Alzheimer's Disease Support Group
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration with declining activities of daily living and neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. An early symptom is memory loss (amnesia), usually manifesting as minor forgetfulness that becomes pronounced with illness progression, with relative...
Hi my granmda has to get up at night every few hours to go to the bathroom we have told and told her not to get up at night while everyone is sleeping. But she does not listen to us. Well for the last two mornings she has gotten up at 4.00 and went to the bathroom and tthen she comes out of the bathroom and falls It wakes my mom and me up we have to pull and tug to get her back up and back into the bed. This morning at 4.00 she got up to go to the bathroom and she fell in the hallway. she did not hurt herself. but one day shes going to fall and break a hip,. I don't know what we can do to make her stay in the bed. Does anyone have any ideas.
It is pretty hard to make her stay in bed when she needs to go to the bathroom, however, she is sure to break something one of these times. Does she wear depends to bed? Does she take anything to help her sleep?
I know it is difficult, but one of the many expected things with this disease.
HUgs..Carolyn
I'd suggest that nothing you tell her to do will she remember so that is not going to work. Alzheimer's can't remember so telling them over and over doesn't work. There are tons of websites that have bed railings that fit on your current bed that might slow her down. There are more expensive mats that go in bed or on the floor by the bed that will set off an alarm when she gets out of bed.
I tried the potty near the bed, but my mom would not remember what the potty chair was for and head right for the bathroom.
There's another choice and that is to put her mattress on the floor, no frame so not raised up. With my dad we found he could not get himself up off the floor so while he stopped falling as he got out of bed, he couldn't get up to go to the bathroom without one of us getting up and helping him up. He was climbing out over the bed rails and falling then and hurting himself (a few good falls on his head). Putting him on on the floor was better than hurting himself which he was doing.
Think a little about what may be causing her to fall after she leaves the bathroom - maybe the bedroom is too dark and a night light near her bed would help. I leave a night light on mom's bathroom and the door cracked so she can see to get there and then back to bed.
Over the years I've found the easiest things help but that I've had to constantly change what works because next week it would change and not work again. I learned not to spend a lot of money and find simple things that would work and then gradually change as what mom did changed.
Good luck.
Linda