How do I keep Mom from taking her clothes and briefs off at night?

Talk to the MD about a sleep medication. get her the jumpsuit pajamas called "onsies" and zip them up the back.

Not sure if this will help, but we found that even using two Depends did not keep Mom's bed dry at night, so we switched to Abena Abri-form diapers. They are super soft and absorbent and Mom loves them! You can order them on Amazon. They absorb all of the nighttime urine and she still feels dry and doesn't get chilled from being wet. This has resulted in her sleeping longer and not waking me up in the middle of the night because she's cold / wet. Not sure about how to stop your Mom from taking her clothes off. Guess it depends on why she's doing it. My dear MIL did that in the last month of her life. It can be a typical end-of-life behavior, like they can't stand to have anything that feels constrictive. But if she only does it at night, it probably isn't that.

here they are...

Tranquility TopLiner Booster Contour Pads, Super-Plus, Extra-Large Diaper Inserts Case/48 (4 bags of 12)


by Tranquility

farrellgd, unstrippable pajamas are also on buck and buck web site, and clothing. I went throught this with my Mom years ago too. she got up, pulled down her pants and peed all over the floor, omg it was so horrible. The poor thing, as I was washing her floor she said " what are you doing dear?" I said "oh just washing the floor" and she told me I didnt have to do that, etc. I buy the attends with tabs and put in a xl booster pad for overnight, on amazon!

when mom was in a SNF (after several falls also), the CNAs would periodically check her thruout the nite to see if they needed to change her. this way, she was never too soaked. thankfully, she's continent now (more or less). could it be that she takes her clothes off because she feels she's too hot? mom started doing that in the SNF, so we got her portable fans and checked her periodocally, pulling off extra blankets when she got hot. (the SNF let us stay with her 24/7 when they realized mom was a fall risk; bed alerts don't do much good when staff aren't nearby.)

Mom's Depends would get so soaked that she would get her pj's wet and wiggle out of them...I switched to an adult diaper that I order from a medical supply place for night time. They hold a lot more and it keeps her bed from getting wet. She just started not being able to get up on her own to go to the bathroom...odd thing is when she could she was wetter in the morning then than now because she was so slow that she had finished before she got on the pot and would just get back in bed...now she calls me when she feels wet. Has never been as wet as when she was supposedly going on her own. I felt guilty thinking it was easier after she lost the ability to get to the bathroom on her own, but it really is. I was having to wash her bedding daily, and I don't now. Her bed stays dry and I don't have to change her clothing as often. I still have her in the pull ups during the day and change her every few hours, which seems to be working better. Not sure why she does not seem to be able to tell me she's wet during the day but can tell at night???? We also ripped the carpet out of her room and cleaned all the paint spills on the concrete and put a couple of coats of wax on it ... so much easier to keep clean...a lot of elbow grease but almost no money and didn't want to put down a floor that will just be covered back up with carpet eventually. Mom is 91 and it is also much easier to roll her wheelchair on a hard surface floor than on the carpet. Put an office matt floor protector next to her bed and a yoga mat under and in front of her recliner...can both be disinfected and very low profile so her chair rolls easily over them. At this stage, I'm all about what ever is easier...

My mother had the soaked bed problem. When she was finally admitted to the ER, the hospital found congestive heart failure. That was the cause for her wetting and then, water retention, too. Her socks were always too tight. With meds and full time care, she is more comfortable, now.

Regarding taking off clothes at night.... could she still be having hot flashes? That will make you kick off the covers and try to find some relief. For some of us it seems like flashes never go away, it's been 15 years for me. A portable fan that lets a nice breeze across the bed is a godsend.

Sometimes medicines can cause hot flashes. Even my Dad got them with one prescription, and he said it was driving him crazy.... welcome to my world, Dad.

Hope the PJ's work for you.They wouldn't in my case,as my Mom does this constantly with her sheets and blankets because she says she feels tied up or restrained.I have her in a short, light, button up long sleeve night shirt. It doesn't get tanglrd up and it's easy on and off the bedpan. It's still a constant battle with keeping her covered, which is from her anxity,confusion,figiting,etc.( I give her a little shot of Loranzapan to help with this)When she first started doing this(couple weeks ago) it was extremly frustrating, espeically during the night. Now I look at it, as she doesn't have much else to do.So we start from scratch and get her all situated probably about 10-15x a day.

Sometimes this problem can not be adequately solved to the caregiver's satisfaction. My MIL would take her clothes off at the kitchen table and stroke my husband's thigh in front of me. I would leave the table. This was after trying nearly everything imaginable to prevent her from removing clothing. Eventually, I just left it in his hands. All of the ideas above are excellent and I wish I had known of some of the resources while she was with us. Good luck everyone. You have my deepest respect and sympathy.