Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
K
KathyR Asked February 2015

When walking my Mom to the toilet, she stops about two steps from standing in front of the toilet. Any advice?

I can's get her to take the final step. She just plants her feet and will not move. I have to wait to see if she will move or I try to move her feet, one at a time, with my foot to line her up in front of the toilet so I can sit her down. She has not fallen near the toilet or any place. What do you think is going on. She has late stage Alzheimer's.

KathyR Feb 2015
Thanks to all the ideas. I do have hand rails on the toilet and I did get a different color toilet seat. It is tan. Maybe I can find a darker color. I couldn't even find black when I was looking. She does have poor eye sight. She is blind in her right eye due to glaucoma and I don't know how much she can see out of her left eye. She still looks at the paper or magazines, at least at the pictures. I always am holding her hands when we are walking.

xxxxxxxx Feb 2015
We have the same problem, and I have read that before about the colors being too similar and bland. I think it's because she has trouble turning around to be seated, too. Mom has some Parkinson's in addition to dementia, and her feet sometimes don't move when she wants.

ADVERTISEMENT


JeanetteB Feb 2015
Our loved ones with AD see things different than we see them. My mother has great eyesight and does the same and yes, she's in late stages of AD.

She stops several feet before the toilet, and I guide her the rest of the way... she always says "she's there already". Ha! Just don't tell her to "GO" to the bathroom.... she may just get up and try to "go".

pamstegma Feb 2015
I think her eyesight is failing and she's afraid of falling. If you can, get the toilet safety rails, it gives her something to hold on to . Try sitting on the toilet with Vaseline in your eyes and you may understand.

freqflyer Feb 2015
How is your Mom eyesight? If her eyesight is fuzzy, and being that toilets are all white in probably a light color room, it might be difficult for her to see the toilet and the seat itself. One suggestion is to replace the white seat with a different color seat, so it is more noticeable. No guarantee this will work. It could be your Mom's Alzheimer's that is causing this problem.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter