My mom has moderate dementia and lives by herself. I am her primary caregiver and her Power of Attorney. My mom's dementia is getting worse. So, it is really hard to convince my mom to go to her appointments. She always gives me a hard time to get her to go. Even If I tell her that we are going out to lunch or just going for a ride, she can always tell when we at the clinic. She won't get out of the car if she refuses to go to her appointment. So, I end up cancelling her appointment. It is much worse for going to a neurology appointment. She really refuses to go to neurology appointments. She thinks that doctors just wants to make money off of patients. She also thinks that there is nothing wrong with her. There was one time when my mom hade really swollen ankles, because she has heart disease. I made an appointment for her to get her checked out. It took a lot of convincing to get her to go. It is so stressful to take my mom to her appointments. I don't know what to do to make this situation easier. I am starting to hate to take her to her appointments, because she gives me such a hard time. Her confusion is worse, so it is very frustrating.
It occurs to me that perhaps she dislikes going out so much because it's confusing and disorienting, especially if she has afternoon appointments and comes home toward evening (if sundowning is involved).
I had planned to suggest bribery, such as going out for lunch or dinner or a special treat, but it sounds as though your mother's too sharp to see through this ruse.