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She not only calls 10 plus times a day but can't sit still for a minute. One of the many messages she left today was that her bladder is hanging out between her legs. After calling the head of nursing to discover this isn't true - they checked her- we get a text from FIL saying she won't sit still for a minute. She's always been extremely high strung but seems to have worsened. She constantly fidgets with her hair, or digs throught her belongings. Now she's up and down from the chair all day long. She sees the gereatic pysch. Is this just her or is this common? Is this what they mean when they refer to agitation in August? Can he give her something to calm her down or do they just let her keep doing this? She gets so distressed about everything.

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See physc.in August.
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Yes, her doctor can probably give her something that will reduce the agitation. I hope the appointment is early August ... ? Or else call and get on the list in case there is a cancellation.
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I'm assuming Mom is in a nursing home? I am concerned that if she is agitated and constantly moving, it might increase her fall risk. Are there activities she could participate in where she is? At my mom's facility, they played bingo, listened to music and even had a live animal show once. 
My mother had a roommate in the nursing home who was the same way. She got up out of bed every 90 seconds to go to the restroom but wasn't actually going. She would also go out of her room and ask everyone she met where her room was. There was more than one resident in her memory care unit who would occasionally become agitated and delusional. The hyperactivity and delusions are how your MIL's dementia is manifesting itself. Does she have a primary care physician? It might be a good idea to contact him/her and ask for help.
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Thank God she has tons of energy but you don't have to answer every call every day. Just answer maybe once a week or even twice a week, but you need not be picking up 10 calls a day from the same person. Encourage her to use her energy toward volunteering or something where she can contribute to the community. Drugs are definitely not the answer
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Is she on thyroid medication? If so, if her dose may too high and then it can cause manic-like symptoms. I have thyroid disease so I'm fully aware of what a too high of a dose can to the mind.

Tell the nursing home doctor about your mother's symptoms - and ask him/her if there was a recent medication change because her behavior and her actions are not her norm. If this doctor isn't available frequently, still leave a message with this doctor about what's going on and then ask the director of nursing to go over your mother medication list with you - write down all the meds - Google them or talk to the local pharmacist about these meds and if they can cause mania/hyperactive/restlessness as a side effect. If your POA, then it's not a problem for you to access the current list of medications for you mother.

Of course, always ask for a UTI evaluation just to rule out an imminent infection.
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See what the psych eval says. Be glad she HAS energy!! If she is calling 10 times a day, don't answer. I call screen everybody. Sometimes I don't even want to talk to my best friend, so there's no harm in self-protecting from what is probably a manic phone call.

Can you go with her to the Psych apt? Sounds like she may not be able to voice her own issues and would need someone from the outside to help.

I hate to disagree with Handout--but judicious use of drugs are OFTEN called for. If MIL is causing disruption in her facility, they might ask her to leave. A Dr. can do blood work and determine the cause, to an extent. UTI, Thyroid check for sure! And I have never heard of August agitation, not to say it doesn't exist, it's just interesting to me.

Good Luck---maybe get her on the waiting list for the psych dr. They take FOREVER to get in to see, I know.
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Yes she has alz. And is in a skilled nursing facility. We are hoping to get her in memory care but we may have to take FIL to court to accomplish this. They are in there together and FIL hates it and rages- he kicked her once. The NH told him to go to another part of the NH when he becomes frustrated . She then assumes he is having an affair. They separated them the other night because of loud arguing and she called 10 times leaving messages that he had a woman in bed with him and then took off with him. ( the man is 84 and is incontinant and uses a walker) . Other times she calls constantly to go home, she needs her furniture ( a big obsession of hers) , someone might have stolen her car , or he is cheating on her or he stole her money, she is moving to Arizona and needs my husband to bring her the car..... She's been checked for uti. None. We have been letting calls go to to voicemail but she doesn't know how to hang up so we hear them shouting at each other. Yesterday there were 0 calls. Thinking her phone battery went dead and she can't find the charger. She hides things from the imaginary thieves and then can't find them all the time. It's a nice break. FIL is a screaming yelling control freak and pulls our chain every few days. The head of nursing told me they have very loud arguments everyday. She also said that MIL has paranoid dillusions thus the visit with the gereatric pysch. Medicine that helps MIL calm down from this agitation will be a God sent .
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Check her meds list. Meds that are intended to relax a person can have the opposite effect on people with certain dementias.
Blessings,
Jamie
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Whoa--a lot more going on that a MIL who can't sit still.

I would think that there would definitely be something that she can take to calm her. The Alz. just makes everything worse b/c you cannot reason with her, I'm sure. Sad that she and FIL have to be together...I had clients ( I worked Elder Care professionally) who as a couple, had lived together and it worked until the wife developed dementia. She needed a much higher level of care, he was still relatively independent. Family didn't want to pay for separate rooms, so they brought them home. Oh my. What a disaster. I lasted 4 hours (woman punched me in the face and soiled her pants, deliberately and said "whatcha gonna do about THAT?" I stayed long enough to get a replacement aide in and never went back. I sometimes wonder how that dynamic ended up.

Good luck to you, and do call and get on a waiting list, ASAP. Even if it gets you in to see the psych doc a week early, it will be good. Could her PCP prescribe something in the interim? Most PCP's don't want to deal with psych issues in the elderly, but maybe something to keep her calm until you DO get in to the psych dr?
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I think ur FIL needs something.
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some medications cause that too. my dil's mother had that happen from one of her medications.
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