Help

maddiemullen0

Hi everyone, I’m new here! I am coming on here seeking advice from anyone with experience. I live with my boyfriend, his mom, and his dad. Now the reason we still live at home is to help with his mom who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in 2016 when she was not even 50 years old. Obviously it has progressed severely since then and it’s at a point right now where sometimes I genuinely don’t know how to help. For example, she has recently become obsessed with being in front of all the mirrors and windows at the house where she can see her reflection and she thinks it’s another person and will start screaming at them. When we make her food, she won’t sit down and focus on the food and eat it. There is nothing we do that keeps her from going to the mirrors/windows and talking to herself, and now it’s gotten to a point where she will just talk when nothing is there. Doctors say it’s “just a part of it,” but we just want to find out a way to minimize it as every time we go to take her away from the mirrors she is visibly upset and stressed about these “conversations” and the “person in the mirror”

maddiemullen0

Also, my boyfriends dad works night shifts from 2am until 12pm, so he goes to bed at 7pm every night. We turn the tv on for her to watch while we sit out there and do whatever but it’s impossible to keep her from falling asleep too early. She wants to do everything with her husband when he is at home, even follow his sleep schedule. But we can’t have her on that sleep schedule because she will start screaming around 3am when me and my boyfriend who work later hours are sleeping. We turn on the tv to try and get her to lay back down and maybe fall asleep some more but she gets up again after 20 minutes. Does anyone else have a loved one do this and if so what different methods or approaches work??

JeriLynn66

There are medications that may help… does she have a physician with dementia expertise?

Anonymousjpl123

I wonder if there is someplace she could go for a few hours during the day: maybe an adult center where there are activities that wouldn’t be too taxing or upsetting.

maybe routine would help too - watching tv is great, but maybe also some other easy to handle puzzles, or music, just anything to calm her and distract her.

I also agree with Jerilynn - good solid doctors and Alzheimer’s care organizations can really help you think through the specifics. I’m so sorry you and your boyfriend are going through this but I’m very happy you found this site. You’ll get good advice from people who have been there.

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