfather) has tried to help her but she won't let him. He is 70 and his hearing is not good. But he does care and asked for our help. We didnt want to make her go to the hospital. We had to make her 3 times so far. We were afraid if she didn't go, we would not find her alive. This scares me. She made the statement she didnt care if she died she was not going to the hospital. They said she was not competant to make her own decisions. She did not used to be like this. She loved taking baths. She was carefull about what she ate when she was diagnosed with diabetes. She does not have this problem now but she thinks she still does. This is the 3rd time this has happen with her not eating or drinking. She thinks the food is sour and bad and she can't or won't eat it. She thinks in her mind the food and water or other drinks are not good.Her husband has tried to but she thinks he is trying to put her away. Her sister had a mental health problem and died of a Grand Mal Seizure(sp?)at the age of 44. My mom is 54. I know this is a lot to grasp but I need to vent somewhere . This is causing so much stress with me, my family, my two sisters. We have all been trying to help her and I at my witts end. The Mobile Crisis team came in last night after we left the hospital. They are admitting her to a pyschiatric facility when a space is available. They had already decided this two days ago but was waiting on the Crisis Moble to evaluate her. So, we have been playing this waiting game. We have driven a lot these past 3weeks back and forth to Vanderbilt. Which it is about 45miles one way I think. I don't mind but it does get tiring sometimes. I am the one driving mostly because my two sisters no nothing about driving to Nashville My children are stressed out with all this because they hate to see their "granny" this way.By the way, she has 13 grandchildren between my self and my two sisters. They miss her the way she used to be. They miss time with me and so does my husband but he is wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better supporter. Sorry for all this long book but sometimes I need to write to get it off my chest even if it is a little bit. Other news, I went for my appointment with the pulmonologist(sp?) on July 8. I do have sleep apnea but not significent enough to warrent using a cpap machine, and I don't have narcolepsy or restless leg syndrome. I stopped breathing 8 times sleeping on my side and 31 times on my back. But I don't like sleeping on my back so I sleep on my side. My oxygen was good, my heart was too. The daytime study revealed I didnt have narcelepsy(sp?). It showed it only took me 3.5 min to fall asleep but I did not go into REM sleep. He said I was one sleepy person, enough to warrent medication for the daytime drowsiness(sp?) I am taking Provigil for the sleepiness during the day and boy it does help with me during the day when I am driving. I was always so scared to drive especially long distances to Nashville. It scared me that I would have an accident because I have had some close calls. I feel much safer now. I am wondering if I will be able to take this after surgery? I hope so. They said the sleep apnea would go away with the weight loss but not the sleepiness. So, I hope I can take this medicine. I go for my consult with Dr. Lindy Hruska on July 20th at 1pm. I hope all this doesnt change. I dont want to wait another 3mths for another consult date. Thank you all for listening because sometimes it makes me feel better to type this out. Lisa

I'm so sorry about your mom. Please understand that she needs help right now that you can't give her. She desperately needs to be hospitalized to save her life. Once she is under psychiatric care 24/7 you can relax and concentrate on yourself. You will need all the positive energy you can muster right now. Please surround yourself with people who will be supportive of YOU. Good luck, Lisa. Write back and keep us posted. Judy

Thank you for the reply and support I can sure use it right now. It seems like this summer has been terrible but I know god is with me through all this. lisa

Lisa, I'm sorry to hear about your Mom's illness. Hopefully with inpatient care she can get on a medication regimin that will help her get through these rough times. Seems that maybe if she gets her blood levels theraputic in a structured environment she will do ok. I know this is hard on you and your family and my thoughts and prayers are with all of you. The only thing that you guys can do for her now is love her. You've made the right decisions so far in getting her the help that she truly needs. I am wishing you the best with Dr. Hruska at your appointment and am praying that you will be on the losing side soon. Best wishes to you sweetie and a speedy recovery for your Mom. Anne

Thank you for all your support and get well wishes. I am still trying to concentrate on my self but it is hard to. We are going swimming today to relieve some tension. They have not moved her yet but will keep us informed. I think it upsets her more when we come up sometime. lisa

Lisa, Sorry to hear about your mom and hope and pray for you and your family that she will get better. Take care of yourself. Tara

Hello Lisa! I'm sorry to hear about your mom hon! Hope things get better soon! From what you've told us - Sounds like you & your family are doing everything possible to help her! Take care of yourself too! -Katie

Thank you katie we are trying but sometimes I wonder if we are doing too much or not enough. I don't want her to hate me for all this. But I know she loves us. lisa

hi Lisa . Sorry to hear your having to deal with a sick mom at a time when you really need to be more focused on you . as for the sleep apnea your sleep apnea sounds like its positional mild obstructive apnea . when you sleep try to stay off your back . this sometimes is accomplished by sewing a tennis ball in the back of your gown . with a sleep latency of 3.5 my goodnes you are sleepy girl .Treatment depends on the doctors protocol for the lab you had the testing done in .The lab i work at , if you had the testing done there with the info you have given here , you would of been put on cpap.True enough the weight loss will help the apnea .But here when Dr Birkitt sends his pt for a study preop . he wants them on cpap for even the mildest of cases due to the fact of the complications that could arise during surgery because of the apnea .You can have up to 5 apneas a hour and still be considered in the normal range so depending on how long your test was run depends on the diagnosis also. you should be able to still take the provigil after the surgery . Hope this tidbit of info helps .I do polysomnography at 3 different labs in the tricities. I am curious to know if they run a mslt on you .this is a test where you take 5 short naps every 2 hours . hope this lil tidbit of info helps you . Stay well and focused on the big picture . Elizabeth

they did do a daytime sleep study after I stayed the night. I took little naps every 2hrs. lisa