Re: New to Group, Many problems I've been going through

December 6, 2009

I don't know if this comment is in reference to what I wrote, but I wanted

to clarify. While all hospitals may have social workers, they aren't all

helpful; hence my suggestion for a different place if there is no

satisfaction from the first one. I wish I didn't speak from experience.

His,

Sherry s

www.owly.net

daughter of , (mis?)diagnosed with AD in 2005, diagnosed with LBD March

2008; in a NH, taking Aricept/Namenda, Seroquel, and Effexor for depression.

----- Original Message -----

> Your mom should have a social worker in any hospital she is in. And you

> might ask for one. You can also go to the county office or SS offices

> and ask for some help.

December 6, 2009

Sorry about referring to your caring for your Dad instead of your Mom. My blood

sugar was low and I guess I was confused. I'm a diabetic, 34 years. These things

happen. My Dad isn't in a hospital. He is being followed through Hospice and he

has a nurse and the social worker has been out to see him as well as the

chaplain. He calls the chaplain his " friend. " He likes to have visits from the

chaplain because he talks about a lot of things with him. The rules about 5 days

in the NH applies to Hospice and about having to go to the hospital first before

he can go to the NH is a hospice rule. He hasn't been to the hospital. I was

getting my words mixed up due to low blood sugar. Sorry. I was telling you about

hospice because they can offer you a lot of additional help. That's who I work

for, Legacy hospice here in Arkansas. There are a lot of hospice agencies

around. Yopur mother would qualify for hospice help because dementia is a

qualifying diagnosis. Her doctor has to give the order for hospice to go in, but

you ask him to do that. Her medications would be paid for by hospice. Well, you

said she had another insurance, so you don't have to pay for her Aricept. It's

almost $500.00 for a month's supply. My Mom had to pay for my Dad's first Rx. I

told her to ask for samples the next time he went back to the doctor, and she

got the samples. She doesn't have to worry about the cost now. I will pray that

you get medicaid for her and any other help you need. Email me anytime. It helps

to vent.

> >

> > Hi all,

> > I'm new to the group. I'm in Plano, Tx, 57 yrs. old, trying my hardest

to take care of my 86 yr. mother. She was diagnosed this year with

alzheimers/dementia through a Neurologist. Dr. put her on Aricept 10 mg., and

Seroquel 50 mg. My sister also was my Mom's caregiver, and she just passed away

3 wks ago, that has killed me as she was not only my sister, but my best friend,

so precious to me. Now I'm the one and only. My Mom knows of my sister's death,

and like me, it hurts, but she's doing ok.

> >

> > These past few months have been so horrific worrying over my sister with

congestive heart failure and kidney failure, and my mother going downhill with

HALLUCINATIONS. She knows me and everything around her, its just bad

hallucinations!! Her dreams are real and she acts them out.

> >

> > She fell twice in the past 6 months hitting her head in her bedroom at my

house.? I do not know how those occurred.? Hospital stay first time, then to

rehab for 30 days. Home again and starts all over again, the hallucinations. She

was healthy up until age 80, and she had her quad bypass and right carotid

artery surgery and that is when her hallucinations all began, but didn't get bad

at all until this year. She had left carotid artery surgery this summer, and

went into bad hallucinations once again., back in the rehab for 30 days.

> >

> > She had to have prolapse/bladder surgery a month ago, and got severe with

the hallucinations. Decided I had to put her in a permanent nursing home after

her rehab for 30 days. I filled out papers for medicaid to get started day one

she got in the nursing home for her rehab. She has been at this same nursing

home rehab 4 times in the last 5 yrs. They reassured me that she possibly could

stay there permanently even though they are not a PENDING MEDICAID home. I had

my hopes built up and come Thurs. when she had 1 day left for rehab they come to

me and told me my Mom does not qualify for medicaid because she isn't that sick.

I was absoloutely horrified. I told them she hallucinates all the time now, that

she got married (one of her hallucinations), last week, her new husband was

going to stab her, on and on. They said, well the nurses didn't document this so

we can't turn this into medicaid as a medical reason she needs to stay here.

They said, she is up walking with her cane, can dress herself, so she is able to

leave now.

> >

> > I told them, no i can not bring her home, she will get hurt in my house.

They said put her in an assistive living, I said no, thats why I'm applying for

medicaid we have no money, like a few thousand a month! They said, take her home

then. Real cold to me. I said what do I do when she falls again and goes into a

state? They said take her to the ER. I said I did that 45 days ago, and they

told me to either take her home or take her to a pscyhatric hospital. So I had

to put her in a psychatric hospital I hated doing, and it was in Dallas, and it

was combined men and women in there together, young people!!! She stayed 7 days,

then had her prolapse./bladder surgery right after leaving there, then to the

nursing home rehab and I had plans to keep her there permanently.

> >

> > Nothing has worked out. I had a long talk to my Mom's nurses and told them

they had to see her hallucinate as she was so wild with them the first two weeks

there. They admitted she was then, but didn't see anything. I told them, you are

not checking on her at night then. They told me they did. Finally I had had it,

and the night nurse went in and had a long talk with my Mom and found out all

about her hallucinations and documented it. It was too late then, as I had no

time at all to get her transferred to a PENDING facility, as this nursing home I

had her in for 30 days for rehab, told me, WE'RE NOT A PENDING FACILITY SO WE

CAN'T KEEP HER HERE!!! They lied to me. So they gave me a name of a pending home

and I went to check it out and they told me medicaid said she was denied, and

when I talked to the nursing home that has torn me up they said, we wrote the

wrong code onto Medicaid, sorry. And they said we will correct it and you can

try again. By this time on Friday it was too late, as I brought her home with

me.

