Divvi, You have my admiration....I don't know how you take everything so calmly. My DH has been doing very well lately. I don't know if it is the namenda the new neuro put him on but he seems normal most of the time. Of course he forgets things in a few minutes but then he'll surprise me and remember something from a few days ago. He doesn't have the incontinence issues or bathing, eating, dressing or any of the anger issues. I sincerely hope they weren't famous last words. LOL. If they ever come up with a cargiver medal I nominate you for the first one.
Jean21, thank goodness hes stable and doing so nicely. i am sure it frightens some to read of these issues that crop up during the disease. not all caregivers go thru turmoil of incontinence and anger issues though -some less some more. you deal with it if it happens-divvi
Divvi, I'm afraid when we get to that stage, I am going to make him a bed in a child's wading pool. That way, I can bundle up the bed linens, toss them into the washer, and then hook a hose to the bathtub and fill the wading pool with him still in it.
I cannot imagine in a million years that I could do what you do. Almost all of us can remember coming upon scenes in our babies cribs (say around 12-18 months) when they have had a "poopie party" after a nap..with poppie on the crib rails, walls, and everywhere in between...and oh! so happy they'd look! Yuk!!! Think we're back to that?
We feed our little dogs a fully digestible dog food that results in very little waste when they poop. I wish they had similar diets for our LO's.
Another brilliant idea I 've had this morning. I can't stop myself!!!
if you consider they end up in last stage 7 in a fetal postion, unfortunatley the answer is yes- we absolutely are back to that toddler stage- thats funny you said that cause my newest invention IS A TODDLER wading pool DEFLATED over his side of the mattress under the sheets-then the rug over that to sleep on- i had to come up with this due to the fact the rug catches pee very well but not waterproof on back rubber part. it works very well and is about 3ft round deflated. plus i picked up at biglots for 2dol!! haha it has saved the mattress very well up to today when he pulled everythig off during the nite. i slept thru it all:) and if it should get wet i can take it out on porch and hose down.. just like you said.. haha!!! hey you do what ya gotta do when the going gets tuff..its an ongoing battle..i think it wise never say- never..the devil will get you for saying that. divvi
Divvi, you've got to be the most fantastic person in Texas. I almost freaked when I had to clean up that mess all over the toilet . I can't even imagine doing what you do.
Thank you Doneit for the idea to clean hands after poo duty with SHAVING CREME!!! its super working! for the last 2 days of BM's (and just now:(been using your idea to clean off the 'smell' using the shaving creme and i must say i am so relieved to not have to use the powdered laundry soap and alcohol now..! cant use on DH bumm as it gives him a rash as most everything else but my hands ..whohoo.. its a super tip. divvi-happy camper in poo world..haha.
Glad the shaving cream is making your life a bit easier. It's a shame-in our younger years we could have had so much more fun with the stuff in other places.
Here's an incontinence issue--don't know where else to put it. The size of the apparatus has diminished significantly. Dh is beginning to have problems making it in time, so asked for guards. Got them and showed him how to put them in place. Uses them mainly when going to be away from home. Recently he asked how to prevent "going over the top edge". Told him he needed to place the guard a little higher up the front and be sure his equipment is pointed downward. I got a "look". If he sits to go, and leans back at all, he goes over the rim.
A couple months ago he asked our God-daughter if there wasn't surgery to make his equipment longer so he could "hit the target" better. < We did not laugh.> ED has been with us for years so that's not a reason to do anything, but does anybody know if there is anything that can or should be done? I don't think an implant would work.
As for clean up around the commode, I keep a floor towel (old bath towel) draped around the base and change as needed.
Carol-you can get a guard for the toilet like the ones on kids's potties. It will direct the flow down. Try calling medical supply companies who will deliver. Or perhaps one of your special relatives will pick it up for you :-)
Already have a 3 1/2" raiser on there with the grb rails. Not sure how the guard would fit, nor how it would work when I sit--tops of braces are around thighs. Dilemmas.
carosi, if he sits to pee couldnt you just drape him with one of the smaller cotton bed pads that have plastic backs when hes seated? it would catch any overflow and then toss in wash. or for that fact a towel. better than cleaning floors each time. i'm at a loss. i definately would not recommend an implant for this reason or on an AD man. divvi
Mine has learned to tuck it down and hold it there when he sits. Obviously, he's been used to holding it all along, now he just has to tuck it in. The guards in his briefs did not work for my husband because they got stuck in his pubic hair. Not comfortable. That's when we went to the full-pants kind, which he's never once objected to, although sometimes, since he usually does go to the bathroom (just not reliably in time) he forgets and leaves his 'equipment' hanging out the side of the depends!
hahah.. briegull the apparatus is hanging every which way here as well. out a leg, over the top:)i am always 'looking' to see where it is:)if its not positioned down then the depends really are obsolete. divvi
Fortunately, he does learn most things after a lot of repetition (though never to keep track of his walker or cane). I have put a big pad in the living room, and if he's reluctant to go to the bathroom before going in there to sit and watch a movie, I pointedly put it down on the couch and say, okay, but I'm not going to have the couch ruined because you won't pee first. He usually then does go.
