ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! Ever since DH started staying home, he's done the picking thing. Is ABSOLUTELY convinced that he spontaneously bleeds because his blood is so thin. There is no talking him out of that, including doctors. None of our doctors have seen it before for AD. It is horribly disgusting and his arms and legs are a mess. My furniture is also a mess because he'll spot on it and then try to get it out and not only won't get the spot out, but make it worse altogether. Then he feels bad and turns the cushion over to hide it and let it dry and set in. I have even thought that I should give my sister the money to hold for me so that someday I could still get a new sofa even if AD takes away all of our savings! Same thing with the sheets. I miss the nice ones. AND! (I'm so amazed this is all here on this link!) the kicking at night. He's more of a foot to foot rubber but it makes a terrible noise when I'm trying to sleep next to him. And it never stops. Swoosh swoosh swoosh for hours at a time. I haven't tried counting because then I'd never get the numbers out of my head.
SO -- any ideas for what causes this? Stress? Boredom? I don't think creams would help, I'm not sure they actually itch. I think he just picks at them because he can.
This is so amazing. I always thought this was just "something else" apart from the AD.
Oh no, Liz, you have to join in on the counting. (kicking at night). Mine Kicks at ten-one thousand! (counting: one one thousand, two one thousand..and so on) awgggggg.
My DH has a weepy sore on his hairline in front and two in the back. Makes me crazy. Same routine..pick pick pick...then he looks at his fingernail to see what's there. and then repeats until I scream! I don't think anything would stop it. It's an o/c thing. I don't think they itch..they are just there.
Anyone having problems with 'nose blowing' during his allergy season! (horrible pollen counts).. He has a bos of tissues on both sides of his chair and on his bedside table. He uses the sheet at night, his clean golf shirt during the day, or a dish towel (watch for that!!!...anything EXCEPT tissues!!)
Stress balls are safe and harmless and cannot hurt you if they are hurled at you!!!!! I have to say nix-nay to the toothpicks, my Dh would be full of holes and I would be a nervous wreck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My wife picks at sores on her arms and legs and gets them bleeding. When I tell her to stop picking, she assures me that she did not pick them. They just started bleeding spontaneously. She also kicks in bed - not too often, because when she starts it wakes me up, so I get her up to go to the bathroom. When she kicks, she is usually lying with her legs over the side of the bed. She will give a STRONG kick on the side of the bed, which shakes everything. I don't know why she doesn't hurt herself.
geez Marsh, strange you mentioned the over the side of the bed kicking! my DH is constantly moving his legs off the bed to let them hang down next to the railings on the bed and wham! kicks like a mule -he does hit it with his heels, i know that hurts! i have tried numerous positions in bed to keep him from slamming the rails but to no avail. i even wrap legs with covers and tuck under bed. he pulls the covers off and gets back into the 'postiion'. it scares the beejeebies out of me when his feet hit the side of the bed. one more thing to keep us awake! me too, i usually then get up for a potty break as well..divvi
Can the kicking be from Restless Legs. I occasionally have Restless Legs and let me tell you it is no fun. You cannot leave your legs still. You have to keep moving them. It feels kind of like something crawling in your legs. There are meds available.
Thank you Sunshyne, the article was very helpful. I do think it's more of an OCD thing than the result of actual itching. I'll try the stress balls. With summer coming and more exposed skin, he really can get it going. It really is an ugly sight to look at.
Nancy B...... if I am awake all night tonight counting one... one thousand, two... one thousand, three... I'm going to be thinking really wretched thoughts about you!
Off color humor of the day: Some folks with OCD prefer to call it CDO - alphabetical order, you see....! :) (That came from my friend at work who absolutely can't stand anything to be out of place. She loves the comfort of ABC order!!!)
I think the windshield wiper is a metronome (is that how it's spelled) and I sing a song along to its' rhythm ... Would that be called "rhythmmomania"? ..or "beatmomania"
divvi--thanks for the suggestions, but since he can't smell/taste, snacks don't appeal to him. I had forgotten about the stress balls-will try that--if he doesn't like them maybe I will!
