Pain and Dementia

Thethirdmrsc

Registered User
Apr 4, 2018
744
0
Does pain get worse with Alzheimer’s, or is it the fact that maybe they feel it more? My OH has had an infection in his ankle, (I think he tore the skin on a bush), and he has had antibiotics, paracetamol and cream. It is slowly healing, and the Dr says because of his age,(81), and where it is, it will take longer to heal. But to hear him, You would think his leg was being taken off! He insists on touching it, then tells me it’s sore and he can’t stand it, but the Dr won’t give him anything, and it is slowly healing. What to do.
 

lollyc

Registered User
Sep 9, 2020
947
0
It's strange because Mum insists she has a "really sore" patch on her groin, and yet there is nothing to see. She constantly complains about it. We do put cream in the area, just in case.

However, last year she broke her leg. We're talking proper displaced fracture - her leg had a 'step' in it - and yet she hardly made any fuss at all, and really didn't want to go to hospital. She felt it just needed a bandage!

It seems that her whole perception of pain is warped.
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
Does pain get worse with Alzheimer’s, or is it the fact that maybe they feel it more? My OH has had an infection in his ankle, (I think he tore the skin on a bush), and he has had antibiotics, paracetamol and cream. It is slowly healing, and the Dr says because of his age,(81), and where it is, it will take longer to heal. But to hear him, You would think his leg was being taken off! He insists on touching it, then tells me it’s sore and he can’t stand it, but the Dr won’t give him anything, and it is slowly healing. What to do.
My husband complains constantly and to be honest, I don't acknowledge it any more.

According to him, he has constipation and diarrhea so he must have bowel cancer. He has complained like this for years and has never shown any signs of cancer. He can't see although he has had his cataracts done this year and can read an eye chart but he is convinced that it has been a failure.

He eats like a horse but says he has no appetite. He feels hot/cold etc and I could go on forever.

Your dad's ankle could well be sore for a while but if the doctor is sure that it is healing, the perhaps getting him to elevate his leg might help.
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,443
0
Kent
Hello @Thethirdmrsc

Does your husband have a dressing on his ankle? If not, and unless the doctor has advised otherwise perhaps a bandage, as with a child, might help him feel it will get better. It will certainly stop him touching an open sore spot which might be why it isn`t healing quickly enough.

A dressing could be a comfort.
 

LynneMcV

Volunteer Moderator
May 9, 2012
6,112
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south-east London
I think @Grannie G has come up with a good idea.

My husband definitely went through a stage where every little knock or bump was reacted to as some kind of major trauma. It was like the reaction of a small child who has not yet learnt to gauge the level of pain. Like a small child he also settled down quickly if I went through the actions of comforting him, rubbing the 'painful' area better or putting a plaster on it, if necessary.

Down the years I have seen this intolerance to low level pain in several others with dementia too, and it was often remarked on at several memory cafes we attended.

Reaction to pain certainly became even more skewed as things progressed - but it went in the opposite direction.

We reached a point where my husband would vaguely know that he was in pain but couldn't say how much or where. In fact towards the end of the disease he was largely unaware of what must have been excruciating pain from a broken collar bone - to the point that he put so much repeated pressure on it that the bone was on the verge of breaking through the skin and he needed an emergency operation.
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,258
0
High Peak
Oh it's definitely a thing. Mum wasn't bothered when she broke her hip - refused pain relief. However, a while later she became obsessed with 'ailments'. She'd tell me she was having her leg off soon. Why? 'Beause they were all having it done. Then they stick it back on again.' Then there was the rash (freckles) that went right up her arm, over her head and down the other side that she'd caught from 'that girl who came in - her whole family have got it,' the bone sticking out of her arm (her elbow) and her legs (her knees) and countless other things - all large and extremely unlikely. Apart from dementia and the broken hip, she had nothing much else wrong with her. Oh, but the pain, the pain!
 

Thethirdmrsc

Registered User
Apr 4, 2018
744
0
So I put a dressing on it, so it stops rubbing on the sock, but he is still prodding it. I have though, run out of sympathy?
 

Banjomansmate

Registered User
Jan 13, 2019
5,394
0
Dorset
After he broke his femur and was in hospital The Banjoman reacted to any touch as though he was being murdered. No matter how gentle carers were it was “Ow, Ow, Ow” from then until he died three months later. He would let me hold his hand though.
 

CarrieE

New member
Jul 5, 2022
2
0
Holy ****. How many times do I need to hear "the pain, the pain" I am at my wits end. She is constantly ringing us telling us she needs to be taken to A&E with the pain. It always ends up as chest pain, which gets a reaction. What do I do?
 

Izzy

Volunteer Moderator
Aug 31, 2003
73,996
0
72
Dundee
Welcome to the forum @CarrieE.

It sounds as if you are having a hard time. I'm presuming it's your mum who is calling you - or another close relative.

When you've taken her to A&E what do they say? Is she just discharged? I think it would be wise to talk to her GP about what's happening and also contact the social work department have he care needs either assessed or reassessed. It sounds as if she needs a lot of support as do you.
 

Jessbow

Registered User
Mar 1, 2013
5,678
0
Midlands
Holy ****. How many times do I need to hear "the pain, the pain" I am at my wits end. She is constantly ringing us telling us she needs to be taken to A&E with the pain. It always ends up as chest pain, which gets a reaction. What do I do?
Could it be indigestion?

