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My mother has been living with us for the past 4 months, as her Alzheimer's Disease and dementia has gotten worse, and it is not safe for her to live alone any longer. She is on Namenda and Exelon Patch. She has a continuing anxiety problem and we have tried various small doses of medication, Trazodone, Klonopin, and now her new geriatric psychiatrist wants to replace those with Mirtazapine.

Nothing seems to have any impact on her anxiety issues, and she talks almost non-stop. Has anyone else run into this when caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's Disease?

I am grateful for what we do have, her life, our moments of joy, and we make the best of things. I wish she didn't get so anxious over any little thing, and I try to calm and reassure her.

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Good luck and God bless you all!
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Has anyone tried homeopathy?
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My mother is also mom stop talking, ( I don't know, I just done know) on and on I ask her what's the matter mom she's says I don't know and laughs but I use a monitor in her room and mine so I can hear her if she calls for me, and didn't realize how much she just talks and talks. She is also not sleeping at night, she sleeps on and off during the day and when night time comes around she doesn't go to sleep til 1 or 2 or 3 am. It keeps me up and I'm not quite sure what to do about that Dr. Won't give her anything to sleep. Best of luck to you
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I can give you lots and lots of different things to think about, but the one thing that is the very best way is to just be there with your mom and let her know that you care for her in every way. To me, that is the best answer that I can give you.
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I should add, she made no sense this week . The thing a month ago , she did.
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my mom did this for a week, 97 Alzheimer patient, lives with us. She did this for 1 week, it stopped today. Never did this before. I had help to watch her for a week as we took a vacation. She has lived with us for 8 years. About drove us nuts. Hope the silence resumes tomorrow too. Would be interesting to know why it happened.
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Nothing works every time or for everyone. But when these work they make me smile. When mom first started repeating the same question over and over my son would answer with a completely off the wall response and it would be like skip jumping a stuck record player. The whole room would smile. More recently she will talk non stop and expecting response, and I find sitting next to her with a note pad and writing the words she is saying. I can see in her eyes she's less frantic and she feels that she is being heard. We have learned it's about the moments and they are few and far between. I'm not sure how anyone does it, but somehow we do.
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Whenever I am in this situation, I tend to do these things:

1. I show pictures as the client is talking.

2. I also give them something to use in order to point or raise their arms so that they are expressing their talking in a different manner.
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mom, 96, takes no medicine , but she does take vitamins and eats 3 meals a day. Recently, she was only speaking erratically, but then yesterday she was like talking constantly all day. She made sense. Read everything that was words put on the TV and asked a lot of questions. We conversed as best we could, but she is mostly deaf and refuses to wear her hearing aids. By evening, my husband I were worn out with the roledex of chatter. She finally went to bed and slept for a long time. Today she is mostly quiet and watching football. Wonder what happened yesterday?
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Christine73...You are right.
My husband had Alzheimer's for a bit over 10 years. He was non-verbal for about 7 of those. Maybe a word here and there but for sure the last 5 no words. Noise yes but no words.
I have told people in the support groups that I attend that yes it can be frustrating but at least you have some type of conversation. I often thought it would be wonderful to have to answer the same question over and over.
After my husband stopped walking I often thought ..wow this is sort of nice, I don't have to worry about him wandering, but going out to the store became more difficult.
I came to the conclusion that while there are frustrations for every frustration the resolution to that can bring another frustration or problem..
So embrace what you have at the moment for things will change and you never know what will happen.
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Disclaimer: I know this is an old question, but I stumbled upon it and would like to answer it for some future person who may also stumble upon it.

