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My husband went to an adult day health program two or three times a week. Good stimulation for him, necessary respite for me. A van picked him up and brought him home. He had a hot lunch there, plenty of activities and the opportunity to rest quietly or read if he didn't care for the activity going on, or if he was tired.

I cannot say enough good things about such programs.
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I was lucky to find out about the Gould assessment. They evaluated my mom and qualified her for 14 hours or caregiving a week with another 2 hours of respite for me. They pay for the hours and it has helped tremendously. If you don't have the funds, please look into this. Just google Gould assessment and a nurse will come evaluate your mom. Also aid and assistance through the VA if either parent was in the military. They also have funds available to help with care. Leave no stone unturned. My mom doesn't like anyone coming in but I told her she had no choice. It's the best thing that has happened to me so far. My life is not great but it's much better than it was. Please please please caregivers, check it out!! Best of luck to all the earthly angels that are on this difficult path.
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you do out of love, but you are also mentally drained. get some respite help to give you time away or get something lined up for you to either get some depression meds to help you cope or find a way to get your mother out to a daycare a couple times a week. it will help a little but other than either having someone else to come in and care for her or place into an assisted living where she can be around others. wishing you luck.
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Take care. I know too what you are struggling with. I am taking care of both my mom and dad who are in their 90's with my brother. We both work and not really jobs but pay checks and take care of them. Respite sounds good but it breaks the routine and getting others involved just makes it more complicated. There are no good answer but to try to hang on. I constantly wonder how long my job will last but can't because I know I am doing the only thing I can.

At this stage the waits for nursing homes are too long and hospice is the only choice so it will get worse. I just try to hope that someday it will get better.

There ought to be better solutions for end of life but doesn't seem to be in our society.

Take care.
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Rachel - beautifully written expression. I feel it, too - my father is not a negative person and is in good health,,,but it is a drain and as bad as having a perpetually small child with no break. I was just thinking last night how nice it would be if I could just go to a grocery store by myself for 15 minutes.

So....how to cope? It's easy to say "put mom in assisted living" - but not easy to even consider - unless Mom's physical & mental issues need full-time professional care. But I think your Mom probably needs some distraction to give you some distance & quiet. Can you find out if any of the local agencies on aging have a "buddy" program? Folks who come visit the elderly once a week for an hour or two. Will Mom go out to a Senior Center for lunch or to take a writing class on occasion? Does Mom like movies - I find that streaming an on-demand movie from my cable TV or a Netflix movie ($8 per month) will give me about 2 hours to drink a cup of coffee and read a magazine in peace. Does Mom like to be outside? Spring is coming - maybe sitting on the porch soaking up some sun while you plant petunias in the yard will give you a peaceful afternoon (and make mama sleepy).