As I've said before, men go to the bathroom when they NEED to. Women go IN CASE they need to. This explains the lines at intermission for the women's toilets and not at the men's. Men don't have the gene that allows that kind of planning ahead!
Briegull, I must differ with you a bit. When I was in my medical training we were taught "never start a procedure with a full bladder". This was to get us to pee before going in the operating room. Also, I remember hearing that a famous general said: "Never pass up an opportunity to pee". As for the lines at the restrooms in theaters, one reason the men's is shorter is that we can get done faster since all we have to do is pull it out and aim.
The past hour has been a joy to read the posts. I got a ROFLOL on this thread and the one about the Wedding. (ROFLOL for the newbies is rolling on floor laughing out loud) Keep up the humor, it feels better than saddness.
Marsh, I never thought about a doctor/surgeon getting in the middle of an operation and having to go pee! Gosh, how awful for the patient. Can see it now, everybody standing over the "body" with their hands raised waiting for the surgeon to get back.
Imohr, yes, I think we needed this thread. I love this web site. We can go from being dead serious helping someone who is really having a rough time to being silly and laughing our heads off.
Marsh, you answered a question I have always wondered about... Doctors who have 7-8-9 hour surgeries and longer. I knew they had to have break times...and at the same time, the urgency of the surgery might prohibit that. Then you have to wash wash wash...again..and, I guess, re-gown and all the rest...from the nasty germ filled bathroom.
You learn all sorts of interesting things on this web site.
Looks like we've moved to this stage. More and more often over the past few months he's not gotten to the pot in time and I've had urine to clean up. Tonight he's sleeping in disposables.
His problem seems to only happen during waking hours. He gets up once or twice in the night with no problem; of course, this too may pass...
We're typically going through two or three pairs of CVS brand Depends every day now, and twice today already my DW has started dribbling after I got her Depends down but before I got her fully over the toilet seat -- in the bathroom with a tile floor, thank goodness -- I'd hate for her to do that when we're using the bedside potty in our carpeted bedroom!
We go through 4-5 Depend pants a day (incl. night), plus sleeping on a disposable underpad (30X36). I've given so many bed baths and changed so many pants I think I could qualify as an assoc. gynecologist .
My home health nurse told me to purchase "puppy training pads" instead of disposable underpads for the bed and couch. THey are cheaper, more in a package and more absorbant.
Somebody tell me about the disposable underpads y'all are talking about? How often do you change them? I bought a package of probably 30x36 pads, fabric on one side and green plastic on the other, and place one of those, furry side down (so it doesn't slide around), underneath the bottom sheet to protect the also waterproof matterss cover, and normally only change it when I change the bedcovers. Thus far, she's never soaked thru the Depends except for a couple of diarrhea incidents in bed, so I've never felt any need for a pad in her recliner (yet).
Go to www.bigtreemurphy.com. Article: Using Unusual Items To Do Unusual Tasks (might not be the exact title) she suggests using flannel backed baby crib moisture protectors in bed, because they do not slip as much a paper protectors. It's a challenge for us to come up with the most effective thing for the carpeted bedroom that won't slip and slide. Any ideas will be appreciated.
I bought several small rubber-backed scatter rugs and use them in the chairs that DH uses. They're easy to pick up and toss in the washer and since they are soft and stable he doesn't mind sitting on them. For the bed I bought about 6 padded plastic-backed pads about 30"x36" and change them out when they get wet. As long as he doesn't move around much at nite they work fine. Guess I could use some double-sided tape and tape them to the sheets.
I put the underpad on top of a washable cotton pad (about the same size) with the waterproof backside, on top of the bottom sheet. Sometimes if she is positioned too low on them, and she overflows the Depend, I will end up having to wash both the sheet and pad, but that is rare. Usually no overflow, sometimes only on the underpad (disp.), sometines also on the washable pad, and like I said, rarely everything.
I still try to get my DH to pee in the toilet when he first gets up and again before he goes to bed. Sometimes he will, but those occasions are becomming more rare. Tonight he kept trying to step into the toilet!! Had to keep stopping him, and finally just gave up trying to get him to go.
