My mother has Alzheimer's and is 92 years old. Is there anything that would be more difficult for her to take off, or any other solution for this recent change in her behavior? There are waterproof covers on the mattress and memory foam pad and there are waterproof pads on the edges where she often sits in the morning. But it is overwhelming to have to clean her up and change her clothes and launder her sheets almost every day! Any ideas???
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We're sisters!
We just moved my 94 year old mother in with us 3 days ago from the memory care (couldn't
afford it anymore). She does the same thing!
For the past 2 nights, I've taken her to the BR, washed her up, changed into PJ's, put on 2 diapers and 2 pads (man, can she pee!) and put her to bed. She's as quiet as a mouse but I've learned to peek in. There she is sitting naked on the sheets (thank God for bed pads), rolling up the diapers and shoving them under the bed!
On the last day at the care facility, they told me that she's been dropping her diapers in corners of the room and urinating!
Since she's been home with us, we watch her like a hawk. The problem she has is that she can't "bend" (go into a 45 degree angle to sit down on the toilet, dining room chair, sofa. We have to push/guide her or she would fall like a straight log. I'm sure the facility didn't take as much time with her as we do, so hence the behavior. I'm sure she's embarrassed of having a wet diaper and it's also uncomfortable so she wants to get rid of it. Under the bed would be a great hiding place, right? Fortunately we have tile floors and can mop away that horrible odor.
The above suggestions are good. Also;
*Limit the amount of fluids after 5-6 pm but encourage fluids in the morning and early afternoon.
*Have her tinkle right before bed.
*Take her to the doctor to see if she has a bladder infection. We just went yesterday. She had all the classic symptoms; frequency, urgency, strong smelling dark urine, only voiding tiny amounts. Turns out she had a little temperature too. I didn't pick up on that one since she's "cold" all the time. She did have a bladder infection and is on antibiotics now. A UTI can cause strange behavior so get her checked out. Maybe it could be a simple fix, I hope for your sake.
We are at our wits end trying to be with her every second (she's not mobile alone) so we are hiring a couple of caregivers so they can sit with her and help her to the BR when necessary. One for 4 days wk during the day and one for 4 nights a week during sleep. Fortunately it's much cheaper here in Tijuana, México to hire helpers. We know both these people and trust them. Hubby works at home and I only will be working away from home 2 days a week.
Oh Lord, how I hope this situation will get better after the antibiotics!
Madge, I'm going to check into a backwards onesie. Would Amazon carry them? It sounds like a good idea but she's so stubborn, she'd probably be up all night trying to pull a Houdini! 😆
Daughter22, I'll pray for you (us)!
Do you have bed and chair pressure alarms so that you know when she's on the move? That might give you time to get there before she removes her pad. A fixed schedule of changes and transfers will help too.
As for the laundry (sigh..!) - if you have such a thing as an old-fashioned laundry and dry cleaner in your neighbourhood, you may find that they do a collection and delivery service. You can get special disposable bags for soiled items that you pop the sheet in, do up, and the whole thing goes in the washing machine and cleverly undoes itself during the wash; so whether you're doing this at home or sending the laundry out, it minimises the more gruesome biohazards.
1. Let them do it and clean up the mess - constant carpet cleaning for maintenance and laundry for housekeeping
2. Try to take them to the bathroom more frequently and soon after eating
3. There are garments called onesies which button in the back so the person cannot disrobe themselves
Toileting especially when bedridden is no fun for anyone