> >

> > Now I have her home with me and since being home since Friday she has been

ok part of the time and at night she hallucinates all night long. I put her in

my bed with me to watch her, and poor thing she is up all night peeing! The

surgery did not work out!

> >

> > Oh yes, when she was in the psch hospital 45 days ago, the dr. took her off

Seroquel saying it will give her a stroke. It seemed to be doing lots worse for

her anyway, not helping.

> >

> > So she's on medicine for blood pressure, and a few other meds, and Aricept

10 mg.

> >

> > Her medicaid thing was a nightmare, but think they might take care for the

health reason of alzheimers afterall, but no one has told me 100%. The only

thing is they go by financial. And she owns nothing, she only gets her SS check.

She lived with me for 15 yrs. now and when I take her to the bank she writes all

her money in CASH, and pays my husband her monthly rent, and utitilites,

groceries, everything by Cash. And I heard Medicaid doesn't approve of cash

only.

> >

> > So if they will not accept her now for financial needs because everything is

in cash. I know now she needs to write her checks out to the people she pays her

bills, her grocery bill out to the grocery store, all her checks like that

instead of cash. I wonder if I can get her a debit card and she can use that to

pay for her groceries, clothes, those type things

> >

> > I also heard I can put her back in a nursing home a pending place, because

she does not have around $4,000 a month it costs for private pay and she has no

long term insurance. And I guess you have to start all over with the application

and it takes 30 to 90 days to get it approved or denied is that right

> >

> > I had sent medicaid all the things they needed, her preneed funeral home

paperwork, her checks they requested, and the other day right before I thought

she was going to stay there, medicaid office called me and said they need all

her checks. I told her I sent all of that to them and had a receipt proving it,

she said well, the caseworker working on your case quit and we can't find any of

that, so resend. I didn't get to, because like I said, in the meantime she had

to come home, because the nursing home gave me no notice to find another place

or anything!

> >

> > It has been a true nightmare, and in the meantime, if anyone can help me if

you are taking care of your parent in your home, and they are going into

hallucinations or scary things, how do you cope? How do you keep them in bed so

they won't harm themselves? What are my options as far as putting her in a

pending home once again, should I wait 6 months and in the meantime keep all her

money spent in a way medicaid will approve? In Texas they look back the past 6

months? How will I cope for 6 more months? She has no money for a caregiver to

come in the house to help me out.

> >

> > At wits end in Texas and praying for God's help daily!

> >

>

December 8, 2009

, what you have been going through it's terrible! I just saw your post and

see that you are in a tremendous nightmare with your Mom's care. Where I live we

have a department of services for the aged, ¿have you checked in your area what

services or help you may have available? There must be something! I hope you can

find some relief while you go through the long procedures for Medicaid.

Check for Alzheimer's Association or in your county pages for any services

available for the elderly. May God bless you and give you strength! You and your

Mom will be in my prayers.

Love,

Raquel

>

> Hi all,

> I'm new to the group. I'm in Plano, Tx, 57 yrs. old, trying my hardest

to take care of my 86 yr. mother. She was diagnosed this year with

alzheimers/dementia through a Neurologist. Dr. put her on Aricept 10 mg., and

Seroquel 50 mg. My sister also was my Mom's caregiver, and she just passed away

3 wks ago, that has killed me as she was not only my sister, but my best friend,

so precious to me. Now I'm the one and only. My Mom knows of my sister's death,

and like me, it hurts, but she's doing ok.

>

> These past few months have been so horrific worrying over my sister with

congestive heart failure and kidney failure, and my mother going downhill with

HALLUCINATIONS. She knows me and everything around her, its just bad

hallucinations!! Her dreams are real and she acts them out.

>

> She fell twice in the past 6 months hitting her head in her bedroom at my

house.? I do not know how those occurred.? Hospital stay first time, then to

rehab for 30 days. Home again and starts all over again, the hallucinations. She

was healthy up until age 80, and she had her quad bypass and right carotid

artery surgery and that is when her hallucinations all began, but didn't get bad

at all until this year. She had left carotid artery surgery this summer, and

went into bad hallucinations once again., back in the rehab for 30 days.

>

> She had to have prolapse/bladder surgery a month ago, and got severe with the

hallucinations. Decided I had to put her in a permanent nursing home after her

rehab for 30 days. I filled out papers for medicaid to get started day one she

got in the nursing home for her rehab. She has been at this same nursing home

rehab 4 times in the last 5 yrs. They reassured me that she possibly could stay

there permanently even though they are not a PENDING MEDICAID home. I had my

hopes built up and come Thurs. when she had 1 day left for rehab they come to me

and told me my Mom does not qualify for medicaid because she isn't that sick. I

was absoloutely horrified. I told them she hallucinates all the time now, that

she got married (one of her hallucinations), last week, her new husband was

going to stab her, on and on. They said, well the nurses didn't document this so

we can't turn this into medicaid as a medical reason she needs to stay here.

They said, she is up walking with her cane, can dress herself, so she is able to

leave now.

>

> I told them, no i can not bring her home, she will get hurt in my house. They

said put her in an assistive living, I said no, thats why I'm applying for