At what age is it ok to quit taking your elderly mother to the eye doctor?

Nowadays most of them will come to you if need be. And, yes, as you say - if she can't go, she can't go, and then what? Probably not much difference! :)

cr0105, I will have these same questions, I'm sure, as my mom gets older and her dementia progresses. Hopefully someone will have some thoughts. I guess if all else fails, I'll just ask the doctor, dentist, optometrist, etc. what their thoughts are. If it gets to the point that I'm unable to get her to go, I guess we won't go. That's all I can think to do.

Although I thought the replies to this question were great, I wonder if the discussion would be different once the dementia becomes more advanced... with regard to the question of continuing Dr. visits? Most days now, my mom isn't sure what year or month it is, let alone day or hour...so when I bring up the subject of annual checkups she thinks we are all crazy because she is sure it was just last week she was there.

Also, on (occasional) days that she is still clear-minded, she consistently makes it known that she does NOT WANT to prolong her life. She has always had a very strong faith in God and therefore doesn't think it's necessary to keep going to doctors. It is no picnic to take her to appointments with her either grumbling over why must she deal with all this "fuss and bother"...or why am I here???
THOUGHTS??

Thank you all so much for your responses! You have really made me feel much better about being her caregiver and making decisions about her eyes. To answer questions, her glasses that she likes to use are prescription. As of now, she only goes to her optometrist once a year for an annual checkup, so we will continue to go to make sure anything out of the ordinary is caught. I did ask her today if she still wanted to go for her annual checkup, and she said yes. I guess I'll just keep helping her along when she has to get up and get ready to go. :) Thanks again for all of the suggestions!

If you can do the annual opthamologist, it would be good as they can check on glaucoma and macular degeneration.

at 88, mom's already beaten the actuarial tables for life, so she could be with you another 3, 6, 9… years.
And just pause to think what this would be like if she was blind atop everything else.

dgillygal, I would suggest you take your Mom at least once a year to the eye doctor, as macular degeneration could start and it would need to be monitored. Now a days there are new treatments that could slow the progress. My Mom had mac and become legally blind, as modern medicine wasn't there at that time.

As for other doctors and how many times to go, well my Mom was 97 and still getting annual mammograms, it would take 2 techs to help Mom stand up at the machine, as she was small and frail. I knew every time I took her for her annual GYN appointment, she would have a script for that mammogram.

Mom also had annual appointments with her urologist.... her oncologist.... her dermatologist.... her foot doctor..... and every two months to the dentist due to her dentures.... and hearing aid doctor due to user error with her hearing aid..... and every two months with her primary doctor. All those appointments, and she passed away from complications of a serious fall.

My Grandmother is 91 and hasn't gone in a couple years. That's only because she's slowly going blind, and there's nothing they can really do for her. Our regular doctor watches over that now. She also has a favorite pair of glasses that she uses for everything. They are tinted so she can use them for sunglasses or for inside. However, even with them she can hardly see the T.V 3 feet in front of her face. If they can help her, it's a good idea to have her keep going to the eye doctor. That way they can make sure that everything is healthy with her, and that she can see the best as possible.

How often is she going to the eye doctor? I think an annual checkup at the local optometrist is a good idea, they can check for glaucoma and AMD as well as tweak her prescription if needed. Unless they find a problem that needs monitoring or treatment  anything beyond that is overkill

Are these reading glasses that she's using to read with or some kind of prescription eyeglasses?

As long as she's still reading and seeming to use her glasses, if they are prescription, I'd probably still get the annual exam. I noticed that with my LO, she started taking her glasses off, leaving them different places, and she no longer took interest in reading or watching tv. I'd take her lead and honor her wishes.