Why does my Mom sigh/ cry almost all the day?

RAKESH KALRA

Hello there! 

My mom is about 75 yrs old. Maybe she is suffering from dementia or alzimer's disease. 

Her symptoms are : 

1. Don't recognise relative or even close family members.

2. Don't know how many children she has, does they all alive or not

3. Incontinence for last 1 year.

4. Unable to walk now. Now loosing the capacity to sit also.

5. Eating properly.

6. Talking all day (rubbish) with walls or with her environment as there are real person surrounding her. 

Now from last 20 days she is crying/ sighing a lot. But when i reach her she stop crying and talking and laughing with me. 

I don't know what is wrong with her. Because she doesn't able to tell doctors that she has pain somewhere. So what should i do to help her to not to sigh/ cry?

With regards 

Rakesh 

DawnOfANewDay

You will never know the why.  

There are many meds that can help and talking to a doctor would be a good step.  

Every patient has a different experience with this disease and what works for us may not work for you.  We were able to divert my mom's attention for a short time with music or movies, but that was just a short term band-aid.   She needs medication to not be so anxious/sad/afraid all the time.  

LaurenB

Is it possible that mom feels lost an alone and stops crying because a comforting adult has shown up to take care of her?  She could be feeling similarly to how a lost child would feel.

jfkoc

It may be Alzheimer's...it may be dementia caused by something treatable....it may be depression.

Your first step would be to get a diagnosis that follows the diagnostic steps...https://www.alz.org/alzheimer_s_dementia. Before your appointment  give written information to the Dr about your concerns...be specific with this.

Then please go to the top of this page and select ALZ.org.

FlowerPower82

My MIL does something similar as well. It was helpful to speak with her doctor to ensure she's on the proper medication. It does appear she cries or is anxious a lot. We don't always think there is a real reason, however to my MIL, it's very real. It's hard to understand the reason behind it, but speaking to her doctor is a start.

JJAz

My husband had crying as a symptom as well.  It was relieved with antidepressant medication.  Ask your doc

MN Chickadee

Crying seems to not be all that unusual. Between my mother's two facilities and the dozens I go into for volunteer work, I see a crier at most places. Sometimes even if they are in the middle of an activity they seem to be enjoying all of a sudden the crying starts up. I would consult her doctor first to ensure there are no infections or reasons for pain that she may not be able to communicate. Definitely rule out urinary tract infection, they are common and can be otherwise silent in a person with dementia (PWD) and only cause unusual behaviors. See what else the doctor can rule out (dental pain, constipation, sores, etc.) You might look into a medication to alleviate this if there is no physical cause. People take all kinds of things for dementia behaviors, from mild SSRIs to antisychotics. The mind can go haywire in a lot of ways with dementia and make them do uncharacteristic and odd things. Excessive crying, combativeness and violence, inappropriate sexual stuff, self harm, and more. Sometimes we have to use pharmaceutical interventions to improve quality of life. You might also try some validation techniques. She may be scared or anxious about her surroundings or not knowing what is going on and some different approaches to activities may help. Soothing music, you keeping things upbeat, telling her what you are doing around her or moving her to etc. It's all such a guessing game when they can't tell us what is wrong. The other symptoms you describe make it seem like she is late stage. You might consider having her evaluated for hospice. Their whole job is to help make the patient comfortable in every way possible. You may find they are helpful with making decisions on this issue and give her final months as much quality as possible.