Boomers Cleaning Up After Parents Thread - "But Someone Could Use That!"

[progeezer]

My wife had her hip replaced yesterday, so that is another person I have to care for until it heals. I think my only relief will be going to Progday to get away from all this madness.

Oh crap! And I was so looking forward to seeing Lorraine! You....meh.

Seriously Ed, please give her my best wishes for a fast, uneventful recovery!

[Progatron]

Visited my ever-aging father yesterday, I wanted to see him as close to Christmas as possible, and that was about the only day I could fit it in. Anyway, brought him a couple of bottles of wine and some chocolate (that's about all he wants to eat nowadays). Had a reasonably nice visit, he was chatty. Wished him a merry Christmas (even though it's not very merry at that house right now, this being the first Christmas since my sister was killed) and was on my way.

Got a message from my niece this morning saying it's probably not a good idea to bring my Dad any more wine, since he drank both bottles last night and fell. I then learned from my brother that it is his fifth fall in as many months. My Dad told me he drinks a 'glass or two a night' - and since he usually gets me to take him to the liquor store every few weeks, I thought why not get him some as a present (especially since there's really nothing to get him anymore). Normally he buys these two massive 1.5 liter bottles of cheap swill, so I got him two smaller (regular sized) bottles of much nicer wines - not crazy expensive, just nicer than what he drinks usually. I guess that was a mistake. Thankfully he didn't hurt himself this time, but with every fall, the risk is there of breaking bones or hitting his head (the latter of which he has done before). So now comes the difficult decision: I think we have to remove yet another pleasure from his life because it's just too risky (driving was the first to go, then his computer access because he started allowing himself to get scammed). It's pretty heartbreaking, but what can we do? An almost 83 year-old man in poor health who is on medications and has balance issues as it is should NOT be given free reign to drink two bottles of wine in an evening.

So, that's a drag, that what I thought was a nice gift for him at Christmastime turned out to be a negative thing. And I might be overthinking it, but I sense a slight thread of guilt from some family members that I should have known better.

[Shadow]

An almost 83 year-old man in poor health who is on medications and has balance issues as it is should NOT be given free reign to drink two bottles of wine in an evening. (

Other than the age thing that sounds like half the people at Progday.

[Shadow]

My mother almost met her maker again yesterday. I had to give her a shower yesterday morning out of necessity, you would have thought she drank two bottles of wine the night before. Then I fixed her a usual breakfast of scrapple, hash brown and scrambled eggs with cheese. About 3/4's through she went into another non responsive zombi state. Her heart rate dropped to 42 and oxygen level was at 88 which isn't too awfully bad. So my wife and I got her back in bed and put the oxygen mask on her. I tried to get her pressure but the cuff just wouldn't read it. After about 15 minutes she starts to come around so we left her in bed for a couple hours to rest. I think her pressure dropped and she could be having small mini strokes because her speech isn't always listenable, probably partly due to the dementia. Today she was doing better but her speech was still a little slow. My wife watched her this morning while I went to a couple stores and she said she was driving her nuts walking all over the house getting into things. She has been in hospice at the house for over a year and they were talking about taking her out. The nurse said her blood tests are better than hers and she is probably in her 30's. All the other factors are keeping her in for another two months. When the nurse stopped by later yesterday afternoon her pressure was 140 something over 70 something with pulse in the 60's and oxygen at 99%. Not bad for someone 92.

[moecurlythanu]

Has anyone found anything Prescription or OTC that will aid memory function in the elderly? My mom doesn't have dementia, but bad memory issues. Talking with her is like playing charades, constantly guessing what she's referring to as she describes it because she can't remember what it's called. I read online reviews for Prevagen, the jellyfish product, and they didn't look good. Anyone found something that actually works?

[Shadow]

Has anyone found anything Prescription or OTC that will aid memory function in the elderly? My mom doesn't have dementia, but bad memory issues. Talking with her is like playing charades, constantly guessing what she's referring to as she describes it because she can't remember what it's called. I read online reviews for Prevagen, the jellyfish product, and they didn't look good. Anyone found something that actually works?

Sounds like the beginning of dementia. If I remember right I think my mother started out the same way. Now most of the time I don't know what she is talking about.

[progmatist]

Working in the mental health field for a quarter century, I've learned alcohol and most prescription meds simply do not mix.

Has anyone found anything Prescription or OTC that will aid memory function in the elderly? My mom doesn't have dementia, but bad memory issues. Talking with her is like playing charades, constantly guessing what she's referring to as she describes it because she can't remember what it's called. I read online reviews for Prevagen, the jellyfish product, and they didn't look good. Anyone found something that actually works?

In my opinion, Prevagen is merely a way for a pharmaceutical giant to monetize fish oil supplements. If marijuana is ever fully legalized, you can bet a drug company or two will come up with super expensive, THC based medications.

[rcarlberg]

Has anyone found anything Prescription or OTC that will aid memory function in the elderly? My mom doesn't have dementia, but bad memory issues. Talking with her is like playing charades, constantly guessing what she's referring to as she describes it because she can't remember what it's called. I read online reviews for Prevagen, the jellyfish product, and they didn't look good. Anyone found something that actually works?

