JMH
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2006
- Messages
- 42
- Reason
- Loved one DX
- Country
- CA
- State
- Manitoba
- City
- The Pas
Spent 3 weeks with Dad. It gets harder and harder to leave. We were both in tears when I left. I am still trying to get all the equipment we need to look after him at home. He is so afraid of being left alone for some reason and it hurts me that he needs this reassurance. He doesn't seem to realize how much he means to me.
The oxycontin (for pain) the doctor prescribed ended up making Dad confused and he slept A LOT. When we took him to see his Dr. for a chest infection I mentioned this. He said to take him off the drug and see what happens. Well, what an improvement! Turns out that the pain killer is a narcotic; hence the bad dreams and confusion on dad's part. Thank you to whoever mentioned that oxycontin was an unfamiliar med. in ALS treatment. He's taking ibuprofen for the pain and is managing just as well. ( I think I now know how the elderly become like zombies....)
Got a suction machine for dad. It helped a bit, but the phlegm is so thick that it doesn't really remove anything but the regular saliva. That was pretty much a disappointment. Home Care ordered us a Hoyer lift as well. Now if they would just come and show us how to use the darn thing. They have asked us for months if we needed extra help in caring for dad. We finally decided to accept their help so that we could be at dad's in shifts. They were supposed to have someone at the house last Monday. They phoned the Friday before at the end of business hours and said they had no workers available. This was VERY frustrating. I feel like I'm taking one step forward and two steps back!
Sorry for such a long post - needed to vent....thanks for listening.
Merry Christmas and may everyone have a Peaceful Holiday Season.
JMH
The oxycontin (for pain) the doctor prescribed ended up making Dad confused and he slept A LOT. When we took him to see his Dr. for a chest infection I mentioned this. He said to take him off the drug and see what happens. Well, what an improvement! Turns out that the pain killer is a narcotic; hence the bad dreams and confusion on dad's part. Thank you to whoever mentioned that oxycontin was an unfamiliar med. in ALS treatment. He's taking ibuprofen for the pain and is managing just as well. ( I think I now know how the elderly become like zombies....)
Got a suction machine for dad. It helped a bit, but the phlegm is so thick that it doesn't really remove anything but the regular saliva. That was pretty much a disappointment. Home Care ordered us a Hoyer lift as well. Now if they would just come and show us how to use the darn thing. They have asked us for months if we needed extra help in caring for dad. We finally decided to accept their help so that we could be at dad's in shifts. They were supposed to have someone at the house last Monday. They phoned the Friday before at the end of business hours and said they had no workers available. This was VERY frustrating. I feel like I'm taking one step forward and two steps back!
Sorry for such a long post - needed to vent....thanks for listening.
Merry Christmas and may everyone have a Peaceful Holiday Season.
JMH