My mother developed nerve pain in her lower back down her leg and knee into her feet about 3.5 years ago after slipping on oil in the health food store. She used her body professionally in her life since 9 years old, so to see her with a cane suffering with pain daily and not being able to walk well is EXTREMELY difficult to witness.
She has had about 3 denervation procedures to burn the nerves. Obviously, it has not made the pain go away. I don't know if it helps.
I don't know what to do. I am an only child and I don't know what to do.
I also see a change in cognition. Not much. She had a dementia test and came out great! But, there are changes. She had 3 strokes (small ones; ischemic) about 6 years ago. She sometimes gets fixated on small things that "don't matter." She is supposed to use her CPAP machine because she has severe sleep apnea but doesn't!
I need support!!!
Strokes cause mental changes as well.
The pain is likely sciatic. She should be getting PT for that. If she sits it will get a good deal worse and not heal. Laying in semi-fowlers (knees slightly up on pillow, head minimally raised, spine straight, and walking are best. Look up sciatic pain. Longest nerve and slowest healing. All nurses end up with this bad back, and every bad back is individual.
If your mother is on pain medications then she may experience some problems as well with mentation.
With my MIL's short-term memory and cognitive changes, it became clear that she didn't process her body's signals the same as when she was younger. She basically stopped having migraines overnight, and would complain about burning pain while peeing (UTI) one minute and the next time say there was no pain. I'm not saying your mom isn't in pain, but she may not be identifying the location of the pain or level correctly. Do you have access to a geriatric doctor who may be more knowledgeable with the complexities of senior health issues? Also she should be checked for a UTI, as this is treatable and may be exacerbating her cognition symptoms. As far as support and wise advice about caregiving issues, this is the place. Let us know how it goes!