Brain-altering meds are gone. For good.

After my last posting I left town with a little concern about leaving mom in the hands of a new hospice team while I was away. I needn't have worried: they took good care, left me phone messages about every interaction, and when I visited her today she was in very good shape.

She was mentally more clear than she has been since the Chute Doctor added Ativan to her medication routine in June. They didn't tell me they'd done that, but I could tell she was upset about changes in her cognition. My mom knows when her brain isn't working well. One thing that has happened since I met with the doctor is that he took her off all the cognition-altering medications. That leaves her taking only her thyroid pill and whatever she needs to prevent constipation (when you're old and don't move much, you need this). She's better off the cognitive drugs than on them 0 less is better.

But - a piece of hospice advice from a friend arrived in my email the day I left for my travel. Here is the message:
"I am familiar with most of the hospice companies in town and can tell you that you still need to manage them. They may come in, change your mom's medications without you knowing until after the fact...or send their new hires who know nothing about your mom and won't care what is going on with her. There is a lot of mischief that can happen when you aren't paying attention. You do need to let them know exactly what your expectations are. Communication can be sketchy unless you set up an arrangement where they leave you a note each time they visit."

Good advice from my friend Karen. I have made my expectations clear, they leave a note or call after every visit, and it's all working.