More dispatches from the "I don't know which is worse" front, I'm afraid. Mom was uncommunicative on Thursday. Today she was talking, and mainly making sense, although she abruptly changed the topic of conversation a few times. For instance, she asked again where I work, I told her again, and she said "You must like dogs then." As many of you know, my work has nothing to do with dogs. But no big deal -- we talked about dogs for a few minutes.
The reason I put the talkative spell in the "I don't know which is worse" category, is that when she's talkative, her arm's compulsively moving; when she's not, it isn't. In any event, Zoloft is supposed to be great for these behaviors, and that's what they're trying now.
At the moment, however, she's back to compulsively whacking and rubbing her chin with her hand, which is now stuffed into a sock (several socks actually -- it's quite well-padded.) The nursing home called this morning to mention that she'd bruised the bridge of her nose. She indeed has, so I certainly have no issue with padding her hand. (Last week she had worn a hole in her chin and picked an open sore in her upper lip -- both of which seem to be healing.)
While we talked, I asked her to track my finger movement (she couldn't.) I asked her a few questions about whether she could stop her arm from moving. She said she couldn't, even when I asked if she could stop for just one second.
I didn't think to ask her to squeeze my hand, which she has been able to do most times that she is talking. However, last week, I asked her if I could hold her hand, and she liked that -- yet kept trying to jerk both our hands toward her face.
Today I asked if I held her hand down whether it bothered her (still trying to figure out if there was any volitional component to the compulsive movements.) She said "They try to do that all the time." I started out with a next thought: "If I did..." -- but she interrupted me: "Don't." Well, her hand is pretty well padded at the moment; me holding it down for an hour or two would at best be a stopgap measure, so I let it go. But it's interesting that she doesn't want the involuntary, compulsive behavior interfered with.
Today, she expressed things she had not for a long time: she wanted an apple. Her back hurt. When I explained she was getting her food through the tube, she opined "yes, but I don't like the tube." I bring it up because most days she has absolutely no complaints of any kind. Maybe in a way it's a good sign -- just not one we can do a damn thing about. More "I don't know which is worse."
Of course the back pain is a much simpler matter. I requested something for breakthrough pain from the charge nurse. Before that arrived, I moved around her pillows in her chair, which seemed helpful. The pain was probably from being slumped in the chair all afternoon. In any event, before any drug arrived, her aide came in and asked Mom when she would like to get in bed. Mom said "as soon as possible," so I left the room while the aide went to get the winch they use to transfer her from bed to chair and back again.
She was much more comfortable once in bed. Since I stepped outside for a few minutes, I don't know whether her nurse had also come around with something for breakthrough pain, or whether it was just a result of getting out of the chair and back in bed, but she was just drowsy when I returned, not complaining of any pain.
When the nurse's aide got her into bed, she also arranged her arm beneath a pillow tucked under the sheet, which effectively arrested her arm's motion.
Here's hoping that the Zoloft works, or some other drug that works on compulsive behaviors.
D
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