Common Behaviors and Problems

Questions and Answers

1. My mother thinks that there are people hiding in her cabinets.

   - My mother thinks that there are people hiding in her cabinets and vents. Is she crazy?
   1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

2. Is there anything else that can help with 'sundowning'?

   - My dad had a severe stroke two years ago. Some minor health issues since but basically home with my mom as caregiver doing fairly well. All of a sudden he's become very hard to get along with, agitated, cursing and trying on occasion to hit at her. We noticed it starts about 6pm, or just before. His doctor diagnosed sundowning...
   1 Expert Answer

3. How do I tell Mom I had to sell her home?

   - I'm struggling with how to tell my 80-year old mother that I had to sell her mobile home recently because she was placed into a nursing home in early September. As her daughter, I was activated as her POA for Health & Finance. She's lived in this mobile home for 35 years and went from a hospital stay directly into a nursing home...
   1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

4. My mother believes she is talking to the dead. Should I be concerned?

   - My mother, who has Alzheimer's, believes she can talk to the dead. What is the best way for communicating about hallucinations?
   1 Expert Answer

5. Understanding and Dealing with Sundown Syndrome

   - Possible reasons for sundown syndrome in people with Alzheimer's disease, and how to cope with the behavior.
   1 Expert Answer

6. I don't think my 78-year-old mother has dementia, so why does she get sundown syndrome?

   - My 78-year-old mother is in pretty good health, except for high blood pressure, which she keeps under control with medication. During the day, she's very social with the people at her assisted living facility. But at night, she's like a different person...
   1 Expert Answer

7. Can dementia change personality?

   - Can dementia change personality? There are many times when it's obvious that she knows what she is doing, especially when she is angry. She is combative and screams for hours at a time. How do we handle dementia personality changes?
   1 Expert Answer

8. What's the best way to handle repetition in someone with dementia?

   1 Expert Answer

9. How can I help my mother who believes she is constantly dirty?

   - Helping someone who believes they are always dirty
   1 Expert Answer

10. How do we control Dad's grunting and strange bathroom habits?

    - My 81-year old father has Alzheimer's. He has developed an annoying habit of grunting and groaning. It is constant and with his hearing being so bad, he is totally unaware that he is doing it. He sounds like he's on his last breath and it is annoying. I've thought about replenishing his cough drop supply, but I wouldn't want him to choke...
    1 Expert Answer