Lethargy

By Linda Friday, November 09, 2007

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Hi Everyone: It's been a while since I've written and kind of missed the gang here! My mother is still hanging in there and so am I. But she seems to have moved to a different level. She still hallucinates often enough. But for the past month her nights have been surprisingly quiet and restful. Also, and more upsetting to me, she seems to have "gone into herself". She's unresponsive, overly sleepy, joyless (no surprise there) and almost lifeless. It's like her spirit is shutting down. I keep thinking that I'm prepared for continual decline. But this hurts as much as anything else that's happened to her. I don't really expect any solutions, but would like to hear from you guys.

Thanks for being there.

Comments (4) | Add comment

Sue

11/10/07 2:10pm

Hi Linda.

I'm one of the new contributors here at the Alzheimer's community. Thanks so much for posting how things are for you and your mom.

It can be so hard when we see our loved ones in any kind of pain or difficulty. I hope sharing with us here helps you as a caregiver some support and relief.

All the Best, SMM

Linda

11/10/07 4:24pm

It DOES help; thanks SMM. I only wish, as all of us do, that the gods would release mom from this life to a better one. Must confess I think I'm getting more than a little depressed about it as well as other situations in my life. I only hope I can shake myself out of it for my sake as well as those around me!

Linda

Lynwood Nixon

3/ 5/08 8:52am

Linda I have just found that my brother has Spinocerebellar ataxia.

At this stage he is going through the same symptoms your mother is having, along with the normal symptoms.

We have found no sleeping medicine that truely works.

He has impaired cognition most of the time, the anger; even on medicine, would be frighting if he had the ability to carry out his intentions during the outburst. The lack of ability to function in the presence of other people is dishearting.

I am now worried that my future may hold the same for me, and my children.

Linda

3/ 5/08 2:27pm

Hello Lynwood: I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with your brother's medical diagnosis. But I certainly can relate to the symptoms he shares with my mother. It's easy to say not to despair, but almost impossible to avoid it. I do know that only by taking it one day at a time helps to make things somewhat bearable. Although my mom hasn't had much success with various drugs, don't give up asking your brother's doctor to try other meds. Often it takes several tries to find a combination that works better than the previous ones. You are not alone; we're here with you.

Linda

Lethargy

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