My wife will not sit back in a chair or a sofa. I ask if she is in pain. She says no. When I get get her to lie down she says "Oh everything hurts." I have to help her lie down so maybe I'm not being as gentle as I should be. But I think I am so I don't know. She has a bad right knee. Had to knee surgeries for a torn miniscus. both times. That was years ago, but the doctor said she has some arthritis in knee. She is on 200mg a seroquel and I have seen her get like this when she was put on the Seroquel last august. she is in stage 6 and has been VERY VERY, did I say VERY agitated. Doc said to give her a haldol as needed.
When she gets upset, this past week she walks all over the house non-stop. That has got to be hurting her knee. It has been swollen in the past. Doc said to put an ice pack on her knee. I just did and got her to lie down. I am a walking stress factory at this point.
Any comments, ideas?? Gonna take her to the doc this week. I should add we had to go to the ER this past week because she was SO out of control I was afraid she would hurt herself. CT scan no different than the last one a several months ago. They discharged her and did nothing.
Is she on any meds for arthritis type pain....eleve,tylenol, motrin (ibuprophin)? If she is able to take these NSAID type meds I would try one a day to see if it helps. Agree that it is very possible she has aches and pain post knee surgery. Besides the ice you can try heat. I have several herbal pads that I throw in the microwave. Between the soothing warmth, the aromatherapy is very comforting.
Another fascinating thing about this disease is the rigidity that sets in making harder to lie down and/or sit comfortably. As always with new agitation or increased agitation check for UTI. After you do all of that pour yourself a glass of wine and remind yourself what a good husband you are.
The horrible knee injections (did I mention they HURT?) worked for me. One few minutes of pain during the injection gave me a year or more of pure relief. I had these in my thumb joint AND my knee...so I know they are not pleasant to endure, but they are very effective.
When she lays down try putting a pillow under her knees. With arthritis cold doesn't always help. Try the warm packs that scs talked about or make your own with a heavy sock and some rice and then put in the microwave. Just watch it doesn't get too hot. Aleve may help her as well. Maybe a change in meds would help as well.
Haldol made my father "go crazy' to the point they were going to put him into psychiatric unit, he did not have alz. When they took him off of that he was fine. As with any other med, some can take it and some can't. Maybe your DW can't.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm am going to try the heat.
She had a BM this morning. I think that may have been the problem, in addition to her knee. I gave her a few advil the past couple of days. The problem is when she gets agitated, she walks, some times runs through the house, picking things up and throwing them or carrying them around. That has got to be putting a strain on her knee, so if she would just stop doing that, maybe her knee wouldn't bother her so much. Had to give her 1 mg of Haldol. She is now sleeping. Would not let us clean her up after she had a BM. IT was very hard for her to go to the bathroom, (i.e. walk to the bathroom) probably because the Haldol was already starting to work.
She didn't fall asleep until after 1 am last night. She very agitated last night. Odd thing is, she would swing between being fine, and very sweet, to being very angry.
We have an appointment a geriatric psychiatrist Thursday. I hope they can help.
My DH stands for long periods of time in the evening and in the past whenever I asked him if he was alright he said yes but last night I asked him if he was alright and he said yes and then I asked him if he gets dizzy when he sits down and gets up and sits down again and he said yes. I got the impression that the reason why he was standing for so long is he wanted to avoid the feeling of being dizzy when he goes from sitting to standing. I am wondering if something like that might be going on. Like you said that when she is aggitated she walks a lot. Something is causing them to physically exhurt themselves even when in the long wrong what they do makes them hurt even more later. Like my DH not liking being dizzy so he stands in order to avoid it. Does that make any sense?
Welcome back Nikki! It's hard for me to be here, too. I read everyday, but haven't posted much. Today, for some reason, I've been talkative. (((HUGS)))
Good to hear from you. Yeah that's where we are right now. I am trying to take of myself I really am. It is just very hard to do. Even with having aids, which I never thought I would do, it is hard to get away and not supervise. The aids throw me out of the house tell me to go visit a friend or just do something that relaxes you. Hard to do, but I am trying. Thanks Nikki!
((Guy)) I am very glad to hear you have help! With Lynn being so argumentative and aggressive I never was able to get in-home help. I waited far too long and he was too dependant on just me. Glad to see you didn’t make that same mistake!
You really do need some time away. Time to recollect yourself and do things you enjoy. You will be amazed at how much better you are able to cope with the "mood swings". And speaking of those, I can't remember, is your DW on seroquel or the like? Seroquel was a life saver for Lynn, and me! Best of luck with her appointment ♥
Nikki, Yes she is on 200 mg og Seroquel a day. We just saw a geriatric pysch and he said to maybe add Paixil and possibly increase the Seroquel. She still is unpredictable as far as her behaviors go.