AboutMargot RN BScN CGN Expertise I nursed my own Mother and Grandmother at home when they were dying so I have personal experience with the emotions involved. I have also spent the last 15+ years as a Registered Nurse caring for The Elderly and Terminally Ill and it has brought me great satisfaction. I am willing to answer any questions I can.
Experience
Past/Present clients Hundreds of Long Term Care Residents as well as hundreds of Cleitns and families in the community (including my Mother and Grandmother).
Question I ve been taking care of my mother at home now for several years. She has alzheimers and is in the final stage. She fell 8 months ago while staying with my sister during respite for me and broke her hip. She had surgery and a 4 week stay in a nursing home before I brought her back home. Needless to say - the alzheimers progressed rapidly during that time and she hasn t walked since. She developed diabetes also during that time and she is now on Metformin for control and it s working fine. Being mostly bedridden (she s out of bed for about 5-6 hours a day) she isn t getting any physical exercise. She still eats very well even though it takes about 1 hour to finish. The question I have and the problem is - she s been constipated quite a bit and she had a terrible case of hemmorhoids. The doctor prescribed Anusol for the hemmorhoids and Glycolax for the constipation. She has slowly continued to decline on the amount of feces she is putting out and I m worried that she might have an impaction. She produces small unformed soft feces. I thought incontinence would mean she would lose control of her bowels and be unable to hold it in but it seems just the reverse for her. Is this what happens in the end stage? Please help.
Answer Hi Sherrye and thanks for writing,
I tend to agree with you that your Mother is constipated as happens to the majority of immobile seniors. I would suggest going to the health food store and finding a natural laxative she can take daily, I like LBT3 if you can find it. Be careful about supplements that are fiber enhancers though – Psyllium is great for younger people who will drink 6-8 glasses of water a day, but can be very dangerous for seniors who are dehydrated and can block everything up.
Give her a suppository twice a week for a while to get things moving, and get her on a daily regime with a natural laxative, and get as much fluid in her as possible every day. You can also make a fruit mix with apricots, prunes, orange juice and sennokot powder and giver her a tablespoon every morning on top of her oatmeal to keep her BMs soft.
I hope this helps, I know how difficult these situations can be.
