My mother walks and moves stuff in the house 12 hours a day non stop. She has late stage dementia. Any ideas please? I'm exhausted!

Mom had terrible anxiety. She would check for door and window locks, continuously drove me nuts. This was part of her sundowning behaviors. Increased activity, agitation and confusion. The doc prescribed 6 mg of seroquel, daily at about 4. Seroquel worked very well for my mom, it doesn't help others. It is trial and error to find what will work for each person. What works for one may not work for another. It takes patience.

Talk to mom's doc about meds to help.

Your mother should be in a facility that cares for demented people. She shouldn't be in your house. Moving thing around is common in people with dementia. However things will get worse soon and then, you might not be able to manage her. Once her condition worsen, it will be o difficult to move her out.

A dog love had a small stuffed dog that she cared for and made her feel useful.

Apparently moving “stuff” around is not unusual behavior for someone with dementia. I posted the following response last year to a similar caregiver question.

When my wife was in MC, she occupied herself by moving furniture around in the facility. She would move dining room chairs, tables, even a small sofa at all hours of the day or night. The MC director once told me she tried to stop my wife from doing that but finally acquiesced. She realized it was a losing cause. The nursing director also told me once that my wife had moved all the dining room chairs to the far side of the building. As long as she posed no safety hazard, they let her be. That phase of her behavior ended when she complained her back hurt and she walked stooped over. DUH! I wonder why?

So check with her doctor, as others have suggested. An anxiety med may be the answer.

Nueroptahy in the legs and feet make you feel like you HAVE to move them to get ris of the feeling--DH says it feels like tiny worms crawling under the skin--scratching doesn't help--Gabapentin DOES.

I'd take her for a quick checkup and see if Gapapentin helps. Or a very low dose of a mild tranqulizer. She wouldn't be 'stoned' she's be a little calmer.

I had this crazy 'need' to walk all day when I had shingles. Same kind of thing as the nerve endings are affected. Gabapentin helped tremedously.

And, not to be cruel--at least she's up and walking! Once you stop doing that--the downhill slide is no fun.

It was anxiety for my mother, as well. Sometimes, it still is.

Meds have helped. When she begins this again, we all know that it’s time for a meds adjustment by her doc.

It must be awful for for our Loved Ones. It’s tiring watching, let alone being the one who “has” to walk.

This is anxiety. With my Mom it was humming that got louder and louder each day and effecting the other residents. They had to finally give her something. For my Mom, it was the beginning of the end. The meds did calm Mom down where she just sat but she was in the last stage of her Dementia and my daughter, RN, said it now was a quality of life thing and being anxious all the time was not good either.

this is just something that worked for a freinds mom i dont know alot about dementia or your mom just an idea they got here a large simple wooden doll house from hobbie lobby and the things for each room as kitchen table bed not to much just the basics of a home and ever morning when her mom would start paceing and moveing things she would give her a box with house items and ask her to help get the house ready her mom would spend hours placeing and replaceing things in the house and from time to time she would ingage with her daughter and it became there hobbie project dont be afraid to try giveing her maybe a baby doll ask her to rock it just something tomake her feel like shes doing something .im sorry your going thru this im sure its alot to indure i hope you dont think me crazy just trying to help you and her will be in my prayers

Barney - my mother who has Alzheimer's did the same thing, too. Fortunately, she moved pass that phase now.

I had to lock up everything that I didn't want her to touch. I put locks on the fridge, the pantry, kitchen cabinets, etc.

At one point, to keep my mom busy, each day I took half of her clothes in the closet off of the hangers and had her put them back on and into the closet. I unmatched all her socks in the sock drawer and had her match them up and put them away. I went and bought 3 dozen little towels at a dollar store and had her fold them and put them in a drawer. I also had her arrange artificial flowers in the vases, then I took them all out and had do them again a few times a day. She really enjoyed that. I also had her sweep the floor and the patio.

In your mom's case, what kind of things does she move around? Is it possible to give her things to do? Can she stack cans of food, arrange baskets of plastic fruits, etc.?

Rest assured, this phase will pass. In the mean time, I know it really gnaws at your nerves.

Thank u for advice...I'll ask doctor if it's her meds.. ...

hi! :)

there are actually medicines with the side-effect of making you want to move/walk: your legs need to walk.

maybe check the medicines.

in particular, anti-psychosis medicines.

if it’s possible, get rid of them/talk to the doctor of course first, for the doctor’s opinion what to do.

it could be just caused by dementia (people wander, etc.). but sometimes the cause of walking constantly, is a particular medicine.