79 year old mother, has debilitating anxiety, shaking, on 5 meds, wants to go hospital everyday all day? I'm afraid they will commit her?

Sounds like your mother is taking TOO much medication, in my opinion, which can create a bunch of ugly side effects. Getting her to the ER may not be such a bad idea.........I did that for my mother one time when she would not stop carrying on about her vertigo. I begged the doctor TO admit her, in fact, because let's face it, I NEEDED an answer to what was going on, once and for all. She was admitted, the neurologist looked over her meds, said You Are Taking TOO Much Medication, reduced the list by half, and she did improve. During that stay, she was also diagnosed with progressive dementia.

Many times, when a doctor isn't sure what to do for his patient, he writes a prescription. Then another one. And another. Then before you know it, the patient is worse off than before she started!!!

If your mother needs to be put into a psych ward for evaluation, then so be it. You need an answer here because neither one of you can live like this much longer, right?

Wishing you the best of luck.

You may need to take her off all those meds so that she can be properly evaluated. I do not think this can actually be done at home but under medical supervision. Maybe book her into a nursing home for a week or two of respite care to get things under control. They can quickly make changes to her meds and find the right balance.

For example, I know that gabapentin made my MIL totally crazy. My mom can handle it without issue. Point being, everyone is different.

See if you can find a geriatrician (doc who specializes in elderly). They are well-versed in drug interactions as this is a very common problem in seniors. I agree do not back her off any meds without being under the permission of her doctor. This is not something for the ER, make an appointment with her regular doc or a geriatric specialist. Taking her to the ER doesn't give her consistency of care, something which this will definitely require. And, it's not really an emergency, just feels like one! Also, has she been checked for a UTI? It can really change their behaviors.

I agree, getting her admitted may be a good thing. They will probably discontinue her meds and introduce them back one at a time. Finding the right combination. This cannot be done in a Nursing Home. They are not equipped for this type of care. Drs there are GPs. She needs a doctors and nurses who specialize in this.

This is not good for Mom feeling anxious all the time. Meds in older people don't work threw the system as fast. I agree, get her to a geriatic doctor.