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 Just wanted to let everyone know how my grandma is doing. We are worried She is going down hill every day. She has fallen 4 times within the last few days. This morning At 6.00 she went to get up to go to the bathroom after we have told her not to get up by herself she keeps doing it. She ended up falling in the bathroom I was resting and I heard her fall I jumped up and got my dad we had to help her get back up and to the bed.. My parents are worried that one day shes going to fall and end up breaking her hip Last night she had no idea who I was She told my mom Theres a woman in the kitchen. My mom had to tell her that It was me her granddaughter Its really hard for me to watch my grandma go down hill. We may have to get rails put on her bed so she can't get up. The only problem if we do that we won't get any sleep at night because she will be calling us to help her get to the bathroom. She goes to the bathroom about every 5 minutes
Part of what is exhausting about caregiving is just what you are describing....Nights and sleep are routinely interrupted for care of a person who can lo longer care for themselves nor can they understand anything you are instructing them to do....
i slept next to my husband even when people suggested that I sleep in another room precisely because I knew of he awoke at night I would have to wake and help him get to the bathroom, toilet him etc.
My family also had to do these things with my two grandparents who lived with us when I was an adolescent, my grandfather had Parkinson's and needed to be turned every two hours throughout the night as well as being toileted and my grandmother had cancer....
Eventually my grandfather had to be put into a NH because three adults and myself could no longer provide for such extreme needs as he became physically incapacitated......
It is never an easy or first choice for families but if the particulars of caregiving cannot be managed, then there is no other choice.
Your grandmother might qualify for Medicaid for NH placement if she does not have funds of her own......
Are her doctors aware of her condition/s? Have they been consulted recently about how medications might help in her management ?
This is a VERY difficult illness, we all know........
I know Jamr had a lot of posts about the poop problem...maybe if you look up under the older threads....she had come up with some good cleaning products etc......
Sorry this is happening to all of you....
hugs.....
does your Dr. know that she gets up so often to pee? Is she on Lasix or something that causes that? If not, perhaps they can give her something to help her sleep through the night. What about the potty chair beside the bed?