12LittlePaws Asked September 2018
Are Car Rides Relaxing to Your Loved One?
Follow
Share
I'm caring for my 85 y/o mom with vascular dementia and COPD. When I get home from work I find that she is usually having the most trouble breathing and she is wound up and anxious. Most of the time I find that taking her for a car drive and maybe stopping for an ice cream cone (her one vice) will relax her and put her in better spirits. I don't know if it is the motion of the car or getting out and seeing places and people instead of the same four walls or maybe a combination of that, but so far it has worked just about every time.
I was wondering if anyone else had noticed this.
This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
3 Answers
Daughterof1930 Sep 2018
Yes, car rides were always a big help with my mom
Helpful Answer (1)
Report
Ahmijoy Sep 2018
Is your mom alone all day? If she is, that may contribute to her anxiety. By the time you get home, she may have worked herself up into the proverbial tizzy. She may also have Sundowning, where people with dementia become anxious and upset in the late afternoon. I’m sure the car rides and ice cream help. It’s kind of you to do that for her.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report
X
12LittlePaws Sep 2018
She is alone, but we are in constant contact and she always sounds great. She has been very high functioning during the day, but now with her COPD becoming so much worse she is more sedentary due to breathlessness. I do think she is Sundowning too, she has just started this. The car rides most of the time seem to calm and avert the worst symptoms. I would do anything for her, so drive we will.
(0)
Report
JuliaRose Sep 2018
Oh, yes! When my hubby was having panic attacks a few months ago, we went for a drive every day for hours. He appreciated getting out of the house, the motion, and humming sound. Usually, he'd fall asleep. I joked with my friends that it was similar to having a baby, and in many ways, it was true. Things have changed now that we got his anxiety better controlled and a different vehicle in which he isn't as comfortable sleeping.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report
X
12LittlePaws Sep 2018
I was telling one of my friends yesterday it is like when you take a baby with colic for a drive to get them to sleep!
(0)
Report
This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Popular Questions
Related Questions
- Has anyone experienced a cyclical pattern of agitation/ insomnia then back to normal?
- Should you correct a person with dementia when they mistake sugar for salt and so on?
- My mother is 80, looks and acts fine outside, but inside is having nightime hallucinations, is agitated, negative, and never relaxes! Any advice?
- Validation verses reorienting Mom with dementia. Distraction is only working for a moment. Any advice?
Ask a Question