Need alarm help or tips. DH gets up & goes into the closet instead of bathroom

SDianeL

any tips on how to keep my DH from going into the closet instead of going to the bathroom? He's done it 4 times. He says he "gets lost" but it's almost like he's sleep walking. The 4 episodes have been in the last few months. So far he has made enough noise it woke me up and I redirected him, but afraid I won't make it in time if I'm sleeping soundly. I've looked for alarms and alarm pads but it's overwhelming. I don't want the alarm to be too loud as we live in an apartment.

M1

Diane, can you lock the closet? Many folks say that a simple slide bolt lock placed above eye level might work here, as PWD don't look up. I realize that in an apartment there might be restrictions on adding hardware but this is one where it might be better to ask forgiveness than permission. Your landlords won't be happy if he pees in the closet either....

Cosmic

We have little LED night lights plugged into sockets around the house. They are automatic, turn on at night and off during daylight hours. Usually bathrooms have plug outlets somewhere around a sink or counter. put one of those lights there and at night it will illuminate the entire room with a dim glow. will make it easy to find the room. The lights are sold everywhere, wallyworld. hardware stores, even in some grocery stores where they have lightbulbs.

harshedbuzz

Are you in the same room over night? My friend had a bedside alarm pad the alerted her iPhone. I'm not sure if the alert went to her Apple Watch. Mom's bedroom was downstairs and the rest upstairs, so it worked best when she and her son split the night and we in the nearby family room or office.

I would do that, plus a lock of some kind. Since you're in an apartment, you might not want to drill into a door. There are slide-on handle grips that would slow him down for a regular doorknob. For bi-folds there are stops that slide on the top of the doors or even a ribbon tying the knobs together can work.

HB

Lola V

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/66038/need-alarm-help-or-tips-dh-gets-up-goes-into-the-closet-instead-of-bathroom

I’ve had to start leaving the lights on in the hallway, with the bedroom door open, and the bathroom light stays on as well. DH got lost one night going to the bathroom and fell head first down the stairs. He refuses to move downstairs, for now, but hasn’t gotten lost since I’ve kept the lights on, saying he “follows the light trail.”

MN Chickadee

There are door stop style alarms that would trigger if he cracked the closet door, this would alert you he was up to direct him to the bathroom. But for silent options I would start with "babyproofing" products that may prevent him from opening the closet such as handle covers. You will have to find ways to shut him out of problem areas so the bathroom is the only thing available but even then he will likely need supervision in the toilet soon.

Howaboutnow

I’ve used these successfully to keep DH from opening doors

Improved Childproof Door Lever Lock (6 Pack) Prevents Toddlers from Opening Doors. Easy One Hand Operation for Adults. Durable ABS with 3M Adhesive Backing. Simple Install (White, 6-Pack) https://a.co/d/0Cexmkk

I used 3M command strips, instead of the adhesive strips that come with the lever locks, to adhere them to the door so i can easily remove all the adhesive at some point when i don’t need them anymore-so nothing is permanent.

Night-time pee accidents are not uncommon. I keep the bathroom on bright for DH, toilet seat up, move furniture in bedroom to “guide” him in right direction and to keep him from wandering to another spot to go 😏

JMack88

With my father, we tried a bed alarm that was a pad which went under the sheets and alerted us if he tried to get out of bed. It really didn't work well for us.

This time, with my mother, we bought this https://a.co/d/6vWRGkr and it's working much better to make us aware that she's trying to get out of bed now that she's a high fall risk and one of us needs to help her walk. We use it in conjunction with this baby monitor which has a camera so we can see what is happening if we aren't in the room. https://a.co/d/dYSFjLg The combination of these two devices seems to be working for us. Mom has a habit of being absolutely silent when she moves around so the baby monitors that just do audio weren't helpful. She also doesn't "want to bother us" by waking us up at night and thinks she can do everything she's always done, so we had to do something.

The only drawback to the bed alarm is that the receiver is quite loud even on the lowest setting. It also sets off what my sister described as "disco lights" in Mom's bedroom when it goes off. LOL! At least that makes her pause long enough for my sister or me to get there to help her.

gampiano

I just ordered new door hardware, and the closet in the bedroom will lock and can only be opened with a key. My husband is tall, and still mechanically clever, so the bar or chain won't work in our situation. Im also installing thsese door sets on 2 spare bedrooms, which he wanders into and does all kinds of mischief and messing.

Wayfair was having a sale on this stuff and theyr'e actually really nice looking.

Exhausted from all this problem solving, and waiting for the next shoe to drop,

Maureen

SDianeL

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/180114#Comment_180114

thanks! I do have a couple of those in the bathroom and we leave a light on in the hallway but he closes the bedroom door and it's dark in the bedroom. I put one in the closet thinking it would get his attention but it didn't help. Going to put one in the bedroom too.

SDianeL

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/180187#Comment_180187

thanks! These might work with the command strips.