Yes I think there is a limit, and I have reached mine. Although not immortal or anything, I have been my mother’s carer since, well forever really. During my absence from the Dope I have been doing some research online and found a diagnosis for her behaviours (which thus far as been vaguely diagnosed as Bi-Polar Disorder or some form of Schizophrenia), all I need to do now is find proper medical notes [and not the Wikipedia article] to show my (“you don’t want to be believing everything you read on the internet”) GP, to see if it can help my cause to have her placed in full time residential care.
I have been her primary (read sole) caregiver for over a decade, since she was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus. Her default setting is to be arrogant, argumentative, self centred and spiteful. Her behaviour post diagnosis had been to not tell anyone what she was diagnosed with, and ignore anything any medical person says to her.
She has since slipped into a form of dementia where she hallucinates, and her old arrogant, argumentative, self centred and spiteful behaviours have reared their heads again (they’d been quelled by her initial dementia behaviours)
A few months ago I started to notice I was suffering from depression again. I was near suicidal and felt so physically ill I couldn’t bare to get out of bed. When I did get out of bed I’d spend the day staring at Facebook and two other sites that I’ve been using for years and years, as well as a newer site (well new to me).
A few weeks ago I noticed my kidneys seemed to be “itchy”, so I took a pee sample to the docs and was told it was ‘tainted’ and was sent off for further analysis, in the meantime I was given an antibiotic. A few days later I was urgently contacted to pick up a different prescription as the meds I was on were completely the wrong one. The new one didn’t seem to be much better and affected my blood sugar levels (I’m type 2 diabetic).
After that course of meds I took a sample down again and was told it was clear, but it was to be sent away to make sure. I went back to check what the story was and they had no results back yet, so I peed in a bottle while I was there and that sample was ‘tainted’. So I’m back on the meds again.
I feel and look like death warmed up. Mother has been a thorn in my side the whole time - the more ill I feel the worse her behaviour. To the point were she let herself out the front door while I was upstairs showering. She fell over. She’s fine though.
So now I have to keep the door locked and all keys hidden or out of her reach at all times, I can’t turn my back on her for a second.
I’m done. I can’t do this any more.