Late night phone calls
Hi there,
My mom is 4 years in to her diagnosis of dementia now and getting a little worse as time goes on.
At this stage she doesn't remember what she did an hour ago. Doesn't know where she's been, who she has seen, even where she lives..
She is living in her own home about 2 miles away but she stays with my family and I until bed time when I drive her back.
We quite often get phone calls now at any time of night, telling us where she is, asking if there is anyone else who lives with her, if she can stay there.
My husband and I made up some leaflets, her photo on the back, pictures of the house inside and wrote down the answers to the questions she asked most - her address, how long she has been there, her usual daily routine etc. We left one of these next to each phone, on her mantle and in her handbag. They have worked really well. The haven't stopped every call but now on the odd occasion that she calls we can direct her to the leaflet, she reads it and it settles her. I don't know if that would work for you? We also got a large clock with the date on it. She cant read 24 hour digital clocks any more so we had to get the old fashioned type.
I got an electronic pill dispenser from Amazon which will give her medications at a set time and is lockable so she cant take too many. They can be set to go off up to 4 times a day and they really do work well. Mom doesn't even realise she is taking her meds now, she is just so used to hearing the alarm and seeing the flashing light. She goes over and takes her tablets with no problem. Before that she would give out about the amount of medication she was on. We got a dispenser with a solid lid so she cant see all the tablets at once.
I hope some of those ideas help for you. My girls drew a nice canvas with a family tree on and her home in the middle too. I guess just surrounding her with the answers to the questions is what helps for us - it doesn't stop the calls/questions but it reduced them hugely.
I would consider keeping a diary as well - just so she knows who she has seen and what she has done that day.