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WRT drugs - some seniors take lots. And some drugs can cause drowsiness/confusion/etc. Either alone or taken in combination with other drugs. Also - certain drugs can affect people differently (I take one med that makes me sleepy - so I take it before I go to bed). A "water" pill is commonly part of a blood pressure med. They can cause dehydration - which can result in some people being listless.
Perhaps another BP med would be better. If she needs a BP med at all. A lot of thinking about seniors and drugs - including blood pressure meds - is changing these days. Seniors - especially those your mother's age - aren't going to die young anymore - and all these drugs may be doing some people more harm than good:
I felt light years removed from most of the topics in this forum only 5 years ago. My (older) husband's health status changed and everything, and I do mean everything about my life changed just as quickly...
There are the things that change slowly as well. FWIW - I'm glad I'm not the only 66 year old woman who has to struggle getting a 40 pound bag of birdseed into the car:
WRT drugs - some seniors take lots. And some drugs can cause drowsiness/confusion/etc. Either alone or taken in combination with other drugs. Also - certain drugs can affect people differently (I take one med that makes me sleepy - so I take it before I go to bed). A "water" pill is commonly part of a blood pressure med. They can cause dehydration - which can result in some people being listless.
Perhaps another BP med would be better. If she needs a BP med at all. A lot of thinking about seniors and drugs - including blood pressure meds - is changing these days. Seniors - especially those your mother's age - aren't going to die young anymore - and all these drugs may be doing some people more harm than good:
Bring a list of all your mother's meds to your doctor's appointment and talk about it. Hang in there. Hope you enjoy your days off . Robyn
I know you're probably right but it's just been the past few weeks that this 'disorientation' really started. So not sure it's the meds. Doc's appt. today, so we shall see. And yes, she does take BP meds and also one for arrhythmia, which she's had her whole life. She drinks tons of water all day and always has a bottle by her side. One cup of coffee in the morning. No ice tea, etc. anymore because I know the caffeine causes dehydration.
There are the things that change slowly as well. FWIW - I'm glad I'm not the only 66 year old woman who has to struggle getting a 40 pound bag of birdseed into the car:
I haven't had anyone to do the heavy lifting for a long time. Funny thing, when you do it (the heavy lifting) long enough, you develop enough muscle to do it yourself. Forty pounds though, I don't know. I might throw my back out.
I haven't had anyone to do the heavy lifting for a long time. Funny thing, when you do it (the heavy lifting) long enough, you develop enough muscle to do it yourself. Forty pounds though, I don't know. I might throw my back out.
Yes - and I followed my grandmother's example - she was doing all sorts of farming tasks up til her death (stroke). Sadly, I had an accident that separated my shoulder and then I have repeatedly re-injured it. That has made it very difficult for me to do the "moving around" and digging that I have always been able to do in the past.
But I do think that for many of us, staying in shape, keeping those bones and muscles strong, means continuing well into our 70s, at least, with physical tasks. I also have sought out every sort of assistive device that will help me with moving things around.
I have a cart I use to unload groceries from the car and roll them inside. Also, found a really unusual "wheel barrow" that is more like a garbage can on wheels - so that is easier for me to maneuver with.
Compensation can help!
Here is a device I have looked at and am thinking it might work well for me - maybe for others, too.
Hey, Robyn! Check out ani's Aerocart. You could buy the really big sack of bird seed!
Ani, I have wheels on my trash can. My municipality only takes large brown paper leaf-bags and I can handle those without too much trouble. Front and back - five steps to get into the house so I schlep my stuff from the (detached) garage.
But if you routinely carry big loads of stuff without the worry of steps, that cart looks pretty cool.
They had something similar to that Aerocart in Costco at about the same price point - and it was really flimsy. So I'd want to check it out in person first.
FWIW - lifting 40 pounds isn't in my usual repertoire. But my husband forgot something at Costco - had to run back in - and it started to pour when I was unloading the cart. So I had to get that birdseed into the car. Took me about 5 minutes (kind of "walking it" out of the shopping cart a side at a time). Where were all those helpful volunteers I keep reading about here ? If my husband loses the ability to lift 40 pounds - it's 20 pounds or less for us (and I can still handle 20 pounds). Note that WRT Costco - since it doesn't have carryout service like Publix - I carry a knife so I can "unbundle" heavy/bulky packages (like a package of 6 gallons of water - which weighs about 50 pounds). Or I just wait for the BOGO at Public .
Also - it never hurts to shop around for "lifting services". We recently bought 40 large bags of mulch. And one of our local Ace Hardware stores (but not the other) agreed to deliver and move the bags to where we wanted them (both in the back and front of the house) for $25. We could have done that ourselves - but it was worth $25 to avoid 5 trips to Ace to pick up the stuff - and possibly throwing our backs out moving them around the house. Robyn
I am feeling a tad 'old'. I am tired. It's been a long week and I'm not used to 'working two jobs'. Loss of sleep, having to get up at 5 AM every morning, long day at work and then 'work' till about 10 PM after I get home. I'm whupped. Lucky me though, I have three days off this week so I can get caught up.
Mom is doing "okay" but not great. Sometimes I wonder about the "good". The pros are that she has an excellent appetite, likes my cooking and eats really well. She is on top of her meds, knows what they are all for and when to take them. I got her a box with the days of the week on it and she doesn't have to mess with the bottles every time and she's taking more meds than I knew! Nothing serious but probably what most older people take...cholesterol, water, blood thinner, etc.. She can still play her games on the computer...but not real well anymore...and remembers/talks about news stories. The cons... She does get things mixed up sometimes like confusing people and what someone said/did. You tell her one thing and she'll tell someone else something different. She sleeps way too much and doesn't get out of her chair enough. Some of this I chalk up to 'old age' but there are times she'll just talk and it's all mumbo jumbo or things that happened a long time ago and she seems half asleep at those times. And barely audible.
I'm working with a couple of different agencies to get some help in the home for her. My niece hasn't been here for days and I've given up on her. So Mom has been spending all her days basically alone till I get home after 3 PM. She'll sometimes fix a bowl of cereal in the morning but not always. At least when I'm here I see that she eats regularly. She's been doing okay and I don't worry so much about her falling, although the possibility is always there, I worry more about her just sitting and being alone all that time.
Things are plugging along but I am tired.
You will be rewarded in heaven. Your mother should be so grateful to have a daughter like you.
You will be rewarded in heaven. Your mother should be so grateful to have a daughter like you.
Awwww, thanks. And for the rep too. Appreciated.
I don't want my mom to be "grateful". She is thankful that I'm here! So am I. When I moved in here it was with this in mind. She knows how much I love and care about her and vice versa. That's enough. At the doc's office today she was 'singing my praises' and it embarrassed me. lol
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. Robyn
? If my husband loses the ability to lift 40 pounds - it's 20 pounds or less for us (and I can still handle 20 pounds). Note that WRT Costco - since it doesn't have carryout service like Publix - I carry a knife so I can "unbundle" heavy/bulky packages (like a package of 6 gallons of water - which weighs about 50 pounds). Or I just wait for the BOGO at Public 
.
