In the past few weeks my mom (stage 6) has really gone downhill mentally and physically.
I could make a long list of all that she has forgotten in the past weeks but it is things like tying her shoes, telling time, how to use her knife and fork and how to brush her teeth that concern me because it is forgetting the basics.
She has also really cut down on the amount she eats so I have added in two drinks of boost a day to try to maintain her nutrition.
She was on Aricept 10 mg at night and Ebixa (namenda)5 mg in the morning and 5 mg at night. We just added in an extra 5 mg of Ebixa yesterday in the morning to bring it to 10mg. I asked the Dr. if we could increase the meds to try to tamp down the anger again.
The problem that I have now is that she has cold sores all around her mouth. She used to get just one and it was never too bad but she has about 6 now and they look pretty sore. The Dr. prescribed zovirax for me to apply 5 times a day.
I have never had a cold sore so I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do for her. Would the sores be painful enough to put her in this bad mood and would it have started two weeks before we saw the sore? My mom doesn't feel pain. (She had a hip replacement and didn't require any pain meds.)
I couldn't get on to this site all morning so I posted on the "other" site. I was told to use cold compresses and popsicles and to change her toothbrush.
I'm wondering if any of you have had experience with cold sores.
I wish I hadn't gone to the other site. They are snipping at each other again. I don't need to read that!!
northernlights

northernlights,
Bill never had cold sores, but I have had them and they can be very painful. I can understand why mom isn't eating and in a bad mood. when they are bad your entire face hurts. I have used alum, which is a powder and that will numb them for awhile. I also have used camphor which dries them up but then you have to use something else to moisten them so they don't crack and make
them even more painful. Maybe a tylenol would make her more comfortable

Don't worry about her not using a fork and knife. I started cutting Bill's food into bite size pieces and gave him a spoon to eat with. Give her anything she wants to eat. Ice cream, pudding, jello or anything she wants.

Another thing I found that helped was to get Bill a plate that was more concave. The higher the sides of the plate was, the easier it was for him to scoop the food up without pushing it off his plate. Go to slip on shoes to make it easier for her. Also a digital clock could help. You will probably have to start helping her brush her teeth. When I had to start taking Bill's teeth out and cleaning them, I wasn't sure. To me there was something about having someones dirty teeth in my hands that was worse than the dirty diaper. But I learned to do it and never gave it a thought.

These earlier changes are probably the hardest because they are physical signs that we see not just memory problems.

I couldn't get on this morning either, I was beginning to think something was wrong with my computer. Don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get on here.

I don't have any experience with cold sores so I can't help you out but I did want to say how sorry I am for your mom's decline. Why is it that when an AD patient goes down hill it is like jumping off a cliff? It always seems like such steep declines before the plateau.

I agree with Joyce that cleaning those teeth was harder than cleaning poop. Does your mom know how to use a fork if you put it in her hand and help her with the first bite? That's what I had to do for a long time. Frankly I was glad when she forgot how to use a knife.

Thanks Joyce and Lori for you advice and understanding. These declines are hard to adjust to and just when I do then she slides again. I just shake my head when I think about how much she changed and how fast.
I have been giving her tylenol every four hours today and I even got a few smiles so it must be helping.
I do have slip on shoes but they are not her favourite. If the others disappear they may become her favourites.
Even a digital clock is beyond her understanding now. She can't even tell if it is night when she looks out the window and sees that it is dark.
Today I put the paste on the toothbrush and handed it to her and she managed pretty well. I will just have to be there beside her from now on to coach her through it.
I wasn't clear about the knife and fork. I meant that she can't cut up food using both utensils at the same time. She uses her fork but I always put a spoon at her place too so quite often she will use that for the whole meal. I am ready to stop serving soup as it is too hard for her to get it to her mouth.
I had to laugh when you both said that you didn't like to clean false teeth. I worked nights in a nursing home and after I had everyone settled for the night I had to go into each room and clean the teeth. I did about 40 sets a night. Of course I wore gloves!!!
Thanks again.
northernlights

Hi Northernlights,
I'm wondering if you can also give her Ibuprofen(Motrin) as it is an anti-inflammatory.

Hi Maebee, When my mom fell in October the Dr. in emergency told me to never give my mom ibuprophen because she takes an asprin every morning. He said to only use tylenol. It must have something to do with a tendency to bleed or bruise.
Today the cold sores look better and she ate her full breakfast.
northernlights

Oh, right about the aspirin! It also can cause tremendous stomach problems.

I am so glad there are signs of improvement today!

Hi, there is a mouthwash I had to buy when mom had thrush - no prescription needed. It's called Prevention and it's with the other mouthwashes, but tends to be on the bottom shelf. Should be about $6.50 per bottle. On the label it says it helps to heal cold sores (I think there is zinc and something else in it), you could try putting some on a washcloth and dabbing the sores with it since they're not inside the mouth.

Thanks Judy, I'll have a look for that tomorrow.
northernlights

Northernlights, First of all let me say how sorry I am that you are going through such a rough time with your Mom. I personally have had problems with cold sores most of my life. I can tell you that if there is a lot of them that it can make Mom feel bad all over. Over the years I have discovered that the majority of the time when I get a cold sore it is because my stomach is or has been upset (medications can cause me to have cold sores as well). About the only way I can personally treat a cold sore is to apply a topical ointment (like the doctor gave you for your Mom) and then try to get my digestive system back on track. I either eat a cup of Yoplait (any flavor), because it has the best cultures to restore the bacteria that your stomach needs for breakfast and for lunch for a few days and if that isn't enough help I will drink sweet asodopholis (sp?) milk every day for about a week.

