Difficult question which I have to ask but here it goes. I am the sole responsible party for my dad. He is in AL MC diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. At last count he has 21 DRs. 1:Dermatologist and derma surgeon
2: ophthalmologist and neuro ophthalmologist
3: urologist and uro oncologist
4: neuro oncologist
5: geriatric neurologist
6: audiologist
7: cardiologist
8: pulmonologist
9: family Dr
10: dentist
11: neurologist (specialist in neuropathy)
12: orthopedic and ortho surgeon (scoliosis and chronic back pain)
13: rheumatologist
I work full time and it seems that I need to ask permission to work not for time off
I am losing my mind with all of these DRs. My husband states I should drop all of them and just keep family DR.
how do you manage drs for your loved ones?
What treatment would you take if he is diagnosed with -----------?
If you would not follow up with a treatment then there really is no need for the diagnosis.
and...
Is he taking medication from each of the doctors listed?
Would stopping any of the medication result in cutting his life short or causing undue pain? (Keep in mind with the diagnosis of Alzheimer's his life is cut short and he is not living a "quality" life at this point.)
Is he compliant with each doctor? with each test done? and any follow up? If not discontinue that doctor.
You may wish to discuss palliative care with doctors now if you are medical POA. At some point keeping someone alive, and seeing conflicting docs for different things can almost be harmful. You should see your elder's ONE general practitioner now, tell him or her that all medical followup will be through that doctor unless a specialist is required for an illness.
Wishing you luck. Clearly your elder is being used as some sort of cash vending machine, or is very very ill indeed.
Dr's keep adding up due to safety unawareness :-( thus multiple falls.
It is sad that the elder has become a cash cow for medical services.
Best wishes and again Thank you <3
They never hesitated to let us know if a specialist was needed, and most of the care LO needed was addressed on site.
Good luck to you
Just do the basics. Don’t kill yourself with all of the specialist.
Wishing you all the best.
The PCP can oversee a lot of these other things and can write renewals for medications. Let the PCP decide when Dad needs to go back to see a specialist , if at all .
My FIL with dementia gets seen every 2 weeks by his PCP in AL because he has fantastic insurance . He doesn’t need to be seen that often, but he likes the attention . We’ve cut specialists unless he needs to go . He did go to the hematologist this year for severe anemia.
When my mother had dementia she decided she only wanted to see the PCP in her facility and the podiatrist. She was tired of doctors.
i would have him palliative care.
can u elaborate on what palliative care provides at home?