I actually turn on the water low and rinse off the counter, to give him the idea. Spread the word to your grown children, to raise their sons to go on demand, not just in need. Not being able to makes it very hard to deal with them when they're on the verge of incontinence!
I've scanned this thread, but can't find what I need. DW just had a major incontinence, filled her Depend and overflowed into the cushion of her recliner chair. The cushion does not come off. I have soaked up some of the urine with a couple of towels, but there is still more, plus the smell. Any suggestions for getting the urine out and clearing the smell? I know the wet will dry eventually, but may take a long time. Thanx
Vinegar is supposed to take care of the smell. A shop vac if you can get one should soak up the urine. Pet stores carry many products to neutralize odors. Sorry, Marsh that you both have to go through this nightmare.
marsh, i use just plain little dishwashing joy or for dishes and some hot water and swirl til bubbly-. NOT WITH BLEACH KIND! and not alot of soap. use a sponge or cloth -and be sure to rinse thoroughly and then set the recliner in the sunshine to dry well. BE SURE TO PUT An absorbant towel over the wet cushion while drying!!!! it keeps the cushions from staining!!i have done this on pooped french silk chairs thinking they would ruin for sure. came out perfect. mayb you could test a peice of fabric with the soap mixture under the chair? to be sure it wont fade it. if its peed on, you dont have much choice. or call the professionals out and they will charge you of course. divvi marsh get one of those absorbent small bathroom rugs to put in her recliner witht he rubber backing. it absorbs alot of the runoff! i use them DAILY on my leathr sofas.
There was a thread some time ago about cleaning urine odors in carpet but I don't have much carpet so forget what it was. Might also work on the chair as well. I have no experience with this but divvi does.
brought a topic of wet carpets up for marsh. maybe something in it for you. marsh when in doubt always call the professionals. i only offer what has worked for me.:) divvi
Marsh, I doubt you have these on hand. But they work!
Years ago, a flight attendant dumped a tray of cocktails on my lap. I had a lake on my skirt. She quickly grabbed several Kotex (would Depends work?) and like a flash, all the liquid was absorbed and GONE! I was wearing a wool skirt and it didn't have time to soak through the wool fibers. I was barely damp...vs. having about 24 oz. of wine and alcohol in a lap pubble.
I wonder if a Depends diaper would work that quickly?
What I would do, if I were you, I'd call Chem Dry or similar carpet cleaning company. They can clean, deodorize and disinfect the chair the best. They chared me $65 to clean a sofa, and I'd expect a recliner would be about the same.
FYI: My husband cut his arm from the elbow to the wrist when he fell geting out of bed one night. He bled all over the bed covers and it quickly soaked through the quilted mattress pad and into the mattress. I blotted as much as I could but it was terribly stained over a large area. The next morning I called Chem Dry and they came right over. You'd never know all that blood was ever there.
Much to my surprise the soaking dried without leaving a stain and with no odor. I now have a "Waterproof chair protector" from "The Alzheimer's Store. Another thing I found there is the "Premium OverNight Disposable Absorbent Underwear". It will hold 34 oz of liquid without leaking. I asked for some samples and tried it last night. She slept through the night without wetting the bed, but the underwear was full of urine. So it really works. I have just ordered the full supply. Although each one is more expensive that Depend, the overall cost will be less since I was changing her Depend up to 4 times a night, even getting her up every 2 hours. This has also given me more sleep.
Sleep????? What is that??? Is it in the cat naps between trips to the bathroom and mopping the floor, and putting on a fresh pair of Depends on unbendable legs?
Marsh, I am so happy that you are getting more sleep. We all need it!!! I'm also glad the chair is okay!!
I have been a member on this site for quite awhile and used to wonder what ttt meant. To The Top... (which meant nothing to me either) Translated, it means "Someone asked about this before and there is a lot of information and discussion posted on this earlier that you may find helpful."
What some of us are observing is that there are several 'stages of Alzheimer Spouses... Those of us who have asked these questions a year or so ago.. then there is a middle group that picked up on the old discussions...and NOW we have an entire 'new class' of spouses who have joined us. Thus the old questions are new again. Maybe we should just answer them instead of saying "Look it up". It took me a long time to find the top when I was told TTT.
It's a little hard to go back and read the hundreds of posts if you don't have time...and if you need an immediate answer... just say so.
Funny Bluedaze...some do pee just anywhere anytime. IF a doc asked me if DH was incontinent, I'd think they were asking if he pee'd in his pants (or worse). This business of peeing in the yard, or trash cans -- I call Bad Little Boy Behavior.
My husband does tricks like this when he's 'piss'd off" at me. NOW, NOW!!! I know why they call it that!................. His latest trick is throwing toilet paper rolls in the toilet and flushing... Can you picture the FLOOD?