Hello, thank you for reading this.
Hopefully, i can get this question
answered...here's the story. i'll try to
keep it short.
I am 18 years old and living with my
mother and my 4 younger siblings. Two
months ago, my mom decided that it would
be a great idea to get her dad out of the
nursing home and into our house. she quit
her job because taking care of him paid
twice as much, and we didn't feel right
leaving him to rot there. he has been
diagnosed with alzhimers. every night he
calls out for his wife, who isn't even in
the same town. he calls "HELP!"
constantly, and i MEAN CONSTANTLY! he
hardly sleeps. he always forgets where
he's at. we tried two or three sleep
medications, but they didn't help at all!
he has a good environment; nutritous meals
and snacks, exercise, playing games with
my little sister, ect. and we keep him
very clean, but he won't stop. we are
loosing so much sleep, my siblings and i
can't study, and its embarrassing to have
friends over. i made a sign that says
"This is Glennys's house. BE QUIET. She
will wake up soon and help you. Please
don't yell!" and i had him read it aloud
to me, and i made sure to mount it in
plain sight. nothing is working...its
driving us all nuts and i don't know what
to do! he can't remember anything more
than five minutes! and he never, NEVER
stops yelling! i want to know if it is
illegal to restrain his mouth so he can't
yell, at least to let us sleep! or
something! im open to any helpful
suggestions! Please respond!
|
critical care RN
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Feb 2007 Posts: 92
Posted: 02-26-07 12:42pm
First I want to congratulate you on your
unselfish decision to help yur mother look
after your grandfather. I completely
understand your frustration, but you MUST
understand that your grandfather has no
control over his actions. In his mind he
see's and hears his wife. Then the next
moment she's gone. There is nothing that
you can do to try and stop this because
it's part of the disease process. I
suggest trying to play some soft music
that he might like. Leave a light on in
his room. There are other types of
medications that can help calm him, like
Ativan or Haldol. These will help sedate
him and calm his outbursts. Your
frustration is perfectly justified and
don't feel quilty about getting mad at
him. Oh and to put tape over his mouth or
to put something in it to muffle his
yelling is VERY illegal. It's considered
physical and mental abuse and you can go
to jail for it. Years from now when he is
gone you'll look back and be proud of the
time you helped him.
|
Rudaa
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 03-02-07 00:09am
thank you for your help! i will ask his
doctor about those drugs you recommended :
)
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This page was last updated on June 11, 2008
