Nonstop talking... any ideas?

My mom's table mate at the nursing home does this, an endless loop of semi nonsensical chatter that can't be called conversation and is almost impossible to respond to - I'm only exposed to it over the dinner hour but some days I have to excuse myself to get away for a few minutes, you have my sympathy.

My thought is LJ enjoy these conversations with your Dad because all too soon your Father will not be with you and suddenly that silence will seem deafening. If you find your Dad annoying then just reply "yes" "goodness me", "Heavens" "oh my God"....... and so on. Remember to keep in touch as this wonderful Site is a great Place to release or vent, and to get great help from Fellow Caregivers Who are or have been on this very same journey as you.

Mom is 90. Five years ago dad, her only caregiver, died. For the first year she constantly charged around the house saying "where's dad, where's dad". Slowly and with the help of taking her off namenda and aricept, adding natural supplements, she calmed down. The constant quest of finding dad declined. Whenever she got something in her head she would get frantic, focusing only on her obsession and if you didn't comply she would get angry and lash out. Like a toddler overdue for its nap. I tried something once and it worked. In the middle of her fit, I said "thank you mom" in a very loving tone. It stopped her mind. She looked up at me and focused on something other than her obsessive frustrating thought and calmed down. I think what happened was she stopped her thoughts and wondered what good thing she had done to receive a thank you. We continue to use this phrase and it works about 80% of the time. The more upset she gets the calmer we try to be. I got the idea from studying an ancient Hawaiian healing art, Ho'oponopono, Dr. Hew Lin. Very powerful. Hope this helps.

Lj959...
I second the suggestion to "enjoy" the talk.
My Husband was for the most part non verbal for the last 7 years of his life. He did make moaning or humming sounds and I dearly would have loved words instead...I think....
People often asked me how I could tolerate the noise and I pretty much just ignored it. There were times when the volume or intensity of his noise would change. (He had always been a Bears and Cubs fan so when I put games on for him his volume would increase. I would love to think on some level he understood what was going on)
So for the most part try to ignore but listen with 1 ear you never know what is going to come out that will be important. If his talking or rambling do not require an answer there is no need to reply other than once in a while maybe a "Oh, really?" or "Wow".
But enjoy the sound of his voice.
You might even want to record some just to listen to after he is gone.
And with Dementia..this too may pass and he will be on to some other quirk that will drive you bonkers.

Just pretend you are listening. Cause I have this problem with my significant other. I've told him numerous times he talks too much. His Father is the exact same way, or was before he became elderly.

Listen for key sentences just in case there is a quiz afterwards. Husband: you aren't listening. In my head I'm thinking: if I listened to you whenever you talk, that's all I'd do. What I say: yes, you said this and this and that. I've gotten good at tuning him out but hearing key sentences. This way I never get caught unprepared when there's a quiz. :P

In terms of coping, does your LO sing? I find singing easier to listen to so when these spells come up I would start singing a song or hymn from my childhood and soon my father would join in. We might sing for 15-30 minutes, he would keep the song going as I moved in/out of the room. When the singing stopped, the non-stop chatter (or more likely fussing from my father) didn't restart for at least an hour.

I wear ear plugs and listen to music.

My partner has dementia and Alzheimer's. She was a professional and a number of our friends are professionals that dealt with behavior. She was a very quiet person. The last few weeks she has felt a need to talk constantly. She feels she needs to teach people and entertain them is why she talks so much. She talks non-stop to the caregivers.
She is in hospice. Yes hospice can drug her up. Even is the person is not in hospice there are a number of drugs to help calm them. I don't like that and she does not either. There are some things you can do that are more gentle. Her mind is being over stimulated to much from all the talking. Playing quiet music during the day and quiet meditation music at night helps alot. I also slowed down visitation, minimized the time and number of people, phone calls, etc. Their minds are being over stimulated. Taking more naps in a quiet place with quiet music - no TV, people talking, etc.

When my mother doesn't sleep and gets very confused she starts talking, not to me but to imaginary people in the room. What she says is all made up stuff which has no basis in reality. Sometimes she goes on for 2 days with no sleep. Sometimes she gets mad at the imaginary people for not answering her. When this happens she won't acknowledge that I am even there, she only wants to talk to the other people. The pattern is that I just have to wait until she gets so exhausted that she goes to sleep. After she gets sleep she is more normal.

I'm not a doctor, but my Dad started talking nonstop at one point. I asked if they changed his medicine and found out that they started giving him something for anxiety. Instead of calming him down, it made him manic. They changed his meds and he was back to his usual self. I hope you find a solution to your Dad's change in behavior.