Yarrabyte’s offline again.

  • Bottom_racer@aussie.zone
    12·
    8 days ago

    Made it down to the bellarine yesterday.

    Had to escape. Shit was too tense. All the food is sorted for ol’ girl but jeez did that little stint of not eating enough do a number on her mind and mood. Meltdowns about very odd things like overloading a circuit (had dryer, heater, washing machine and hairdryer on). Said I’m going to have to turn the heater off for a bit and all hell broke loose (‘you can’t do anything right’). Suggested to layer up for a bit (p’s have a lot of cold weather stuff)… ‘don’t tell me what to do’.

    Meltdown after weighing her (she’s waay down, accusing me of not doing enough), then tipping the ensure I had ready to go in soup down the sink ‘because I don’t want it’. So I suggested if I can’t get enough in we’ll have to bypass the mouth which means you’ll have to go in… ‘you just want to get rid of me’.

    GP prescribed her mirtazapine which she refuses. Took one myself (lol not supposed to do that) just to see if it does stimulate appetite and it surely does and would be really helpful. I am/was tempted to chuck it in food but I’m drawing the line at prescription. Happy to go behind her back w/ ensure though.

    You try and reason but it just doesn’t work. Frustrating af. Not her fault but it’s exhausting trying to work out what to do as it changes daily… so many moving parts.

    Have to give respect to those in aged care doing this stuff for a living. It’s wild enough just with one person.

    They’ll be down here over easter so few days off then back on the horse.

    • Taleya@aussie.zoneEnglish
      9·
      8 days ago

      Is she staying hydrated? Dehydrated grannies go absolutely off their shits in a terrifying way.

      • Bottom_racer@aussie.zone
        6·
        8 days ago

        Nope. Been pushing for at home IV drip but not my call. When she was in ICU after the resection for a few days you see the BUN (which they did daily) test was bang on. Now she’s not drinking nearly enough and lo and behold last test 6 months on at the upper range + . Really frustrating. Quick fix (maybe) but it’s just hitting my head against a wall trying to convince ol’ boy. He should know but for some reason deaf ears.

        • Taleya@aussie.zoneEnglish
          6·
          8 days ago

          honestly from your posts it sounds like he’s overwhelmed or in denial. Neither good.

          • Bottom_racer@aussie.zone
            4·
            8 days ago

            He sees it. I think one of the problems (which seems counterintuitive) is due to his line of work he was able to push her through the system very quickly with several issues that happened concurrently. I think he’s worried she’s overwhelmed. It’s sort of a thing where the more you do the more pushback.

            I’m gonna float the drip again though.

      • SituationCake@aussie.zone
        6·
        8 days ago

        Ethical dilemma but yes I agree. If she can’t understand what the medication is for and that she is dangerously underweight, it’s not informed consent/refusal. Also being starving and dehydrated is not really helping the brain function either. From the comments it doesn’t sound like she is ready for palliative care, doesn’t want to die. So her wishes would be better met by giving her the medication. Perhaps giving sneaky doses for a week or so and see what happens. Reassess if she starts to regain some decision making capacity.

      • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
        3·
        8 days ago

        Just be careful as I gave those to Melbcat and stopped as she became more agitated. It is an antidepressant so can mess with the mood

      • Bottom_racer@aussie.zone
        4·
        8 days ago

        I’m tempted to but something tells me not to. Spiking stuff (except w/ regular over the counter things) is just going a bit far for me.

        • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
          5·
          8 days ago

          I totally get that.

          When my dad was alive, in his last years he had dementia and would go on these rants. Getting worked up over nothing. I told my mum to put valium in his drink. She didn’t do it often because she hated doing it but it gave her relief from time to time and he slept better.

          Here’s the thing though. When he was in the army he was commanded to add something in the food (he was one of the cooks) that stops the soldiers becoming horny. He didn’t like that so he told the soldiers which food was laced. He got into big trouble for that numerous times. He was convinced hospitals do it to because he could taste it.

          My mum felt so bad she asked his doctor if it was ok and he said yes. Yikes.

          • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
            4·
            8 days ago

            I wish I could have done this. The neighbour I was caring for was low key getting more verbally and physically aggressive as time went on

        • Eagle@aussie.zone
          3·
          8 days ago

          Your instincts are right. You don’t want her questioning her food safety, she has enough issues already!

    • StudSpud The Starchy@aussie.zoneEnglish
      6·
      8 days ago

      It’s so hard when they’re not in their right mind, topped with all the health and medical stuff. I’m so sorry you’re going through this friend, I’m glad you’re able to get some time to decompress.

