Another first(1)

JoseyWales

I've been thinking that this dementia journey is similar to the tide coming in. A wave comes in, some new symptom/behavior exhibits itself, then the wave returns to the ocean, you breathe a sigh of relief and things seem normal again. The new symptoms are so shocking that you don't realize that older ones that used to be shocking are now normal. Like the tide, it just sneaks up.

Every night DH wakes up after 5-6 hours of sleep to use the restroom. Since we sleep in the same bed, I hear him wake and get up to point him in the right direction. Last night he woke early, and I didn't hear him. What I did hear was the sound of him peeing on our carpeted floor at the foot of the bed. I came fully awake, and tried to stop him. All I succeeded in doing was confusing him even more, having him try to pull his underwear and sleep shorts up and completely drenching them, too. I then just stood back and waited for him to finish. 

I hope this is one of those things that happens once, and doesn't return for a while. 

Ed1937

Hi Josey. If this happens again, maybe you need a bed alarm. I'm always up with my wife if she gets up. Mostly because I'm afraid she will fall in another room, and I won't hear her. The bed alarm works well. Hope it's a one time thing for you.

JoseyWales

I thought about a bed alarm last night. So far that hasn't been necessary, but maybe I should get one so I have it ready. I'm also thinking that I might need to get door alarms. After I was up I discovered he'd been out of bed for a while, because he'd also let the dog out. That's normal, I'm just usually up to hear it all.

I am hoping this is a one time thing. A girl can hope, right?

Interesting trivia: I've always been a deep sleeper and it takes a lot to wake me. I'm now waking the instant I hear DH roll over (except last night). But about once a week DS comes home late, after we've gone to bed. Our dog, who sleeps at the foot of our bed, hears him unlocking the door and barks each time. I never wake up for that. Ever. DS just tells me in the morning.

M1

Josey I feel more like the frog in the slowly heating water than in the tide. The temperature just goes in one direction around here.

Quilting brings calm

Josey.,, I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Having to deal with urine soaked carpeting is something I hope to never do. I hope you get it all out somehow so that it’s not a constant reminder. 

Like M1, there are no outgoing tides in my life right now. I’m beginning to wonder if a rip-tide is the best description today.  ER visit for my spouse today( turned out to be dehydration and a possible run of the mill virus). 8 calls from mom. Two were a combined 15 minutes where I tried explaining why her medication was changing.  I assume the nurse didn’t sneak her pill packs out to exchange the old pills for the new ones.  It’s so hard when ‘ the old one isn’t helping‘ isn’t a good enough explanation.  Wouldn’t you like to stop crying all day Mom? 

Doityourselfer

My husband's bedroom is carpeted. I've added pee pads over the carpet just in case he happens to get up and take off his disposable briefs.  These pads are much easier to clean than a soiled carpet.

Davegrant

What a great simile. It describes perfectly my experiences with my DW behavior the last several years. Each wave changes the beach a little. I hope for the better. I believe that my tolerance has grown but I fear the next wave and hope that it will be a ripple but expect the worst.

Paris20

My husband has had several accidents so I’ve covered our bed to the point where DH is sleeping on multiple layers of pads in his disposable underwear lined with an extra pad. It’s like the Princess and the Pea, only he’s no princess and all I deal with is pee.

Although these toilet episodes are appalling, one of the most shocking events occurs when a new, more dire, symptom appears. My husband’s family owned a resort hotel where he worked for years, childhood included. He left the family business in 1972 when he was 29. A few days ago, while on the couch, he suddenly popped up and said to me, «The rooms aren’t ready and it’s check-in day. Quick, get help. The rooms aren’t ready.” I hoped he’d been dreaming but even when he was clearly awake, he continued the delusion. I tried to get him back to reality, reminding him that we were no longer in the hotel business, that we were in a town where we’d been living for almost 50 years. He told me he knew where we lived but it was Sunday and the rooms were not ready for check-ins. I waited awhile and he came back, sort of.