Watch those sodium levels!

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PilgrimsProgress

PilgrimsProgress

Well-Known Member
My Mum, in her 91st year, collapsed on Saturday and was rushed to hospital. Tests revealed that both her sodium and potassium levels were dangerously low.

She is recovering in hospital - as much as one can when they have advanced macular degeneration and increasing dementia - but it is an obvious sign that this woman who lived through the Great Depression, served in WW2 -and had five kids in six and a half years (before disposable nappies) cannot continue to live independently.

Soooo, those of you with elderly relatives, keep an eye on them drinking too much water - particularly if they don't eat much.

Mum said, "I thought it was good to not become dehydrated in our hot Aussie Summers!"
You CAN drink too much water!
 
Yuppers ...

When my wife worked in the psych units she said in some wards the toilets had to be locked up because some of the "clients" would drink themselves into a stupor ... is that hilarious or should they have allowed the afflicted a little whine as wine is rich in potassium? They even use lithium in extreme cases ... in others a bromide s used for a lift ... pure alchemii of de soul health ... dark arts forgotten! I seem to have forgotten much more than I remember but then there are those that say there are no dark pits for thoughts ... they just evaporate? I always believed lighter grins evaporated in ta myth ... creating Grinnstales ...stinking ole stories!

Twas a difficult time for my wife as a clean freak ... she can't even accept the cooling of beer in the toilet tank ... much to close to the crapper for her pure lichens ... dear thing ... and still she despises warm bearers of humus ... now is that cool satyr or what?
 
PilgrimsProgress said:
My Mum, in her 91st year, collapsed on Saturday and was rushed to hospital. Tests revealed that both her sodium and potassium levels were dangerously low.

She is recovering in hospital - as much as one can when they have advanced macular degeneration and increasing dementia - but it is an obvious sign that this woman who lived through the Great Depression, served in WW2 -and had five kids in six and a half years (before disposable nappies) cannot continue to live independently.

Soooo, those of you with elderly relatives, keep an eye on them drinking too much water - particularly if they don't eat much.

Mum said, "I thought it was good to not become dehydrated in our hot Aussie Summers!"
You CAN drink too much water!
Click to expand...
Hope your Mom gets well soon PilgrimsProgress. Sounds like your family will be going through a period of discussion and adjustment as your Mom stops living independently. Hope it all goes well for all involved.
 
With my hypertension, I tend to worry more about too much, rather than too little, sodium but point taken.

And it sounds like, as you surmise, it sounds like it's time for your Mom to be in some kind of assisted living situation, even it it's home care to start. Been there, done that with Dad. Not an easy decision, but not one to put off when things like this start happening. My thoughts and prayers are with you as you head down that road.
 
There are 4 primary cations: calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium that behave like 4 horsemen in the neural cells with some pony, or attached effects for panels of other shocks ... just for those hating Electra ... the outer shell in some particles if they are not anti-particles ...

The anti particle domain is dark ... like a hole you could fall into ...
 
oh dear - hope Mom is recovering from this episode. Challenging times for all of you - will hold you in my thoughts and prayers Pilgrims.
 
Luce NDs said:
There are 4 primary cations: calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium that behave like 4 horsemen in the neural cells with some pony, or attached effects for panels of other shocks ... just for those hating Electra ... the outer shell in some particles if they are not anti-particles ...

The anti particle domain is dark ... like a hole you could fall into ...
Click to expand...
So true - it is a carefully choreographed dance these 4 horsemen do every day for us - but missed steps are often quickly catastrophic.
 
Hope your mum is doing better now Pilgrims. Perhaps some sports drinks to help her stay hydrated in a better way for the future? I hope this transition is fairly positive for her!
 
Pilgrim's Progress....is the thought that assisted living would have prevented it by watching her intake, or would have caught that she fell earlier?
 
@ Pinga - Yes, Mum's memory and eyesight are such that we her family can no longer be sure she has taken her medication or missed a meal.
My niece is an O.T. - and she explained to me that - for the fiercely independent elderly, it often takes a medical emergency to make self-care no longer an option.

I wanted her to move into assisted care six months ago, but she wouldn't accept it was time.
I wanted to respect her autonomy, as it's her life, for as long as possible -but, sadly, that's no longer an option.
 
Will the assisted living ensure she takes her meds and eats a meal? I'm thinking it must be based on the level of assistance, ie type of care provided. The one we were looking at you engaged PSW's for such items.
 
A friend of mine's mom was beginning to suffer what looked like dementia. She was in her upper 80s. The doctors all said that it was probably Alzheimer's. Then, they realized how low her potassium levels were, worked on that and voila! No more dementia-like symptoms. Hope things improve for your mom, PilgrimsP.
 
I'm glad your niece is an OT.
Glad you caught it and got her help.

So was the problem too much water or too much water without food and salt? Maybe she needed some potatoe chips (crisps) to go with her water?
 
Some medications will also cause drop in sodium levels, and elderly people can be particularly vulnerable to this. Others create thirst - which may contribute to more water drinking. complicated eh?
 
@ Tabby - We think too much water without food and salt.
Sydney has had our hottest Summer ever - and Mum took too much to heart about the elderly needing to keep hydrated.

She THINKS she takes her medication and eats, but I no longer have confidence that she does........

I feel sad for her that the time has come that self-care is no longer an option - but, at 91, she has had good run.........

@ Nancy - We're not sure yet if her dementia has worsened by this setback, but, in any case, the social worker thinks that it's time to move to assisted care. More than likely, another crisis would occur.......

@ Pinga - I don't know what PSW stands for? I'll be guided by the medical profession on what is needed.
We have two levels of care in Oz that you are assessed for - hostel or nursing home.
Hostel is better - you're given your medication, but shower and dress on your own, and eat in a common dining room. (The staff make sure you eat!)

Nursing home basically means that everything is done for you........
 
Do god's have everything done for them ... and yet some of them haven't learn to do anything for themselves!

What will that extreme do if loosing the game and are the last person standing ETIHC Allah will they know chit and what to do with it?

Some medications drop "K" levels and depress the reflective Ka levels that stand for "reflective initiates" (dark spirits of thought) and thus we are left unknowing anything ... been there done that ... sort of like being out-of-body ... that detached sensation that some isolated Christians share ... they are alone in their Eire place ... out of Ire?

Silently the eternal out there gains thought only to Lucidly!

Wrong kind 've gods?
 
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