I'm constantly up at 2 am or 6 am or both, cleaning up after a husband with diarrhea. It starts with the smell that wakes me up and ends with a 3 hour ordeal of showering, cleaning linens, cleaning carpet, wiping and cleaning floors. He apparently walks around at night dripping everywhere. (I keep bedroom door locked so he is confined to our bedroom. He wears depends but pulls them off. I have hired help but his schedule is so irregular that he seems to strike when they are not here. I'm exhausted and wonder how much longer I can go on, but then I think about what a wonderful husband he has been to me and I'm so grateful to have had him in my life. I owe him more than I can ever repay.
Has absolutely everything been done to eliminate the cause of his diarrhea? I assume you've addressed diet. If it's a med side effect, get rid of the drug. My dad was experiencing diarrhea due to a dementia med. those drugs are largely useless and especially useless once dementia has gone past the mild stage. Armed with that knowledge, I told his doctor that he would no longer be taking it. The doctor agreed. Diarrhea stopped.
I remain annoyed that the doctor never would never have suggested discontinuing the drug, even though it was affecting his quality of life. If you even suspect a drug is the cause, stop it.
Many doctors won't initiate a drug review and all dementia patients need one! There's very little ethical support for having a dementia sufferer taking drugs that have negative side effects.
If this diarrhea issue can't be resolved, you Should consider assisted living. Don't kill yourself over this. I mean that literally.
Anyhoo - two of the past four Sunday's have been a nightmare. I wake up at 4 and 5am to Rainman pacing between his bedroom and the bathroom- diarrhea dripping down the legs of his Jammie's and being walked through as he paces. I know all about the three hour ritual of the shower, the laundry and the floor cleaning and disinfecting- unfortunately these type of blow outs have been a part of my life for over 20 years. I mean, I don't even do things I LIKE at that hour of the morning, right?!!
There isn't a whole lot that can "fix" my situation - I don't know about yours. I feed Rainman a healthy, fiber filled diet, the bed is protected with water proof mattress covers and Rainman wears a heavy duty night time diaper - the diaper is largely ineffective, however. The one thing that while doesn't stop the mess - it does cut it back a little - is that Rainman wears adult, one piece footed pjs. I do cut the feet of as Rainman had a tendency to trip on them - but I cut below the elastic. That elastic at the ankle - along with a pair or socks - help keep more from getting onto the floor. Rainman wears the Pjs backwards so he can't undress himself or put his hands into the ick.
The only other suggestion I have is to be well stocked with rubber gloves, baby wipes and Clorox wipes - also bleach for the laundry. Having the right tools for the job does make things a teeny, tiny bit easier.
Get rid of the carpet in the danger zones. Hard as you try the carpet will never get really clean and will hold bacteria and odors- plus it's way easier to clean poo off of a hard surface!
One lady here almost died of daily diarrhea before it was discovered that she is lactose intolerant. Avoiding dairy products resolved the issue.
Can his doctor help reduce the number of incidents?
My husband had LBD, which is characterized with sleep disturbances. His doctors came up with ways to help in sleep through the night. He was home with me for 10 years. I couldn't have made it even 1 year without that medical help for helping him sleep. You absolutely cannot care for someone else if you are constantly sleep-deprived. Therefore I urge you to do all you can to resolve this nighttime issue. Be very insistent with his doctors that this needs to be addressed.
Would anti-diarrhea pills before bed help? My husband took them (with his doctor's blessing) before going out of the house. He didn't want an accident when he was a his day program or off getting a haircut. It helped.
Your husband sleeps peacefully while you are exhausted. Try to arrange it so that you sleep then, too. This may take some creative planning so he doesn't wake up and get into something dangerous while you sleep. I used an alarm that went off when my husband got out of bed. It was sort of like when I had babies. I could be sleeping very soundly and still hear the baby cry or the alarm going off.
You need help. No one, no matter how much love they have, can care for someone with dementia 24/7/365 and retain their sanity. Can't be done. The sooner you get help, the longer you'll hang on to your sanity and your ability to care for this person you love. Sometimes when I had help I simply went to bed in the guestroom! Later when a PCA came regularly at 9:00 am I'd say, "I really had a hard time last night. I'm going to stay in bed for a while. You can get Coy ready for his day." Don't be embarrassed to simply be in bed if a friend or relative or volunteer comes to spend some time with your husband. You NEED sleep or you'll crash and burn.
Keep us informed about how this goes, and what seems to help you most. We care, and we learn from each other!
It was a daymare. I thought he was going to die from it!!
This helped him: BRAT diet (food), Lactic Acid Yeast wafers, Nuun sugar-free electrolytes (many flavors, to keep hydrated), Metamucil (bulked the poo up), and patience.
Probiotic (quality-health food store) was given later after it was all over...
I feel for you! All the best!
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