COPD Support Group

Hello Hellas, I'm sorry to hear about the difficulty you are having as you care for your husband. Caring.com has a few resources that may be helpful to you as you search for information on this topic:

1. Giving a Bed Bath: A Step-by-Step Guide: http://www.caring.com/articles/how-to-give-a-bed-bath
2. How to Handle Difficult Behaviors: http://www.caring.com/slideshows/difficult-behaviors
3. Bathing and Hair Care Resource Center: http://www.caring.com/bath-care

I hope some of these resources are helpful. Please don't hesitate to reach out if we may help you find additional resources.

Kind regards, Sho of the Caring.com Community Team

Hi Hellas - This is an ongoing problem with my father. 1. We have a chair in the shower and a chair outside the shower. It's a tight squeeze, however it seems to make him secure. 2. I have baby wipes and antiseptic wipes all over the place. Next to his bed, next to the toilet, washbasin, coffee table and dining table. I wash his hands regularly give his face a wipe and ask him to use them - and he does. 3. I also talk to him about personal hygiene, and tell him "If you don't wash you can get ulcers and sores and smell". My father has advanced Alzheimer's so I have to repeat this mantra often. It seems important to adopt a no nonsense tone' "I've turned the shower on - time for your shower-" seems to work, It is a difficult hurdle and I wish you lots of luck. Take care of yourself. XxX

Hello DE Shore and welcome. It sure does sound like your step-dad has had a rough year. Does your step-dad have a diagnosis of Alzheimer's? Your step-dad has at least two terminal diseases. If he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, that is a terminal disease. His Dr. has told him he has end stage COPD. COPD is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD can be asthma, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis or a combination of the three. It is also a terminal disease. Your step-dad is prone to have pneumonia. He hasn't been treated for the lung tumor because he would not be able to survive treatment. COPD is treated with steroids to reduce the inflammation in his lungs. High doses can cause people to be anxious and edgy. Is he on oxygen all the time? The hallucinations could be from lack of oxygen to his brain. Lack of oxygen to the brain can also cause dementia. My Dad passed away from COPD in Oct. 2007. He too had gotten pneumonia in 2004 and spent time on a vent. He eventually recovered but never to the level he was before he contracted pneumonia. He lived for 3 more years. The Dr. told him if he ever got pneumonia again, it would kill him. I am a retired nurse DE Shore. It's unfortunate that no one at the hospital explained things to you. Since he's been on high dose steroids he must be gradually taken off them. He can't just quit taking them. He must be weaned off from the high doses. The Dr. ordered xanax. Xanax is an anti-anxiety medication. It will make him sleepy and also could cause him to hallucinate but he won't be as anxious. You can ask to speak with his Dr. if your step-dad has you listed as a person the Dr. can give information to regarding his health. This is called HIPPA. If your name is not listed on your step-dad's HIPPA form, the doctor will not be able to give you any information on your step-dad. I'm afraid I couldn't give you encouraging news but I hope I explained things for you. Please come back and post if you have any more questions. We have several nurses on this web site.

Tizzy

Hi DeShore, I'm terribly sorry to hear about your current caregiving challenges. I hope that you are able to find the support and information you need to help with your stepdad's current condition. Caring.com has a few resources that may be useful to you, as you seek guidance on your stepdad's condition:

1. COPD SolutionsCenter: http://www.caring.com/copd
2. COPD Questions: http://www.caring.com/ask/copd-questions
3. Dementia and Delirium Solution Center: http://www.caring.com/dementia-and-delirium
4. Is my father hallucinating from his medication?: http://www.caring.com/questions/hallucinating-from-medication

I hope you can find some helpful information through these resources. Please don't hesitate to be in touch if we may help you find additional resources.

Kind regards, Sho of the Caring.com Community Team

Hello 'theocean', Welcome to our community. I'm sorry to hear about your husbands condition. While you wait for a response from our community, the COPD Solution Center has some articles and information, like "What Doctors Should Evaluate if COPD Symptoms Worsen" and "10 Best Resources for In-Home Care Help" that may be have informative advice to help you care for your husband during this time: http://www.caring.com/copd

You may also refer to our database of 14,000+ answers by searching key words and questions here: www.caring.com/ask/search If you do not find an answer you are searching for, you may also submit your own question to our community at www.caring.com/ask.

