Just wondering if anyone here have their spouse lose their mobility?
My husband started having mobility problems a couple of months ago - he was falling & having trouble walking. They removed all his meds except his sleeping pill (which they decreased the dosage) & he started to get a bit better, but that only lasted a couple of weeks or so. Since then, he's been slowly getting worse - they've been monitoring him, watching him closely, put him in a bed that sounds an alarm when he gets up so they can get to him quickly & he's been wearing hip protectors to minimize injury should he fall. He's losing his balance & has been falling & now he cannot walk alone. Most times 1 person is enough to support him, but sometimes he needs 2. The occupational therapist & medical staff had a meeting with me & it was decided he's better off in a wheelchair. Throughout the day, they make him walk with assistance so he can get some exercise. I'm assuming others here had this problem, but I don't remember reading about it.
This sounds familiar to many stories. Mobility loss is common. Sounds the like facility is doing the right things. The greatest concern is him falling and hurting himself, possibly breaking a hip. The drug changes (removal) was a good step, though only a temporary benefit. The bed alarm is great so they can react, many with mobility problems will still try to wal.
Yes, this was my experience with DH. And because he was so ditsy, he did not understand that he needed to use the walker or wheelchair--so would walk holding onto the walls or furniture--and fall, of course. (Oh yeah--the good old days...not.)
Paulc, you're right about trying to walk. Sadly, he doesn't realize he can't walk alone & he does try to get up. I'm finding his mobility loss difficult to accept - he's loss the little independence he had - one more thing the disease has taken away from him. It saddens me greatly to see him stuck in a chair, especially when I see the others walking around, who are older - one is 95. Now that he can't walk, he will be transferred to another floor as soon as a bed becomes available, because the floor he's on now is for mobile patients only.
For the past little while, he's also needed assistance with eating - finding that loss also difficult. He's going to be 69 next week - I'm going to have think of a good reason to celebrate.... Ugh.....
Elizabeth, sorry to hear you had that problem & extremely difficult for you since he was still at home. I just don't know how you managed?? Did he ever break any bones when he fell?
My wife had them years before. I also removed all the meds and that caused a slight temporary revival too (I hate the over medication of these and all types of patients). She began falling semi regularly and so we put her into a wheelchair with a seatbelt and that let her get around without falling.
There are clearly distinctly different types of AD where early onset deteriorated steadily even though it took ten years. No six months were the same as any other. Communication of any reliable kind no matter how short was gone halfway through. Many non EOAD patients seem to have a much slower decline.
Your comments about your husband sound very familiar. I'm not sure if that's because (was it Ontario or Quebec?) of the similarity in provider standards.
Nicky, he cracked his sacrum (tailbone) early on--but of course there is no treatment for that other than maybe pain meds. In later years he never broke any bones, thank goodness.
Wolf - the facility is in Quebec. I don't have any issues with his level of care. He has been well taken care of.
The facility called today & they already have a bed available on the 3rd floor & they are moving him up there tomorrow. The 3rd floor is equipped for patients who have lost or losing mobility. Hopefully, he'll adjust to his new surroundings easily. To make matters worse, my daughter & I are leaving on Sunday to attend a funeral in our home town (8 hour trip) & will return on Wednesday. I'll only have tomorrow to spend time with him to help him adjust. All the PSW I've spoken to today, have reassured me they will take good care of him while I'm gone. I don't doubt he'll get good care, I just hope my absence will not affect him. But I'm reminding myself, he doesn't always know me.