Could not reach her from 5 to 7. Came to her house and found her sitting in a chair. Food in the kitchen uneaten. She had no idea how long she had been there. Doesn't remember cooking. She just said she was cold. She refused to get up and go to bed for about 30 min. I mentioned calling an ambulance and she said if I did she'd disown me. I have her in the bed now eating a BLT. Does anyone know what that is? I'm not a nurse. Only thing lately that's been going on is age, gets dizzy and has a history of passing out. I lived with her 4 months last year bc of the passing out.
Do get one of the urine dip stick tests at your pharmacy, collect a specimen from Mom and test yourself by the color chart to look for indications of UTI.
Also, orthostatic hypotension can cause passing out. Does your mother take any BP lowering meds, or does she have low BP? There's also a medical phenomenon called syncope, in which someone passes out but the cause is difficult to determine. That's happened to my father more than a few times.
It sounds like there are some other medical issues, so I'm addressing only the passing out.
How far away is the closest teaching hospital, one that is affiliated with a medical school?
We often resist seeking care when we know we should be and that can often land us in the hospital but it isn't always out of stubbornness or denial sometimes it's a symptom of the medical issue it's self, we are too far over the edge to recognize we have a problem and are lucky to have daughters like you around to recognize there is an issue that needs immediate attention.
When my GM was in the hospital after heart surgery I walked into her room one day to visit (this was many years ago) and immediately knew something wasn't right, she was talking and responsive but she wasn't herself but in a way only family that knew her well knew right away. I told the nurse something wasn't right and sure enough she had had a TIA (or several I don't really know) and they told us then that had I not piked up on it and alerted them they likely would not have known until she had a stroke which would have likely happened. They ended up converting her a couple of times but had she not been in the hospital I doubt we would have known and she would have had a stroke. Don't second guess your instinct here. Again not saying it is certainly something that major but it could be and whatever is going on better to know than wonder and wait for the other shoe to drop! I'll be thinking of you.
I was living the kind of episodic Hell you describe, taking mom to multiple docs each week.
When we got her into a facility, we decided to use the geriatrics doctor who had an office there.
He took her off all of her meds except for bo and anxiety. He adjusted those. He got her in to see a geriatric psychiatrist. Mom's life and mine were much better.
You can also ask about hospice care. No more hospital runs.
Who has your boy?
You are the only grownup in the room.
As you mention, you are not a nurse. Even if you were, without access to a lab, you dont know if her electrolytes are out of whack. Or her blood gases. You don't know if she's dehydrated. Or had a stroke. Or has a UTI, which can turn septic and kill her. She might have pneumonia.
In ANY event, she needs to be seen right now to figure out what is going on.