Hoping for input on this issue that I haven't heard about before and is starting to REALLY wearing on me. Everything mom does seems to be accompanied by a step by step commentary...(I know I grabbed a water...I'm going to dump this in the garbage...Well, I'll open this can and split it between you two /dogs/...Come on kitty -- eat your food - why won't you eat your food? Okay, now that "x" is out of the way, I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to leave the door open so the cat can get back into the house. Tomorrow I have to do laundry.) It's as though every thought that pops into her brain has to be verbalized/ Earlier I thought it was a mechanism for her to "affirm" a thought in order to hold on to it. But, it doesn't seem to work - her thoughts continue to be fleeting regardless. Is this just another quirky "symptom" of Alz/VaD? It's like watching a movie where someone is unconscious or can't speak and every thought is verbally expressed for the sake of the audience. I tune her out, and then she's frustrated that I do not answer her question that was sandwiched within an ongoing string of mutterings. What I wouldn't give for a mute button sometimes!!!! Hoping this is a passing phase???
I hope it's not sudden for your Mom, Heather - I know that would be hard to deal with.
My dad was in a NH for a time before he passed away a few years ago. There was a lady who sat by the nurse's station in her wheelchair, all day every day. She would mutter little snatches of the oddest phrases - all day long. She'd say the same thing, 3 times in a row, then move on to the next phrase that popped into her head. Things like, "It's a fair life. It's a fair life. It's a fair life." "Sail me over to my queen. Sail me over to my queen." "Help. Help. Help." "Mom? Mom? Mom?" "Don't take my jack. Don't take my jack. Don't take my jack."
Such odd little phrases - you had to wonder where they were coming from. I mean, asking for Mom and saying "help" - no mystery there - but the other phrases were really odd. I'd love to know what her past was that made her utter such things.
At a certain point, our loved ones with dementia/Alz. lose the ability to remember how to do simple things. It sounds very much like your mom may be keeping a running narrative going to remind herself of what she's doing, or what she *thinks* she should be doing - like feeding the animals, going to the bathroom,etc. Her mind may be starting to become a bit of a jumble, so saying the things she's doing out loud may help her stay on track.
My mom? She's always been a chatterbox. And even before her official diagnosis she would recount situations to the point I've had dreams about them and find myself a central character in those moments when in actuality I was nowhere near when they occurred. She also likes to dialogue her steps "Going to get some water.... going to sit in here... going back to my room.... " I either say nothing or "ok".
Most of my mom's closest friends have died. So I wonder if her self talks are a product of losing those who she'd talk to on a daily basis.