Daily Crying: How to help stop the crying?

TPALZ

My mother cries everyday and sometimes for hours each day. There does not appear to be any physical pain or other issues, but rather it is just a symptom of her dementia.  I have tried various activities that sometimes help, such as playing her favorite music and trying to dance with her, giving her a snack to eat, holding her hand or putting my arm around her, and taking her for walks and sitting outside when the weather is nice, but it is too cold for her now.

Does anyone else have any experience with this and have any other suggestions?

Thank you.

SusanB-dil

Sounds like you should tell her doc what's up. Not sure how far along she is, but she could be depressed.  MIL has had small jags of crying, then laughing, not nearly to the same extent of it being hours, though.

M1

Hi TPaltz, there is a condition called pseudobulbar affect that can occur in dementia and leads to inappropriate emotional displays that she has no control over.  Ask about it, there are some medications that might be helpful.

Quilting brings calm

My mom went through this a few months ago. The doctor finally switched her from trazadone to mirtrazipine.  That is an antidepressant which will also help with sleep.  It took a few weeks but  she began to perk up.  Once her depression lifted, we saw positive cognitive function.  Did it cure her dementia?  No, but she is much better cognitively.  That’s because depression was making everything worse.  In addition to the medication change, home health was ordered and she got weekly visits for about a month from a nurse, a physical therapist and a speech and cognitive therapist.  A social worker from that agency also visited. 

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terei

There is a medication that is specific to this problem: Nuedexta.   You might want to look into this to see if it is appropriate in this case.

VeeM

My mom has been going through this, crying everyday ALL DAY. the geri psych says she is depressed and has put her on an antidepressant, lexapro. It has slowly been helping and said it should continue to help. She still cries but not as much. I think it’s common to wonder whether it is depression or pseudo ulnar affect. For my mom, i Can kind of tell it’s depression. Her speech is limited but I can tell she is trying to tell me a sad story, starts remembering something, or is looking for someone (parent, sibling, baby). The psych also said that she probably is more aware of her situation and inabilities than  we think and can communicate, and that probably leads to her depression. He also suggested engaging in activities just like you’ve done: music, singing, going outside, going for a walk, looking at old pictures, coloring, etc. And if she is able to, try to include her on daily activities like cleaning, cooking etc. We can’t do much if this with my mom but I will ask her if she can help me clean the counters even if she makes a bigger mess or just wipes the same spot over and over again, she’ll help sweep, and gold small towels. That helps her feel useful and distracted.