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Elderly parents

Stepdad with dementia - won't stop talking!

6 replies

Hedonism · 03/01/2024 22:41

Oh my goodness, it's relentless. He won't stop talking. And it's a jumbled up stream of consciousness.

We had a family get together this evening and there were 9 of us in total. I would have liked to catch up with relatives who had travelled and I hadn't seen for a while, but nobody else could really get a word in. He was either telling stories that made no sense, or getting stressed about things that made no sense (e.g. he wanted me to turn on a lamp that was already on, and it was impossible to either persuade him that it was already on, or to distract him!).

In the end we had to tag team, taking it in turns to have 1:1 conversations with him whilst everyone else chatted in a group.

I can see it's coming from a place of confusion and insecurity, but it's exhausting to deal with. My poor mum having to deal with it every day 😞

Sorry, no questions or discussion points particularly, just needed to offload.

OP posts:
olderbutwiser · 03/01/2024 22:49

Ah, dementia. The gift that keeps on giving. So sorry to hear this, it may be a phase that passes. 1:1 with him is a kindness and must have been a real relief for your mum.

Mum5net · 03/01/2024 23:31

Look at it this way - your lovely mum had seven witnesses to her struggles- it’s now all out in the open for her. She might sleep better knowing her nearest and dearest are on the same page. Olderbutwiser is probably right it will be a phase. Your DF may also have been overwhelmed and will relax more with a quieter house.

blueshoes · 03/01/2024 23:51

Could it be sundowning?

Heyhoherewegoagain · 03/01/2024 23:55

It’s such a shit illness…you’re going through this and then if he loses his speech you’d give anything to have it back again…sorry your family had this going on

FrostieBoabby · 04/01/2024 00:17

From personal experience all you can do is tag team and try and appreciate these last months/years of being able to have a conversation of sorts as the next stage will get worse.

Dementia is the cruelest of diseases.

Hedonism · 04/01/2024 07:27

Thank you for your kind comments, that's helped.

I don't think it's sundowning, this is typical behaviour for him at any time of the day but it's true that he does get overwhelmed when there are lots of people around. Which is a kicker, because if there are lots of people then it does spread the load a bit.

Urgh. It really is a shit illness 😞

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