MIL waking up in diarrhea a few times per week, and "hearing" gas pipes under house. Any suggestions?

I live with things like this. My mother is convinced the people who did the work on the foundation of our house put it up on stilts. She thinks there are cracks in the floor that let the cold air in. I convince her momentarily that all is okay, but she starts talking about hiring someone to fix the house within an hour or two.

She also has a new obsession. She thinks the moss growing in our yard is bad and she wants to kill it. Both the yardman and I have told her it was healthy and helped keep the soil in place. She accepts it for a short while, then goes back to her assault on it. She is digging up the yard now and I haven't been able to get her to stop.

Things were okay here for a while, but craziness has set in full force. It seems this disease takes all the logical mind and memory, but leaves the obsessive-compulsive mind in check. I wish there was a way to stop the obsessive rumination that goes on. It sounds like your MIL has it in her mind that krill oil will help and nothing will convince her otherwise until she finally loses interest in it. Trying to logic doesn't seem to help at all.

About the gas lines -- it may help to get a friend come by as a "workman" to fix the gas line. Maybe he can figure out that the sound is actually air in the vents under the house, and not gas at all. Perhaps telling her that each time she mentions it will help to reassure her.

People with dementia often devalue the opinions of people they are close to. I believe they do this so their own reality makes sense. They do not want to be dumb or crazy. It can help to have an outsider come in and craft a tale that fits into their reality... as long as it is not too destructive or expensive.

If you are like me, sometimes I have to check my own reality. Are there cracks in the floor? Is gas whooshing in the pipes under the house? It can be like living in a very bad Twilight Zone show at times.

I can't address the whoosh sounds but I may be a near expert on the diarrhea item! Those with dementia may not feel the normal signs of a need to toilet themselves. In addition, eating habits may have changed so you might be on the look out. For example, my MIL leaves items on the counter and then eats them later . . . way too much later for an item that didn't get refrigerated. Or, a degree of lactose intolerance may be occurring. A Gerontologist who examined my Mom indicated this is to be expected as we age. Though my Mom never had a problem with lactose items, she did develop one. If the move away from the krill oil doesn't work, you might add a probiotic yogurt product to get the GI track where it belongs.

thanks to ya'll!! it is so nice to know that someone else understands the craziness I live with! LOL. Living in the twilight zone is a very accurate way to describe it. My mil LOVES sugary things, and I know that affects her. she also LOVES ice cream, and I am going to 'forget' to get it for her for a while and see if the diarrhea stops. Oh, and she does eat old food!!!!! It amazes me! I just realized it about a month ago and now I go around after her and look in her hiding places to see if there is something that I need to throw out. thanks again