she wont eat or drink my stepdad is taking care of her he was a cna for 10 years no one can get her to eat its so hard to see her like this i dont understand its not fair shes 84 i dont want her to suffer,what can we do we need help and dont know where to turn i cry all night and have to go to work im heart broken
My first thought was does she have a terminal disease? If so, hospice would keep her comfortable. If not, depression may be at the source. Undiagnosed infections and other issues could cause this. She needs to be seen by a doctor to determine what is going on, if no one has diagnosed a terminal illness. Please try to get her seen soon.
Carol
Is she severely depressed? Is she on medications for depression? What does her doctor say about this behavior?
She says she wants to die. Does she have a terminal illness? Is she possibly in the final stage? Of course you do not want her to suffer. Is she suffering physically from her health conditions, as well as from this apparent depression?
I'm sorry for so many questions, but knowing more may trigger ideas from somebody.
You are certainly correct. The many possible problems of old age are not fair!
My mom wasn't able to eat anymore because of her illness(last stage Dementia) So, I wasn't going to let her go out of this world without a fight. I pureed food to baby food consistency or bought baby food and feed her via medicine syringe. If you do it slow and make sure she is sitting up lessens the chances of choking. I got "thick it" food/liquid that I put into her fluid as well. I try to get some ensure into mom each day. My moms problem she won't open her mouth to eat. But she will chew and swallow with no problem. I put the tip of syringe towards the corner of her mouth. Once she puckers a bit, I can get more of tip into her mouth. I slowly push plunger to feed her.
My mom eats very little but I try.
I don't know how you feel about feeding tubes? I personally am against. But that might be something to consider when all else falls. I suggest talk to the doctor about her condition(s) and go from there.
If your mom has just given up, its going to be hard to reverse it. Encourage her she needs to fight.