My mother started tonight to talk (in her sleep)without using words but giberish, does this mean her condition is geting worst and she wont be able to communicate in the future? Thank you! Ro - Alzheimer's Staging

1/13/12 9:19am

People often mumble or talk strangely in their sleep. Since her words didn't make sense, it could mean a change in cognitive abilities, but it also could just be her dream. I wouldn't put too much weight on that. You could mention it at her next checkup. If she starts talking giberish while awake, you should let the doctor know.

Take care, Rosana,

Carol

rosana gonzalez

1/13/12 11:32am

Thank you Carol, today she is fine, she is slowing down in general and takes more time to find her words. i will definitely keep a close eye on it, Rosana

Carol Bradley Bursack, Health Guide

1/13/12 12:54pm

Don't forget to take care of yourself, too: )

Carol

rosana gonzalez

1/15/12 9:21am

Thank you Carol, good reminder!!!! and I am trying....!!!!!

NC

1/13/12 11:29pm

Ro, it depends on her stage. If she has moderate stage of Alzheimer's, then this just shows a little bit about her speech problem but it is not major as long as she can express herself even if she talks about nonsense.

Usually it is only in severe stage or stage 7 when the person will stop talking or become passive in talking. My father-in-law is in severe stage and he just stopped talking actively recently. He declined last year in May and he cannot walk and has trouble expressing himself. Now he talks very poorly and at times he closes his eyes and sleeps away from the confusion.

My FIL did talk giberish like "wawawa" or "bien bien bien" 3 or 4 years ago if he wanted to make fun of us. But now he really cannot express much although he can still talk to us passively and reply with simple sentence. No more paragraph or long comments.

If she is in moderate stage, it will still be a long while before she really stops talking. If she is in her sleep, then she was just dreaming and talking and it may be like my FIL's "wawawawawa" kind of thing. Sometimes when he was in panic, he would also talk like this "bien bien bien bien".
But the person won't stop talking until severe stage of Alzheimer's.

Hope this helps,

NC

rosana gonzalez

1/15/12 9:20am

THANK YOU NC!!!!! Of course it helped!! a lot!!!!. She does not talk as much as she used to..but still forms sentences and comunicate. There are times when she

will not stop for 24 or the longest 48 hours without sleeping, talking nonsense and having auditive and visual hallucinations then she drops and sleeps for 14 or15 hours without waking up, of ocurse totally exhausted. The Dr. doesn't want tosoeme medicate her when she gets into this episodes unless she becomes aggressive which she has never become so far.

It is such a looong journey....... now the new thing is on weekends when i have someone else taking care of her, she does sooo well, no complains, very cooperative, active, etc. but.....during the week when she is only with me day and night the complaining is constant.......cant walk.....im getting old......im dizzy...and she sleeps a lot...even she talks at night ONLY when i sleep with her.

I wish there is a store somewhere where i could buy Mega doses of PATIENCE!!

Overall she is very good and i still think it is a privilege that i could take care of her, so far.......... thank you, i needed to unload a bit...lol !!!!!

rosana gonzalez

1/15/12 9:20am

THANK YOU NC!!!!! Of course it helped!! a lot!!!!. She does not talk as much as she used to..but still forms sentences and comunicate. There are times when she

will not stop for 24 or the longest 48 hours without sleeping, talking nonsense and having auditive and visual hallucinations then she drops and sleeps for 14 or15 hours without waking up, of ocurse totally exhausted. The Dr. doesn't want tosoeme medicate her when she gets into this episodes unless she becomes aggressive which she has never become so far.

It is such a looong journey....... now the new thing is on weekends when i have someone else taking care of her, she does sooo well, no complains, very cooperative, active, etc. but.....during the week when she is only with me day and night the complaining is constant.......cant walk.....im getting old......im dizzy...and she sleeps a lot...even she talks at night ONLY when i sleep with her.

I wish there is a store somewhere where i could buy Mega doses of PATIENCE!!

Overall she is very good and i still think it is a privilege that i could take care of her, so far.......... thank you, i needed to unload a bit...lol !!!!!

rosana gonzalez

1/15/12 9:20am

THANK YOU NC!!!!! Of course it helped!! a lot!!!!. She does not talk as much as she used to..but still forms sentences and comunicate. There are times when she

will not stop for 24 or the longest 48 hours without sleeping, talking nonsense and having auditive and visual hallucinations then she drops and sleeps for 14 or15 hours without waking up, of ocurse totally exhausted. The Dr. doesn't want tosoeme medicate her when she gets into this episodes unless she becomes aggressive which she has never become so far.

It is such a looong journey....... now the new thing is on weekends when i have someone else taking care of her, she does sooo well, no complains, very cooperative, active, etc. but.....during the week when she is only with me day and night the complaining is constant.......cant walk.....im getting old......im dizzy...and she sleeps a lot...even she talks at night ONLY when i sleep with her.

I wish there is a store somewhere where i could buy Mega doses of PATIENCE!!

Overall she is very good and i still think it is a privilege that i could take care of her, so far.......... thank you, i needed to unload a bit...lol !!!!!

AFA Social Services, Health Guide

1/17/12 1:19pm

Aphasia, the inability to communicate effectively, is certainly a symptom of Alzheimer's disease, and one that can will usually get increasingly worse as the disease progresses. Marked changes and decreased abilities in the individual's speech and communication can signal progression of the disease. In the moderate stages of the disease, individuals will incorrectly pronounce words, use incorrect words, and lose fluency of the language, and in the later stages, there may be the addition of increased repetition of phrases and/or "gibberish." However, it is recommended that these changes be brought up to your mother's physician for further assessment and evaluation to make sure there is no other medical reason for this behavior.

rosana gonzalez

1/17/12 1:22pm

Thank you for your response!, Rosana

Dorian Martin, Health Guide

1/17/12 3:57pm

Hi, Rosana,

I agree with everyone has to say. I also wanted to add that in my experiences, people with Alzheimer's don't go through a linear decline. They'll get worse for awhile, then improve for awhile, and then revert. Although Mom didn't speak giberish, we did see it when she would "psych" herself up to see someone she hadn't seen for awhile and would seem like she shouldn't be in the nursing home. And then the next day, she was totally mentally drained and could barely interact with anyone.

So my advice is try to take the long view instead of putting yourself on the emotional roller coaster. Talk to her doctor about what to expect and value your time with her. And do take care of yourself because watching your mom go through this can be very stressful.

Take care and keep us posted!

Dorian

rosana gonzalez

1/18/12 7:50am

Thank you Dorian so much!. you are absolutely right, it's not a linear decline, slowly I'm finding that out. Everyday is different and dont know what she would do or not do in any particular day. And yes, you are right about taking the long view, I feel at times i"m way too much involved with every single move of hers. Actually yesterday, she asked me if I didn't have a job or friends to visit!! Thank you!! Rosana

NC

1/17/12 11:51pm

Rosana,

The other thing I would like to add is, even if she can no longer talk, she can still listen or watch people around her. If she does not like to talk, she can still sit in the living room and listen to the music you play. She can still check out the landscape outside and etc. Even if she stops walking or talking, don't forget she can still listen, see and eat! Work with what she has left.

Take care,

NC

rosana gonzalez

1/18/12 7:56am

Thank you NC, she loves to go to the park!, R.

rosana gonzalez

1/18/12 7:56am

Thank you NC, she loves to go to the park!, R.