Constant questions

Chris20cm · July 15

DW is in stage 6 of Alzheimer's. She is a question machine, and not just with me, with anyone and everyone. It gets frustrating, especially because of the repetition, her asking the same question over and over, unaware that she has already asked numerous times. Her short term memory is totally gone. I do believe her questions are a tactic to divert attention away from herself, because she has enough awareness to know that her responses to others' questions don't make sense. It must be painful for her, to be aware of her cognitive decline while being helpless to fix it.

harshedbuzz · July 15

@Chris20cm

It's really hard to say. Sometimes I think dad's repetitive questions were the result of anxiety and more of a tactic to connect as his conversational skills were iffy at best. He could tell stories, but not so much the give and take of actual conversation.

While dad did a sense that he wasn't as sharp as he was and would admit to it, his anosognosia spared him from understanding the magnitude of his impairment. This was hard for us, but I was happy he was kind of oblivious.

YMMV.
HB

charley0419 · July 15

ladyzetta · July 15

Chris. I'm sorry your having to deal with this. This is something I think we all have had to deal with. My DH had dementia so I know what you mean. I tried my best to forgive him for things he had no control of. And by doing this I felt less stress. Take care of yourself. Hugs Zetta

SDianeL · July 16

Yes, repetitive questioning is very common in dementia. I doubt if it’s a tactic because that would indicate an ability to reason and plan and she probably no longer has the ability to do that. Her reasoner is broken. This explains better than I could: Repetitive questioning is a common behavior in individuals with dementia, often stemming from memory loss and anxiety. It's crucial for caregivers to respond with patience and understanding, using strategies like distraction, visual cues, and reassurance. Accepting this behavior as part of the disease and focusing on alleviating anxiety can help manage the frustration.

l7pla1w2 · July 17

I agree with @SDianeL that the repetitive questions are probably because she truly doesn't remember asking the question, or forgets the answer (immediately) and has to ask again.

I found that the worst part about the repetitive questions was that I couldn't focus on anything, because the questions were a constant source of interruptions. After awhile the answers become almost rehearsed (and repetitive!), but that doesn't solve the interruption problem.

Constant questions

Comments

Commonly Used Abbreviations

Community Guidelines

Categories