Not drugs, but exercise.

Physical exercise -- getting outside every day, being active, encountering new things -- as well as mental exercise, doing crosswords and reading books and writing her memoirs and taking online "brain-building" quizzes. Like any other muscle the brain atrophies from lack of use. Encourage her to push herself to do more than she thinks she can.

I've noticed, in myself, that it's getting more frequent that I cannot call into consciousness an actor's name or the title of a movie or a concept I haven't thought about in a few years. My brain is becoming a sieve.

I read online reviews for Prevagen, the jellyfish product, and they didn't look good.

I could be WAYYY off-base here, but unless I'm very much mistaken, jellyfish are not particularly known for their memories.

[moecurlythanu]

Not drugs, but exercise.

Physical exercise -- getting outside every day, being active, encountering new things -- as well as mental exercise, doing crosswords and reading books and writing her memoirs and taking online "brain-building" quizzes. Like any other muscle the brain atrophies from lack of use. Encourage her to push herself to do more than she thinks she can.

Good advice, but she's 84. It's probably at least 10 years too late for her.

I could be WAYYY off-base here, but unless I'm very much mistaken, jellyfish are not particularly known for their memories.

True, but if one stings you, you won't forget it.

[rcarlberg]

Good advice, but she's 84. It's probably at least 10 years too late for her.

Not necessarily. Buy her a Kindle.

My dad got his first smartphone at 90.

[SteveSly]

Working in the mental health field for a quarter century, I've learned alcohol and most prescription meds simply do not mix.



In my opinion, Prevagen is merely a way for a pharmaceutical giant to monetize fish oil supplements. If marijuana is ever fully legalized, you can bet a drug company or two will come up with super expensive, THC based medications.

Prevagen is a supplement and is not made by a pharmaceutical company. It is been pretty much proven as being ineffective.

[rcarlberg]

Prevagen is a supplement and is not made by a pharmaceutical company. It is been pretty much proven as being ineffective.

But the test subjects don't remember that.

[progmatist]

I could be WAYYY off-base here, but unless I'm very much mistaken, jellyfish are not particularly known for their memories.

However, aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins have good mammaries.

[Vic2012]

[Shadow]

However, aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins have good mammaries.

I've seen a couple homo sapiens that also fit that category.

[SteveSly]

But the test subjects don't remember that.

My point is that supplements do not go through testing like true pharma drugs do. Nothing has to be scientifically proven. The original post was accusing big pharma of "Monetize fish oil supplements" which is simply not true since Prevagen is not a pharmaceutical drug. In fact it is not a drug at all.

[rcarlberg]

My point is that supplements do not go through testing like true pharma drugs do. Nothing has to be scientifically proven. The original post was accusing big pharma of "Monetize fish oil supplements" which is simply not true since Prevagen is not a pharmaceutical drug. In fact it is not a drug at all.

Precisely. The supplement industry is essentially unregulated, simply because supplements are assumed to have no lasting effects either good or bad. Is Prevagen a prescription drug? Here in the US -- one of only two countries in the world where the pharmaceutical industry is allowed to advertise direct to consumers -- the industry likes to create perceived need in hypochondriacs so they'll bug their doctors into prescribing things. The doctors get a kickback, the consumers get a placebo, and everyone's happy (except the insurance company).

[markwoll]

I think that Vascepa is the new fish oil magic pill ( by prescription only ). At least all of the commercials on TV tell me that.
Prevagen is snake oil, a different kind.

[progmatist]

Do any of you remember those Centrum Silver commercials, where the actor said he'd heard of a study, and was impressed that Centrum Silver was the multi-vitamin used in said study? What the commercial didn't mention was those studies (more than one) found no benefit whatsoever from taking a multi-vitamin.

[Jerjo]

Careful with all this supplement talk. Yami will pop into this thread promoting his snake oil!

[Garyhead]

Thankfully, he is on “ignore”.

[Lopez]

Do any of you remember those Centrum Silver commercials, where the actor said he'd heard of a study, and was impressed that Centrum Silver was the multi-vitamin used in said study? What the commercial didn't mention was those studies (more than one) found no benefit whatsoever from taking a multi-vitamin.

There were some supplements advertised on TV as being "clinically tested." Never said tested for what or what were the results of those tests. They may have failed or been shown to have no effect, but, damn it, they were "clinically tested."

[rcarlberg]

There were some supplements advertised on TV as being "clinically tested." Never said tested for what or what were the results of those tests. They may have failed or been shown to have no effect, but, damn it, they were "clinically tested."

It's like the ads for the casinos. "Win your share of $20,000." Only catch is, your share is $0.

[progmatist]

There were some supplements advertised on TV as being "clinically tested." Never said tested for what or what were the results of those tests. They may have failed or been shown to have no effect, but, damn it, they were "clinically tested."

There're also many supplements, and medical devices and procedures which brag about being "FDA Cleared!" As if that means anything at all.

[Garyhead]

My Nutritionist has a client whose husband works at the local Sewage Treatment Plant.....The most common object in the inflow screens are Centrum Silver Tablets....No Shit! (seriously, its true)