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SharonYSL Asked November 2021

Hi, I have an aging mother with dementia and depression, she's very emotional recently. What's the best ways to take care of her please?

97yroldmom Nov 2021
Hi SharonYSL
Welcome to the forum.
Help us determine where your mom is in her treatment.
Has she been to her primary and then on to a neurologist for diagnosis? Is she trying an anti-depressive medication? Long enough for it to be working? Proper dosage?
Its often recommended that a geriatric psychiatrist be consulted to manage medications.
Proper diet, exercise and companionship are important in anyone’s life regardless of diagnosis.
When you use the word “recently” that’s a clue for you to have mom tested for a urinary tract infection.
Any escalation in dementia symptoms is a good reminder that a UTI can be the cause so worth a test.
Recently my DH aunt moved to ALF due to her home needing repairs. Her attitude has brightened considerably since she moved. She also seems to be responding well to being off of one of her meds she was taking for memory. This might not be the ticket for your mom and I suspect will only last so long for aunt.
You may have noticed with your mom that she seems fairly stable and then as the disease progresses a further decline will occur with new symptoms to manage before she reaches a new plateau. That could be what is going on with her now but it sometimes takes a bit of trial and error before things return to relative calm. Some progressions take the care beyond our abilities to manage. So it’s a dance between her disease and your ability to respond. Your ability to take care of her is unique to you and how full your life is with other obligations. It takes a minute to determine how to proceed. Be gentle with yourself. This is a very tough time for both of you.

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