Shivering and shaking

@ButterflyWings

My dad had this symptom. For him it was actually evident in the early middle stages and characteristic of his alcohol-related dementia which impacted the part of the brain that regulates temperature fairly early on. In people with Alzheimer's this can also happen, but it's typically more of a late stage symptom and may be complicated by significant weight loss. I can recall times when dad would wake on a warm muggy July day in coastal MD and crank the heat up to 85F— at 75F he would start to shiver. At the time, I put this down to wanting to avoid my visits and scrutiny. This was also around the time he started to decamp to his winter digs in FL the day after Halloween instead of having Christmas with family in PA.

We managed with blankets and throws— down was especially nice because it's light. He liked to wear fleece vests year-round. Sometimes we supplemented with a small space heater.

HB

@ButterflyWings my husband has that for short periods sometimes, but more like just shakiness rather than trembling. Covering him up, even if the room is warm seems to help. It lasts maybe an hour or so. Temperature is always normal. Sitting next to him and holding his hand seems to help. Sometimes I think it might be fear?
He has become extremely shaky and having extreme difficulty walking in the past couple days, to the point where I’m afraid he may become bed bound. He barely talks, not even whispers anymore, so hard to tell. He’s been eating pretty well with my hand feeding, but takes about 2 hours to get a meal into him. Problems with teeth here too.
He’s not on Hospice yet because I’m afraid they would change the Risperidone, which is the one thing that seems to help. I desperately need to talk to someone who has experience with caring for a LO at home.

Go to the “Groups” Section. A topic was recently started “Caring at home for late stage Alzheimer’s and Dementia.” I check that group often because I am hoping and praying I’ll be able to care for my DH at home (with hospice help). Any questions would be appreciated so we can all learn from these conversations.