Maybe spoonful of Gaviscon ( Like the dr said :) ) might ease things - or at least eliminate things
 

JaxG

Registered User
May 15, 2021
787
0
It does seem to be a thing!! My OH has some muscle pain in his shoulder. he's been to the doctor who gave him Ibuprofen cream and told him to take Ibuprofen tablets. He has convinced himself he knows more than the doctor and it's a trapped nerve!! He wants to pay for a chiropractor and when I say we can't afford it he accuses me of 'getting my own back' on him, that I can't possibly know what pain is (I've been through breast cancer, mastectomy, chemotherapy and reconstruction!!) I bought him something to heat in the microwave to ease it, but nothing works so now I try and ignore the constant moaning and accusations.!!!
 

DreamsAreReal

Registered User
Oct 17, 2015
476
0
Interesting thread. I used to wonder if pain was felt more intensely in Dementia as mum would cry out at formerly trivial things or say she was in agony etc. She had some pain from her hip repair scar, and seemed to be exaggerating but to be sure I took her to GP and he arranged for an x-ray, which found nothing wrong but Dr. said probably adhesions from operation. Once mum was told there was nothing wrong she said pain wasn't too bad. It turned out she had been convinced her new hip was taken from a cadaver and had bone cancer. Every time she complained about it after that, I told her I'd seen her xray and doc said it was just adhesions and the pain wasn't too bad after.

I think fear and anxiety plays a part in this, the pain feels more intense because they're frightened and fixated on the pain, or the cause of the pain. Like a lot of things with dementia, respond to the underlying feeling behind the behaviour. They often need some reassurance.

Sometimes they really are in pain, mum was complaining of severe back ache and an X-ray found fractured vertebrae. Her GP phoned me when he got the results and said, "your poor Mum, she must be in agony".
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,258
0
High Peak
It seems to be a 'feature' of dementia that signals from the brain get mixed up or stop working altogether: not getting the signal to go to the loo, not experiencing normal feelings of hunger or hot and cold, not knowing night from day and moving to a 24 hour schedule when the body-clock goes, not to mention visual and auditory hallucinations. So it would seem likely that the signals for pain get a bit scrambled too. That was certainly the case with mum - no pain when she should have felt it (broken hip) and mega pain (imagined) due to her 'rash' which was actually freckles.
 

Bakerst

Registered User
Mar 4, 2022
319
0
OH, gets obsessed with pain, but it used to start every day late afternoon, I thought it was sundowning, but had the dr check him out, then got in touch with the memory nurse, who agreed with me and had meds prescribed to reduce his anxiety. ?they have worked so far and now he says he feels weird so goes for a lie down for half an hour, which seems to solve the problem
 

annieka 56

Registered User
Aug 8, 2022
244
0
It seems to be a 'feature' of dementia that signals from the brain get mixed up or stop working altogether: not getting the signal to go to the loo, not experiencing normal feelings of hunger or hot and cold, not knowing night from day and moving to a 24 hour schedule when the body-clock goes, not to mention visual and auditory hallucinations. So it would seem likely that the signals for pain get a bit scrambled too. That was certainly the case with mum - no pain when she should have felt it (broken hip) and mega pain (imagined) due to her 'rash' which was actually freckles.
 

annieka 56

Registered User
Aug 8, 2022
244
0
That does make sense. It's easy to overlook what can possibly be going on with someone's brain when they have dementia or even when they don't to be honest.
The signals get mixed up and the neural pathways get broken and can't be fixed.
I do try to understand that my husband 's brain stops him from recognising the need to do a poo but to still do a wee.
it's hard though isn't it to stop yourself from screaming ' Oh no why did you just do that?! Why didn't you just say? Haven't I got enough to do without ....etc'
Brains eh?
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,258
0
High Peak
That does make sense. It's easy to overlook what can possibly be going on with someone's brain when they have dementia or even when they don't to be honest.
The signals get mixed up and the neural pathways get broken and can't be fixed.
I do try to understand that my husband 's brain stops him from recognising the need to do a poo but to still do a wee.
it's hard though isn't it to stop yourself from screaming ' Oh no why did you just do that?! Why didn't you just say? Haven't I got enough to do without ....etc'
Brains eh?
Yes. In many ways I find dementia absolutely fascinating as you get so many glimpses into how the brain does or doesn't process things. Makes you realise how complex our brains really are and just how much stuff we do 'on autopilot'. A person with dementia loses their autopilot function quite early on (or so it seems to me!) so every task has to be carefully worked out, step by step as if it was the first time they've done it. No wonder they quickly lose the ability to do anything complex like cooking, using the TV, dishwasher, etc.

Take getting dressed. A young child simply goes to the wardobe, sees jeans and fave T-shirt at a glance, instantly knows what garments they are and knows to put underwear on first. Someone with dementia has to start much further back! First is recognising that they need to get dressed. A child skips that step - it's just what they do each morning and doesn't need a second thought. The person with dementia may not even know what time of day it is. Even with a prompt - 'You need to get dressed!' there's the whole business of finding clothes, working out what is what, remembering that you have to take off your nightclothes first, getting the layers right, etc. The fact that most people with dementia reach this stage of struggling to get dressed appropriately without help shows how complex a process it actually is, yet to anyone else it seems the simplest of things.

Fascinating yes, but also completely heartbreaking, devastating, etc, etc.
 

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