Tissue and toilet paper maniac. Anyone else?

This seems to be a common fixation that goes away eventually when the dementia progresses. I learned always to check all pockets before laundry. The myriad of folded potty and tissue paper I just quietly saved and used myself or for the car where I just 'happened to find' some paper in my purse when he needed it. It is especially annoying in restaurants where we always have to ask for extra napkins. My husband now uses the same one over and over, dirty or not, and stuffs the extra ones in his breast pocket. Hugs to you!

I'm surprised in 121 replies, only two people mentioned a toilet seat bidet. They are very helpful for the elderly and caregivers. We are in a retirement area and have been seeing a lot of customers come in that are 80+ years old.

Now my husband has joined the group. he loves to get a new big box of tissues. He will sit and pull each one out. He said he was checking them to see if they are okay. He put water in them for awhile. Now he says he isn't going to do that anymore??????? He also loves to get into the waste paper can in the living room by his chair. I just keep it empty now. He threw my new glasses away last week he said he didn't want them on the stool. Today he took the top off of his razor and put it somewhere? I had to go to Walmart anget another one for $28.00. thank GOD they had Braun. What next? I can't leave him for a minute.

Omg I am soooo happy that im not the only one. We empty 2-3 waste baskets per day, her pockets are spilling over and I used to FLIP OUT over it. Now I just remind myself over and over....IT COULD BE DOWN THE DRAIN, and we could have clogs DAILY...so I try to get past the enviromental sadness of all those poor trees, and I just empty them.

And there is the paper lint on all the laundry,, because you missed one!

I'm in the tissue/TP club also my husband stuffs his pockets so full I can hardly get them out at night. 6 months ago I started recycling them we he goes to sleep I empty his pants pockets just bag them up and deposit them into a small napkin holder box and he again folds each one and starts on the pockets again. After a couple of go arounds I give him a new box. Can't beat 'em might as well join the fun.

Please...I learned the hard way, don't sweat the small stuff

This is my Mom! She hoards sheets of paper towels and toilet paper, folds them and keeps them piled up in her room, in the bathroom, in her clothes and on her wheelchair. It's nuts! She's moving in with me soon so I have to hide my tissues/rolls behind locked doors or she's going to take and use them all. I'm at a loss.

She'll use the paper towel sheets like napkins throughout the day. It just creates so much waste. I HOPE I can just give her a fresh face-towel daily and that will keep her happy.

lidodeen, I am so glad you commented on this because it made it show up in the Ask a Question section even though it is an old thread. My mother is the same way! I didn't know it was a "thing" for so many folks! That woman speeds through tissues and paper towels, and I am constantly cleaning out her purse and finding used, rinsed out paper towels hung up everywhere to dry.

Joy135, I'm thankful for this site. It really makes me feel less alone in what we're going through.

My other issue is that my Mom gets MAD when you try to clean up her tissues. She'll cry out that "Those are clean!" "I need those!" And while it's unsightly, I don't want to make her angry or depressed. On one hand, it's not the end of the world... (She hasn't clogged any toilets yet so that's a plus... But my brother has complained that he once spent a FORTUNE resupplying her paper towel addiction for months.)

I wonder if I can reason with her and just provide a stack of washable towels I can just throw into the wash weekly. Perhaps there's a place I can just order a bunch for a $1 each or something? (IKEA maybe?)

This is tough!! Everyone here has my sympathy & love.

Yes, I have to sneak and do my throwing away when she's not looking. LOL.
With Mom, her favorite place is the kitchen. She loves to wash dishes, and that makes sense because she feels comfortable doing it. It's something she's in control of. I think that she can SEE the paper towels and goes for them because she doesn't remember to look for kitchen towels and dish cloths. Plus, she's a Depression-era baby. She was always kind of a don't-throw-that-away-I-can-use-that-for-something person.
Years ago, my mom took care of a neighbor with AZ, and her favorite thing was folding a laundry basket of wash cloths, then when the basket was finished, Mom would shake them all out, and Ms. Zola would start folding again.
Good luck to you!

