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I’m getting on a plane in a few hours to see my narcissistic mother and father with dementia. I’ve been a wreck for days because her constant complaining, negativity and helplessness is such a drain.


Mom is spending through their money at an alarming rate. I am wondering if anybody has had to move their narc mother into a Medicaid facility? With their grandiose opinions of themselves and what they deserve, I am curious how it went?

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Welcome back.

Your mother's happiness or lack thereof is not something that is within your control.

When she complains, a good response might be "how do you plan to deal with that, mom?". Ask with genuine curiosity. It's just NOT your problem. Don't let her make you feel like it is

Why are you visiting?
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Lmkcbz Nov 2023
I want to see my father. My brother is the only one that lives close so I do it for him too - take a weekends worth of pressure off him. While at the facility, I’ll see mom for about 20 minutes at a time. She doesn’t know I’m coming or she’d have time for my sister in another state to conspire with her via phone about all the rotten things we are doing and trying to do to her (eye roll). Mom is a paranoid Narc and my sister fuels her paranoia with joy. Mom and sister are essentially the same person.
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I moved my ( diagnosed) narcissist mother to a nice assisted living place. Did not go well . Nothing was ever good enough for her anyway . Her whole life she moved often because she was never happy with her homes .

Resign yourself to the fact that nothing will be good enough due to her “ grandiose opinions “ and entitlement .

Telling her she spent all her money , may not go well, she may accuse you of taking it . Perhaps you could tell her she needs to be where there are more nurses and doctors. She will say she doesn’t need to be there . Say the doctor says you do . Blame it on the doctors .

Good luck .
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Lmkcbz Nov 2023
I don’t think I’ll have an issue telling her “the money is gone. Medicaid it is.” When that time comes … I’m more curious how it will go when that time comes. When the queen she thinks she is gets moved to a place with a roommate and the like ….
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I would like to remind you that an elder needs to qualify both medically and financially to get Medicaid (in most states it only covers LTC and not AL or MC). Therefore, start with knowing what their state offers. If you are their PoA then consider consulting with an elder law or estate planning attorney or/and a Medicaid Planner.

If you are not their PoA, and you don't wish to be or they won't assign you, then you may not have any power to legally help them anyway. In this scenario you report them to APS to get them on their radar. When their conditions get "bad enough" the county will acquire guardianship for them and then take over managing all their care and affairs...everything.

I'm sorry for the distress this is causing you, but you will need to find and defend boundaries regarding your parents' care needs.
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If her spending is out of control she will have to suffer the consequences. Whatever you decide please know that you are not responsible for her care.

Placing her in a facility is the best option for her. It doesn’t sound like you will take her into your home. So, I consider that one step ahead of the game.

If you were to bring her back home with you it would be a far greater nightmare than wondering how things would go if you placed her.

Perhaps you could think about placing your dad at the same time. How far along is his dementia?

Wishing you all the best. Take care of yourself.
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Lmkcbz Nov 2023
My dad is in memory care already. Mom is at assisted living side of the campus and she’s miserable. We have a plan in place to protect dad is mom spends down to the ~65k limit he’ll be allowed to keep. He’s happy in MC .. it seems. She’s a miserable person and would be at the ritz!!
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Moves to any nursing home facility for anyone is always problematic.
Are you POA?
Is there a diagnosis for both your parents that judges them incompetent? That would be necessary for any placement against their own wills.
Are applications already in for Medicaid or is this couple already ON medicaid?

To deal with placement as POA is problematic in any and every case, as is applications for medicaid for two parents. With the added problem of no cooperation, it would be a nightmare.

I would not want to be POA or guardian in this instance, but I surely do wish you the best of luck.
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Lmkcbz Nov 2023
my husband is financial POA. My sister is medical. Dad is in MC … mom is in AL. I’m just thinking about the future in 2-3 years when the money is gone.
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Don’t forget that it can help if someone has been private pay before they need to go on Medicaid. It seems that many facilities are basically private pay but have a small number of Medicaid beds – perhaps a licensing requirement. Their Medicaid beds usually go to people who have been in private pay for some time, not to applicants ‘off the street’. They go to ‘Medicaid only’ facilities.
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Yes I’m doing this very thing right now. We placed our mother here in September so she can be with dad.
He likes being here. My dad is on Medicaid. My mother’s application was filed last month.

My mother hates being in this facility, she would rather be home. But she can’t go home. This facility is probably the best Medicaid facility where we live. This is where she needs to be. Her daughters cannot do this anymore. And no one wants to take her in. Shes not an easy person to deal with. She has a mean streak. She’s not dying any time soon. She’s 95 but will probably live to a hundred.

I’ve brought stuff from home to make the place more homey. And we bring food she likes a few times a week.

I feel bad that both my parents need to be in a facility now, but that is the price for having a long life and declining very very slowly. I do not feel guilty that we placed them
here.

Hoping that Medicaid goes through. I don’t know we what we would do if she has to come home.

.
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Although this is a little late for the reply, will add just in case you are still seeking replies.
My mother was just like yours - absolutely nothing was ever good enough or to her liking. Although she was able to remain in her home until her unfortunate fall and subsequent demise, when the time came to place her in a hospice facility, I found one that was upper mid-line - in other words, in a price range here of $5,000-21,000/month - the adult family home for hospice came in at about $12,000 a month - it was a place that was only about 5 years old; she had a private room (complete with tv and a gorgeous view of the yard) with her own private bathroom; 24 hour nursing care; etc etc. And in her words - it was unacceptable and a 'hellhole'. She made my life, the staff's life and ultimately her own life miserable until the very end. I was and am to live with myself for putting in that 'hellhole' because it was the best that was available at the time given the finances - things that were beyond my and her control. In other words, absolutely nothing ever made her happy and never would. One has to be resigned to that.
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Lmkcbz: You are in no way responsible that her spending is out of control. She may have to apply for Medicaid if she's used her money already.
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