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My Mom woke up at 3 am every night almost. She also would try and get dressed but I had a baby monitor and could hear her. I went down and showed her that it was still dark out so not time to get up. I put her back to bed and she slept till 8am. Of course, I was now awake and could not get back to sleep. I had baby proof knob covers on the doors.

I did place my Mom. She needed to be safe and I needed a good night sleep. The first night she was in AL I slept thru the night. Heaven.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Sparky, some are wanderers some are not. Wanderers are more work need more watching and more child proofing of your home.

There are stories all the time about dementia patients that wander off. There was one I read the headlines of yesterday in Florida, they found her, and she is ok but she was in a swamp.

There are lots of things you can do, alarms on the doors so if they do get the door open it will go off.

The stove and cooking is the next huge issue, which is not only a danger to the demted but to everyone in the house.

Their brain is broke you need to protect everyone in the house, you can't fix them, you can only try to keep them safe, or put them where they are safe into memory care.
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Reply to Anxietynacy
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We use a motion detector that sounds alarm in our bedroom so I know my MIL is moving in bed even before she gets up. I go in and help her toilet, show her it is dark and tell her it is time for bed and put her back in. Some nights I get up several times so I nap during the day when she naps. This works for us (my husband and myself). Some nights she only gets up once. I still take naps to stay healthy. I also am able to go to exercise classes twice a week, swim once, walk 5 miles one day, and write twice a week for 4 hours each time. We have an aid that comes two mornings a week. My husband and I work together to keep my MIL at home. I find time to knit, read, and enjoy cooking. We tend flowers on the patio and enjoy watching Gunsmoke often!!!! If you choose to be the caregiver, you have to figure out how to live in that time of their life. Like choosing to have a baby. You know you are required to spend most time around that baby so you do it with joy and love and get creative with self care.
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Reply to RetiredBrain
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danieldaniel Aug 22, 2024
Would appreciate knowing the make and model of your motion detector. Thanks!
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I would put them in an anti strip onesie with a hook and eye latch over their door after medicating them with seroquel. That or time for mc.
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Reply to PeggySue2020
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Btjp1956 Aug 21, 2024
And you should never be allowed to care for anyone, especially a senior. You cannot lock an elder away in their room unless you, too, are inside the room. As a nurse who specializes in the elderly, what would make you think that you can administer Seroquel Willy Billy? Seroquel is for patients who need it, it's not meant to be used to keep you from being aggravated. You need to be reported to the Dept of Aging. God all mighty, I hope that you never have contact with any of my family or friends. That's a statement that should be reported as abuse .
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The only way it's legal to lock an elder in their room at night is if YOU are in there with them. It's illegal to lock an elder with dementia alone in their room overnight. Sleep issues go hand and hand with dementia, as well as wandering. Speak to the doctor about medication to keep the elder asleep, hire overnight caregivers, or consider Memory Care Assisted Living.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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AjaRay Aug 22, 2024
I lock my husband with me in our bedroom. It keeps him off the stairs during the night.
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I think that the door alarms idea, plus a lock on the kitchen door for night time, is best.
However, that doesn't resolve the problem of you missing out on sleep, nor of preventing your LO from wandering outside.
You can't lock them in or make the front door too difficult to open because they would be fire hazards.

Personally, if possible, I would consider a secure memory care facility, so that your LO is kept safe and that you have the rest you need to be at your best. You can't do everything, and you can't be the best caregiver that you want to be if you are sleep deprived.
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Reply to MiaMoor
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My Mom wanders the house at night too, I have tried redirecting her but it doesn’t help. When she’s ready she will go back to bed. Make your house as safe as possible. (Fortunately she has zero interest in the kitchen appliances.) I let her do her thing. Ring door bells are good tools- you get a notification when it senses motion at the door. I use a baby monitor that I check each time I get up during the night. I also have coded door knobs on exterior doors. Before the reprimands start- I have checked with a firefighter about them and was told the locks are not an issue for them( fire fighters) they will get in if there is an emergency.
One good piece of advice I’ve read on this forum is that things change, once you figure out how to deal with an issue something else will become an issue. So bear in mind there is no end until the end.
And of course like others have said if the suggested interventions don’t work in your situation then memory care.
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Reply to Clatour
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24 hour supervision. Either in a memory care setting or with night shift caregivers (who stay awake) at home. There are just too many dangers to leave them to their own devices and too detrimental to a caregiver's health if they are continually sleep-deprived.
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Reply to iameli
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Are they going to the bathroom? Are they waking you up?
At this rate, sooner or later they will leave the house at night.
What do you do when you catch them wandering at night?
What if they turn on the stove, or other dangerous activities?

Easier to put the hook and eye latch outside their door high up.
Hopefully they will try to leave and see they can't get out, and go back to bed.

Otherwise time for Memory Care.
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Reply to Dawn88
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Are they looking for voices or do they have their am/pm mixed up?
If they are having visual or audible hallucinations, then Seroquel may help control the visuals and voices which may allow them to stay in bed longer.

My FW has 2 seroquel scripts for sundowning that she takes every night at bedtime, a fast acting and a time released versions. She still wanders 3 or 4 times a night. But, not for very long and she's (most nights) not mean, hateful or scared.

I can usually just tell her to go back and get in bed before you fall down.
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