Endless chatter: Has anyone experienced this?

Could be indicative of UTI/mania caused by infection. Or, could be normal-range self-soothing or self-stimulating behavior. I'd suggest you get her checked out for UTI if this is new for her. But self-soothe/stim verbal behaviors are common for dementias and Alz, I believe. My grandmother did the same thing. I thought at first it was prayers since she was a devout Catholic and it was just babble. But I think now, in hindsight, it was an automatic reinforcer for her, a self stimulating behavior.

https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/non-stop-talking.99858/

Put some headphones on them with their favorite kind of music.

The constant, nonsense chatter is exhausting to listen to, striving to make sense of the babble. Maybe you could try giving her a baby doll and some clothes for it. Or a baby-sized teddy bear. One woman in the MC I worked in often spent all day with 3 dolls happily changing clothes, cuddling them and talking quietly to them, laughing often. She seemed very content and didn't bother other residents. Even ravaged by dementia she needed to care for and love her little ones, just like any good mother would. It was quite touching to see.

My brother does the same thing. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He refuses to take any medications so not much that can be done. Diazepam/valium used to help but CDC/Medicare, et al, doesn't approve of it especially when taken with any opioid pain medications.

Keep working with the doctors and staff on testing several antianxiety medications until you find the right right drug(s) and dosage to help her relax. She may need mild sedatives at night to help her to sleep.

That does sound exhausting. Try a different approach that encourages her to keep talking, like asking all kinds of questions. Keep up the pace with the questions that require short answers. Now she has to listen for next question and that is exhausting. Good luck , hope it helps. 💕

The use of psychotropic medicines in the elderly is a big challenge. First of all, because old people have a slower metabolism and an increased sensitivity to their good and also bad effects. They only tolerate small doses and depending on other medical conditions they suffer, some of these drugs can't be used. They also have bad interactions with other medicines. So, every patient is unique and what works for someone, would probably kill another one. So the fact that one medicine helped a particular patient, doesn't necessarily mean that it will work in another one. Haldol and Seroquel are both anti-psychotics. That means that they can improve hallucinations, delusions and agitation in schizophrenics and other types of psychosis. They have no beneficial effects in dementia, other han knocking out the patient. Haldol has very harsh side-effects. Seroquel is more benign but it has a very strong sedative effect. Furthermore, all antipsychotics increase the risk of cerebro-vascular accidents (strokes). They can be used in extreme emergencies, but its on-going use is discouraged. Doctors who prescribe them risk liability if the patient suffers a stroke. Ativan is a minor tranquilizer used to treat anxiety. It's rather weak to control agitation, but is not very dangerous for old people, but because it's habit-forming, it's considered a controlled substance, like narcotics. Other anti- anxiety drugs used occasionally with dementia patients are Valium and Xanax, like Ativan, they are all controlled substances. Someone had mentioned Trazodone. This is an old antidepressant which is used primarily as a non-addictive sleeping medicine. So, finding the right medicine to control some of the symptoms of patients with dementia, is very challenging. However, it's better to avoid using psychotropic medicines, because all of them affect the brain and aggravate the dementia. One has to accept the fact that medicine has its limitations and that not all of the problems that patients with dementia show, can be controlled. The disease will progressively continue to bring down the patient despite the best efforts to avoid it. Certain symptoms will remain. In all honesty, the medicines used for demented patients aren't aimed at helping the patient, but as a convenience for those people around them because those symptoms can be very annoying. Patients with dementia are disconnected in various degrees with the outside world. The symptoms don't bother them, they don't cause them any pain o suffering. However, the caregivers deserve some rest, and this can only be achieved if the patient gets sedated.

Dear VA,

Not sure if this has anything to be helpful, but I will relay what happened w/ my Mom:
I just moved her into a smaller 6 resident B&C from a large chain asst living / mem care place (she was in mem care).
I also had -still do - 24/7 caregivers since she broke her hip. She is on hospice which began 2 wks before we left the old place.

Anyway, at the Big Place, she started doing this same thing, alternating intense chattiness w/ raising her blanket & staring into space, often pointing at something but generally silent at these times.

She also had many bouts of agitation. Ativan didn't help much, & at these big places, it's major hoops to jump changing meds, Can be done, but not expediently like when you're on hospice.

