Advise please
Hi as you see I’m new to this forum. Never done this kind of thing before.
I feel I need help on behalf of my poor mum.
My mum is 79 and currently in hospital with heart failure and kid kidney failure but really struggles with RLS. Has done for years and is on medication. It so bad that she cries and what really hurt the other night was she has what we can only describe was something that looked like a seizure but wasn’t. Her all body stiffened in hospital and no one came and she called my sister to come at 1:30 am as she thought she was dying.
No one knows much about it and we as a family feel so helpless. We don’t know what to do. We know mum is poorly with heart failure but this just makes her life so unbearable.
Please can anyone advise us with what to do.
Thank you in advance Elisabeth
Hi Elisabeth (
) Welcome to the community. My heart goes out to you, your mother and your family. You will find many people here who have dealt with ignorance and lack of treatment for their RLS while in hospitals. It can be scary and heartbreaking. Have you talked with the staff and the head doctor? Are they giving her the medications she needs for RLS? If not, can her regular doctor reach out with treatment instructions?
Might your mother's doctors might be reluctant to give her certain medications because of her kidney failure? If so, what is her prognosis? Depending on her life expectancy, comfort might be the most critical thing right now. It's important to communicate clearly with her doctor right now about what she needs and what is best for her and for the doctor in charge to be clear in return about why her RLS is being ignored and how you can help prevent incidents like the one that occurred that night. We had similar issues with my grandmother (different condition) while she was hospitalized. It was so bad that my uncle hired two nursing students to sit with her eight hours a day each in the hospital while relatives filled in the other eight-hour shift. Not everyone can do that, but advocacy can make a huge difference even in much smaller doses.
I am guessing from your use of "mum" that you are not in the United States. Remember that she is paying for her care, either through her taxes or through private insurance. She deserves the best possible care and it is well within her (your) rights to demand it. I wish I had more to offer, but I hope that helps. Please keep us posted. I will be thinking of you both. Lots of hugs. - Lori (Team Member)
