obssesive behaviour

[tuffydawn]

my oh is obsessed with filling up the car with petrol we go a few miles and then he panics we need to fill up! stock piling loo rolls etc i have to let him fill car up , get the loo rolls etc or else he gets so agitated anyone else had this

 

[love.dad.but..]

Not had petrol dad used to do a circuit of the house day and most of the night so many times checking out of the window his car was still there, doors and windows also a fixation during that phase as he thought people were getting in....600 people in his bedroom one night! At 3am!

 

[jugglingmum]

When I cleared my mum's house there was so much loo roll, we put it in the bath to be able to see where we were up to, it more than filled it

 

[Linbrusco]

My Mum was another one with loo rolls. She has been in care since July 2016 and my Dad only had to buy a packet 5 months later.
Her obsession now is tissues and serviettes. At the care home they will be stuffed in all her pockets, in her sleeve, all in her drawers, under her pillow, pulled out the box refolded and shoved back in the box.

 

[canary]

Mum stock piled loo rolls, tissues, soap, facial cleanser, moisturiser, shower gel and shampoo. Not that she used any of this lot (apart from the tissues) you understand
3 years into a CH, Ive only just had to start buying her toiletries!

 

[Mammamu]

So not just my FIL! He use to come home from day centre with pens (for my kids!) boxes of disposable gloves,napkins,newspaper and random stuff he firmly believed belonged to him.... It used to upset his wife,but after a few times we just put everything in a bag & returned it to the day centre.


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[Malalie]

MIL was obsessive about having Loo Rolls, Washing powder, Cleaning products etc in abundance even before we realised she had alzheimer's. The shelf in her garage was like going down the Cleaning Isle in the Co Op, with things stacked neatly (row of Fairy, Row of Persil, Row of Jif........maybe we should have realised sooner........ We thought this unusual behaviour was due to being brought up in the war, and living through rationing. Maybe it was... ( She has been unable to shop for herself for about 14 months, and I STILL haven't had to buy any cleaning products!)

Anyway, Tuffy, I think that obsessional behaviour seems to be quite common looking at these boards, and my MIL certainly has new obsessions now. Whilst the obsessions are harmless, I just go along with it- when they become dangerous to our loved ones, or to other people, I think you need to step in. It's VERY hard to try and not be irritated by it, and certainly more so in your position as his wife.

(I'm not sure that I should actually comment or advise you on your situation - it must be a whole different ball game when its your OH who is suffering and not an elderly relative, and I don't know what thats like....thankfully.) Just want to be supportive, but I know it's not the same.
XX

 

[Jean1234]

My Mum was another one with loo rolls. She has been in care since July 2016 and my Dad only had to buy a packet 5 months later.
Her obsession now is tissues and serviettes. At the care home they will be stuffed in all her pockets, in her sleeve, all in her drawers, under her pillow, pulled out the box refolded and shoved back in the box.

Now I understand it's not just him. My OH take pieces of loo paper off the loo roll and folds them up into small squares and put them in his pocket, tucked into his bedside drawer, under his pillow in fact in numerous other places along with tissues out of the tissue box. I am forever finding large piles of them all over the house and I was wondering how come we were getting through so many loo rolls. Lol

 

[Andrew_McP]

My OH take pieces of loo paper off the loo roll and folds them up into small squares and put them in his pocket, tucked into his bedside drawer, under his pillow in fact in numerous other places along with tissues out of the tissue box.

I'm pleased (well, sort of) to see that my mother's not the only one with a tissue fetish. Boxes are meticulously unpacked into stacks and then used to either stuff her handbag, wrap household items with plenty of sellotape, or just thrown in the bin!

I used to be a borderline hoarder, I hated waste so much, but my mother is teaching me to be a bit less retentive. However I have been known to rescue piles of tissue and repack them into boxes. It helps keep her amused and the bills down.

Mum does the same kind of thing with loo roll if she runs out of tissues or gets bored in the bathroom. Re-rolling that can have a hint of Russian roulette about it, as sometimes there's a used sheet concealed in the heap.

There's never a dull moment with dementia! More's the pity.

