Eyes closed even whilst awake...

[Chaucer 1931]

I'm still fairly new here,I live with and care for my mum,who has long been showing symptoms of AD,but has only recently been diagnosed and labelled at the 'moderate severe' stage,what ever that may be,I'm aware that symptoms do overlap and I follow each new set of symptoms as they are,not knowing or stressing too much on the where she is on the scale as everyone is different in respects of how this affects them..
My mum is in hospital and should be coming home soon,she is medically fit,no medication although prone to TIA,s,she just needs some mobility exercises with the Hosp physiotherapist.
I have decided after visiting and looking at local care homes that my mum and I would both be better off if she were to remain at home,at least for the time being.i have cared for her for the past 9 years since my dad died,and I can tally some of his last few months with some of the symptoms my mum is showing now..
Even when she is awake,she will keep her eyes closed,whilst talking,she is half blind,and has always relied on her remaining eye to get her through. I have had to tell her to open her eyes and look at me,when she is talking-even if I make no sense of what she is talking about,I let her and she does go back to closing them-cries a little and them carries on talking to me..
This has been the case for the past few days in hospital,and when she was at home,she mostly slept throughout the day..catnapping,half an hour here and there's sleep..
What I guess I'm asking is,is talking with eyes closed a common thing?
I have asked her if she was in pain etc,and she told me no,so I'm just wondering what this phase is?
All replies welcomed please,and thank you for reading my query thread.

 

[bluebell1]

Hi there - it seems there is no end to how this terrible disease presents itself, every time I am on this forum there are more and more strange behaviours it is just heartbreaking. My wee Dad is about to be discharged from a dementia ward (5 months in hospital after found wandering in early hours of the morning) we are in the process of trying to find a care home with dementia nursing. I am sorry I can't help with your situation but I am sure someone here will have been in your situation and I hope you get some help - this isn't easy for anyone. Take care.

 

[Katrine]

My mum also has the habit of closing her eyes to tune everything out but of course she is also then more likely to fall asleep. I think this can be a way of blocking out stimulus that is too overwhelming. Perhaps she cannot concentrate on what she wants to say if she has to do visual processing at the same time. Have you tried holding her hand or touching her arm gently? If she has been visually impaired for some time she may not find it easy to read your expression and prefers not to try when the face in front of her may only appear as a fuzzy blob!

 

[LYN T]

My Husband closes his eyes even when he is awake. He even does it when he's being fed. Sorry don't know why. Gently stroking hands/arms are good-I like to think Pete finds it a comfort, but I'm not even sure about that any more

take care

Lyn T

 

[lilysmybabypup]

I believe that since the brain is responsible for the control of so many actions within the body, in later stage there may be sensory losses. If someone is vision impaired their eyesight may be rather skewed and unsettling, so keeping their eyes closed may help to block out the confusion, allowing them to concentrate better on other things, such as talking or eating.

My father had Alzheimer's and was also virtually blind. I noticed in the later stage his weakest eye was almost closed all the time. He also had periods of deep sleep and we would try to wake him and he would answer us and eat a bit of food, but keep his eyes closed as though still sound asleep.

I wish you well with sorting your home care situation out.

 

[Chaucer 1931]

Thank you everyone who replied,I wanted to reply back individually,but I have just got back home from the hospital,again mum has just sat there with eyes shut,but I do hold and stroke her hand when talking to her,she likes that and sometimes she gives a grip that makes me think she's still 'there' strong as she used to be!
I think it does seem like she could be closing her eyes to focus or process her thoughts on other things,maybe sifting through the fog in her head,like light daydreaming,or even if the daylight is affecting her eyesight,I know Sadly,I won't get an explanation from her.
A lot of delusions,things that she thinks has happened she sometimes calls dreams,this can be when she's awake and talking to me,I've not corrected her,but a few times I've told her I didn't know what she was talking about.. She would say,'am I dreaming again-or it feels like a dream?' So yes,perhaps her keeping her eyes closed is to connect with what's going through her mind..
Thanks again for your replies,I'm going to get the kettle on and I'm off to dreamland for a little while hopefully!

X

 

[tijerasmom]

Closing eyes

I am so glad I came here and read this. I am new to this site, but I was searching to try and find out if closing one's eyes while awake was common with Alzheimer's, and now I see that it is.
My mom was recently hospitalized for the first time, although she has had AD for about 10 years. She had a urinary tract infection and was dehydrated. Getting her to eat has been a challenge. She can physically handle the fork. Her coordination with it is fair. But when she brings the food to her mouth, she closes her eyes. The food often does not make it to her mouth as a result. I tell her to open her eyes when she eats, yet she does this with every single bite. I found out from my brother that my father did this in the last months of his life, too. I could not figure out why.
Any suggestions, other than constant prompting with every single bite?

 

[Oxy]

c is partially sighted and also often has eyes closed. Watches TV with eyes closed and listens to daisy book with closed eyes as if asleep but isn't. On a good day when engaged in something eyes are open. I think it's a mixture of eyes needing a rest and brain needing a rest. Also sleeps a lot. Can be disconcerting but am getting acclimatised to it. Most hate talking someone with eyes closed, just so strange I guess.

 

[2197alexandra]

Dad spends most of his day with his eyes closed. I spoon feed him with his eyes closed he opens his mouth when I gently tap the spoon on his lip. He has his eyes closed when I wash him, when I dress him. When he has visitors.

He only really has his eyes open when he's hallucinating then he's not even looking at you its whatever he can see.

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Talking Point mobile app

 

[Pickles53]

My mum does this too, sometimes even when she is trying to drink her tea she is struggling to get the cup to the right position at least partly because she can't see it. It feels as if she is withdrawing from the outside world and I have found it quite upsetting sometimes.

 

[tijerasmom]

My mum does this too, sometimes even when she is trying to drink her tea she is struggling to get the cup to the right position at least partly because she can't see it. It feels as if she is withdrawing from the outside world and I have found it quite upsetting sometimes.

That is what I was suspecting; maybe she is just withdrawing from the outside world. And I agree, it is quite upsetting. Thanks for your response about your mum.