I can't offer you much in magic solutions - I struggle with this myself. But I can identify with you and tell you that you're doing the right thing, even though it's the hardest thing you'll ever do. Be proud of yourself & be sure to be kind to yourself.
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Rachel..your story could be mine also..after awhile you just can't think straight. You shut down emotionally ..I'm sure it's burnout..you won't be able to go on this way much longer at this rate. Physically or mentally. You just won't ...as a caregiver you are doing above and beyond ..not to be appreciated and having to deal with negativity..and criticism ..makes it unbearable. What about some adult daycare a couple days a week? It's not a permanent cure...but for me a break now and then helps a lot. my mom is with my brother for a few weeks...I'm sure she's not happy there...cried the day she went..but it was very necessary..if I'm going to continue to help her until she gets into senior housing..I'm just praying she will still be able to move in to her apartment when it's available..I know having her own life us what we both want...
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For all the caregivers ready this thread, make your decisions NOW. Let your loved ones know that you want to be placed in appropriate facilities when you're no longer able to care for yourself. Take the burden of this difficult decision off your family. It will be the greatest gift you can give someone your care for. Give them their life to live!
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Rachel I when I read your post, it sounded like I had written it myself! I'm dealing with the exact same issues and I know it's easy to say place them in assisted living , they'll do fine. Not so easy, my mother wouldn't do fine, she'd cry her eyes out and would have to be forced to leave her room. That would be more stressful on me then the current situation. So I guess we have to pick our poison. For now, I choose living with stress but not guilt, though of course as caregivers, guilt is the gift that keeps on giving.
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Rachel you really need a break. My husband went to respite care for a week last summer, It was wonderfully refreshing but not long enough. It would be a start for you, but a nursing home would be the best. I hope I can really get over this and back to normal. My health is starting to deteriorate now and I am feeling down. But we heard a great sermon on Perseverance this week in church. Perseverance to run the entire race. God Bless you for all you have already done.
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I was on an antidepressant, but it made me even MORE tired. It was horrible!
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I feel the same way, Rachel. Emotionally tired. I think you hit the nail on the head. I sleep a lot and I know it is because I am depressed a little. My husband is in the nursing home after having Alzheimer's for 10 years already. Only the last 5 were bad. Now he is just existing in the home. Can't say or understand anything. I feel drained after a visit of sitting there for a couple of hours and really doing nothing, just sitting and stroking his face or his back, arm. I want to touch him because I know he is the man I love so dearly. That is basically all I have left. I am back into life and doing things, participating in activities, Soup Kitchen, Bible Study, church, movies occasionally, friend outings. But I am so tired all the time. It is emotionally exhausting watching my husband slowly fade away. I just wish he would fall asleep and it would be over! I don't know how to get rid of the tiredness either.
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I was exhausted reading all this so I know you are doing it every day! You have caregiver fatigue!!! It's hard enough to have to use all your reserves to take care of someone and be on the alert, but then to be around the negativity it s HUGE drain. You do not have to take it and you must seek another way to live and yet be a daughter. You are no longer a daughter, you are an aide, nurse, chauffeur, personal assistant, maid, confessor, dumping ground, etc. I hope you will be able to first go see your doctor. Mine was a huge help when I was so mentally worn out and she was the one who insists my dad needed Asssited Living. I found it hard to be caring, I was so exhausted and he didn't even live with me. Boundaries mean you decide what you can and can not do or tolerate. You need them for sanity. It is not good for you to be around negativity and constant complaints. The lonely elderly begin to narrow their focus so that they are the center of the universe and do not see anyone else as having needs. They also use family as complaint central. You have a choice...remember that. Whether it's in home help, checking your mom into a respite bed at a SNF for a week so you have a break, or move her to ALF. Do see someone to help you make a first step and decision.
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I'm struggling with this issue in some ways too and I don't think there's an easy answer, but there is an answer. I'm trying to work myself up to it. They have wants and they have needs. They want for you to be a constant companion and to dump every worry, fear, and negative feeling they have on you so they can feel better or comforted. This is the part that is emotionally exhausting and that we can set boundaries around. I think you need to put a space/time limit around how much of this talk from your mother you listen to before you come up with an excuse to cut the conversation short. Also you need space and a place to feel your own feelings - probably some kind of respite if you have it? Also it's not crazy to say this is too much for you and to look into assisted living options where your mother would have a lot more people to interact with.
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You are doing a marvellous job looking after your mother, and seeing to all of her needs. I take my hat off to you!! However, you have to learn to take 'time out' for yourself. It's hard to even do that, but it is so important. When do you have a break from your mother? When she is sleeping, whether it is a sleep during the day or at night when she goes to bed. You cannot keep giving and giving without something breaking. Do yourself a favour and try to get 'time out', whether an interest, or coffee with a friend, reading a book at night, a walk down the road. Do you have other family than might have your Mum for a short time at all? All the best, Arlene Hutcheon
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It doesn't sound as though this is a good situation for either of you, does it?

How did this come about? Did you move her into your home? With what understanding? Are you being paid room and board and something for your caregiving? How much respite do you get each week?

What activities does your mom go to? Senior Ceenter, exercise class? How is her pain being managed? Have you looked into Assisted Living? I ask that because she sounds bored.

You sound very worn out. Have you been to your doctor recently? Talked about the strain that you're under?

It's good to vent, and this is a good safe place to do it. If it helps, great! But sometimes, you also need to know that there are steps that can be taken to better a bad situation.
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