My dad passed in August, two days later my mom was discharged from a psychiatric facility and now lives with me. I need caregiver support.
I believe she has dementia and it’s been a rough road. I haven’t even been able to grieve my Dad I’m so frustrated and any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
Glad you have an appointment with neurology. Is the plan that she get her cognition/thinking issues diagnosed?
Make sure that you get an evaluation that goes beyond "who is the president, what year is it, where are you?".
You are looking for a neurocognitive workup to assess her ability to function and live alone. "What level of support does she need? She is currently staying with me, but I cannot house her indefinitely. We need a plan for her to return to her home or to be placed in an appropriate facility". That's a suggestion of what to say when the doc asks why you've brought her in.
Thank you so much for your help. She definitely needs a more thorough work up besides who’s the president etc. that’s all they do in the hospital and I explained to them that she had memory loss etc but they did nothing about it Thank you again any help is much appreciated
I'd find her a geriatric psychiatrist and a therapist and make her appts with both. It's essential that she take care of her mental health so as to try and avoid another episode. The geri psych might want to refer her to a neurologist as well for a neuro cognitive evaluation.
If her living with you gets to be too much, you can also ask her doctor or therapist for recommendations as to living arrangements. For example, with my mom, who suffers from dementia and mental illness, I found out recently from her therapist that there is a nursing home facility close to us that specializes in patients with mental illness, and my mom will likely end up needing to move there at some point if she fails to improve where she is.
Hi they told me if I have a problem I have to go to the ER she can’t be readmitted. I had to find her a psychiatrist and therapist. She lives in NJ 3 1/2 hours away and I live on Long Island. She came to live with me and they said they couldn’t set up discharge plans in NY.
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Make sure that you get an evaluation that goes beyond "who is the president, what year is it, where are you?".
You are looking for a neurocognitive workup to assess her ability to function and live alone. "What level of support does she need? She is currently staying with me, but I cannot house her indefinitely. We need a plan for her to return to her home or to be placed in an appropriate facility". That's a suggestion of what to say when the doc asks why you've brought her in.
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If her living with you gets to be too much, you can also ask her doctor or therapist for recommendations as to living arrangements. For example, with my mom, who suffers from dementia and mental illness, I found out recently from her therapist that there is a nursing home facility close to us that specializes in patients with mental illness, and my mom will likely end up needing to move there at some point if she fails to improve where she is.