Hi All,
Just wondered if any of you have had similar experiences or can share any advice.
I've mentioned this a few times before but dad is having increasing falls at the home. His eyesight has deteriorated over the last few years and it is quite likely that this is related to his dementia. However, the last few falls have been more dangerous and he is walking with his eyes closed all the time. This is happening increasingly at the home. He is still an avid wanderer and is still at is happiest (relative happiness) when wandering the corridors or garden at the home.
The carers have noticed that he now wanders with his eyes closed, particularly in the last month. It is miraculous that he does not fall more often and they say that he manages to find his way eyes closed. I've seen this on many visits - he can keep his eyes closed for the whole visit. His falls generally occur when he trips over a chair or another resident’s foot. These falls are getting more serious and I'm popping in to check him out after another fall today, he has a nasty knock to the head. It is only a matter of time before he really hurts himself.
My first reaction is to check his eyes again, but the GP did this last time and no sign of conjunctivitis or soreness. They do get dry as the heating is on high all day, but I'm beginning to think this is yet another evil sign of the progression of Alzheimers.
We cannot stop him walking; he is still strong and need this activity. Apart from that it calms him. He does open his eyes sometimes on strong verbal stimulation, bit this is not practical all the time.
It cannot be the medication. He has been off the quetiapine for exactly 4 weeks now, both the morning and evening dose. There is a possibility of course that the quetiapine has caused some permanent damage after using it for two years. But eliminating the drugs has definitely not been the holy Mecca we dreamed about.
I really don't want him to stop walking or to go back on another medication to stop him walking. He has spent long enough on drugs. However, these symptoms may cause a lot of suffering over the next few months.
So two specific questions if anyone has experiences please?
Kind Regards
Craig
Just wondered if any of you have had similar experiences or can share any advice.
I've mentioned this a few times before but dad is having increasing falls at the home. His eyesight has deteriorated over the last few years and it is quite likely that this is related to his dementia. However, the last few falls have been more dangerous and he is walking with his eyes closed all the time. This is happening increasingly at the home. He is still an avid wanderer and is still at is happiest (relative happiness) when wandering the corridors or garden at the home.
The carers have noticed that he now wanders with his eyes closed, particularly in the last month. It is miraculous that he does not fall more often and they say that he manages to find his way eyes closed. I've seen this on many visits - he can keep his eyes closed for the whole visit. His falls generally occur when he trips over a chair or another resident’s foot. These falls are getting more serious and I'm popping in to check him out after another fall today, he has a nasty knock to the head. It is only a matter of time before he really hurts himself.
My first reaction is to check his eyes again, but the GP did this last time and no sign of conjunctivitis or soreness. They do get dry as the heating is on high all day, but I'm beginning to think this is yet another evil sign of the progression of Alzheimers.
We cannot stop him walking; he is still strong and need this activity. Apart from that it calms him. He does open his eyes sometimes on strong verbal stimulation, bit this is not practical all the time.
It cannot be the medication. He has been off the quetiapine for exactly 4 weeks now, both the morning and evening dose. There is a possibility of course that the quetiapine has caused some permanent damage after using it for two years. But eliminating the drugs has definitely not been the holy Mecca we dreamed about.
I really don't want him to stop walking or to go back on another medication to stop him walking. He has spent long enough on drugs. However, these symptoms may cause a lot of suffering over the next few months.
So two specific questions if anyone has experiences please?
- How many of you have noticed these symptoms at the later stages? Keeping eyes closed all the time, particularly when walking or eating or carrying out other day to day activities?
- Has anyone found any treatment to help prevent or at least minimise this condition?
Kind Regards
Craig
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