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Now, if they could be encouraged to chase off my sister-in-law...
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Okay, now I'm worried. My mother returned two weeks ago from her annual three-week cross-country trip with my brother and his wife to visit the grandkids. During the first week home, she was lively and engaged: we made outings to her hairdresser, the library, for dinner with old friends. Then last week she did something she had never EVER done before: she stayed in pajamas all day and failed to put on her makeup and earrings. She has put on makeup and earrings even following surgery, accidents, pneumonia... Then the next day she again stayed in pajamas, without makeup. And today she cancelled a doctor appointment, although she often seems to see them as the highlight of her week. She'll be 95 in October. She's supposedly in good health. What's happening?
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What does she say about it, Realtime? Does she come up with lame excuses, or does she agree that she's feeling unwell?
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Oh, yes, she recognizes it. She says she's embarrassed to spend the day in bed and not do anything. But she denies any specific ailment, and just says she feels "weak." I'm waiting for an appointment with her primary care physician. The appointment she cancelled today was a routine follow up with a cardiologist.
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Ah. Or, rather, AAAARRRGGHH!!! Routine follow up? Sounds as if the follow-up might have ended up not being so routine after all… Can you remake the appointment and drive her there if need be?
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Hmmmmm. Can you get her doctor on the phone and talk to her/him about this? What are her cardiac issues? Does she have a pacemaker?

Frankly, in your shoes, I'd be inclined to call the emts to make sure her vitals are okay. If you have a bp cuff and a pulse oximeter, I'd get them out. You don't have an RN in the neighborhood, do you?
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Whatever is going on, it's a change in her behavior. Although today she got up, put on makeup and seemed normal. She's amazingly healthy --- no cardiac, pulmonary, etc., issues. Just gastric reflux from time to time and a touch of arthritis in one arm. I'll get her to her PCP.
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Glad she seems to be improving. Let us know how this goes; we learn from each other.

if I seem a bit alarmist, it's because my mom, who is now 92, has had pneumonia several times, with just the symptom of feeling "weak". No fever, no cough. She'd be dead if she weren't in NH. Also, a heart block. No real symptoms. Just "not myself today ".
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Thanks, Babalou. Have you ever been able to get her to describe what she means by "weak"? I try to pin Mama down to figure out if she actually means weak in the body, or just listless and without energy, but she can't articulate the feeling. It's so hard to get her to describe her symptoms in a way that the doctor can react to. Is it hard to get up? walk around? or does she just not want to? (Does it matter?)
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In our case, it doesn't matter. The folks at the nh are used to working with elderly, aometimes demented patients, ao they do labs and xrays and such to find out what's going on. A good geriatrics doctor can be a lot like a good vet in my experience. And i mean that as a compliment to both.
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