I hope your are able to receive the information and support you need here. Please don't hesitate to contact our team if we may help you find additional information. Kind regards, Sho of the Caring.com Community Team

Hi T/O! I just popped over from the Alzheimer's support group to see what this group has to offer. My Mom has dementia, but my Dad has COPD and emphysema. He has also had a couple of strokes that have left him with limited vision and balance problems. He gets around using a rolling walker, but gets lost easily in the Assisted Living. I told him not to worry, anyone could point him into the direction of their apt. He also likes to walk outside, which worries me more, but they are set back from the road and folks are supposed to be going about 5 mph (yeah right!) in there. ♥ Is your Dad newly diagnosed with COPD? My Dad's last hospitalization with it was last April, when he got bronchitis. It sounds so horrible when he gets to coughing. After that, he went on O2 for sleeping. He bucked it at first, but when I explained that it was just for overnight (for now) he cooperated a little better. There will probably come a time when he will need it 24/7, but we'll deal with that when it comes.

Hello 'Jennys Girl', Thanks for posting this story with our community. Sorry to hear that your mother has gone through so much trouble with this disease.

While members of our community may offer an answer for you here, you may consider submitting this story as a question in Ask & Answer. You can also find a host of questions/answers on COPD here: http://www.caring.com/ask/copd-questions

Please don't hesitate to contact our team if we may help you find additional resources for your and your loved one.

Welcome, I'm so glad you've found us. I have not personally had experience in this but I'm sure someone else will. I'm sorry to hear about your mother but from your post it sounds like she's getting some good care and help. Take the time you have with her and make it count, because life is short, for sure.

My brothers and I have cared for my 86 year old father who has COPD for many years. 10 years ago he was "end stage", on continuous o2 and nebulizers every 4 hours.  Since then he has had numerous times when we were told he would not live, but he pulled through.  However, as I write this, he is rapidly approaching the end of this battle.  He was in the hospital for 18 days. We decided to bring him home, like you with hospice care.  It has been difficult but the right decision.  At first he was eating and drinking, but became so weak that he no longer could walk.  Then eating would wear him out and take him about an hour or longer to eat. Then he began eating less and less.  We began to notice moments of confusion.  Getting him up to the commode chair took two people and exhausted him sending him into respiratory distress. We would give him morphine and crank up his O2.  Two days ago, he became weaker with more frequent respiratory distress episodes. He has not stopped eating and drinking.  Yesterday, when I asked him to squeeze my hand, he did not respond.  His fingers are bluish.  I am giving him morphine every hour because he is laboring so much with each breath.  Everyone is different with COPD. For me, it was the increasing weakness, inability to walk, episodes of confusion, increasing need for morphine to ease his "air hunger" that let me know his time on earth was ending.  It is emotionally and physically exhausting.  I am crying alot; sleeping very little.

Hello there!  Welcome to Caring's groups.  I'm really glad you found us and posted!

While my mom doesn't have COPD (and I question if that is truly accurate) she does have heart disease and arthritis.  She doesn't sound as advanced as your mom, but I have a feeling we're headed down the same road.  And no worries about complaining.  This is a place where you can vent.  Caregiving can be tough, no doubt about it.  I'm sure everyone here is really confident you love your mom and that you willfully do all you do for her.  It's okay to be frustrated, stressed and even annoyed.  It comes with the territory, I believe.

I'm sorry I don't have any great info about COPD, but again, I'm glad you've joined us.  I'm really hopeful someone else will have some great advice and experiences to share with you!

Keep us updated on how things are going for you! 

Hi Robb4265! I'm so glad you've found us here.

I can't speak directly to your situation, but it does sound stressful, and this is the place to vent and look for shoulders to lean on.

I did locate a few news items here at Caring.com about the disease, although I don't know how helpful they are to you:

http://www.caring.com/items/search?query=chronic+obstructive+pulmonary+disease

Best to you, and please let us know how things are going.

~Laura