Dad won’t sit still at all

[braddaaron]

Hi all

Dad, 76, FTD, cared for at home.

Had a frank discussion with mum who is full time carer, getting more difficult as the weeks go on. CH discussion had been had but that isn’t something we need to do right now .. But i feel like that is going to be incoming soon.

But in the present… Dad is now more mobile, spent 3 months in hospital and lost the ability to walk. Mum rehabbed him to walk again due to her rehab nursing job

Now here’s the kicker - Because mum has rehabbed dad to be able to walk again, he now won’t sit down for long at all. Gets a lot worse during “sundowning” time. Only issue is he isn’t 100% stable on his feet - the later in the day it gets the more wobbly he gets and the more dangerous he is to be left walking about if that makes sense?

Therefore evenings from 5-10pm are exhausting for us, Dad won’t sit on the sofa for literally more than 5 minutes, won’t get on his bed and lie still, for more than 5 minutes. He constantly gets up, and walks about, but as mentioned before due to his unsteady ness later in the day it’s becoming an issue as we physically have to follow him around the room.

gone are the days of watching soaps and tv !

we try to get him to sit on his bed (bed in lounge) and he will either stand up, try and roll off the bed, or climb out the end - we then have to put hands on him to prevent a fall, which can cause aggressive outbursts - He was swung for mum a few times when she’s had to physically lift his legs up to prevent him from doggy crawling off the edge of the bed.

We don’t know what to do, we have had the CH discussion, and it’s something we will need to think about, but for the time being we are unsure what to do

Doctors have gave us 2mg of diazepam for “emergencies” - if he really is “wired” or he is not sleeping at night (currently not an issue) we are trying to avoid this though unless absolutely needed.

We have tried lavender oil, diffusers, calming music, and nothing seems to work now.

Any idea of what can help?

 

[Knitandpurl]

Does he have/would he use a walker (the 3 wheeler ones don’t take up a lot of room), might allow him to do his wondering with less risk of falling. Also maybe now it’s getting lighter you could try taking him out for a walk after his tea/supoer/dinner, maybe might help tire him out a bit. These are suggestions only luckily for me I haven’t had this problem with OH🤞

 

[Pacucho]

Hi,

I would encourage you to seek a referral back to the memory clinic to see what more they can do in terms of medication. When I cared for my late mum this was something I resisted, but I now realise medication may help in terms of seeking for you and your parents to have an overall better quality of life. It is about seeking the right balance.

The memory clinic staff have the experience of knowing what medication may help to calm your dad down in such circumstances.
Hope this helps,

paco

 

[Tired Teacher]

Hi all

Dad, 76, FTD, cared for at home.

Had a frank discussion with mum who is full time carer, getting more difficult as the weeks go on. CH discussion had been had but that isn’t something we need to do right now .. But i feel like that is going to be incoming soon.

But in the present… Dad is now more mobile, spent 3 months in hospital and lost the ability to walk. Mum rehabbed him to walk again due to her rehab nursing job

Now here’s the kicker - Because mum has rehabbed dad to be able to walk again, he now won’t sit down for long at all. Gets a lot worse during “sundowning” time. Only issue is he isn’t 100% stable on his feet - the later in the day it gets the more wobbly he gets and the more dangerous he is to be left walking about if that makes sense?

Therefore evenings from 5-10pm are exhausting for us, Dad won’t sit on the sofa for literally more than 5 minutes, won’t get on his bed and lie still, for more than 5 minutes. He constantly gets up, and walks about, but as mentioned before due to his unsteady ness later in the day it’s becoming an issue as we physically have to follow him around the room.

gone are the days of watching soaps and tv !

we try to get him to sit on his bed (bed in lounge) and he will either stand up, try and roll off the bed, or climb out the end - we then have to put hands on him to prevent a fall, which can cause aggressive outbursts - He was swung for mum a few times when she’s had to physically lift his legs up to prevent him from doggy crawling off the edge of the bed.

We don’t know what to do, we have had the CH discussion, and it’s something we will need to think about, but for the time being we are unsure what to do

Doctors have gave us 2mg of diazepam for “emergencies” - if he really is “wired” or he is not sleeping at night (currently not an issue) we are trying to avoid this though unless absolutely needed.

We have tried lavender oil, diffusers, calming music, and nothing seems to work now.

Any idea of what can help?

 

[Tired Teacher]

My dad is very similar to this in the evenings and the CH have suggested getting him a sensory light that projects onto the ceiling. This is the one I just bought. I haven't tried it with dad yet as just arrived, but it works really well when i tried it at home and has different colours, effects and sounds. I don't know if it will work but not too expensive and I'll give anything a go to give Dad some peace. Hope it helps x

 

[LewyDementiaCarer]

Hi all

Dad, 76, FTD, cared for at home.

Had a frank discussion with mum who is full time carer, getting more difficult as the weeks go on. CH discussion had been had but that isn’t something we need to do right now .. But i feel like that is going to be incoming soon.

But in the present… Dad is now more mobile, spent 3 months in hospital and lost the ability to walk. Mum rehabbed him to walk again due to her rehab nursing job

Now here’s the kicker - Because mum has rehabbed dad to be able to walk again, he now won’t sit down for long at all. Gets a lot worse during “sundowning” time. Only issue is he isn’t 100% stable on his feet - the later in the day it gets the more wobbly he gets and the more dangerous he is to be left walking about if that makes sense?

Therefore evenings from 5-10pm are exhausting for us, Dad won’t sit on the sofa for literally more than 5 minutes, won’t get on his bed and lie still, for more than 5 minutes. He constantly gets up, and walks about, but as mentioned before due to his unsteady ness later in the day it’s becoming an issue as we physically have to follow him around the room.

gone are the days of watching soaps and tv !

we try to get him to sit on his bed (bed in lounge) and he will either stand up, try and roll off the bed, or climb out the end - we then have to put hands on him to prevent a fall, which can cause aggressive outbursts - He was swung for mum a few times when she’s had to physically lift his legs up to prevent him from doggy crawling off the edge of the bed.

We don’t know what to do, we have had the CH discussion, and it’s something we will need to think about, but for the time being we are unsure what to do

Doctors have gave us 2mg of diazepam for “emergencies” - if he really is “wired” or he is not sleeping at night (currently not an issue) we are trying to avoid this though unless absolutely needed.

We have tried lavender oil, diffusers, calming music, and nothing seems to work now.

Any idea of what can help?

Hi, just an idea here, but you said his bed is in the lounge... Do you have a nice wind-down bedtime routine in place? I ask because I've found that much like some children, it can really help to get them into a solid bedtime routine. Something like a light supper, followed by a warm wash, change & lotion, brushing teeth (dim the lights during this period) and turn off any stimuli like the TV or radio, then get them all comfy and warm, all whilst gently lowering your voice when talking and try to not have other people in the room when it's getting near his time to sleep, we used a colored nightlight too for relaxation.

It's not a a fail-safe, but it's important to remember that cluttered rooms, highly patterned fabrics, audio/noises & flickering or bright lights like the TV may be not only causing too much stimulation for him to relax & sleep, but they can cause confusion & even hallucinations especially in the evenings when sundowning kicks in.