Husband refuses to use toilet paper and used tissues instead. Sometime have to fish out an access of tissues in the toilet because it won't flush. He also stuffs tissues in his Depends and somehow manages to have tissues in his trouser pants - leaves a trail of tissues that work their way down the pant's legs. If I take the tissue box out of the bathroom, he looks for other things and that can make more trouble. Or he just asks for a new tissue box. He also fills his pockets with paper napkins and tissues. How to manage this??

What is she doing with all that paper if she's not dealing with some sort of underlying issue? I'm not sure what she's doing with it if she doesn't really need it at the time, this would be very interesting to find out.
As mentioned here, it sounds like you have it under control so just keep locking up the excess and maybe even try only giving her no more then she absolutely needs when she actually goes to the bathroom if she's living with you. Other than that, I don't let her have any if she's going to waste it.

Another thought is if she happens to be living with you and she's plugging up the toilet with her wasteful habits, deduct it from her Social Security check and make her pay for the service to your line since she's the one plugging it up. If she's going to insist on wasting paper products and flushing it down the drain and filling up your trash, then she can pay for the excess paper she's using, the service needed to unplug the sewer line and the extra trash bags out of her check. If she's going to waste it then she can pay for it

My hubbs has post-nasal drip and the faucet never stops. Even with Flonase every day. Also he keeps tissues everywhere, in pockets, draws the bed. Here is something that is a possibility also is that a lot of seniors have issues w the type(s) of bm's they have. For instance the sticky mush kind that when it comes out it wants to go back inside. Gross? yes I know. Wet wipes are helpful to a point but it can take a box of those just to get cleaned up.

I buy 30 or 40 rolls of 1ply tissue a month.My husband uses a roll a day. I have to buy 1ply toilet tissue or the toilet will be running over &clogged..That's all I can suggest! ! He trys to clean himself, so I let him use all the paper that he thinks he needs.One more dignity issue for him.. Sometimes he let's me wipe him,but not all the time.

mine is a tp hoarder. she gets sheets of tp or napkins and very OCD like folds them. She puts in her pockets, folds her sleeves and hides them in there, puts in her bra and now that she wears a diaper she stacks them in her crotch. She hides in her pillows and anywhere else she can.

I am so glad I read this post. DW will use as much as 8 feet of paper to wipe, no matter which side. And puts it into the trash can. But she also has been using a wash cloth designated for her to clean with to finish off. She does rinse it out and so far we do not have a problem with odors. No problems with tissues, yet. I don't know what she does in public restrooms. I feel that day is coming though. Just curious, which restroom should I use when it becomes necessary for me to help her in public? Men's or women'?s
I know someone will complain when it happens even though the law allows her to be accompanied.
We did have one experience with that when I was working and the lady slipped and paramedics had to be called. Security tried to regulate it after that and it failed.

Though my husband also uses large amounts of tissue and toilet paper, it is nothing like this. It sounds like this has become an issue that is certainly going to be hard to control. If this was happening to us I simply could not afford to deal with it, but would need to portion out these products. I hope you have or will hget together with a psychologist right away.

Wish a psychologist could solve all our problems but iIdon't think the TP issue is part of their plan of care.

All i can say is the if someone has chronics explosive diarrhea it does take a lot of TP to get cleaned up'
If the loved one will use a wash cloth buy a pile of identicle ones and leave a wet one where he/she can easily reach it. Remove after use and soak as a diaper and wash appropriately.
 A bidet may also work if that is a possibility. Sometimes it may be necessary to pop the loved one in the shower if agreeable.

The most important thing is to make sure the loved one is carefully cleaned up. If fecal matter is left on the skin the anal area becomes macerated which is painful and itchy, hence the hands just have to get into the diaper for a good scratch. Use of a barrier cream will help and that famous ointment for hemorrhoids does help with the itching.
Nothing to do with overuse of TP but it is important with females to watch out for thrush which is also incredibly itchy.