      Thinking of you! 💜💜

    • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
      4·
      8 days ago

      I’m so sorry. Maybe the aged care forums will have some tips 😔 https://www.agingcare.com/topics/212/refusing-care/questions

      Edit: Or the Victorian Palliative Care Advice Service https://www.pcas.org.au/

      And I heard utis in elderly can really set them off? But yeah. I think the trip was stressful and people feel more comfortable to lash out at their caregivers

      Please care for yourself too. Even without the aggro and criticism at a certain point the level of expectations alone becomes abusive/dominates your life

      https://www.agingcare.com/questions/depression-while-being-a-primary-caregiver-138183.htm

      https://www.agingcare.com/questions/bad-caregiver-burnout-for-an-elderly-parent-who-refuses-any-outside-help-sassing-them-into-this-is-n-498268.htm

      • Rusty Raven @aussie.zoneM
        3·
        8 days ago

        I wear that sort of thing when I’m at home, but the bigger problem is when I’m at work. When I’m there I have to wear a uniform and I’m also contending with wildly inconsistent heat levels in the building - even without hot flushes people are constantly having to take jumpers on and off, this has just upped the difficulty level!

  • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
    9·
    8 days ago

    I planned out some things I want to get from Aldi and can get a lift… but feeling too anxious to go out 🫩

  • Seagoon_@aussie.zone
    8·
    8 days ago

    ok, happy post 😊

    The beach was beautiful the other day after the rain and stormy winds , clean sand and some great shells

    that’s a perfect frilled venerid, nearly impossible to find like this as they are they are so fragile, this one has not one single chip on it

    I was like “Oh Wow” when I saw it on the sand.

  • tombruzzo@aussie.zone
    7·
    8 days ago

    Tried to pull no phone out of my pocket this morning and perfectly yeeted it into the toilet. Could have been a worse fate considering the ensuite is tiled

  • Taleya@aussie.zoneEnglish
    7·
    8 days ago

    well shit. Guess who had an adult flea found on them at the vet.

    Thankfully we don’t have any carpets, curtains now on the line, next lot of hot wash on, beanbag in a vacuum bag in the sun with diatomaceous earth, goop on everyone… thankfully we don’t need to worry so much about skirting boards and cracks, those get dusted with DE regularly for bastard ant invasions

  • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
    7·
    8 days ago

    My mum had a MRI yesterday and said it was the most horrific thing she’s ever done. She’s had radiation, cancer twice and 4 kids. She’s half deaf and said the noise was incredible.

    • StudSpud The Starchy@aussie.zoneEnglish
      6·
      8 days ago

      I’ve had a few MRIs, a couple for my brains and one for my ankle. The nurse/tech gave me headphones and let me have Green Day playing while they scanned my head.

      But the noise is actually insane. Have you seen them spin without the covering? It’s terrying how huge and fast it goes!

      CT scanner https://youtu.be/DnWVBh5taGo

      (Similar tech, MRI uses radio waves, CT is x-rays)

  • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
    7·
    8 days ago

    I watched a doco on Netflix called Hack Your Health: The secrets of your gut. It was really interesting. Basically they talked about how gut microbiomes play an important role in our health and the more diverse diet the more healthy biomes we have. We should be aiming for between 20 - 30 different fruit and veg a week. It was well worth watching.

    • Thornburywitch@aussie.zoneEnglish
      3·
      8 days ago

      There’s a very strong connection between the necktop processing unit and the gut level reactor. I’m not sold on the 20-30 different varieties though - perfectly OK to eat a smaller range, so long as the proportion of f & v in your diet is high enough to keep everything ticking over just fine.

      • CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone
        2·
        8 days ago

        They weren’t talking about servings. So for instance a salad could have 5 different fruits or vegetables and those 5 count in the 20 - 30 weekly. Very doable. The more diversity the more diversity biomes.

    • SituationCake@aussie.zone
      3·
      8 days ago

      This morning I had a croissant with jam, a coffee, and a plum. So 1/20. I agree though, a healthy microbiome is a very good thing.

    • SaneMartigan@aussie.zone
      3·
      8 days ago

      I feel noticeably happier when I’ve been eating home made sauerkraut for a few days. I reckon it’s good for the biome.

  • Gibsonhasafluffybutt@aussie.zoneEnglish
    6·
    8 days ago

    Today I get my final heart results.

    The GP said when he worked in the UK theyd often get people who get what I got just once. And they were in their 20s.

    Admittedly they’d had a coke binge over the weekend lol