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Dear Carol, My mother was recently diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease. She is more and more confused when she tries to explain something, so we do not know what to think. She had a root cbad two years ago and did well, but she is now suffering from pain that she says comes from this place. The dentist who operated on took X-rays and saw no reason for pain. A second dentist agreed, but my mother continues to hurt. Two weeks ago, we took her to the emergency room. They found nothing wrong, but gave her mild painkillers and we took her back to the nursing home. The staff is very worried. Me too, of course. Until now, no one can identify the cause. Are we asking for more powerful painkillers? We do not know what to do – KL.
Dear KL, My sympathies to you all. Nobody wants to see a vulnerable person such as your mother suffer and when you do your best to determine the cause without success, it is scary not to see answers. Do not give up in search of the cause, however.
Pain medications can be effective in the short term, but overloading someone like your mother is rarely a good solution. Here is a thought based on a friend's experience with oral pain. After almost a year of trying to find out the reason for the symptoms in the area of an old root cbad, his dentist finally suggested that there might be some non-visible X-ray lesions. Apparently he was right because the tooth extraction solved the problem.
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My second thought brings me back to my father's experience. He had developed dementia and could not always articulate clearly when he was reporting pain, but there was no doubt that he was suffering. The doctor could not determine the cause of dad's pain. The staff at the retirement home had also tried everything.
Then the doctor's badistant who saw dad would regularly take his medication. They have prescribed the drug Neurontin for some reason, not related to the pain, but the side effects of this drug can actually cause the kind of pain it seems to experience. Having no where to go, the AP removed Neurontin's father and he began to improve. In a few days, Dad was back to normal.
My point is that any drug can turn around. For this reason, I suggest that your mother's medications be examined to determine their potential to cause pain anywhere in the body. Moreover, even if she indicates that her jaw hurts, it does not necessarily mean that the pain is in her jaw; something bad in his neck or in his throat could cause more severe pain.
Finally, all those who help your mother know it, but a reminder can not hurt. People with dementia may not use the correct words to describe the location of the pain, so watch his body language. As difficult as it is, keep looking for a solution to this problem.
Your mother deserves to live her life as comfortably as possible.
Carol Bradley Bursack is a veteran caregiver and established columnist. She is also a blogger and the author of "Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Tell Their Own Stories". Bradley Bursack hosts a website for caregivers and seniors at www.mindingourelders.com. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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