New to the forum here and was enocuraged to come on onver to the new caregiver room and tell a lil about myslef... so...here goes.

My name is dina i'm 36. single and began caring for my grandmother mid april ish. Although i am the main caregiver i have a sister and niece and mom who help out when i ask.

I just recently quit my job (early Aug). so adjusting to this and having no money really is hard.

My granny just turned 81 on the 19th of aug. November of 2007 was the beginning of the downhill spiral for my granny. She had a mild heart attack. up until then, she was pretty much independent..but my sister and niece were living with her for her safety. From november till Jan she was in and out of the hospital several times and we knew were going to have to make some changes soon.

March 3rd i had the lapband procedure to help me lose wieght, and the very next day my grandmother started complaining about here toe hurting. it just started out of nowhere. hospital trips told that it was infected but nothing to worry aobut...were they wrong...after a while of no progresss, they amputated her left great toe. after 2 weeks i had not healed and began getting ifected. She ended up in the hospital with MRSA and was passing bloods and showing signs of dementia. She had never shown signs before...but...who knows....my mother had anervouise breakdown, and i had to take over for her care.

most recently my granny has had 1/2 of her left foot amputated. she is diabetic, and has poor circulation in both of her legs. and has developed two more spots on her right foot now. she has hyperbaric treatments monday thru friday to encourage healing.

her dementia seems to be getting worse but i'm thinking its from the treatments...who knows.
shes been losing weight and i'm trying to feed her as per the drs orders...so far itsw going well, but she hasnt gained any weight just yet.

i just recently suffered due to stress the drs have informend. last we i went into the er thinking i wwas stroking. it was diagnosed as bells palsy. i was told to try and get as much rest as possible and to remain stress free to help with a faster recovery. Lord if they only knew. but, i'm dealing.

i'm looking forward to any helpand tips that everyone here has for me.

I'd love to write more.. but i think i've told enough, and i've got to get granny ready to go.

have a great day all!


Dina

As MB states a UTI is a leading cause of this type of behavior but Im also going to say Diabetes is a precursor to Dementia so I would sit back and go over Grans behavior up to this point and really examine it.
Was she forgetting, misplacing things etc this could have been mild signs of Dementia
I know watching my MIL over the first several years I overlooked a lot of signs that I now say....Ah hah so thats what was going on.
Now for the third thing that could be the cause.
The operation to amputate.
Unfortunately a lot of older folks dont take too well to anesthesia, it can and does produce the types of behaviors you are now seeing.
I went through this with MIL also it took a few months to clear up the worst of it and like your case she got MRSA and all hell broke loose all over again.
All in all it took about a year to get her on the right track again.
And Bells Palsy? well dam do you really need that too on top of all you have on your plate Geeze!
I know a little about this affliction it runs in my hunnys family in fact MIL just went through it several months back.
You really need to back off a little and let someone handle this with Gran while you get back on track yourself hun.
Sometimes taking on this job isnt for everyone.
Now Im not trying to scare you or anything of that nature.... I know my limits, I knew when it was time to scream uncle and get help, this is your time to take a good hard look at this journey your on and be honest with yourself, find out what your limits are and uh practice how to say "no" or "NO" depending on your mood
This is a tough job on a good day but I think I speak for the whole when I say its the most rewarding job you'll ever take on...just remember as MB said we do yell from the rooftops to always take care of you first cause without you....well, you get the picture
So uh....welcome aboard the truth train cause thats all you'll get here lol warm fuzzies we do that too but truth we got in spades!
Are ya ready?
Listen to what MB is saying about treatments at home, water, cranberry juice etc its right on the money

Hi Dina,

Welcome, I am new to the group also. So nice to know that we are not alone, and not wierd for taking care of our loved ones. I know that there are alot of people who do what we do-but I just haven't met them. I live with my father and disabled daughter. But I also have help-like you do with your extended family. \

It is so important to take care of yourself. Maybe you can schedule some time for yourself and have your sister or niece stay with your granny while you get out of the house. Take a walk read a book etc-paint-- anything so you can relax. Recently , I have started something new. As soon as I get up, I take care of myself first. I take a bath, put on some make-up eat breakfast and then I take care of everyone else. This really helps.

First, many blessings to you for stepping up to assist your gran to take the load off your mom. It takes a special person to do this!

The hyperbaric treatments should help the wound healing, but I doubt they have anything to do with the dementia symptoms. Be sure to have her urine checked regularly for UTI, which can really negatively affect the behavior of elderly people. Ya wouldn't think that the urinary tract could cause such strong behavioral symptoms, but, as you read here, you'll see it is one of thhe leading causes of a marked decline or change in behavior. With her diabetes issues, UTIs can become a BIG problem. Do make sure she is drinking tons of water & fluids, especially cranberry juice. Keep her protein intake high so she can heal. Boost with protein is good cold or hot (like hot chocolate). A good protein powder (without soy or wheat - whey and milk products are the best sources) can be added to her food to raise her protein intake. Eggs, meat, fish and milk products (yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.) are all great sources of protein.

Do be sure to care for yourself! Our motto is "care for the caregiver FIRST" because without you, the whole show goes to heck in a handbasket! Getting enough rest is a challenge and its hard to remember to actually eat a decent diet and get exercise. ALL of those things are necessary to help combat the effects of the stress caregivers live with. Take some time every day just to do nothing... meditate, read, relax and UNWIND. My great escape getaway was my bathtub - Calgon took me away and returned me in better shape every time!

Glad you found your way here! None of us know everything, but among us all, there isn't much we haven't seen. Looking forward to getting to know you & yours.