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My mom has terribly painful compression fractures of the spine and cannot take anything stronger than acetominophen and lidocaine patches due to her other medical conditions. She has lived with us for a little over a year now and had PT and OT recently after a week long hospital stay. While she is able to do the "drills" the therapists ask her to do, she would like nothing better than to lay in bed the rest of the time. She has dementia, anxiety, and depression as well; we cannot communicate effectively to her that laying down most of the time has created additional pain issues over time. (Before she moved in with us she lived alone for five years,laying down most of the time as well, so there has been a cumulative affect of all this inactivity. Her compression fractures were not diagnosed until she came to live here and saw a new doctor.) The pain doctor she saw a few months ago couldn't believe she managed the pain with only Tylenol, so my question is: could her pain be amplified by depression and anxiety? If we can somehow get treatment for the depression might her pain be more manageable? And if we can get the pain managed better, maybe the depression would be lift a bit. What a vicious circle.

Oddly (to us) she can be distracted from the pain by other activity, like the great grandchildren visiting, so we think boredom may play a role here as well, and we are trying to get her into senior day care, in spite of her opposition to going.

So many thoughts of what we can do to help her be comfortable and get a little enjoyment from her life in the time she has left.

Thank you for any suggestions regarding the pain management and associated depression.

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Actually we bought a tens unit, but unfortunately she was unable to use it because of her inability to understand how to use the device. She has a hard time with the remote for her TV.
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Any recommendations for the bed and mattress? And I'll bet we'll get objections, too!
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A tens unit can be helpful for managing pain without medication. Ask the physical therapists, Medicare will pay for it.
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Yes, is much amplified by anxiety. Fractures are more frequent for sedentary patients. An old mattress makes it worse. Get her an adjustable bed with a premium mattress, online $865. We got one over mom's objection and the pain was gone. Cheaper than rental.
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I do think you are on the right track. If she was diagnosed with depression and treated with an appropriate medication, she probably wouldn't feel the back pain quite so much.

I've seen people practically rise from their deathbed to play with great grandchildren!

As far as the day care goes, if you could go and stay with her for a little while at first, she may accept it easier. Seniors sometimes have the same reluctance to leave what is familiar as children do.
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