Went to visit Dad at his NH. He was sleeping in his wheelchair. This isn't uncommon, but I couldn't get him to wake up. Nothing worked. I shook him, poked him and called his name. Finally he woke up. His speech was garbled, but he did answer simple questions. Back to sleep over and over. I had the nurse come check his vitals. BP was good, temp just a little under normal and his chest was clear. He's on pudding thickness pureed food and his liquid has to be taken with a spoon. He also has blockage of his carotid artery 70 to 90 percent. He also has hand tremors. Mostly his right hand. The blockage is on the right side but affected his left side. He had a slight stroke almost 2 years ago. At almost 97 there really isn't much that can be done with him, but I want to make sure that he is comfortable. His doc came yesterday and he was alert. She ordered blood work. I'm wondering if he's having TIAs or possibly dehydrated. He's not very verbal at times and sometimes he makes up a word if he can't remember what word to use. Just wondering if anyone else has had these symptoms with a Dementia patient.
I had his doctor come check him out Monday night. He seemed OK to her. It was after 6, and he was alert watching a volunteer cut out papers. He said he felt fine. All his vitals were good. She left an order for a urinalysis. Bingo! Dad has a UTI. Some patients get agitated, he went the other direction. He was started on meds last night. I knew something was wrong. Finally an answer! I know Dementia rears it's ugly head often and every day I am ready for the next level to appear. Without the help of everyone here, I don't know how I would cope. Thank you so much for your good advice. God Bless us all!
I used to take my mother Horlicks (still can't bear the smell of it) before *I* went to bed. Mind you, bed-time became a bit of an academic concept, really, for both of us. Do the staff really just put them to bed and then that's that 'til morning?
It's just... being kept awake when one longs to sleep is also a technique used by interrogators through the ages. Don't let the staff be too inflexible about his routine, will you? As in everything, it's finding the right balance, I suppose.
When I arrived for a visit mom was almost always in her lift recliner. If mom was sleeping- usually all I had to do was lean in very close and quietly say "hi mommy" and she'd wake up - although it wasn't long before she'd nod off again. When it became more difficult to wake her I just let her alone, would hang out in her room for about an hour cleaning and straightening - to see if she'd wake. Occasionally she did.
Still - on occasion I would arrive to find mom awake and in the common area watching a movie or participating in an activity - these times always surprised me.
With blocked carotids, there will be times when he is non-responsive. Let him sleep; shaking him to consciousness is pretty upsetting. Learn to check his pulse and monitor breathing. A fingertip pulse oximeter would be handy to have. It reads in a few seconds.
However, she was still able to transfer to an ordinary easy chair.
If you can catch your father on an alert day, I would check that he is comfortable sitting in a wheelchair; and I would also check with the Nursing Staff how long he is left in it. If he isn't very mobile, as well as not being very verbal, my major concern would be pressure sores. Repositioning might be easier if he doesn't spend too long out of bed, even though I apologise because I know this seems like a defeatist attitude.