Here's my advise: This may not be the answer to the question you asked, and may even be more applicable to a future reader. This year my mom stopped being able to talk, except for gibberish. What I wouldn't do to have one more real conversation with her.... Forgive me if this sounds flip. I understand that this is a real issue you are dealing with and you want to know how to survive it. This may even be over-simplifying things, but, try to re-direct and simply enjoy the fact that your mom is ABLE to express an opinion, not matter what that opinion may be. Yes, look for solutions, but also realize that the fact that your mom with Alzheimer's is *talking to you is a blessing.
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I find that when that happens, I use other ways to get their attention and the chance for me to talk. I would suggest these ideas:
Vary your voice tone so that she is aware that you need to talk
Use something that will get her attention like a puppet or a picture
Raise your hand and tell her that you need to talk to her.
I hope this helps.
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What I mean by not using the voice as much is that she can communicate with you in other ways by not talking. For example, she can communicate to you by drawing pictures.
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The best thing to do is to listen with your eyes, nod your head that you are hearing things clearly, and ask her if she can to draw you some pictures regarding what she is talking about. That would help to keep the conversations going, but keep her engaged in drawing the pictures that helps to keep her focused on what she is saying, but not using her voice as much.
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Also Lisajo... try giving your mom magnesium before she goes to bed. It helps with sleep and restlessness. I give my dad 250 mg and I take 400 mg nightly myself for leg cramps. It helps.
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I took my dad off of Namenda and Aricept and only use a half tab of Atavan when he is extremely anxious or agitated. I have found that he is much better when I sit near him but say very little, allowing him to talk while I listen and make small comments like "Really, wow, yes or no depending on how I sense he is leaning, etc. I also feed him something every two hours to keep his blood sugars balanced and though I am unsure if that really is helping any, he speaks quietly throughout the day and those nights that he does not sleep. I also touch him a lot, a caress or a hug and tell him hello and ask how he is doing, If he is belligerent, then I walk out of the room and come back a few minutes later and say hello like we are long lost friends and I haven't seem him in a long time. He just lights up.
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My Mother in law never stops moving even though she is bedridden. She is always moving her legs & constantly doing things with her hands. Grabbing things out of the air. She mumbles & very few words are spoken clearly. Even after getting her pain medication at night. I don't understand how she never wears herself out. what causes her to be like that? She's 89 with congestive heart failure, pace maker, pancreatic disease & kidney problems. It's sad & very hard on all the family/care givers. I wish I had an answer!
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I think having her if she is able drawing pictures of her childhood is another great way for her to tell about her life story. When she draws her story about her life and history, then she can put it together into a book and then she can hold it and share with other people while telling it at the same time.
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Mom is hard of hearing , so that constant chatter is spoken louder. Drives me nuts too. She seems to do it more when we are at church or just when others are around. Got her a hearing aid, she flushed it down the toilet, got a replacement, but unless I watch her every second , I am afraid I will be out 6000.00.
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My Mom also constantly talks --- to herself outloud! She repeats the same stuff word for word over and over. It can be really trying. The other night, she started talking in her sleep, it was the same stuff word for word that she says during the day. It usually starts out with " God, I don't want you sending me back tonight! I want to go straight up, do you hear straight up! Then she will talk about her father jumping ship when he came to America ( but that was my fathers father not hers ) then she will talk about my twin brother ( this is the first I have ever heard of this, and think she is confused about her own twin brother ) Then she goes on to say " I'm going to take my walker and go out into the street, and then it will be all over, and my son won't have to worry about me anymore". Then she will start all over again. This goes on from the time she wakes until the time she goes to bed. It's driving me nuts! I totally feel for you.
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KalaFW1 My mum is exactly the same and hates that my dad and me don't talk much. She wants us to talk but then when we do she doesn't listen and talks over us so we have basically stopped talking because it is pointless. If we briefly talk to eachother she gets very angry, accusing us of conspiring against her. She threatens to put herself in a home constantly if things don't go her way instantly. Dad will never put her into residential care because he made her that promise many years ago, circumstances have changed though and I am very close to overruling his noble decision. Life has become unbearable. I have lost 1 parent to insanity and don't want my other parent to loose his marbles through caring for her. He is 85 and very fit but I see him becoming more erratic too as the years of caring are taking their toll heavily. I want to protect my father as he could potentially have a fulfilling life if it wasn't for doing the hardest job in the world.
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Anxiety is a hard thing; especially if the person has Alzheimer's disease. I know too like you because my mom has that as well. She one moment can be very relaxed and then suddenly get angry and yell. I believe that you are doing all of the right steps and giving your mom the right treatment. I think the best thing to do is just take one day at a time and live every single moment. That is what I do for my mom. We talk and talk about things and we relive the past everyday. Take one day at a time and go to a support group that would help you and support you. Stress balls are another great way in order to reduce stress. You can make them out of balloons and sand. I wish you the best, hang in there, and let us know how she is doing.
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I truly believe it depends on what portion of the brain is being effected by this terrible disease.
My husband has not said an actual word in almost 1 year now but prior to that for the past 5 years he said only a few words, yes, what and why. And for a few years before that conversation was rare and maybe just a sentence here and there.
So while changing medication or adjusting medication might help or then again it might not the "problem" might have resolved itself in time anyway when another portion of the brain gets hit.
I have found when one "problem" is resolved another is sure to make itself known. Then I have to learn how to deal with a new challenge. I like to think of them as challenges not problems. I am the one that has to adapt and learn how to deal with something new. I have said for everything he forgets I have to learn something new.
So although it drives you crazy enjoy the chatter because you never know what might me next it might be something even more irritating!

