DESTRUCTION WOMAN

MattyBoy

hey GUYS !!!

here is one i am CURIOUS ABOUT... my MOM is about MID STAGE... i feel like she is moving to a LATER STAGE...

but, in general, she is in GREAT SPIRITS... likes to have FUN... we (or her and an aide!) go out to a RESTAURANT for LUNCH every day...

she SUNDOWNS... she REPEATS...

but, like i said... she is generally MANAGEABLE and FUN and SWEET...

(world's best HUGGER!, btw!)

anyway...

her LATEST ENTERTAINMENT is waking up in the MIDDLE of the NIGHT and "DESTROYING THE HOUSE"... ha !!! 

strips the BED... removes her PAJAMAS... moves VASES around... moves HEAVY CHAIRS... tears PAPERS, CLOTHING... she is VERY INTO TEARING...

she gets somewhat INTENSE about it... but, like i said, eventually sort of calms down...and "behaves"..

is the COMMON? is the sign of something ELSE... or something i should be looking into?

or is it just ANOTHER manifestation of this "SURPRISE YOU EVERY TIME" disease ?

would LOVE your KIND and EXPERT thoughts !!!!

THANKS !!

Finding Joy

I have cared for my Aunt for 5 years now, she is in the very late stages now. But I do remember her going through a stage like you described. She would get up through the night and take her covers and sheets off the bed, move everything, take clothes out of her closet and move things on top of her dresser. I ended up taking anything breakable out of her room. I slept lightly so most of the time I would hear her up and about and would go and redirect her. After that and she would calm down, I would get her back in bed. It was an exhausting time for me.

You can't really get on to them, they don't know what they are doing or why. It is a something that some go through. Just trying to keep them safe is the best thing. She no longer does that but I do remember going through that with her.

Blessings to you.

Arrowhead

My wife has always been a loving, caring person, and she still it. She will, even now, hug someone she just met for the first time; sometimes wiggling her butt like a duck. For the most part, she is rather easy to care for. She spends her days roaming the house moving everything and everything, including our kitchen chairs. We have no sheets on our bed or cases on our pillows because she keeps removing them. Every night I hunt for our pillows. She has gone through several periods of tearing things. Mostly she tears paper items but has been know to tear clothes and pillows. Once she almost ripped our fitted sheet in half as she tried to remove it from the bed. She once tore the cover and several pages off of one of my favorite books.  Luckily, she doesn’t wake me up at night. I’m sorry to hear that others have those same problems.

Rescue mom

My mom with dementia would wake up at night and do this—take sheets and covers off, take clothes and other stuff out of closets, move a few chairs (she was not physically able to move anything  heavy), root through papers, and so forth. No reason for it, except dementia.

I had already made sure (as much as possible) she did not have access to anything valuable or breakable. She could really make a mess, but nothing was really hurt. A pain to put back right.

She was later in a facility, where such behavior was pretty common, I was told. As long as they did not hurt themselves or anything, the staff mostly let it go and clean up later.

I don’t know about tearing, but my DH with Alzheimer’s folded virtually every piece of paper, napkin, tissue, whatever he could. I just had to hide important papers. That activity went on a couple years. I’ve seen in this forum that’s also common with dementia.

MattyBoy

as usual... it is a COMFORT to come to this FORUM and learn that the "crazy circumstance" i am going through is... FAMILIAR !!! ha !!!

thanks for your THOUGHTFUL RESPONSES...

that is what i am DOING...

keeping DANGEROUS THINGS hidden...

and just LETTING HER RIP (literally!)...

i CLEAN UP when she rests from her "DESTRUCTIVE DUTIES" !!! ha !!!

seriously...

THANKS, GUYS !!!