L-Lysine 500 mg (sp?) dietary supplement helps as well (but only take it for about a week at a time). Now when I feel the first signs of a cold sore (usually after I ahve been highly stressed) I will eat an extra cup of yogart for a few days and it seems to keep it from popping up. Since you can't tell if your Mom is feeling the starting of a cold sore then it might not be a bad idea to give her yogurt a couple of times a week. I had a problem getting BFM (BoyFriends Mom) to eat yogurt (if she knew what it was, so i would tell her it was pudding (worked every time.. ha ha).

I don't know if any of this makes sense to you, but hopefully it will help.

Thanks so much for the information Denise.
It is a week today since we went to the Dr. The cold sores are just about gone but the VERY bad mood persists. I think she must still be feeling bad but is unable to figure out how to tell me.
I will have to trick her into having yogurt but I will try. She had typhoid as a child and now won't eat custard or yogurt or any of the soft food that she ate for so long while she was sick.
As far as I know my mom didn't have any stomach trouble before the cold sores came out.
It is so good of you to tell me how this affects you. Until this episode I thought it was just the lips that were affected. Now I know what to watch for and maybe could head it off next time.
northernlights

I am glad that her sores are getting better. One thing I forgot to tell you is that aspirin, antibiotics or some other mediations can rob her digestive system of the much needed bacteria that allows it to do what it is suppose to do. Stress is a big factor as well. Some people when they get stressed their stomach creates to much bile and that bile will depleted the bacteria in their stomach (that is usally my case). Some times when I ingest to many high acid foods (orange juice, tomatoes, coffee, green grapes) it will do the same thing. Most of the time I wont even know that my stomach is out of sync until I start feeling a cold sore.

Since I don't know your Mom or what stage she is in I don't know for sure, but one thing to consider is that she might feel bad from something and is getting stressed because she can't communicate what is wrong. When BFM first started her decline so that she couldn't communicate what was going on with her physically there was a major source of stress for her. She would get very hateful and hard to contend with over simple things like not knowing what the day of the week was or what time it was. She would get so mad that she would throw her shoes across the room if she couldn't get one of them tied. We are not even going to start talking about what would happen if she couldn't figure out the remote!!!!!!! (Yikes)

The only suggestion I can make is try to the best of your ability (which I am sure you are doing) is eleminate as much frustration in her life as possible.. shoes that don't tie, preprogram the tv to change channels in time for her favorite shows (no remote issues.. ha ha) Clear Lip Gloss instead of "Red" Lip Stick, for when she can't remember exactly how to apply it correctly. A huge Calendar with the days marked off on her wall (to help with the day of the week.) A Large Screen Digital Clock in her room to help her know what time it is. If your Mom is anything like BFM was.. then it's the little things (basics) that she used to do daily that she started forgetting how to do that really threw her for a tailspin. It would take me days, weeks and even months to settle her down some times.

My heart goes out to you. I know how difficult it is right now. One way I used to get BFM to eat yogurt was put it in the freezer for about 1 hour (I only used French Vanilla yogurt for this one) and let it get really cold almost frozen then I would pour a little bit of honey over it and sprinkle a little wheat germ on top and tell her it was an ice cream sundea.. Actually it is pretty good that way. ha ha But the wheat germ helped keep her a little more regular the honey is a GREAT anitoxident and yogurt is good for the digestive system.

After taking care of BFM for 4 years.. I had a big bag of tricks to get her to eat things that was good for her (she was a VERY picky eater) or do things she didn't want to do (like change her clothes or wash her hair.. or keeping her eye open while I tried to put drops in them!!!!!! ugggggg)

Thanks Denise for the excellent advice. My mom does take an asprin every day and just lately she has had quite a few green grapes (they have been on sale) and she loves them.
I will definitely try to get more yogurt into her. The suggestion to freeze it is great. She just loves ice cream and it is what I always keep on hand to calm her down when needed.
My mom has been quite stressed about being able to get out and go for walks. She paces around the house demanding that I take her. We just walk around the block and then she is happy for another 15 minutes.
My mom is in stage 6 and is starting to sundown and be agitated most of the day. She has had a big change in her abilities just lately.
Oh yes...eye drops...isn't it fun to try to get those drops in...every night for the rest of her life!!!
Thanks again.
northernlights

I'm not for sure how acidic the grapes are but I would stay away from anything acidic if she is prone to cold sores. A nurse friend of mine uses Abreiva and swears by it. Also, if she drinks soda or juice by the can, give it to her through a straw instead. Something about the aluminum can seems to hasten cold sores as well.
Lol, I just looked and saw someone else mentioned the acidic foods. Great minds, huh. Have you talked with her dr. about the recent changes in her demeanor lately? Perhaps there is medication he can prescribe for her to take the edge off. It really does help, for both of you.

Take care.

Thanks for the information Snickers. My mom doesn't usually drink juice. I have been trying to give her more of the boost type drinks. I will take the acidic foods out of her diet.
If you wants to advise me about meds. I would be glad to have your opinion.
About a year and a half ago the dr. started my mom on aricept because she was so agitated and angry. She started with 5mg and then it was increased to 10mg awhile later. She calmed down and wasn't too angry until Oct. when she started all over again. I started her on 3mg of melatonin at bedtime and it really helped calm her in the evening.The Dr. added in 5mg of Ebixa (namenda) twice a day and she was on that until last week when he told me to double the namenda to 10 mg twice a day. During all these months the Dr. was also trying to get her blood pressure regulated. She had never had any blood pressure problems in her life. That is under control now but it seems that the aricept and melatonin and namenda aren't doing anything at all.
The Dr. is very reluctant to start new meds but will if I say we are having a bad time. I did some reading today and am wondering if I should try 6mg of melatonin. Have any of you used this with any good results?
I feel sorry for my mom when she is angry all the time. It can't be good to live that way. I have booked an appointment next week to discuss this with the Dr.
I look forward to your advice.
northernlights