Mom walks and walks and wants me to walk with her. Any advice?

Walking is good for body and mind, but excessive walking can wear out caregivers (and take away from time other tasks need to be done!) I have seen a number of those in MC who walk just because (several are non-verbal or verbal but incoherent) and others who get up and try to walk, but can/should not without someone to assist. There are others who do walk, but with a purpose (staying fit and healthy, they generally walk the "loop" after meals.) I do wish our mother would join them - she has gained at least 20 lbs in about a year after moving in and certainly did not need more weight (nor the chocolate covered ice cream bars for dessert all the time.) Her most recent complaints have been leg pain and swelling - well, mom you NEED to get up and walk! She sits reading most of the time and rarely walks other than to get to/from her room and to/from the bathroom.

Three cheers and Hip Hip Hooray for an elder who CAN and DOES walk! That is wonderful!

An observation over time.....the walkers live longer.
Not specific to Alzheimers or dementia.

Can you set up a track sort of thing? We have a house that you can walk in circles around. From the living room through the kitchen out the front door, around the covered porch ( three sides of the house) out to the detached garage, out through the garden, back to the porch and into the house. We have marked a walk way for a guide and are getting a dog. I don't want to walk but rescue dog might.

Some times senior are not aware of what they do, and expect us their children to go along with what they do...Tell mom, i love you, but you got older and I got old and the old gray mare aint what she used to be..If she like to walk, is she in a safe envoirment to walk alone..Or you can watch her walk from one hall to the next, ex. she started to walk one hall, you give her about 5 or 10 minute to get to the next hall, once you see her safely walking that hall, repeat until she is where she started from..just a thought :)

my mother is also in hospice care at home. She is down to 84 pounds. The walking has subsided due to lack of energy but boy does she try! I was meaning to ask others if this was normal-

Most of us would be overjoyed if our mother, our spouse or whomever it is we are caring for has the verve and energy to walk and talk.
Sometimes I get aggravated if i want to read the paper and my wife wants to get up out of her chair. She can’t walk without assistance and she has advanced Alzheimer’s. But then I have to make myself remember that someone of normal mind and health can take joy in reading, TV, a hobby, whatever. But my wife has none of that to fall back on. So, I get over my aggravation’s and take her hand and away we go.
It’s probably good for both of us at (79)😁

I would consider this an anxiety thing. Mom had it with humming and all she wanted to do was be on the move. Me, I couldn't be doing thiscall day long. If you feel you can't then ask the Hospice RN if there is something that can calm Mom down. Really, don't think its a good thing.

Can you listen to your favorite music on earphones and just nod and smile at her? Maybe use a foot step counter to count your steps and light weight hand weights and make the experience more productive for you?

In my opinion I think the stair gate is a good idea. For the top of the stairs I suggest a garden stair gate. You can adapt a tall  garden gate for this purpose. Do you have any walking clubs round your area? Or a local gym or sports arena?

How are her feet bearing up? Get trainers. :)

Good luck - enjoy the fact that she wants to do things with you both. It does not last forever.

Helpingmom, my Mom is walking and talking all the time as well and is in the final stage and on hospice, she is down to 95 pounds, it is amazing how this skin and bones lady keeps moving. She walks anywhere from 8 to 14 hours until she finally is too exhausted to move then sleeping anywhere from 4 to 36 hours. When she is in the bed that long, I turn her and keep her clean. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to walk during the day all the time, it can go up into the night.

As far as wanting me to walk with her, yes I do. When she goes into her room she tells me to stay out and closes the door on me, that happens most evenings. I have a camera in her room keeping an eye on her at those times. When she is in her room she likes to rearrange her stuffed animals, take her pillowcase off and sometimes her bed, constantly moving. I keep a large plate of fresh fruit, cookies, crackers, candy, etc. for her to snack on, replenish at all times, as she won’t stop to sit down and eat anymore along with juice or boost drink. I also “pretend” I am room service and give her a boost pudding or ice cream, at times, if I can get her to sit long enough. What she does eat she walks off, I just am trying to maintain at this point.

I am finding that the best time to get a meal in Mom is breakfast before the walking begins.

I went through sun downing a few years ago, this is not the same thing. Mom is relatively happy walking now with singing (although you can’t recognize the tune) and, at times, dancing. Before she seemed frantic with sun downing and wanting to go home as is usual with that stage.

I enjoy seeing her walking as each time she is sleeping for over 8 hours I wonder if she will walk again, but she is up again and at it once again. My Mom has life, it won’t be too long before she is in the bed permanently and no longer talking/singing, no longer able to get up and go! Enjoy this time but be careful so that the loved one does not fall.

I have been told repeatedly on this journey that you meet the dementia patient in their world and do not expect them to come to yours. I would be ecstatic if my Mom wanted to walk that much. It's very good physical activity and will help her to keep in shape. Physically tiring, she should /could sleep better. I have to assume that the walks are also exercising her senses and cognition. As far as the talking, you are aware that someday this will cease, yes?? This issue is kind of like the baby talking. You can't wait for that first word but soon after you wish them to be quiet. I would encourage any kind of healthy behavior, it's probably not bad for you either

CaregiverL, I totally get it about the fear of sudden strength and the imagining a knife and unleashed hostility toward you. You are not crazy! When I worked in a nursing home as teenager, I was stunned when an extremely frail 90-something woman attacked me from the toilet. This woman couldn't walk and needed two people to get her into her wheelchair. She had hidden plastic dinnerware in her robe and knew how to use it. I couldn't believe her sudden strength and resolve as she popped up from the toilet, grasped me in a choke-hold, and slashed away. I was fortunate the second volunteer was in the room and called the nurses station for help. This was back in the 1970s when nursing home care was a bit less regulated and teenage volunteers even performed "physical therapy." I often wonder what subconscious rage and latent hormones lurk in all of us. And I marvel at the strength some extremely frail elders can inexplicably get.

Helpingmom1, the walking must contribute to your Mom's ability to sleep. I hope it allows you to sleep too! It also seems to me like the strength and resolve in your mom are some kind of miracle, but may be temporary? My Dad's caregiver brought in one of those small seated leg pumps (from a resale store) so that she could also sit for awhile back when Dad was quite active. Dad got quite bored with that, but it worked for awhile.

CaregiverL- Good Grief! Why in the world would your mother stab you to death! She can't walk at all?

I’m almost glad my mother can’t walk since she’d walk right into kitchen for the knife & then go stab me.

My sister lives here with me so we take turns walking and walking, we have steps here going up to one floor and more steps going up to another floor, so are fearful of falling down the steps, also have tile on concrete in another area so fear of getting hurt bad if fall, but mainly she absolutely will not go without my sister or my self, she is not mean or fighting us, but begs and begs saying "Come On, Lets Go", she only weighs 68 lbs, probably less now, is on hospice and just starting being incontinent of urine at night.
Thought about a gate at bottom of stairs to stop from going up, I know not at top or could topple over.
Mom is very stable with walking and we do go outside and walk some.
Thanks so much.

In the Memory Care Unit , we would just let the resident walk and walk and walk. Sometimes we had to put up visual deterrents such as "Stop Signs" or "Do Not Enter" signs across doorways that we didn't want the resident to go through.

Does your Mom walk only in the house or do you take her for a walk outside on the sidewalk? How steady is your Mom while walking?

Maybe other people have some good suggestions.