Is foot tapping a symptom of Alzheimer's?

Gosh I hope it's not a symptom. I constantly tap my foot (possibly from years studying music/instruments) but I catch myself doing it all the time.

Early-onset Parkinson's runs in my family. I also have no sense of smell...an early sign of Parkinson's. But...it also could be nothing.

Angle

My mom has dementia and taps her foot as well. In her case, it goes with her level of anxiety - which changes with the breeze. The higher her anxiety, the more she taps her foot. Currently she is on a low dose (5 MG) of Celexa daily, but I need to let her doctor know it hasn't helped much if at all.

And my dad, who had dementia, used to touch his fingertip to his thumb constantly, kind of like drumming his fingers but much quieter!

Foot tapping is related to Parkinson's

Seven13, Thanks for sharing! After reading some of those I am grateful all I have is humming. It was the humming that got my attention along with the denial.

So I am glad you shared, my mom likes Kleenex's but we have not gone to hoarding them she just uses them forever but she has always been this way.

Short answer - yes, if this is something new that she is doing. Just mention it to her familiy doctor. It seems that their compulsions get worse the older they get - this is true in my mother's case.
When my FIL was in the hospital toward the end of his life there was a lovely woman on his floor who used to be a seamstress. She was relatively young for dementia - late 40's I believe. She developed a compulsion where she had to "feel fabrics"......running her hands over all the sheets, bedspreads and clothing and would wear her hands raw. She could not stop doing it and the staff finally put paper gloves on her hands so she wouldn't injure herself.
It was very sad.
These compulsions can manifest in many forms including humming, food hoarding, talking to themselves; my mother's is about kleenex hoarding. You will find balled-up kleenex in every sleeve, pocket, under every pillow and cushion, in pajamas, etc. and I have to go through all her laundry very carefully so as not to spoil a load from shredded kleenex!

My Mom came to live with my husband and I in 2011. She has vascular dementia due to a stroke in 2009. Over the past year she has started to bite her nails compulsively. She was a jeweler for years and was known for her beautiful nails. She also puts her hands in praying position over her mouth and talks to herself. Does this sound like an increase in dementia?

I'm sorry about your mom, Laurie. My mom used to play Nancy Drew search games on her computer. Now, I found out my bro put her in a Memory Care Facility so she doesn't even play the games she so loved. Supposedly, my bro is going to let me see her today after not letting me talk/see her for 5 months. I'm worried all of a sudden it's fne for me to see my mom.

Yogi, I know what you mean. I have never been so glad to look like my dad (who's sharp as a tack, and only about 6 months younger than my mom), and I cling to the fact that I have all the same health issues that he has - that my mom doesn't - I'm glad to have arthritis and high blood pressure and thyroid issues (it's like I'm his female carbon copy) rather than resembling her physically. I feel awful thinking that way, but like you, I do NOT want to lose my mind. I'd rather be in a wheelchair and unable to move but still have my mind. She can't even watch TV or read to entertain herself, because she can't follow the plot or the thread of a story. That is no life. She's not unable to enjoy short things like quiz shows (she still kills on Jeopardy) and cooking shows or things like that, but anything with a plot, she's done. I can't imagine being "dumb" all of the sudden and confused over simple things. It's awful to watch, and I don't want to go down that path. I totally empathize with your paranoia!

Thanks, Laurie. Knowing my mom has Alzheimer's just makes me more paranoid if I have a symptom I guess. How I don't want this dreaded disease.

Yogi... don't worry. A lot of people do that. And you've been doing it for a long time, so it's not a new thing like it is for my mom. :-D

When my father was dying of a frontal lobe brain tumor, he made a constant swirling motion with his right hand on any surface. He wore the finish off the side of he and moms' kitchen table. It was comforting when he held my hand - like a mini massage. I truly believe it was a comfort thing for him too, like a mantra to reduce stress. He found security in repetition.

Gosh, I hope not. My feet are tapping ALL the time. I do it out of nervousness or anxiety.

Laurie1261, I understand what you are saying! My mom wasn't thrilled with me talking to the doctor at all. Like I said my mom told me the doctor would laugh at me. My mom even went to the point of telling me that she could be healthy and die.I told her I know but we had to know what was going on. Of course my siblings and mom were all surprised by the diagnosis, they feel blindsided. All I can say is they should have been listening to what I was telling them. They all got over it and mom is handling the situation to the best of her ability. But my mom and siblings thought I was nuts, so you have my prayers. Let us know how it goes.

Wow. Glad to know this isn't that unique - it makes me feel better that it's not likely to be a different problem. It's not a big deal, in that it's not inappropriate (she can stop, and does if her mind is really occupied with something), and it's not violent (her legs aren't bouncing or anything, it's just foot tapping while she's sitting), and it's rhythmic, so it's not random. I tend to be annoyed by small noises (a dripping faucet would make me crazy), so it might be something nobody else would have noticed. I'll definitely mention it to the nursing team at the new place she'll be going to soon. They come out this coming Monday to meet her. Wish me luck -she will be SO PISSED to have them asking her questions. I warned them that they can expect a very angry response to any questions about her personal habits (bathing, housekeeping, etc...). She admits to NO deficits. Weeeee!!

