Vacation for Elderly?
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
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9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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Question on my elderly friend
Comments (5)This probably is not going to answer your question, but... I'm not that old, but I've always been hard to wake. And it seems the older I get, the harder I am to wake. I've always 'heard' that older people need less sleep, and I beg to differ! lol! Now the serious stuff. What kinds of meds (DRUGS!) is your friend being given? And what doses?!! You need to find out and 'research side effects' any drugs your friend is being administered...that could be key to why not waking up. Another thing...I saw a Documentary - TWICE! - on TV (yes, I know, 't.v.') about a lady and (son?) who went vacation to Australia (I think AU...it was a couple years ago I watched it). So the Mother had an odd thing about 'seeming to be DEAD'! She actually had no pulse, heartrate that showed up on any monitors. So it happened while vacationing in AU - again, and son tried to explain to EVERYONE that this happens - "she's not dead!". Of course, they always look at him like he's in denial. Come to find out, she DID awake...AGAIN...in the morgue! This was like the third or fourth or??? time this has happened to her! (Spookey, huh?) Some kind of odd thing with her, but she'd be dead & several days later alive again. OK, I'd take a serious and close look at any/all drugs, strengths of each, times administered, etc. Maybe your friend just doesn't want to wake up until "I'm good & ready"! Talk to your friend...maybe that's what's going on? (I know, some days I wake up & feel like the whole day is 'bust', so I just want to go back to sleep...)? Not a good healthy thing for someone like me - that's why I usually DO get up. But someone older & in nursing home - who knows?...See MoreDo Elderly Dogs HAVE to get their vacines?
Comments (27)Sorry, I misunderstood the problem. I thought the vet was demanding vaccines for an Rx, but the problem is actually the service fee the vet is charging to write the Rx, correct? The thing is that it takes the vet's time to search the record, make sure the drug requested is appropriate for the pet, calculate the dose, and write the Rx (+/- faxing back petmeds). The only thing a vet really has that everyone else doesn't is time and expertise to do exactly that- plan treatments. It may be that Deramaxx is not the best choice for your dog, so it is always worth the $ to have the vet check the records and prescribe the best medication. They have to charge for that time and expertise. Almost all vets now charge a Rx fee, whether it's included in the price of the Rx they have at their hospital or scripted out to an outside pharmacy such as petmeds. It's only fair for the time spent researching and preparing a Rx. That said, I think the vet or receptionist or whoever you spoke with made a huge mistake by offering to match petmeds price plus shipping. They should have stuck to their guns and just said that their price is what it is because they cannot get huge bulk discounts like petmeds and they need to cover their costs. Then they should have offered you the option of either writing a Rx for a reasonable Rx fee and letting you shop around OR offering for you to pick up the medication at their regular price when you bring your dog in for her PE. But the way they presented the option of matching petmeds price plus shipping has made it look like they are trying to price-gouge you. I totally understand why you are mad- it is unreasonable to ask for you to pay for shipping service that you are not getting. If they cannot match petmeds prices, they should have just said so and not offered that ridiculous option plus shipping. That's a really dumb reason to lose a good client, but until vets realize that communication is 95% of their business it will continue to happen. As far as saving money on medications, I can offer a few suggestions. One is that you probably know other people with pets that are on chronic medications. You could possibly combine orders and have everything shipped to one address, saving money on shipping costs. Buying in large quantity is almost always less expensive because you are not paying the Rx fee multiple times. I buy 3-6 bottles of Rimadyl at a time for my dog for that very reason, though I get it at my vet's because it wasn't really cheaper for me to go through petmeds or any other online pharmacy. So I pay for one Rx fee instead of 3-6 Rx fees, which helps. If you do decide to pay the vet an Rx fee and shop around, remember that you only pay that fee once. The online pharmacies almost never check how many refills the vet scripts out, with the exception of Drs Foster and Smith who are very diligent about their online pharmacy. In the long run, it is often less expensive to pay the vet that Rx fee and get the meds elsewhere....See Moreanyone go thru CRF with elderly kitty?
