Need Microwave recommendations

RickInJersey

My mother is stage 5 dementia. She is starting to struggle with the microwave, with over cooking items. I've read in articles there are microwaves specifically for the elderly and dementia patients, that feature a shut-off sensor if foreign objects are placed in the microwave or if something is overcooking. However, I cannot find such microwaves online. Any recommendations? 

Thanks!

Rick

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Phoenix1966

I have to agree with Victoria. It’s the PWD that need the help/supervision. As an example, my PWD loved coffee through a melita that she stuck on top of her cup, placed a filter in, etc. 65+ years making coffee for herself that way so that it was practically muscle memory. Then the teakettles started to get burnt out bottoms, but no fires, because she just let them keep boiling. So we brought her an electric kettle to heat up the water. Shuts itself off, so no worries is she forgot and let the water boil away to nothing. Problem solved and future crisis averted, we thought.

It was a great solution right up until the night she put the electric kettle on the stove and tried to heat it that way. Melted plastic base, house full of smoke, but thankfully there was a monitored smoke alarm. She didn’t know anymore how to cancel it, which I am sure she would have, so the monitoring company called the fire department. That was the beginning of documented events that eventually helped me to get her help.

The only thing our “foolproof” solution did was reveal we were fools for thinking nothing could go wrong.  

BassetHoundAnn

At Stage 5 my mom started losing her ability to microwave things and it was clear the microwave had to go. She was pressing buttons randomly, prying the door open with a knife, forgetting things in the oven. Also at that stage elders lose the ability to learn how to use new appliances. If you bought her a new microwave, even a simplified one, she would probably never adapt to it. I'm with Victoria and Phoenix, for safety's sake the microwave should be removed at this stage.

harshedbuzz

Rick-

I agree with the others that there is no gadget, gizmo or device that replaces human supervision in keeping a PWD safe. 

Tam Cummings splits stage 5 into 2 levels- the second of which has an age/development equivalent of 4- 8 years old. For reference, any toy that requires household current in the U.S. is intended for children 8+.

Stages of Dementia Dr. Tam Cummings

HB

dayn2nite2

I'm with the "no microwave" crowd.  If you are worried about her overcooking food and putting things in it that shouldn't be put in, she is well past being able to make heated food for herself and needs constant supervision.

Stage 5 is quite impaired.  Would you allow a child to live alone and care for themselves?

Time for placement or a live-in, as you can never be sure what a person is going to do at any time of day or night.

May flowers

When my FIL was at the stage where he could no longer work the microwave, we found he was generally impaired enough he was no longer safe to live alone. We visited him daily and in the weeks leading up to moving him here with us, we found spoiled and undercooked food in the fridge, milk out on the counter, an overflowing toilet, a shattered glass on the floor, medicine that had fallen on the floor and was haphazardly replaced (with 2-3 times the dose of medicine on some days) and once he had wiped all his counters with gasoline. He had also stopped being able to use the washing machine, dishwasher, and stopped cleaning. We tried getting some gadgets to help him but he really could not figure out new things, it was a lot of money down the drain.

Is she living with you or vice versa? Would she be open to someone sitting with her when you can’t be there? 

MN Chickadee

I would agree with the others. People come to this forum asking for advice on all kinds of products that they hope will help.  Microwaves, telephones, automatic pill dispensers, outlet shut-offs, tracking devices, TV remotes, special computers. And most often, the seasoned contributors here say sure you could try that but it isn't the answer. Usually it's not just the microwave or the pills or the phone - those are a family's warning sign that there is more going on, which is that the person cannot be left alone anymore.  Even though my mother was never left alone we still had to completely lock down the kitchen when my mother was stage 5. We unplugged the microwave, got baby locks for the cabinets and fridge and took the knobs off the stove and hid them unless we were personally using it. Not only was everything in the kitchen unsafe for her but she ruined so much food. She would leave food out  to spoil, put things that should be frozen in the fridge, pick up a knife by the wrong end. Such a microwave might be convenient for you all for a short time but it will likely be money thrown at a symptom of a much bigger problem. The need for round the clock supervision.

RickInJersey

Thank you to all for the replies. My mom is in very early stage 5 and may have several months where she can still operate a microwave. She has aids that come in daily, but not 24/7 and she occasionally wants to heat something up. There has been one occurrence I am aware where she recently overcooked an item. I want to get a microwave that has a shut-off sensor to prevent that from happening again. We can re-approach as she further declines. 

I do understand it may be difficult to teach her how to operate a new microwave. Hoping for something simple and I can leave easy instructions posted next to it. 

We are looking in to how we can disable the stove/oven and still allow the aids to cook for her when there. 

Thanks for the advice!

Phoenix1966

If your microwave is free-standing, there are products like this to modify it:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PIONEERING-TECHNOLOGY-Safe-T-Sensor-Cooking-Fire-Solution-for-Microwave-Ovens-PTI-STS/304318130

I have no personal experience with it. 

Iris L.

Just the other day I put a microwave-safe container into the microwave, but a small piece of aluminum foil was stuck to the bottom.  In a few seconds it caught fire with flames!  Fortunately, I was standing right there and immediately shut off the microwave, opened the door and put the burning foil into the sink with water.  Would your LO have the presence of mind to do that?

Iris L.

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abc123

Hi Rick! I realize how hard it is to accept what is happening to our LO’s. We have a saying here.

“It works until it doesn’t “  Good luck.

BassetHoundAnn

The hallmark of Stage 5 for my mom was the loss of her ability to use any appliances. Starting with the Mr. Coffeemaker which she no longer had any clue how to use, and proceeding to the microwave--starting with daily coffee explosions and progressing to her using it as a storage cabinet for her purse. At one point she began calling us 10x a day because she couldn't turn the TV on or off. Then she lost the ability to use the phone and was asking others to call us. She also lost the ability to turn lamps on and off, and use light switches on the wall.  

