A Parent With Alzheimer’s Often Needs More Care Than You’d Imagine

An estimated 6.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. This number keeps increasing, and medications may help slow the progression of the symptoms, but the disease has no cure. Families are often caught unaware of just how much care someone with Alzheimer’s requires.

Constant Dealings With Incontinence

Incontinence is common in the mid to late stages of Alzheimer’s. Your mom starts having accidents and tries to hide them from you. She may start flushing her soiled underwear to keep you from finding it.

If she starts having accidents at night, it’s not surprising to find yourself having to get up, change the sheets, and clean your mom up multiple times per night. As you start losing sleep, you find yourself becoming short-tempered with others or too tired the next day to function.

Inability to Communicate

In the mid stages of Alzheimer’s, speaking skills and comprehension change. Your mom may not say anything you can understand, and she might just make loud growls or sudden sounds in place of words. She’s also going to struggle to understand things you tell her if you don’t stick to simple two or three-word sentences.

Motion Sickness

As Alzheimer’s progresses, taking your mom out shopping or to appointments is a challenge if she goes through the stage where being in the car causes motion sickness. You’ll barely get down the road before she’s saying she’s dizzy and is going to be sick.

It’s hard to run errands or take her to appointments when you reach this point. Having a second person to help during trips is essential.

Sudden Bursts of Anger or Rage

One of the most alarming aspects of Alzheimer’s is the moment of rage that suddenly appears. You’re talking to your mom about what she wants to eat, and she gets extremely angry and slaps or hits you. It’s jarring and can really impact your mental health.

You might be driving down the road and have her start yelling at you that there’s a man sitting on your steering wheel. When you tell her there isn’t, she gets mad with you for not seeing it. Paranoia and delusions happen, and you have to be prepared for them.

Support Your Family By Arranging Alzheimer’s Care

If your family is finding it impossible to provide everything your mom needs throughout the day and night, you cannot put her mental, emotional, or physical health at risk. You also must take care of your own self-care needs as it’s often exhausting experiencing your mom’s mood swings all day every day. Arrange Alzheimer’s care services to ensure your family and your mom are supported.

Alzheimer’s care aides help with meals and feeding, grooming and hygiene, and cueing and redirection. Talk to a specialist in Alzheimer’s care to make the arrangements your mom needs.

Sources:

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures

If you or an aging loved one is considering Alzheimer’s care in Lodi, CA, please contact the caring staff at Provident Care Home Care today at (209) 578-1210.