My mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's... she's started doing a number of strange things I think are related to Sundowning. She gorges on sweets, eats cookies and pudding in bed, and lately asks everyday why the caregivers are there. If we ask about hiding the cookie wrappers or pudding containers in the trash, she denies she ate them, but no one else did. We are taking her to the doctor to try to get something to calm her mood, which goes south between 3 - 5 p.m.; she screams at the caregivers and stamps her feet and tells them she doesn't need them; but her answer to everything is I didn't do that!
Now I'm not suggesting the situations are the same at all, Mom knows and remembers she had a stroke and knows the difference in her communication abilities so it's very easy to get her to by into the new pathway premise but we have these discussions often because she so often doesn't remember either having them or what was said and honestly I'm not sure she actually remembers some of the time that she pretends she does when I'm reminding her, the truth is I'm never sure whether it's actually the aphasia and stroke damage or Dementia/Alzheimer's at play either. She cared for (lived with) her mother with Alzheimer's for many years and I often recognize similarities. My point being while I am not an advocate of making up lies sometimes little ones feel more humane when dealing with memory loss and brain abnormalities. Do you think it might be easier for your mother to hear/think a different label? Memory issues, blood flow to the brain or brain pathway development, stroke even, IDK. Might it make her more receptive to accepting that she is forgetting things, take the onus off of elderly issues and put them on something that doesn't feel so hopeless. That's part of it I think, things like Dementia and Alzheimer's signify the end to them, people don't "recover" from that, it's a depressing label. The Swiss cheese of it all is so hard for everyone, patient, primary care giver and family to navigate too. I find it can be so hard in the midst of an immediate issue to remember to step back and not take what's being said or not done personally. It's such an energy zapper and there is so much history that ultimately probably doesn't apply but sure feels like it does. We're dammed if we do and dammed of we don't. Sometimes I find myself dropping my point and consoling, other times I use humor to diffuse things and still others I just say fine have it your way and hang up the phone in frustration and tears myself (yes anger too). It's far easier to gain perspective later while not in the heat of whatever hot topic or emergency of the moment, in the end all we can do is muddle through as best we can and try to remember that we are of no use to them if we aren't caring for our own mental health which may mean disengaging for now and it probably wouldn't be so bad if we didn't care so much which means we are coming from the right place.
Have you looked into Sun downing? You say she is doing strange things. My mom goes through sun downing every night but she doesn't splurge on sweets, etc. Every day around 4 p.m. she starts getting really confused about everything. Before I had to move her into a MC unit I would call her around 3 p.m. to let her know I was bringing her dinner over. Right on the dot of 4 p.m. she would call several times before got there to ask if I was bringing dinner. When I took her dinner over at 6 p.m. she would slowly get worse and by 8 p.m. she couldn't even remember her own name. If your mom is gorging on sweets before 3 p.m. I'm not sure that is sun downing. I may be wrong, but I was under the assumption that sun downing started at around 4-5 p.m.
I suggest that you read "The 36 Hour Day" that SueC recommended. I've read it and it explains a lot of things. It's a great resource. I wish you the best of luck in taking care of your mom.
Thanks again, all. Thank goodness for this site.
My mother also says that she could live here by herself if I decide to leave. I know that she can't handle much of anything anymore, so we stayed painted in a corner waiting for a big change.
Yes, they can have a lack of awareness and be in denial at the same time-isn't that crazy? If you're in denial, then you wouldn't acknowledge you have a problem, therefore you don't HAVE a problem.
Denial is a powerful emotion. You can "believe" yourself out of anything but still have the problem. I had a patient that was HIV positive absolutely deny that she had the disease, even though the results were on the paper in front of her!
Alzheimer's is such a complex disease. It's really hard to know what's affected and what isn't. When I talk to mother about her memory, she says, " I can't remember anything anymore." but will then vehemently deny she has dementia.
Some sentences make sense and others are 'off the wall'. It's hard to wrap your (sane) brain around what parts work and what other parts are totally broken. It's like the disease is selective as to what memories, functions and responses to take and what to leave.
My mother will tell you she could live alone in her previous apartment in SF. (No way) She tells me she's leaving to go back there tonight. "How will you get there?", I ask. "Well, you"ll take me." "So, you can cook and clean the house and wash clothes again?" After a moment she says, "oh forget it."
Dawg gone, they can be stubborn about what they believe is right. Mother asks for a pill for her headache multiple times a day. She won't accept the answer that she already got one. So I put TicTacs in an empty pill bottle and give her one when she wants it.
JessieBell, could you get away with that with the laxative?
I found this interesting, and maybe you all will, too.
http://www.amcneurology.com/blog/2011/04/01/alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease-co-morbidities/
"Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder that affects patient’s memory, language, and judgment, decision making, planning and organizing.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains the most common cause of dementia. There are currently 5.3 million Americans affected by the disease, and as the number of aging population increases without a disease modifying treatment, it is projected to be 15 million by 2050.
AD is a complex disease; hence the treatment can at times be complicated and often challenging to the treating physicians. Successful treatment of patients with AD requires a thorough understanding of the patient and the family dynamic. AD like any other chronic condition may have other medical and psychiatric co-morbidities that need to be addressed. Treating the AD with anti-dementia drugs is a small part of the comprehensive management of AD. The discussion of medical co-morbidities are beyond the scope of this article, however, the psychiatric co-morbidities such as depression, anxiety, delusions, hallucinations, agitation and aggression will be discussed. Some patients may have an undiagnosed personality disorder that resurfaces as the patient’s ability to compensate diminishes." .......
Leaving the trash and not remembering is the disease, don't take it personal. It can be a challenge to let things go. Clean it up, throw it away. Don't ask her. Sorry she is not going to remember. My mom gets very upset when it is time to pay them. She enjoys the company. Could use advice on how to get past that one.
JessieBelle, totally understand. I quit asking. It can cause confrontation, which is going to make you both miserable. Stay strong ladies.
She'll check her blood sugar and find it is high. I'll say it's because she ate snack crackers. She'll deny that and say it is genetics. If I don't buy crackers, there is h3ll to pay. If I do buy them, she'll sneak them, then forget (or deny) she ate a lot of them, though the packaging is in the trash. She is diabetic, so I have to decide whether to let her have her crackers or not. Hard decision, since she is 91 and nearing death.
There is so much that I could write all day on my mother's not realizing anything is wrong with her. She is really nasty to me, so I've had to learn to avoid her. Today I wouldn't give her a laxative, so she ordered some from the pharmacy when I went to the grocery store. She's waiting for the delivery now, though she's probably forgotten and won't recognize the doorbell when it rings. I don't want to be involved in any way with this, but what to do when the doorbell rings??
I wish she realized something was wrong. It would be a lot easier to say it was the dementia playing tricks on her mind. She gets very angry if someone even hints that something is not right with her brain.