Comments (45)I am soooo relieved that the Miralax is working for Casey (and I'm sure she is, too)! I feel the same way every time I see one of Billy's nice long tootsies. Constipation can make them feel so miserable and sick. You have vastly improved Casey's quality of life with Miralax. I definitely think you should take your neighbor up on her offer to administer subQs for you at home. I know you're having a hard time believing that Casey will be more cooperative with less restraint, but hopefully your neighbor will be able to demonstrate the validity of that for you. I do understand your misgivings, though. Billy is extremely short-tempered and does NOT like to be messed with, so when he was diagnosed with both CRF and hyperT, I was dreading having to medicate him, much less having to eventually administer subQs to my potentially violent old man. To make matters worse, my housemate moved out right before Billy started needing subQs, so I was faced with having to administer them without any assistance. I had nightmares of lying on the floor bleeding to death with Billy firmly attached to my jugular vein. But what choice did I have? Billy needed subQs, and I was the only one here to administer them. I knew my only chance of surviving the procedure was to keep it all as low key as possible. Billy had chosen a diningroom chair as his favorite sleeping spot, so I rigged a way to hang the fluid bag from the curtain rod next to the chair. While he was napping, I quietly hung the bag, sat down next to him (which instantly woke him and caused him to stand up), and slipped in the needle as quickly as possible. To my utter amazement, Billy didn't object at all. He stood there while I silently stroked his face until the administration was finished. I was stunned at how easily it all went. Things have changed a bit since then. It didn't take Billy long to figure out that the diningroom chair was where he got his fluids, so he abandoned the chair and started napping elsewhere. Now I have to find him and carry him to the chair for fluids, but as long as I do so quietly and carry him carefully, he usually doesn't do more than grumble softly. Sometimes if I don't get the needle exactly where he wants it, he'll start growling in mid-administration. I have to be VERY careful at that point NOT to touch him (other than to hold the needle in place), or he'll attack me. So I just hold my hand an inch or two in front of his chest so that he knows I won't allow him to leave, and he stays put and growls until I'm finished. If I get the needle in a comfortable spot, however, he'll generally sit or stand without objection until we're done. I can absolutely guarantee you, though, that if I did anything other than use my body position to restrict his movement, he'd fight like a demon during subQs. There is absolutely NO WAY that a restraint bag would do anything other than increase Billy's fight instinct, and I suspect the same will be true for Casey. You need to reduce the stress response, not increase it, in order to be successful with subQs. A restraint bag is likely to feel a lot like a carrier to Casey, so she may very well have the same stress response to the bag that she has to her carrier. Casey's also likely to be in a considerably happier (and hopefully more cooperative) mood now that she's not dealing with chronic constipation anymore. Don't worry. All of this will work out, one day and one procedure at a time. Laurie...See MoreFull time caregiver for elderly person
Comments (16)A dear friend had this for her husband when he was ill and dying. When he died, her children insisted she continue to have the 24/7 help and she did. The day woman was wonderful; the night people, not so much. Their job description required them to stay awake all night and be available if she called for help. They would just go to sleep and when she called them to help her to the bathroom, they didn't come, she would try to get their by herself and a fall inevitably occurred. I can't tell you how many different helpers the agency provide for the night shift and nearly all were not good at all. My in-laws had always had a live-in cook/housekeeper. When their wonderful woman finally retired after over 40 years with them, they hire another woman, but she would only work M-F - no weekends. They had someone come from an agency for the weekend, but it was not always the same person. They were not required to stay awake all night, but there was a "baby monitor" so my FIL could call if he needed help getting to the bathroom. The weekend help often ignored his calls and multiple falls were the result. My late mother had many friends who had in-home caregivers, and by the time she had died, they had all managed to steal all her silver and jewelry - and there was a lot of it. I would strongly advise using an agency where the workers are bonded, and locking up anything valuable and high "portable". Even then, someone needs to keep a close watch to be sure they are actually caring for the person and not also robbing her blind. Many children object to this kind of care as they don't want to have to be involved with hiring them (one still must be involved, even when using a reputable agency), and it is nearly always far more costly than assisted living in a home. In some cases, it is not - the home may be more. After my MIL died, my FIL announced to his two children that he was going to move to a retirement home in a nearby town. The "walk-in the door" fee was $500,000 and if one dropped dead two hours later, none of this money was returned. There was also a monthly charge. My DH and his sister looked at one another and both thought "That's a LOT of money and we will inherit that much less!" He was nearly 92 at the time. It also meant that my SIL would have a 30-40 minute drive each way to see him on a daily basis. That is how she approached him - it would be a huge inconvenience for her, and she WAS going to visit him daily. She still had two school-age children at home and it would have been very inconvenient. FIL was a dear, dear man and there was no way he was going to inconvenience his beloved daughter (my DH did not leave nearby). We were very glad he made this decision for innumerable reasons. It gave DH and his sister 13 months to clean out a very large house in which they had lived for over 50 years. My husband would drive down from Maine for the weekend, and they tackled the huge 3rd floor attic, the basement, and all closets with things not in use. It took them all that time to go through all this. And he only lived another 13 months. Sometimes reality must come into these decisions....See More
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