Is there a way to control or modify this behavior? My 93 year old mother has late stage dementia. She has worn "depends" day & night for more than 7 years. A couple of months ago she tore up her depends, in the middle of the night & threw the wet pieces on the floor. This has increased & now occurs 4 or 5 nights a week. Usually around 5 AM she calls for me because she is all wet. She has no recollection of this strange ongoing behavior & is upset at the mess that she sees in her room in the AM. I have tried extra tape so most nights she does not remove it completely but shreds the front of the depends. Any suggestions/advice is most appreciated.
He was in rehab for 3 months, 24/7 at home care, then 18 hours per day, 12 hours, then 6 hours per day since then. Has been unable to live alone for 3 years. Probably longer, but he hid his problems from everyone. He never married, was a loner and stubbornly independent. He recovered and was doing very well, then fell in March. Emergency room for 30 hours, then rehab for 2 months. We had caregivers 24/7 for months and now caregivers 6:30am to 10pm every day. Usually he sleeps through the night thanks to the Melatonin (yes, his neurologist approves). We have to be very careful with medications of any kind because of the Parkinson's and the medicines he already takes. This behavior happens once in 4-6 weeks, maybe. Does not matter how often, it is frustrating.
Yes, his doctors know about these symptoms and problems. He is in physical and occupational therapy twice a week, pain clinic for his back every 3 weeks at this point. Hoping he will be able to participate in Big & Loud again when he feels better. We are working with a urologist and his primary care internist for the incontinence. Parkinson's is a horrible disease, every person has different symptoms, they come and go and change constantly. I attend all appointments, go to PD support groups, lectures and seminars. The most helpful support are the various groups on Facebook which is how I found out about this site, which has been the most helpful for many reasons.
Nurses, social workers and therapists wanted us to put him in a nursing home ... not what he wants and not what we want for him. He has had a slow steady improvement with at home care and all that we do for him ... very little improvement in rehab. So, we will continue to do everything we can to keep him safe and comfortable. I really did not want to go into all of this, but since you asked ...
Plus, does his doctor know about his symptoms? Has his doctor approved the Melatonin? Perhaps another medication might more.