Re: answer for Terri

[Guest guest]

- I appreciate your reply. I think you are right - Mom simply

forgets where the toilet is. Both times this has happened, she has

found the bathroom, but I guess doesn't recognize the toilet. We

will try a large sign identifying the toilet, and hope this works.

She also doesn't realize she's doing this, or many other strange

things (shredding toilet paper, leaving her dentures all over the

house, etc.). Thanks again for your response. I think the " jug "

idea is wonderful, but obviously Mom isn't equipped for accuracy!!!

I do try to keep a sense of humor...

Terri

> One of my farther's first indications of unusual behaviour, which

we later realised was LBD was when, in the night, he got up and

instead of going to the toilet, turned in the opposite direction and

urinated on the kitchen floor. He never realised that he had done

this- he would have been mortified. When in an assessment unit for

three weeks he also had all sorts of problems, during the night, of

finding the appropriate place. The nursing staff decided he

was 'night time' incontent and made him wear an incontinence pad.

This made things much worse because when he woke he would be

struggling with the pad before trying to urinate and inevitably would

have an accident. At home we found that he sometimes used the

wastepaper bin in his bedroom, or sometimes the floor, but we did

manage to solve this one and in the last few months before he died we

had no problems. At night he had a large jug for the purpose, so he

did not need to go to the bathroom, and we placed a night light

immediately over the jug, so that when he woke, he would be given a

strong cue as to where the appropriate vessel was. After this we

never had a problem.

>

> I am sure it is simply a problem of memory - of still retaining the

instinct to urinate in the appropriate place, and to have bladder

control, but sometimes, simpling forgetting what or where the place

is. If my father's problem has reoccured or started happening by day

we had planned to put up big signs in the house pointing the way to

the toilet, and if necessary, labelling the toilet. We fould with

other things, such as light switches, highlighting their presence in

someway, helped him greatly to remember where they were.

>

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/26/01 1:56:09 AM Central Daylight Time,

drowns@... writes:

<< we had planned to put up big signs in the house pointing the way to the

toilet, and if necessary, labelling the toilet. We fould with other things,

such as light switches, highlighting their presence in someway, helped him

greatly to remember where they were. >>

These are good ideas, . Thank you. Cheryl