We moved our mother to an independent apartment this weekend. The first day she was fine, but the second day she was extremely confused and forgetful.

Esteen,

Welcome! You will find a lot of support and input of ideas.

It's really hard to guess without more information about your mother and her health. Without any extra information, it may well be that the reality of being there has hit home today.

i would be confuse if i was to move into another place . cuz theres no place like home ....
ive lived here for 20 yrs and i sure understand how elders feels when they have to move out . its heartbreakin and its real confusing ....
im sure it will take some time to get use to the idea that is a new home .. but like i said theres no place like home .

We also just moved my father in law to independent living with additional care giving, we have been told that when there is Dementia involved that changing environments can put them into a tail spin with the Dementia temporarily until there is routine re-established. It is good to have family there often to be supportive and remind them, Possibly hire extra caregiving for a short time to get them adjusted to routine of meals etc. Good luck hope this helps

Confusion is very common when moving elderly people into new environments. The more often they are moved, the older and more confused they are the worse the transition will be. It may or may not improve in time. You will probably notice the most confusion in the evenings when elderly people experience "sundowning". This is a biochemcial thing that happens. One way to help counteract this is to make sure they get plenty of sunshine during the day.

You are not alone in what you are experiencing. It's a painful, difficult process but it can be reassuring to know that much of what you are experiencing is normal and knowing what to expect is helpful.

My mom has alz's. She has had it for yrs. We did not relize how bad till we took her on vacation. Not being in her home totally messed her up. She would try to leave and walk home . She did not beleive we were 600 miles away at the beach. She would not sleep and we had to keep an eye on her always. Every 5 mins she would forget we were on vac. and start trying to walk home. We found out that while at home she could hide her forgetfulness . But being some place differant she was lost. You do need to talk to your doc. But I don't think it will get better for a long time.Good luck.

esteen,
If your mom was not being treated for dementia or had not been diagnosed prior to this move then a doctor's visit is in order. If she is being treated for dementia then there are many ways to help her adjust to her new home. First, contact the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.com They have a lot of helpful info for this situation. Then consider these basic steps:
1) Her new livingroom should have as much of her old furniture arranged the same way it was at her old home.
2) If she is accustomerd to weekly visits at certain times, keep to that schedule. If you took her out lunch, do the same now
3) Encourage her friends and neighbors to visit her if possible.
4) If she did her own laundry and is able to do so in the new place ask Facility Management to walk you and her through the procedure.
You get the picture here--try to carry over as much of her past into her future so she has time to adjust. Avoid thinking that since she is starting fresh it is time to get rid of that old sofa and to arrange to have her laundry picked up and delivered. This might be great for you but it destroys her comfort zone. So try to maintain as much of it as possible until she is ready to let it go. Since she was OK with the move and did not fight it, I think you have half the battle won already. Be patient and she will come around.