 

[jugglingmum]

ON top of loo roll, my mum did have a large quantity of boxes of tissues, and kitchen towel, and carrier bag after carrier bag of Holland and Barrett purchases, receipts in bags were in excess of £100 a time.

She now does collect serviettes from lunch and has a few small piles in her flat.

And as for switching things off, when crisis hit and we realised she had dementia, she had had the electricity turned off for at least 18 months we think, so no heating and no fridge in that time, not sure how she survived, and the first winter in her flat (she moved in in March) didn't like turning the lights on, and still turns the radiators off 3 years later.

 

[rhubarbtree]

Poor you Tuffydawn. I hate getting petrol (another chore I have had to take over). My OH was good at keeping an eye on the level whereas I have run out twice much to my embarassment. I am also noticing bits of tissue around the house so perhaps paper hording is to come. At the beginning of this dementia journey OH was fixated on shaving cream, shampoo etc. Would rush off to the chemist (highest price) to get one item which could have waited until supermarket day. I now buy his favourites when they are on offer so he can see he has plenty.

 

[TinaT]

My husband was also obsessed with petrol for the car. So much so that he started fighting with me whilst I was driving along a busy stretch of motorway alone with him, .

Sadly obsessive behaviour is a part of some dementia as another poster has stated

xxTinaT

 

[Mandyo]

My mother (85)has vascular dementia and Alzheimer's , constantly has hoards of tissues too - under pillows , cushions , pockets , bags - not all clean ones either Seems to be a common thing x

 

[Ihtl]

My dad was obsessed with money, or rather the idea that he never had enough of it. He thought he could barely afford food shopping, a moderately priced winter coat, to fill up petrol etc. In reality, he had a good income and was fairly comfortable financially.

 

[Penmon79]

My M-in-L 'makes things safe'; mostly the toilet - don't ask! Spends anything from half an hour to 4 or 5 hours doing it! Middle of the day, middle of the night, anytime in fact.
We tend to leave her to it. But we still find it weird and a bit unnerving. Good thing that we've got more than one loo eh?!

 

[NatB123]

My Nan likes to collect and turn things off too!

We are currently collecting:
- Very neatly folded napkins/kitchen roll/toilet paper which like other posters on this thread is found all over the house.
- Teddies. Before dementia she was never one for teddies or any other clutter, but now....well the more dirty and disgusting the teddy the better she has a collection starting in her living room that she gets from the charity shops. I suppose at least it makes buying presents easy, her eyes light up when you take her a new teddy! She's also started buying ornaments from charity shops, but really awful ones she would have never have had in her house before, including a glass bell with a MASSIVE chip out of it!!
- Biscuits and Cakes, she has hundreds, and I mean hundreds. Every now and again when she goes out with her boyfriend I have to go round and take bin liners at a time out and hand them out to people. They are in her breadbin, a whole shelf in her pantry. She has now removed the plates from 2 shelves in the cupboard and started filling those with cakes and biscuits too!

She is also another one that likes to turn the heating off. I haven't a clue why or how she even worked out how to do it but she did! I thought I'd finally managed to stop her from turning it off as I must have gone at least 6 weeks without the carers telling me it was too cold in her house....then on Saturday I received the text, her house is too cold and we cant work out why and she isn't sure either by the time I went up there to sort it out it was lovely and warm again I always try to see the funny side, she knows how to turn it off and when no one is there back on too but when the carers ask her she hasn't a clue what they're talking about!

 

[NatB123]

Watch out for mice in the biscuit, cake sweet and nut stash. Had to throw all my mums stash out late 2015 and clean all the drawers out and set traps....

Ooooh, I hadn't even thought about something like that. I just kept checking the dates on things and anything that was almost out of date I would take and distribute amongst friends, family, take to work for people etc.
I think I may just have to go and check now....she has a pet bird and the seed is kept on the floor in her pantry that will be tomorrow nights job....tonight I am meeting with the old care company with whom I put in a formal complaint.
Thanks for the heads up that's what I love so much about this forum, there's always someone who has had a similar experience and can tell you something you hadn't even considered.