My mam has quite advanced mixed dementia. She couldn't cope at home, breaking vases, mirrors, chairs,coffee tables and finally a small window, and constantly shouting slamming doors and crying( her neighbours even put a noise complaint in to the council!).Even with her care package we realised she would be safer in a care home. Within hours of being there she became aggressive, and the ch had her sectioned for assessment on her first day! She was in the assessment unit 8 weeks. While in the hospital she displayed tendencies to grab at people,get in their faces,and sometimes hit out if she was angry or upset, but they said this was in part due to the pyschiactric hospital environment and she would do better in a nursing home.
4 weeks ago we moved her to specialist dementia nursing home, which seems really good. It's on the ground floor,so everybody has access to a lovely secured garden. The staff are great, and we are really happy with it. For the first 3 weeks, mam was really happy, laughing and dancing all the time and it couldn't have gone better( although she had a few outbursts, the staff siad it was fine, and they were able to cope with them and calm her down). The staff love her and said she is a joy to have around. She walks round with the staff ' helping' them to do their cleaning etc,keeping busy and loves doing this. She is very active physically, though she is in her own world now, and understands very little of the world around her.
My brother had a meeting with the ch a few days ago, and they said however,she has started hitting out at people again, and has started crying a lot now.They have her on 10 minute watch, every ten minutes somebody will find her(she spends all day walking round, and doesn't sit still!) and check on her to see how she is.They said she is so active she is in danger of falling.(she sometimes walks very fast and we do have to slow her down to stop tumbling sometimes) and they said she is not sleeping which they are worried is making her ill (before she went into hospital she hardly slept, and this is continuing). They said when she hits people they are obliged to tell that person's family,(which I completely understand) and are looking at her meds to see if they can help settle her a bit, as if it does continue it could become a problem if she continues to go for people.
We had difficulties finding somewhere for her in the first place, due to her aggressive tendencies I believe, and I am really worried that the nursing home she is in will ask her to leave if they can't calm her. We really believe this place is good for her, and she does seem to love it there.
When my brother went to visit last, she was sobbing her heart out( a member of staff was there trying to calm her) and said ' oh my eldest son is dead' he said 'no mam, I'm here' and she said 'ooh are you? '. then she said ' my only daughter is dead'( that's me) to which he said' no, she's doing fine mam' etc and she said ' oh thank god!' He managed to get her happy and laughing again, but I'm so upset by this change in mood, and it just breaks my heart to think of her crying again,after seeing her so happy, and it worries me that she is being aggressive again.
They also said she has defecated in somebodies room during the night twice,the door sensors alarmed the staff, and they think it was just due to confusion about where the bathroom was, but this too is such a shock to me.Although my brother said the staff didn't seem phased by it.
Sorry for my long post but this illness is cruel and devastating, and sometimes I just need to get it all out of my head(hence the long post)
4 weeks ago we moved her to specialist dementia nursing home, which seems really good. It's on the ground floor,so everybody has access to a lovely secured garden. The staff are great, and we are really happy with it. For the first 3 weeks, mam was really happy, laughing and dancing all the time and it couldn't have gone better( although she had a few outbursts, the staff siad it was fine, and they were able to cope with them and calm her down). The staff love her and said she is a joy to have around. She walks round with the staff ' helping' them to do their cleaning etc,keeping busy and loves doing this. She is very active physically, though she is in her own world now, and understands very little of the world around her.
My brother had a meeting with the ch a few days ago, and they said however,she has started hitting out at people again, and has started crying a lot now.They have her on 10 minute watch, every ten minutes somebody will find her(she spends all day walking round, and doesn't sit still!) and check on her to see how she is.They said she is so active she is in danger of falling.(she sometimes walks very fast and we do have to slow her down to stop tumbling sometimes) and they said she is not sleeping which they are worried is making her ill (before she went into hospital she hardly slept, and this is continuing). They said when she hits people they are obliged to tell that person's family,(which I completely understand) and are looking at her meds to see if they can help settle her a bit, as if it does continue it could become a problem if she continues to go for people.
We had difficulties finding somewhere for her in the first place, due to her aggressive tendencies I believe, and I am really worried that the nursing home she is in will ask her to leave if they can't calm her. We really believe this place is good for her, and she does seem to love it there.
When my brother went to visit last, she was sobbing her heart out( a member of staff was there trying to calm her) and said ' oh my eldest son is dead' he said 'no mam, I'm here' and she said 'ooh are you? '. then she said ' my only daughter is dead'( that's me) to which he said' no, she's doing fine mam' etc and she said ' oh thank god!' He managed to get her happy and laughing again, but I'm so upset by this change in mood, and it just breaks my heart to think of her crying again,after seeing her so happy, and it worries me that she is being aggressive again.
They also said she has defecated in somebodies room during the night twice,the door sensors alarmed the staff, and they think it was just due to confusion about where the bathroom was, but this too is such a shock to me.Although my brother said the staff didn't seem phased by it.
Sorry for my long post but this illness is cruel and devastating, and sometimes I just need to get it all out of my head(hence the long post)