What Can You Do if Your Elderly Loved One Refuses to Go to the Doctor?

Home Care in Arlington VA: What Can You Do if Your Elderly Loved One Refuses to Go to the Doctor?

Your elderly loved one may decide that seeing her doctor isn’t anywhere on the list of things she wants to do. But you know that she needs to go, so now what? You might have to employ one or more strategies to help her get to her doctor’s office anyway.

Slip the Appointment in Between Happier Activities

One tactic that you can use is to set up a couple of happier activities on a given day with your loved one’s doctor’s appointment in between. This gives you a reason to be out of the house and follows up the appointment with something else your loved one has been looking forward to doing. It might feel a little bit like a trick, but sometimes you have to use the tools you have as a caregiver.

“Everybody’s Going!”

This strategy keeps your elderly loved one from feeling as if you’re singling her out for an appointment. Make an appointment for everyone in the family and let her know that she’s on the list, too. A variation on this technique can be for you to both have a physical or doctor’s appointment at the same time, together.

Get Someone Else to Bring the Topic Up

Human psychology is a funny thing. You might have told your loved one a hundred times that you’ll be happy to make her a doctor’s appointment, but she’s resisted. She talks to a neighbor or a friend, on the other hand, and suddenly that doctor’s appointment is super important. You can use this to your advantage if you pick the right person for the job.

Stand Down and Revisit the Idea Later

If you’re still running into opposition from your elderly loved one, don’t take it to heart. Recharge yourself and take time away. Hiring home care providers to take over for you can give you some space while leaving your loved one in good hands. You can come back to the topic with a fresher slant.

Hopefully your loved one will come around to the idea of going to her doctor eventually and you’ll have less of a battle the next time.

If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Arlington, VA, call the caring staff at Medical Professionals On Call today. 703-273-8818

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Michelle DeFilippis

I graduated with a BS degree and had been selling medical equipment to hospitals, clinics and technicians. More recently, a family member was diagnosed with dementia and we, as a family, realized we were not prepared t care for her. We were thrown into that whirlpool of hospital stays, 24/7 live-in care, skilled care, caring for mom ourselves and finally, now daily home care. This was such a stressful time that I started thinking there had to be other people, other families as overwhelmed and unprepared as we were.

Medical Professionals On Call has such a caring, professional staff who are available to step in with whatever level of care necessary for loved ones and to relieve you of that stress.

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