My mom did all of this. I always gave her clean handkerchief for nose. I bought the cheapest bath tissue at dollar store or walmart $1.00 for 4 rolls and kept potty chair by her bed for night use. I always had to accompany her to bathroom during day.it was a nightmare,but she passed last January snd would do anything to have her back. Good luck

Funny reading some of these as I also thought my Mum was the only person obsessed with toilet rolls and tissues! I think she has been for some Time..she had luekemia at 32 and since then she was a bit ocd and kept washing hands frequently, and dry them with toilet roll rather than using a towel. I used to find rolled up bits of toilet roll in her pockets, on the floor, in her bed, wherever she had been. She always has toilet roll in her bag and now wraps everything up in tissue that goes into her bag(Hairbrush/ Toothpaste/ Toothbrush/ Denture fix indent). She has Vascular Dementia, TIA's and Epilepsy.

If you can find a solution to not putting too much paper in the toilet, such as has been mentioned, a bucket, etc. then don't freak out about all the wasted paper. Buy the store brand to save. If this was only problem with elderly think can be worked out easily.

If this was my poor mom's only problem, I would be thankful. I have to see her suffering so much and it's breaking my heart, to say the least. Wish paper issue was the problem
but have so many more!!!!!!!!

Sorry if I sounded harsh.  I'm just going through so much

Reading a few of your comments regarding the person having a constantly dripping nose made me think of my mom. She developed a constantly dripping nose, dementia, and walking difficulty/falling. It was diagnosed as Alzheimer's, but she was eventually found to have NPH, normal pressure hydrocephalus. It was spinal fluid that was leaking from her nose but by the time it was diagnosed, the neurosurgeon said it wouldn't help her. If you suspect it, see a neurologist who is knowledgeable about it.

I forgot to include another symptom with NPH, bladder issues (sometimes bowel). My mom kept getting checked for UTIs but the results were negative. I so regret her not being diagnosed with NPH instead of Alzheimer's sooner.

Suzyqz thank you so much for sharing your information. I need to have my mom diagnosed for NPH. She has the same issues as your mom. She has been having a runny nose for years and Inthought it was allergies. Now she is complaining about her back hurting and cannot walk without pain. Her joints are hurting I believe. She has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and is getting to the point know that she cannot say a complete sentence. I just have to watch for the signs now. She also has been having negative UTIs.

I'm getting older too, & I'm beginning to see things about me that are changing. Where I once could move furniture 4-5 times a week, now it can sit in the same spot for months: my back hurts, lol. I don't cook as good as I used too, etc etc. I'm forgetting things too. Lol, I never imagined that older people went through all this and I don't want to put this on my kids. It's sad, rewarding, resentful, hurts, all kinds of emotions. I think I need to start thinking about it being my turn one day (I pray not) and what I want done for me. I've already said NH, but come see me once in a while. Don't leave me up there lonely. Have churches come visit with me. People who volunteers stop by & color or talk with an older lady. Play some of my oldies or Gospels songs to keep me company. Just don't leave me by myself day after day with hardly any human contact.

Perhaps the brand is not "cutting it" and causing over-use? Scott Tissue far outlasts Charmin and the soft competition - and though it may only be a one-ply and more abrasive, one can absolutely get used to it. Far less dust is produced, comparatively, to the softer paper. To keep things light - though some of you have a serious issue, my Pop used to yell at me all the time that I should use "only three squares" when I was about 5-10. Three squares is good for nothing. He used to threaten me (at 5-10 years old) he would tell everyone at work that I would use the three squares then wipe the residual from my Khyber Pass with the folks' hand-towels in their bathroom, HA! 45 years later and I still use too much paper, often flush twice and I'm the guy that lovingly clears the toilets with a "closet auger" if a clog. :) I float paper on the water for a clean entry and cover the seat even at home. Pop also saves, hangs to dry and re-uses paper towels again and again. Good luck....Note my name is "John."

ha, i should count my blessings. Mom just takes all the paper towels and folds them into napkins compulsively. Then about half of them wind up "hidden" around the house. I guess this sort of thing just goes with the territory.

Same. Both my mom and grandma are paper hoarders. They squirrel toilet paper and paper towels about everywhere. Grandma in particular. Under her pillow is easily a entire roll of mega size TP folded into squares.

My mom has a purse which she carries on one handle of her walker. The only thing in the purse is Kleenex. Whenever we are walking she will stop and say she has to blow her nose. There are used tissues everywhere in her room. Glad to know she's not the only one.