| Re: Another Day in the Life of Alzheimers and Dementia
As you noticed Grumpy I am a night owl. I have to be exhausted to fall asleep and I hate tossing and turning so I go to bed late and still get up at an almost decent hours. I do ok on 5 hours and blessed to get 6.
I do hope your Mom does well in the locked unit. I will have to say that Mom and Dad both did much better in the locked unit than in AL. It is a much smaller unit with the same people there all the time. Once Mom adjusted, Dad fell right into the routine and liked it) it has all been good and Mom has mellowed out. Mom is still ambulatory... and loves to wander. She is always on the go. Go to the end of the hall and then go back. Go out in the court yard and then go back. We laugh because her mother that also had ALZ had the "Go Gene"... Mom now has the "Go Gene"!!! But she has slowed down more to a slow shuffle than the hot footed go of before. So far her weight loss has been relatively controlled. It was Dad that lost from 184 down to probably 130 by his death. Despite his eating and ensure it was a constant down hill which told me he was not processing what was going in. Mom's is still a function of what goes in so we are supplementing it with treats that we know she loves even if it is chocolate and pizza.
I do hope you get the sores on her feet under control. That can cause a problem I know.
Martha you are so right... it can kill you. Moving Mom and Dad to the locked unit was the best move we ever made. Even AL helped, at least for a while. Like you I was ignoring my own health and had a huge wake up call when I finally did go to the doctor. We have talked a lot about life style, what you eat, and exercise but I believe the number one problem is stress. Stress can kill you. Beyond that sleep deprivation would be number 2 on that list. The illnesses that can be caused by sleep deprivation is a long list. I truly believe that a combination of Melatonin and meditation has done me more good than anything!
Meg... I am so very glad you made the move for your Mom and you at least have a few days a week to enjoy yourself! Everybody needs that all the time!
Love, deb
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