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We take her to to the doctors but she'll panic, want attention and call an ambulance. It's something she's done before. A day will go by and they'll release her. We have an aide and we do arrange doctors appointments.
Is it reasonable to take away her cell phone? we already took off her apps as she was falling victim to scams and we took away her car so she shouldn't drive. She's stage 6 so sometimes it's hard to reason with her.

Talk with her doctor(s) about some medication for her anxiety. You can also get a child-type phone that restricts her calls to people who you select and program into it.

Having a 24-7 caregiver must be expensive. Have you considered placing her in a facility? There she'll be able to have a trained medical staff to reassure her whenever she feels the need. No, they won't be doctors but they can assure her that they'll call her if necessary. Also the dispatchers can keep a note that if they hear from your mother, they don't need to respond without verification from the facility.

They'll have activities to keep her mind off of her imaginary woes. If she's calling because she wants attention, the social interaction may be good for her.

Good luck. This must be frustrating.
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Reply to MG8522
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It is perfectly reasonable to take away her cell phone. Ambulance calls are expensive!
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Reply to Lylii1
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If your Mom has care 24/7 then she does not need a phone. The aide should be able to access the situation and call 911. Or, the aide can call you for instructions.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Can you restrict her phone to call only numbers you select?
Is the aide with her 24/7? If so the aide can call 911 if that is necessary.
Taking away her phone might be a bit much for her to handle if she uses it. It won't be much longer and she will not be able to use it at all. When she has problems with it then it is time to "take it in for repair"
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Reply to Grandma1954
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Don’t know your state, but most have forms that are signed by the doctor that states what medical care should be provided…..such as DNR, intubation, oxygen, transferred to ER under certain conditions, etc. It’s bright pink and hangs on the fridge or over the bed. You do need someone to present it to the EMS when they arrive. They will read and are bound to comply with it. They can check out vitals, assess situation and then not transport to ER per instructions on the signed medical order. Each state has their own. In NC it’s called a MOST. You can check with an attorney or your doctor’s office about getting one signed. My parent’s doctors office hired a private company to assist their senior patients with chronic health conditions get it processed. And, if the patient is transferred to the ER, the form goes with the patient so no services are provided the patient doesn’t want, such as extensive labs, MRI, tube feeding, etc.
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Reply to Sunnygirl1
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firsttimer1 Aug 7, 2025
you are spot on. the attending doctor called me and suggested i need to update these forms with the doctor with instructions not take her to E.R.

there was nothing wrong with her. in fact the doctor said she appears to be well taken care of. but as a stage 6 alzheimer's patient she's not capable of making her own health care decisions.
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If mother's dementia is so out of control that she is calling EMS then a phone is out of the question, and she really needs 24/7 monitoring when there's access to phones. If however she isn't so demented that she doesn't fully understand her symptoms and is able to assess her pain, she does have a right to contact EMS. This is a matter of how much disability there is, and what monitoring is now necessary for the most part. I fully understand someone isn't monitored every second, but phone access often needs to be taken from those in the throes of severe dementia; certainly this was the case for my brother's partner.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Does she live by herself? If so, consider a dementia phone where she is limited in calling out and incoming calls are restricted. I got a RAZ Mobility phone for my Mom. The contacts are approved by me that I control from an app on my own phone. I control who can call in. I control whether she can call 911 or not. The contacts are large pictures of the people she knows. No other calls come in.

If she lives with someone then you can probably safely take away her phone completely. Pretend that it "broke" and needs to go in for repair.

I just had to so this with my Mom's landline. She's 96 and it is incomprehensible to her to not have a landline even though she has the Raz phone.
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Reply to Geaton777
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firsttimer1 Aug 7, 2025
absolutely she does NOT live alone. I have an aid staying with her
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Absolutely take the phone away!
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