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Mother will chew her food excessively. It does not matter what it is, meat, vegetables, mashed potatoes. etc. We never noticed her doing this in years past, but she really makes a production of it. There is nothing wrong with her teeth, we grind her meat. She even chews applesauce. Is this an OCD oddity common with dementia? She had even picked up other irritating quirks I won't get into. If you ask her why she does this she gets defensive, often raising her voice.

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Please try to accept her quirks, even if they drive you crazy. She can't help it and has no idea why she does them. Duh! her brain doesn't work! of course she does weird stuff.

Not trying to be nasty, but funny, about a situation that is sad, infuriating and frustrating. Good luck.
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i agree with eyerishgirl again. ocd is a given and theres nothing that drives me crazier. men are prone to kicking out a resolve and moving on. the resolve can be malarky but we still dont want to revisit the subject.
its like, " i said meh, what dont you understand about meh ? " .
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What you see is Tardive Dyskinesia, a neurological episode that can be a type seizure activity and you need to know if it is spontaneous or caused by medication. Discuss this with her Neurologist. If she doesn't see a neurologist, get her one ASAP.
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Sometimes I've seen this side effect with anti-depressive medication. You may also notice this rumination behavior in the hands and feet. Cog-wheeling of the thumb and forefinger. Anti-parkinsonian meds or even pre parkinsonian symptoms may also fall into these symptoms.
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Obsessive compulsive behaviors are very common in people with Alzheimer's and dementia. My dad was obsessive about this clothes. Where are his tan pants? Where is his blue sweater? He'd spend hours not just looking for them but once finding them, folding them, placing them on different spots on the bed, etc. It was very obsessive compulsive behavior. This sounds horrible but sometimes if I needed a break I'd ask him where something was and that would guarantee me at least an hour of free time.

I wouldn't ask your mom about this anymore if asking her irritates her. She's not hurting anything and while it may bug you it's harmless behavior. And it's behavior that you definitely can't change. Dementia and Alzheimer's are characterized by all kinds of quirky, weird behavior that we don't understand. Trying to understand it or trying to get an explanation for it will drive us crazy in the process. Unless it's harmful behavior it's easier to just let someone be.
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