Alzheimer's & Flailing Arms

My mother is in late stages Alzheimer's and woke up this morning exhibiting an almost involuntary flailing arm movement accompanied by an audible moan (not pain); she also missed a chair and fell to the floor -- something she has never done before -- as if she had lost her balance/motor skills. She was taken to the ER, examined, brain scan normal, released. She has been in the wandering around the house stage for quite some time (almost two years) and has assisted care in my sister's home 24/7; she is also incontinent, barely verbal, with minimal comprehension. Among her meds are Excel and Zyprexa. She was on Namenda for little over a month which improved her verbal capacity but led to more erratic outbursts and overall management issues. I know there are some posters who work with the elderly or have been in a similar situation such as ours, with a late stages Alzheimer's victim. I would greatly appreciate opinions/input. I read somewhere that this might have something to do with entering the terminal phase. Unfortunately, my mother is only 75 and first started manifesting symptoms ten years ago. I'm so weak from my own autoimmune disease right now that I can't go running to her side ... all I have is this computer for research, my phone for hearing word, and my TV for company.

Mellissa, I'm sorry about your mom. I've worked with Alzheimer's vitims for years and it's really harder on the families than the pt. because the pt's don't remember from one episode to another what's going on, but the family does It does sound like the end stages to me, it also sounds like you've been going through this for a long time. I'm glad to hear you've got assistance with her care. It would be hard for a healthy person to deal with but if you've got health problems of your own you are in quite a bad place...I'm so sorry!! I don't mean to be insensative so PLEASE don't be offended, but have you given any thought to your mom's code status? Meaning CPR or no CPR if her heart should fail? I'm not trying to say you should or should not have it done but you should talk to someone in social services about your options. Perhaps your doctor's office, or the assisted care you are getting for her has a social services dept? Anyway... I know how depressing your situation can be. I am very sorry. If you need to talk feel free to email me! Good luck. Erin

I've been meaning to answer your kind response for well, weeks now and kept forgetting (real comforting when your mom has Alzheimer's) In any case, yeah, we have a DNR on Mom and since I posted in April we have it pretty much confirmed that she has indeed entered the terminal stage. She now sleeps about 1/3 of her "awake time" and the flails -- while infrequent -- are accompanied by an occasional moan ... all consistent with that stage. God bless you for the work you do; it is certainly not emotionally rewarding as Alzheimers patients are limited in the love they return but your karma level has to me max!! Thanks again for taking the time to help and congratulations on making it to the healthy side. {{{HUGS}}}

I'm sorry that your family is going through this, Alzheimer's is such a cruel disease process. I wanted to add that you may want to speak to your sister about protective clothing for your mother since she is flailing her arms and having motor-coordination problems. There are medical supply companies that make slip-on padded underwear that could be worn over a disposable brief. The padding is in the hip area to help prevent a hip fracture if she falls. For her arms, there is a product called gerisleeves that your mother would wear on her lower arms/wrist area, like opera-length gloves but no hand covering. This helps to prevent skin tears, bruising, and abrasions. If there are financial concerns, a modified sleeve made from men's tube socks with one side of the toe area cut out can work. These can also be bought or made for the legs,too. Hope this helps, Rachel