My husband used to kick in his sleep. I too counted -- the kicks, the time between kicks, the amount of time after I got him to roll over until he rolled back and started kicking again....then I took him to his doctor (pre AD diagnosis by one year) and he gave him an overnight sleep apnea test. He had that too, but the doctor was more concerned with the restless leg syndrome! Thank you, doctor!!!! He has been on Mirapex since, and hasn't kicked! Please have your spouses tested!! The sleep you recover is worth it!!!
mary glad your DH is on the mirapex and its helped with his sleep. i dont think my DH has restless leg syndrome just likes to drop his leg over the side of the bed for some strange reasons, maybe it makes it easier to get his feet on the floor for bathroom visits. he doesnt have any leg movements when hes on the couch or sleeping during the day. just that wierd position in bed at nite. he may be looking for solid ground with the movement,with them dangling over the edge all nite! :)divvi
Update on the picking--I bought some stress balls--gave them to him and told him what they are for. He said "I'm not stressed!" Of course not, he's the one on the drugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I call them the "S" for squeeze balls. He squeezes them a few times, puts them down, and that's that. Back to picking. I did try the toothpicks--they have lost their fascination for him. Monday we went to the dermatologist and he froze off a lot of keratoses--he said it won't matter if DH picks the scabs. We'll see.
You mean aside from the risk for infection? (Not to mention your reaction when you have to look at it.) Get some Neosporin and slather it on those scabs.
Hi all!! I guess we all have these "little problems" that are harder to deal with than the big problems. My husband is a nail biter-was all of his life. It is worse now and he makes them bleed. He takes a baby aspirin so there is alot of bleeding. In the Marines, the DI noticed the nail biting and "cured" him. He had all the platoon use the toilets and made him go toilet to toilet sticking his fingers in the dodo!!!!!!! It worked but when he was discharged, I'm certain this is the first thing he returned to!! The lack of nails prevents picking but I'm certain if he had nails, he would be picking too. Do any of you have the problem with LO waking at night and sitting up in bed with legs hanging over the side? He doesn't bang them on the bed but the constant movement keeps me up ( I sleep with one eye open too). He uses a urinal at night( he is so slow walking, he'd never make it to the bathroom). If I don't get "the bucket" to him in time, he'll pee all over the hardwood floor and the radiator. I have a plastic lined rug on the floor but if he hits the radiator, there is no way to clean inside the vents, etc. and I can't stand the smell. It takes a day or so for the smell to burn off. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Kathryn, I haven't had your problem yet. But, can you move the bed away from the radiator, or put him on the other side, or into another room. Whatever, away from the radiator. I would have to do something, I am afraid. I am short on patience. Maybe someone else will come along with suggestions. Never had a nail bitter but I think there is something bitter you can put on the fingers to discourage that habit. But, then, he will probally pick up another one. Human nature and boredom.
Does the pro know him well? I wouldn't hesitate to let the pro know about his problem (all of it!) and then he can also be alerted to the possibility he could get lost on the course and other problems. These golf pros are all great guys and care about their members. He might also be able to 'give the look' to his partners when he senses there might be reason to keep an eye on them.
Hard for them to admit this, I know,........but IT'S ONLY A GAME!!!!! not brain surgery!!!! when they tee off.
Hmmm. We always come away with a handful of Bacitracin packets. (Maybe because we're such good customers!)
Haven't been able to find the same product in the stores to use when we run out, though. Neosporin has the same active ingredient plus another one, and my husband doesn't seem to have an allergic reaction to either one, so that's what we use.
Kathryn - they make covers for radiators. You could make the side facing the bed solid and just leave the other areas open for heat to get out. Or make the side like a shutter with the blades going down so pee can't get in.
Want to report a success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! About a month ago I took Steve to have the keratoses removed. Put bacitracin on every day afterwards-they healed beautifully. No more picking the face--no more bleeding on the sheets. For once, a simple solution! Now, waiting for the next behavior issue to surface........
