Constant repetition. Any advice?

I haven't experienced this, but would a baby intercom help? Place one near him, and one with you. I would suggest that you begin using it at first, so that he can see you, so he knows the voice is yours. Check in on him often. "Hi, Dad, just checking to see if you're okay. I will bring you some ___ soon. Not sure, if this will work. Maybe worth a try. Best wishes.

Has this started recently? Do u know what stage dementia he is in? I ask these questions bc I wish someone had thought to ask me or I had thought to revisit the sites to check stage symptoms. My granny just passed last month from this horrible illness. It started with her getting weak & not being able to get to the bathroom or anywhere else in the house without assistance so we got her into a rehab hospital bc she ended up falling in the bathroom & hitting her head on the toilet. She was slowly making progress for the first week & bout half of the 2nd wk but then it started goin nuts. Her BP would drop & then she wasn't able to walk again. Then during the 3rd week she ended up losing use of her arms from shoulders down. She could move her fingers & raise her hand up just a lil bit not much. So she became fully dependent on someone else for everything. After the 4th week she ended up coming back home bc that's what she wanted even though the rehab hospital was not wanting to do that & was persistent on wanting her to go to SNF. So we had them order stuff I needed to be able to care for her at home & brought her home. I believe it was during 1 of the times that they had sent her out to ER while she was there that she started constantly hollering for someone or just hollering help but then if you asked her what she needed, she would say nothing & say she didn't know she was doin it. She continue this day & night from what I was told then & came to realize when I got her home. She yelled for me nonstop if I was out of her sight. I thought I was gonna lose my mind bc I couldn't get anything else done. But honestly if I knew them what I know now I would have sit in there with her as much as I could bc I only had her home about 6 days when she aspirated on some pizza & water. But it wouldn't have been much longer if that hadn't have happened bc I thought to check the site & losing use of limbs is last stage & Im pretty sure that I read on one of the sites that the closer to the end it gets the more nervous they are or they start getting scared of being alone or something like that. I had asked her a couple days before why she was yelling for me nonstop but didn't need anything & she actually told me that she wasn't sure but was scared if she couldnt see me that I had left her & I had to just keep reassuring her that I would never leave as long as I was able to be there. So I can't stress it enough to constantly check the symptoms & don't just rely on 1 site either I always checked several bc there's not a set list for this illness yet unfortunately. It's not something I like saying but it may or may not be similar to my situation. But I know if I would have had someone to tell me to check this stuff I would have been very grateful & prolly been able to understand a lot more that was so confusing & stressful due to not knowing. I also don't know if these things happen with every type of it or if it's just certain ones. I'm pretty sure my granny had mixed dementia bc she had a lot of the symptoms for 2-3 of em. It's so hard for them to agree on diagnosis still yet. Her neurologist said she had Alzheimer's but then 1 of her other Drs diagnosed her with dementia so it's hard to tell. Hopefully that ends soon bc it's not fun trying to deal with a disease that even the Drs have trouble diagnosing & all the different ones doesn't help either. It's just a horrible disease & I feel for anyone that's having to live with it or caring for someone that has it. It's just the worst thing ever. No one can relate if they haven't actually experienced it first hand like you have bc it's not like anything else in the world. I pray they can stop this madness of an illness soon somehow. Praying for you!

I recommended Alexa for such questions as “What day is it?” What time is it?” “What is the temperature?” Fact based questions, not involving your relationship. You can change the name from Alexa to any other, For example, “Julie, what time is it?” If the person is able to use the drop in function, s/he can ask Alexa to drop into another room to ask another questions, much like an intercom. However, that would still drive you crazy and I agree with the others who suggest this is an anxiety situation and perhaps, TV, music and medication would work best. ( You can ask Alexa to play music, read a book etc. and personally I would go crazy if my husband asked me the day several times a day as he asks Alexa-and she doesn’t ever get annoyed 😄)

JulieKac: Quite possibly, your father, Gerald is anxiety ridden when you're busy performing other tasks. Because you cannot be in his line of vision 24/7, it makes him anxious. Maybe a visit to his primary care physician for assistance with anti anxiety medication(s) and if needed, a referral to a specialist for same would be beneficial.

Maybe some anxiety meds. Call his doctor. This would drive me nuts. (really, doesn't take much)

Repetition is a common symptom of dementia. When people have dementia, sometimes their minds get into a loop and they keep replaying the same thing. At least your father's loop is one of caring about you. It also may mean that he feels a bit anxious about being alone. Be thankful that he cares! People with dementia go through phases. This phase eventually is likely to pass. Can you say something reasuring to him, like "Hey Dad, I'm here. I'm good. Thanks for asking."? Or if you find it irritating, can you just turn it off in your mind? All the best to you both.

Someone on this forum purchased ALEXA just for the same situation!

The mild sedative idea sounds logical, too. Look for a Geriatric Psychiatrist.

My Dad went through the same thing. I just lost him last Tuesday. He talked all day and night-even in his sleep. My Step-Mother eventually got use to it. She was definitely upset by it in the beginning. I would recommend turning on a tv or music as background noise. I found that putting on a tv show that he was once interested in or he could relate to for part of the day and calming/meditation music the second half of the day helped him focus and stay calmer.

He might benefit from an activity board. You can make them or buy them online usually. They are basically a piece of board with bolts, dials, maybe a socket and switch, a door chain, but all things that he is familiar with and can fiddle with for stimulation. Also a memory book with lots of photos from his early life, family etc. And I agree with the music or old films. Good Luck. My sister used to grind her teeth from morning till night and it drove me insane!!

I bought my husband a smpltec flip radio
https://smpltec.com/liftplayer
It has about 40 prerecorded songs and pieces of music from the 1940's. I'm not tech savvy but more songs can be programed on to it.
I'm also currently arranging for him to participate in a memory day care center two days a week. Every half hour they change activities and have different levels of care.
I hope you find something that is helpful to you.
Best of luck.

Agree that he is having some form of anxiety that could be managed with meds. As long as it continues, try to ignore it. Put on some music, kind of loud. Check on him regularly but you don't have to respond to the constant repetition. Must be driving you crazy!

I agree with Midkid58 that it may be anxiety that can be addressed through medication. Or, it could be Shadowing, a very common dementia behavior.

Can you give yoour father a simple task to do? Like fold kitchen towels or sort & pair socks or nuts & bolts? Basically sorting anything... this refocuses attention and will burn mental energy. Let us know if you get anything to work,

The only thing that comes to mind is perhaps a mild sedative that calms him down. Is he upset because he can't find you, or do his speech patterns go in cycles?

Talk to his PCP. I really believe in the juducious use of medications where they can help calm a person down. Your dad sounds kind of frantic which makes for a frantic household.