Even the refrigerator became a challenge for her and I'd find ice-cream melting in the main frig compartment and her purse and other belongings in the freezer. 

This deterioration happened within less than a year. Throughout I spent much time and effort trying to find products and solutions to help her adapt. Placing large-print signs on the walls, rewiring lamps with special extra large switches, buying a simplified senior phone, and yes getting her a simpler microwave. All for naught. Her brain was too broken to adapt. Because her deterioration progressed so swiftly. It should have been clear from the first microwave coffee explosion that she needed 24-hour supervision and memory care. 

harshedbuzz

RickInJersey wrote:

Thank you to all for the replies. My mom is in very early stage 5 and may have several months where she can still operate a microwave. She has aids that come in daily, but not 24/7 and she occasionally wants to heat something up.

As Victoria pointed out, you may have been lucky in getting a warning before disaster ensued.

I do understand it may be difficult to teach her how to operate a new microwave. Hoping for something simple and I can leave easy instructions posted next to it. 

The problem with dementia is that when it impacts memory, it destroys the short term and working memory first. These are the forms needed to learn new material. With these gone, she probably won't easily learn to use a new device even if it is marketed to seniors and simpler to operate. If you still want to try, google the concept of "error-free learning" to use as an approach. 

One of the members of our IRL support group bought his wife a simpler TV remote when the Xfinity one became more than she could manage. Alas, his DW couldn't learn to use the very simple "Flipper". He lent it out several times and none of our PWD were successful with it. 

Even if she can still read- my dad could "read" aka decode- until he died. But the comprehension wasn't there because of the poor working memory that prevented him from comprehending what he'd read as he lost the thoughts immediately. 

FWIW, many products marketed to seniors are designed for poor vision or arthritic hands- hence the large buttons and knobs.

We are looking in to how we can disable the stove/oven and still allow the aids to cook for her when there. 

If the range is electric and installed with an outlet, you could have an electrician install a switch to turn it on and off. Alternately, you could disable it at the circuit breaker. Do not disable at the circuit breaker if gas, as mom could turn the gas on and with an electronic ignition fill the house with gas. 

One quick fix for either kind of range is to remove all the knobs and secure them away assuming your mom wouldn't attempt to circumvent this with pliers. 

Good luck. This is a difficult stage as you need to balance allowing some independence against safety with an individual whose skills and cognition are waning in unpredictable ways. You may be up against some anosognosia where mom thinks she is way more capable than she is because the damage to her brain keeps her from recognizing that she's had a cognitive shift. 

CatsWithHandsAreTrouble

Re using the oven: I don't know how standard this is but our electric range has a switch to turn off its power right there on the wall. If you have an electric range with a switch as well, you can see about getting a cover for it that would impede a person from using it and have it turned off when not in use. You would still have to monitor the PWD around it but you'll have maybe 5 extra seconds at least to intervene. 

I just bought switch covers for a few of our other switches that either need to stay on (internet router) or prevent accidentally turning on (garbage disposal!) or to distract long enough that we can redirect before anything happens. These are just quick fixes though and doesn't change the fact our PWD still needs supervision.

dayn2nite2

RickInJersey wrote:

Thank you to all for the replies. My mom is in very early stage 5 and may have several months where she can still operate a microwave. She has aids that come in daily, but not 24/7 and she occasionally wants to heat something up. There has been one occurrence I am aware where she recently overcooked an item. I want to get a microwave that has a shut-off sensor to prevent that from happening again. We can re-approach as she further declines. 

I do understand it may be difficult to teach her how to operate a new microwave. Hoping for something simple and I can leave easy instructions posted next to it. 

We are looking in to how we can disable the stove/oven and still allow the aids to cook for her when there. 

Thanks for the advice!

I know you are desperately trying to keep her functional, but if she has no aid, she cannot heat food. 

You got 1 warning that you are aware of.  Don't let a disaster like a fire take her life or the life of other people if she lives in an apartment.

mommyandme (m&m)

When my mom was early stage five, we too, had caregivers coming in with split shifts.  Started with 6 hours split then moved to 8.  Her meal times were covered that way and her meds, along with getting dressed for the day and night. When she put her paper plate in the toaster oven when alone, that was a big warning.  If you have meal times covered maybe that would help. Caregivers can unplug things when they leave etc… 

I’m sorry that your first post here might not have felt completely supported.  I know when the neurologist told us it was time for 24/7, I cried.  We were not ready logistically for that situation.  It’s a shock! I’d much rather have denied it a little longer.  The people here are very supportive, actually, and are incredibly wise.  They know what they’re talking about.  Having said that, definitely think outside your box as your mom will need more supervision sooner than later, hopefully not before she hurts herself or others.  I hope you will keep coming back and sharing.  Everything I read in this forum is helpful. I take what I need and leave the rest, but I often come back quickly and pick up what I thought wasn’t needed, after all. I appreciate all that’s offered here, the good, the bad and the ugly.  This disease is the ugliest darn thing! 

aannaa

I heard something like that too. Search the Internet about it. You can buy something online like Amazon. I started using it more often since I read the article "Amazon vs eBay" on https://help-center.pissedconsumer.com/amazon-vs-ebay-customer-service-survey/ . Now, most of my purchases are online purchases that I make every week

CanyonGal

Stage 5 is difficult. My mom stopped using the microwave or even removing things from the refrigerator. She didn’t recognize her own clothing or items that didn’t belong to her. She lost use of using a calendar to track days. There was a dramatic change from stage 4 to 5. I had to move her from AL to Memory Care.