My DH recently started the face picking, even sometime in his sleep. He also scratches at his jeans and the sheets. He realizes he does this but says he can not stop.
I was shopping the other day and checked out the baby stuff (second grandson is due any day now), and saw a baby blanket that I had to touch. Like all baby blankets it is very soft, but this one also had patterns cut into the pile, like stripes, stars and circles. After talking to DH, I picked it up for him. He loves it! During the day it is always in his hands and/or held up to hi face. We also take it in the car.
Like all things dementia related, I don't know how long this will be useful, but for the moment it is a favorite item.
I wondered if the picking was related to the AD. Guess it is. DH picks at the skin on his arms all day long. I've learned just to not say anything, because it has no effect.
My mother did this. She thought the veins on her hands and arms were blue worms and wanted them gone. We had to put little gloves on her hands and make sure she had long sleeves. She fretted less if she didn't see this. Also we had her nails manicured and she had nail varnish on them..had gorgeous nails and liked to show them off...got her mind of the worms.
It's been more than a year since I started this thread and my husband is still picking. No infections yet. His doc says to live with it, it's a way for him to deal with anxiety, hard to medicate for that. He still doesn't realize he is doing it.
i believe the picking is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that can crop up with varying forms of dementia. hallucinations can be prominent with some forms as well as we all know. i do know that some meds can actually have the side effect of hallucinating. so check with the dr or go online to check meds they are currently taking to see if it can be meds they are taking. a prostate med that was about the only thing left DH was taking was creating very disturbing hallucinating while asleep in DH -and he'd been on it for long time. some meds dissipate thru the brain and can cause disturbances and with AD the normalcy is helterskelter . just a thought. by the way, DH has a crocheted blanket hospice chaplain brought and it has bumpy and tassles that facinate him even in late stages. he sleeps with it so yes substituting something to toy with may work. divvi
enablex jules. check with dr as i was told these meds pass thru the brain and can cause issues with AD patients. there is a new med out that is for prostate that bypasses the brain and is a gel that is just rubbed in it is called Gelnique and its the newest one on the market. you may want to ask dr if hes on a prostate med. we tried various of the more common prostate meds but they all have bad side effects for us. this new one is supposed to have much less side effects with use. divvi
Thanks Divvi, I wondered if the Avodart was having some side effects as he acts weirder in the morning which is when I give it. A good thing to check with the doc. Happy Monday!
Read in wikipedia about STEREOTYPY. At the zoo where I volunteer some of the animals some of the time have what the keepers describe as "stereotypical behavior". One of our elephants, Alice, puts her back feet together and sways her trunk back and forth. She does this whether or not people are around, whether she's in her indoor enclosure or her very large outdoor enclosure where she and the other two members of her "family" roam. I tell kids it's like someone sucking their thumb or their hair the way little girls sometimes do.
With my husband, I've come to think of his noises that way. They're done almost unconsciously. As with Alice, the behavior can be interrupted by a request to do something else, or by another elephant putting her trunk in Alice's mouth (a sign of affection). I think the picking is another manifestation of it. It's not really self-stimulation, but self-calming. But read the entry; it's really interesting.
Well, imagine this one.........Both my husband AND I pick! He has only done it since the dx, but I have done it for years. I can't get him to stop, but my answer is.........FAKE nails! Okay, call me crazy..........after all, that's could be why I pick my head, but the artificial nails are NOT as sharp as my real nails and I stop picking. I have even had injections in my scalp to help heal these areas...........Nothing stops me like having my nails done! Expensive, but does the trick for me!
Okay, so I have solved this problems for woman..........Next..........the men.........I'll need to work on that one.........However, it might be interesting to try acrylic overlay tips on them?
Please raise you hand if you think that I have gone over the edge! LOL
Ann, Nope, have a sister with picking problems (no dementia) and she said the same thing about the fake nails and picking. (the blanket is a lot cheaper!) PatB