Mom has been admitted to a home due to dementia. I am researching foods and anything that may slow things down. She has lost a lot of ability quickly. It seems when she is at a facility, the dementia moves faster. Should I try to recommend diets or research treatments that her NH can try? Im not sure what NHs do for the residents. She just entered there, I am not local and communication is not easy. Thanks.
What the nursing home does for residents will be dependent on what each resident is capable of.
Your mum has gone downhill rapidly. That could be partly because of the unfamiliar environment, however it's more likely that this is simply the point your mum is at in her illness.
That often happens with dementia, that the sufferer will seem like their condition hasn't changed, then they suddenly become worse. It's irreversible, I'm afraid.
My mum had vascular dementia, which does go up and down. It made it difficult for some of my family to accept how ill she really was, when they saw her on a good day, or at a good time. For them it was completely unexpected and incomprehensible when she went downhill quite suddenly.
I, on the other hand, had been expecting it. I had visited Mum's residents with her, had helped out at the afternoon teas and other social events she organised for them, and I saw people change as dementia took hold. Mum explained how to talk to those particular residents and what was happening with them. (When they were no longer capable of independent living, Mum would help with their transition to a care home.)
This meant that I was able to help with compassion and understanding when it happened to Mum. It also meant that I have a similar attitude to Mum's - quality of life over quantity, every time.
One of your posts was regarding PoA... did u become your Mom's PoA? If not, then she must have a court-appointed legal guardian? I'm only asking because if this is the case then this request would need to go through that guardian. FYI in my experience with LTC facilities, they do not accommodate those types of "special" diets. They may be willing to dispense supplements, if your Mom is able to swallow them safely. You would need to pay for and provide them and trust the staff will give it to her.
As all others have pointed out, there is no slowing down dementia, although not all dementias progress at the same rate but often individual differences probablhy come into play but are not known due to there being so many variables.
There is also no cure for dementia, either. Any company claiming to sell a supplement or special diet that slows or cures dementia are selling snake oil to desperate or innocent people. You have seen with your own eyes that dementia doesn't care and moves forward no matter what -- unless that person never really had dementia to begin with.
I'm so sorry you both have to be on this journey. Please don't do anything to extend her life. Quality, not quantity. I wish you peace in your heart.
And yes, dementia sucks, but sadly there is nothing that we can do or take that will stop the inevitable.
And NO ONE in their right mind would want to linger one more day with it, if given a choice.
You cannot slow the progression of dementia and no medications are proven to do that. It is slow torture, truly.
To me it is now about comfort care. Anxiety will make this every so much worse for her, and I would attempt only to monitor her for emotional well being. In the instance of one friend whose mother has gone on for years in excellent care, medical marijuana has made all the difference in her enjoyment of her life as it is. This is in TX. and she is on a program that allows this; her appetite is better and she is more smiley, tho at this point she recognizes no one and is completely non verbal, surviving mostly on milk shakes and malted milks.
Change causes progression in dementia, it is a known fact.
Unfortunately, if you want something special done, you will have to do it or hire someone to come in and do it.
I am wondering why you would want to prolong this stage of your mother's life, she is just existing and I don't personally know anyone that says keep me alive as long as possible when I am a shell with a broken brain. Everyone I know has said, let me go when I am already gone.
I am sorry that you are facing losing your mom, it is hard no matter our age.
Ken, I suspect that you were not much in mom's life when the changes started? Perhaps you lived far away from mom? At least being in a facility will keep mom safe. If she was in MC before a NH, she would have had enrichment programs geared to her decline. NH's offer these programs as well though on a lesser scale