Can't find toilet, nighttime wandering

mike862,
My husband has Alzheimer's and last night he got disoriented and fell while trying to get to the bathroom. Luckily, he didn't break any bones, but he got pretty banged up trying to grab a chair on the way down. I am going to get a nightlight for our bedroom and hopefully that will help him.

You can try a pad sensor that alarms when they leave the bed. There is also a urine collector pad and pump for women and men.

@katrina123 I tend to stay up later than my husband and didn’t like moving around a dark house. I have an autoimmune disease that makes my walking unsteady. So my husband put night lights in the bathrooms and motion detector lights in the hallways and on the stairs. What a difference!! The motion detector lights are small and put out just enough light to see by. And I just love it!

This can be exhausting for all involved. Teaching new behaviors is not usually possible, so I would likely try a few things. First check for a possible UTI. That can cause night risings to urinate. If treated, that could help. If not, I’d discuss medication with her doctor to help her stay asleep. Anxiety can cause night awakenings too.
And, start Depends at night as a precaution. My dad wasn’t keen on them at first, but I explained they were functional underwear that would help his condition and the doctor suggested he try them to help with his skin. He accepted that. He sometimes wanted his cloth briefs and that was ok. Eventually, he was on Depends all the time, even though he tried to use the toilet too.

When she goes to the bathroom does she actually use it? My dad had an illusion that he had to go and that he was going, but he was not. We checked. It was an illusion. You could not convince him otherwise. It kept him up multiple times a night. Medication helped quite a bit.

We tried putting a bedside toilet by the bed. Easy on and off, then back to bed….didn’t work. He didn’t like it.

You can also consider getting a night sitter to assist her, so you can get rest.

https://www.google.com/search
Happy dreams.

@becsbuddy

I never thought about motion detector lights. Good idea.

Thanks

Yes, motion detector lights are wonderful. I had same problem with hubby. I got some that run on 3 batteries and snap onto any furniture on by magnet (comes with adhearing magnet) and thus create a path that lights the way as it senses motion. One at end of bed, one on hope chest in middle of room, one on doorway to bathroom, one on side of tub and nightlight in toilet room. Works perfectly! Husband kept missing the toilet so I got a toilet light that makes the bowl glow a color of his choice(blue) and no more misses! All from Amazon.

I also bought a few portable eyeball motion lights I take on trips with us and place on floor path that light the way to bathroom. They are battery operated and work perfectly! Also Amazon.

I've written about this before. My husband had sundowning. He got up in the middle of one night, wandered outide on our 22 acre property and was found face down in the dirt. He had hypothermia and the ambulance took him to the emergency room.
I solved it by giving him 10 mg of melatonin at 4pm and another dose of 10 mg melatonin at 9 or 10 pm. He never sundowned again except for the time my son forgot to give him his first dose until 6 pm.

They also make motion detection lights that sit under your bed