Reply to What’s your motivation for working if you can afford not to?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I love my job. I’m an MD and work with dementia and end of life patients and it’s just my calling. I don’t know how else to explain it.
I work part time, their school hours, and am home with them when they are home, I stay home when they are sick and have weekends off unless there is some sort of emergent issue with a patient.
I understand I have the best of both worlds. I will also add that if my only choice when they were not school age was to work full time or not work at all, I would have taken that time off to stay home full time with them.
I was lucky enough to get 2 full weekend days, so 2 12 hour shifts as a hospitalist, and stayed in the field. 
[/quote]

Sorry for the off topic question but can you recommend a resource for dealing with an angry, anxious elderly mother in early stages of dementia? And thank you for the work you do! There aren't enough of you around. [/quote]

You are welcome. PP here, I do not live in the DC area anymore,  but I can provide general guidance.  The anger and anxiety is typically just anxiety, the anger comes from being confused, anxious, fearful and presents as anger. It’s a natural human response, and unfortunately a typical marker of dementia.

I would recommend seeing a gereontologist or their primary care doctor with a phone call by you prior to the visit where you explain the situation and ask if anti-anxiety, anti-depressives would be recommended to try. You can give information, they just cannot give information to you unless your parent puts you down as POA or even just writes your name on the form to be notified of their medical issues.
Good doctors appreciate a heads up, and it spares you from having to explain in front of your parent, or if your parent goes alone, the doctor will have this information.
It is also important to preserve the sleep/wake cycle and often simply melatonin is used to ensure sleep. Lack of sleep can also cause anxiety, anger, and escalate dementia symptoms (think of a toddler who has missed their nap). You didn’t say this is an issue, but early stage dementia is a good time to regular sleep cycles and add a nap in if needed to create that routine.
The Alzheimer’s Association also has great resources, and a 24/7 help line you can google and depending on your location may have informational sessions and lots of local resources.
My apologies for hijacking this thread, but I am always happy to help. [/quote]

Thank you so very much! This is very helpful and gives me some confidence to tackle the issue. My parents live far from us but it's clear i need to strongly advocate for treatment and help manage the situation. Thanks again.[/quote]

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