What an amazing thread this is! I was just about to ask about humming, and here it is!
My mother does this as well - it's very loud, and sporadic, and never really a particular tune that I can pick out. It can be quite annoying! I never heard this discussed before but here it is!
I ask my mother once about the humming -- why she does it (in a kind and round-about way) and she said, "I like it" !!

MishkaM, the problem is no one person does the same thing. From what I can find and research each person is different. My sister said that my mom's humming or buzzing whatever you call it because it was not a tune was from her pacemaker. My mom has been doing it off and on for a while, but last year it just got worse. My sisters blew it off and my mom told me her doctor would laugh at me. I saw her doctor one day and asked, she said I should see a neurologist so I had no problem getting a referral. But the doctor did think it was something a neurologist could figure out. It seems my mom has had it for awhile because we are through the mild stage and into the moderate range. But you should ask the doctor about, the humming drives my husband crazy, but now that we have a diagnosis and that makes it easier to understand. If my mom is busy, then she doesn't hum, it is only when she is crocheting or doing puzzle books that she sits and hums. Who has your mom's medical POA? They should be able to put you on her HIPPA forms so you can talk to the doctor's and find out. I am the medical POA so I get direct information. I still have other information to get taken care of before my mom get worse.

I didn't know humming and singing could be dementia related. My Mom whistles- well, like a breathy whistling- a lot! It drives my dad crazy. It did start around the time of her Alzheimer's diagnosis (which the doctor is saying may not be the right diagnosis). But I know her foot wiggling is her restless legs. I did see on line that repetitive tics with dementia is usually a frontal lobe thing. I wonder if my Mom's scans show any frontal lobe differences? I wish I could find out but have limited access to her medical info. So confusing.

My mom hums and it is not any particular tune. The doctor said it was a part of the Alzheimer's. It was actually her humming that made me want her to see a neurologist. My mom has hummed off and on for a long time, but it started to happen far more often. Her regular doctor thought it might be frontal lobe dementia, but after a CT scan and seeing a neurologist, we learned it was Alzheimer's.

I mean sings! :)

My dad is 90 and has Alzheimer's and he has started drumming with his fingers and hands. Sometimes he taps his feet. He makes lots of non-verbal vocalizations as well as signs or hums the same few bars repeatedly.. I am not sure what all this means but perhaps it is a reinforcement that he is in the present... not sure, it used to bug the heck out of me but I have learned to tune much of it out.

I did not notice this sort of tic or repetitive motion in my MIL until her dementia was well advanced, at the age of nearly 93, maybe three or four months before her death. For her, it wasn't foot tapping, but mostly drumming her fingers on the table at mealtimes. Up until then, I had never seen her do anything like that in the forty-plus years I had known her. For a few months nearly two years ago, she and her husband had been in assisted living on an unsecured floor initially, and then, after her husband's death, she was moved to the secured "memory care" floor for a couple of months until we moved her back to her house. I witnessed a lot of repetitive physical activity like foot tapping, finger drumming, tapping the table with spoons, etc. in several people while visiting there, especially on the secured floor. I wondered whether it was as much due to boredom and impatience as anything physical with the dementia. I've certainly done similar sorts of things at times when feeling peeved and impatient, especially when I have no alternative to just sitting. It feels like pent-up energy that has no appropriate outlet at such times.

Mine has a repetitive compulsive habit that she does with her feet, putting the two feet together while she's in bed and bending the toes back and forward on alternate feet. She seems to be doing this unconsciously. What started out as a habit has now become a complusive behaviour. I guess if it's something she has just started doing you can speak to her doctor about it but if it's something she has done before then I would take it as a habit. She also constantly picks at her face while in her bedroom or in the bathroom. I think these are just compulsions on her part and perhaps boredom.

My father (who has Alzheimer's) is doing the same thing. My mother brought it to my attention when I was home for the holidays. It's something new. It's interesting that your mother is doing the same thing.

Could it be restless leg syndrome? My Mom has that and often bounces her legs, moves her feet around. But she says there is an accompanying pain/burning/itching feeling with it.

Thanks! Luckily, she's now signed up with an organization that requires that the person come to their center at least once a week and see their doctor once a week on one of those visits. Getting her to go will be a challenge, but she's signed up and they take Medicaid, which she qualifies for due to her low income. I hope she'll go more than once a week, but at the very least she'll see a doctor who specializes in seniors' health care - for the tapping, I know she needs someone to look at her feet (no grooming is going on, and if I try to initiate anything like that we literally end up close to a fist-fight, so I stopped even bringing up the bathing/grooming or lack thereof). They're sending a social worker to meet with her and talk to her about the place she's now signed up to visit, and I'm hoping they'll be blunt and just make a note that when she goes there, she needs a bath. I give up on that.

It sounds like something you should ask the doctor about. This isn't necessarily an Alzheimer's symptom, but repetitive ticks can be part of dementia. However, there could be another cause, as well. It's smart of you to notice these changes. Please do check it out medically.
Carol