just one last thought. There has been a lot of research on music and headphones. Would she put on headphones to listen to music? It might block out ambient noise that she may find intrusive and overstimulating.
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My mom also talks a lot about things in her childhood. I know I should listen and enjoy, but to tell the truth, she had the most boring childhood in the history of mankind. Terrible me for saying that!
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I'm heading up to my parent's house tomorrow for a short visit, so I'm already preparing myself with the "uh-huhs" and "yeahs". I do appreciate hearing stories from my mom's early life, which she has just started talking about.
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Mom talks nonstop too. Unfortunately most of it makes sense, but she keeps repeating herself over and over. It usually will start with, " If he doesn't want me around, I'll go somewhere else --- and I'll never come back", then she will start with "two slices brown bread buttered, two slices american cheese". That usually starts about a half hour after breakfast. I have to keep telling her she just ate. She usually replies " then forget about it, I'll just starve". A half hour after lunch, she will start with it all over again. It' like a never ending tape loop.
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My neighbor who I am caregiver for, is also a nonstop talker. I think it is bascially because she is lonely. We can spend 10 hours together..and most of it will be her talking. We will do something.. and then she says.. lets have tea and some chit chat.. I have to laugh. because I am long out of chit chat.. and she should be. It can be exhausting to listen for that long.. even if not talking. I do a lot of smiling and head shaking.. but it is important to listen as well, as you glean information from them that you otherwise would not get if you were just asking a question which they can avoid giving a correct answer to if they want. I try to plan things where we have to move around.. go for walks or rides.. color.. what ever..to try and get her to at least slow the conversation down. I do notice if I do not participate in the conversation at least a little.. she is always asking me if I am mad at her. It is really a catch 22 problem as I know there will be a time when she is not able to converse like this, so I know to cherish the memories she is sharing.
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My Mother is in the early stages of dementia. She drank heavily throughout my childhood up until about 10 years ago. Shortly after that the doctor put her on Klonopine and this became her new crutch. These two things combined my Mother talks non-stop. I hear her talking to the dogs when no one else is around. Her friends will not talk on the phone with her any longer because she will not shut up. I hate to admit that I just ignore her. If she asks me a question about something silly I pretend I don't hear her. My Dad has the patience of Jobe and deals with her. Through this group I am trying to learn the skills to become a better daughter to her for my Dad's sake. Trust me when I say the non-stop chatter drives me up a wall as well!
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Interesting. My MIL (a preacher's wife) has always been talkative, but now that she's in a nursing home, she talks literally nonstop. She speaks so softly that you cannot hear her, but the bits and pieces I do hear don't seem to make any sense at all. I'm only a DIL. This seems to be something the rest of her children just accept. My husband thinks that she's always been a bit of a gossip, and now that she has less to keep her busy, that's just what she does: sits and watches and puts together stories about what she thinks ishappening. It does not seem to be tied to any anxiety, as far as we can tell.
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The poor man, but God bless you for being there to listen. I wonder if he is trying to tell you something and can't get it out.
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