help(19)

buckeyenut

So, does anyone have experience with Terminal Agitation? This term was brought to my attention yesterday by my dad's medical team. I've read a couple of articles and they describe my dad so accurately. 

This is him the past month..he weighs less than 97lbs, he's on hospise care, wheelchair bound but forgets and tries to walk but falls, wears a depends because he forgets sometimes he has to pee or he pees in the trash can!

He doesn't stop wheeling up and down the hallways, bumping into things, cussing like a fool. He yells "come on homerun" and off to rolling he goes. His arms are a mess because his skin is so thin and he simply doesn't care what he runs into. 

Sometimes he is non-responsive then like the enertgizer bunny he's up driving his car! It's all day long! I spent two and half hours following him around playing ball today, he stops and falls asleep wherever he's at! 

He mumbles, nothing makes sense, he doesn't know any of us..and talks to all of our decessed family members. Theres so much more I can describe about him..the list goes on and on... 

Are any of you going through this?? or have gone through this?? 

DEMENTIA SUCKS!! 

Hzwife

I believe my Dad experienced terminal agitation. His personality would change from gentle to angry and abusive at 4pm. He started hitting my Mom. Mom was begging for help and they wouldn't put him on hospice. We ended up taking him to the ER and asking for him to be evaluated in the Acute Care for Elders unit. I asked if this was terminal agitation but I never got a clear answer.

 He was able to be medicated and we were trying to get him into memory care but he passed while he was waiting for placement. 

His stay at the ACE unit was almost a month. 

I'm so sorry you are going through this. There is medication that will help calm him.