Mom has started obsessing about her fingers. She is walking around the house holding her fingers out like they are foreign objects. They are always dirty, oily, and have something on them that needs to be washed away. Last week we added a new symptom, they are hot dogs that need to be fed to the dog, thrown away, or just in general gotten rid of somehow. Tried distraction, tried actually pretending to "put them away", tried cleaning them, I am at a loss. The doc was no help yesterday. Just told me that yes they can begin doing strange things, duhhhhhhhhh. Where do we go from here? By the way, I have put all of the sharp knives away so they can't be "cut up and thrown out", yes also one of her options for those hot dogs. If it wasn't so sad it would be hysterically funny.


COS, how do you add pictures to your messages????

Oh that obssesive compulsive behavior is very common. Although I have to say, I don't know what to tell you about the hot dogs. With Helen it was cleaning the dashboard on the car with her finger. Now that wouldn't have been too bad but I took her on a trip and we drove from California to Canada with her cleaning the dash board the entire time she was awake. It took everything I had just to keep my mouth shut and let her do it. I'll tell you, somtimes you just have to laugh to stay sane.

Oh I forgot to add, the easiest way to add a picture is to just click on the icon that looks like a picture of mountains. You can also do it by creating a photo bucket account. It's free to do. I haven't done it in awhile so I'll let someone else explain it to you. I'm afraid my memory isn't what it used to be.

One of my ladies I care for has an obsession over clothes not being hung up. I literally have to get her occupied with painting or coloring in another room while I go through everything in her closet to remove the dirty clothes that she's hung back up-- including dirty undies and socks!!

Thankfully, she can't remember that I've been through her things and she can't figure out how to open up the dirty clothes hamper!

Bill's big thing was straightening the throw pillows on the sofa and smoothing the blankets on his bed. In the beginning it was pickingup pieces of lint off the carpet. He also like to look at greeting cards. Towards the end it was shuffling cards around. He would sit all day and play with 10-15 cards.
At least I never had to worry about him cutting things.

My grandmother too, would walk around holding the fingers of one hand as if they were objects, and sometimes she'd stare at them and ask us what they were, or try to give them to us. Poor dears.

Yes, she has done that too Crella. Most of the time she is trying to throw them in the garbage. She asks me all the time what they are and why she has to have them.

I don't understand the doctors response though. She could have at least tried to give me some direction instead of telling me something I already knew. Frustration........lots of it, with the medical profession around here.

I feel so sorry for our LOs when they go through such frustration.

Oh, Linda, this is just awful. Have you tried gloves or mittens? My Mom is a picker. I use mittens as the-doctor-said mitten therapy. I even use those rubber fingertip thingies from the office supply store which help. At least the on and off again keeps her occupied for a while. I'm trying to think of something you could use to "hide" her hands, yet something she could take off(?) Or perhaps rings or braclets? I don't suppose painting her nails would do anything. Just throwing ideas here. Gosh, I can imagine how frustrating this is for you and so sad for her. I'm sorry. It's so hard to keep their hands occupied.

And boy, if these doctors would only--really--walk a mile in our shoes, right? I hear ya.

Mundee, a closet thing I've tried is turning the clothes hangers around to hook on the backside of the rod instead of the front. I've done that with off-season clothes I don't want Mom to wear and she thinks something's wrong with the hanger when she can't get it off. At least you might be able to keep easier track of what's clean and what's not because she will naturally hang from the front.

Keep us posted Linda.

Linda, what meds is your mother currently taking if I can ask?

Aitan,

How is Grandma doing? We haven't had an update in awhile.

Linda,
I've been reading your post over and over again trying to think of something that may help your mom. I even walked into the kitchen holding my fingers while thinking about it to see if something would click in my mind what may be bothering her.

As I walked into the kitchen, I walked right over to my counter where my hand lotion sits. I must put that stuff on ten times a day. Well, maybe just try putting a bottle of lotion on the table or where she can see it right away. AS soon as she starts the finger thing, suggest she put lotion on. I would suggest the pump kind which would probably be easier for her to handle.

Who knows, maybe her hands are just dry, or she just needs to try her own distraction which would be pumping the lotion and rubbing it on her hands. When she starts about being dirty, oily or anything to do with her fingers, tell her you know what she means, and this has helped you, and start pumping the lotion on YOUR hands and she if she'll follow suit.

This may sound a little crazy, but it seems that the crazy things work on them the best.

Let us know what does finally work, as who knows when one of our loved ones will start the same thing.

Jackie

And yes Aitan, how is grandma doing? Give us an update.

Aitan mom is on 5 mg Aricept 1/day and 10 mg Namenda 2/day as well as Midodrine, Fludrocortisone, Cetirizine Hydrochloride, Sertraline, and Lorzaepam (when needed, hasn't had this for over a yr) and 2 Tylenol for arthritis pain.

As for why she is doing this it is because she thinks there is something wrong because they are oily and shiny. She is used to her hands being dry all the time. She did housecleaning for people and her hands were always dry from the chemical cleaners. I just can't convince her that nothing is wrong.

Tried painting her nails she forgot all about that and hand lotion makes things worse. Tried everything suggested so far except the gloves and with the weather getting hot I know she wouldn't leave them on. They didn't stay on during the winter when the weather was freezing. Most of the time she had them off by the time we got to the car.

Thank you for trying, if I figure something out I will sure post for everyone else.

Bless your heart!

How about a stack of warm, damp washcloths in the crock pot or some kind of warmer. You'd have to play with it to find the right temperature but it could be something "ready" for you, wet and warm for her to wipe her hands, yet not too wet she would need to dry. Hmmmm, I'll keep thinking.

If the oily feel and shiny look is the problem, why don't you try baby powder? Better yet, try one of those Gold Bond powders that tingles just a little bit. It will make her hands feel cool and dry, and perhaps the tingling sensation will be pleasing to her.

It's worth a try...