Mom won't get out of bed. The hospital ruled out all physical issues. We're waiting for appt with specialist for a diagnosis.

Karen, you mention her 13 meds. 100 pounds. Poor little thing. I would throw the meds in a bag and go see the Pharmacist. What could they all be for? She needs to be detoxed from all that garbage! I'm not saying none, but I'll bet there are several she absolutely does not need. Bless her heart:) Good luck and let us know.

P.S. One other thought - my mom recently had bouts of crying and extreme fatigue. She was hospitalized for 4 hours for her heart, but she wasn't going into atrial fib, which is her main heart issue. When I took her to the doctor the next day, she just happened to look at the lab results from the hospital (where no one had said a word) and said her thyroid had stopped working.

We got her started on thyroid meds and it was like a light switch went back on. She quit the crying and had some energy again. So if your mom hasn't had her thyroid checked, that may be another thing you can consider, after you get her medications checked out.

Thank you all. Just returned from visit with primary and have permission to stop all meds but 1. Victory! You have to ask or they don't make the changes I guess. Tomorrow another visit with geriatric specialist. Feeling hopeful.

Yay!! Good job, Karen! Hope little Mom is feeling better very soon.
This makes me so happy, I am tearful:) first intuition was the meds.
Keep us posted on her condition:) xo

I would schedule an appointment with her doctor asap as 10 days for the psychologist is too long. She can lose a lot of mobility staying in the bed that long. Hopefully, her regular doctor is a geriatric doctor. If not, and you're unsatisfied with what her regular doctor says, make an appointment with a geriatric doctor. They are more qualified to deal with elderly patients and their type of problems. A doctor needs to evaluate what medicines she is on and see if one or all of them are causing her to feel tired or not well. Personally, unless she has mental issues to deal with, I cannot see how a psychologist is going to help her. Good luck!!

It's understandable that you're angry. I've been there too. The ER sent my mother-in-law home with a broken arm (completely apart) in a sling with pain pills, and said since it didn't break the skin, they will not do anything with it - to make an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. She went a whole week before we could even see the orthopedic doctor, then another week to before surgery! It was broken so bad she had to have a rod put in. So I truly understand your frustration with the system. It's good that you have an appointment with the doctors tomorrow and the next day. I don't know why she is taking 13 different medicines or any other health issues, but if they are still stumped with what to do and do not think she is just depressed or having reactions to her medicines, I would ask the doctors to set up hospice as she may have just given up her will to live. Good luck!!

Karen, you need to immediately have a pharmacist assess the medications she's on. They could be a LARGE part of her problem. So many times different docs prescribe meds that interact with each other in a negative way and no one is paying attention.

I worked in a pharmacy years ago and the one thing I learned from the pharmacists is that medicines are their specialty - not the specialty of doctors. Doctors DON'T understand how meds work with each other the way pharmacists do.

Go to the website for consulting pharmacists at ascp dot com (I don't think I can put a link in here so I have to spell it out). They have a search area to find a senior care pharmacist in your area. I think you can also do a consult over the phone if there are none near you.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

I think it's a combination of 13 meds and depression. The depression can the 3-pronged: medication side-effects are making her feel like s__t, she doesn't feel hungry enough to get up and get a plate, and the sudden realization she's not as sprighty as she used to be.

Hi all, well today's appt was good. The doctor isn't diagnosing yet, she needs a PET test but he read her MRI and found several small strokes and brain shrinkage among other things. So it isn't anxiety or depression, it is organic. I am furious that the 4 previous neurologists missed the signs on her MRI s. but now we have clear next steps. This is so hard. To all of you do not give up looking for answers, the right doctors ARE out there somewhere. Thank you for your support and thank you for this forum. We are not done conversing.

Hi karenteamb,

My mother's doctor prescribed St. John's Wort. My preference is SamE but I cannot find a liquid version. Mom has been sleeping/napping for two days straight, would not open her eyes and would barely communicate with me. I opened up two St. John's Wort capsules and added it to her liquid supplements.

After a few hours she began to talk to me, wanted to know what her food options were and that her coffee should be hot not cold.

The next step is to get her up but getting her to talk and eat is a major victory.

Mom is only on one med.. Since your mom is on many meds, be sure to check with the doctor to see if St. John's Wort is an option to deal with your mom's depression.

I think that when they sleep, parents are young again and in charge. They open their eyes and feel the creaking of a much older body Given their realities, sleep allows them to escape.

Hope this helps.