She's now on Seroquel 50mg PM before bed (started at 25); Haldol avail in day 2mg if needed, but it rarely is. And that MIGHT be dues to, in part, to her getting some good sleep at night now!

Not wanting to highjack your thread...will do a search as to why Haldol is not regarded well. I am very interested in other's experiences!

Guess my point is this: different ppl react to meds differently. No two seem to be 100% alike. DEF contact your hospice to relay what's happening. I did, and took photos to text as well. Like a previous poster intimated, don't let hospice dismiss your concerns. Show them photo / video proof.

My case mgr did say, as log as Mom doesn't seem agitated, meaning, she's just chatty, let her talk. But if it's distressing to her, it needs addressing.

Best of luck to you!!

Ask the doctor to prescribe liquid lorazepam. That will get things under control. Halidol is a horrendous drug that should be taken off the market in my opinion.
I've had some clients over the years with Alzheimer's who babbled nonsense continually. The liquid lorazepam helped them a thousand times better than a pill did. You also have to try to just ignore the nonsense chattering. Try leaving a tv on for her. Sometimes that's a distraction and the babbling stops. If the chattering is going on at night, try not to let her sleep during the day. This will be hard but wake her up if she's dozing off. A dose of lorazepam at night and she'll go to sleep at night.
If the constant chattering is keeping he house up at night and no one is getting a break, you might want to consider a nursing home for her. Sometimes that's the only way. I wish you all the best.

My mom takes Trazodone 100mg for the non-stop chattering. She takes it three times a day. The medication works great but it wears off within 4 hours. They started her on 50mg after a year it was increased because chatty cathy was back again. Ask the doctor about it.

@cignal,

I don't see you offering anything but criticism. At least TChamp and PeggySue are trying to give the OP some good advice. You're not.
Let me tell you something. As people here already know, I've been an in-home caregiver for a long time. Mostly to elderly people and can say with almost 25 years of experience that everything can't always be blamed on a UTI.
You know TChamp can be a tool sometimes with some of the things he says, but he's spot on about people being kept alive when they are nothing but a misery to themselves and everyone else. What a wretched life for so many elders when their bodies outlive them. I've had clients whose lives were being spoon-fed then pissing and crapping in their diapers. Then a caregiver cleans them up and repositions them. They have no life other than this, yet they still feel pain. If only a human being could be shown the same mercy as we can show an animal who is suffering.

It sounds like advanced stages of Alzheimer’s/Dementia. My Dad has it. Nothing helps. Some sleep medications seem to make it worse for him. He talks all day and all night in his sleep. I would suggest trying Ginseng for focus as long as there are not any interactions with her current medications. Ear plugs might help those around some.

Perhaps she should be seen by her physician.

Glad the Haldol is gone. It can create so many problems. If the Lorazepam is not helping, talk to her primary or a neuro dr that specializes in Alzheimer's.

It's possible this is just the route her illness has gone. It is frustrating for you because it is something new. I hope that you can find the strength to deal with it. I know my words don't really help, but blessings to you and the family.

Can you correlate the chatter with any change in meds?

Mom in Law would "chatter" too for long periods of time. I listened to her and it seemed like she was trying to tell us something, like a story. Toward the end of her life, this stopped. We would still talk to her, tell her stories of what we were doing, and she seemed to understand. I don't know what they were giving her, if anything. Regrettably, we didn't always ask what meds she was on. We learned a lot during that time. My heart goes out to you because I have an idea of what you and your family is going through.

maybe she needs a brain MRI...to rule out tumor

You have to realize and accept the fact that Alzheimer's is a deadly incurable disease that destroys the brain totally. She has arrived to the last stage of the disease when there are almost no live brain cells left. Medications to help her dementia don't exist. Only drugs to keep her quiet to allow the caregivers to catch some deserved rest. Lorazepam is too weak to sedate her, while Haldol is too strong. There is practically nothing that can be done at this time, other than to put her under anesthesia. However, it appears that the end is near. With honesty, she has been dead for many years, but the caregivers and the doctors have kept her breathing to prolong everybody's agony. I don't think that the caregivers feel now very proud for having kept her "alive" for so many years. I hope no "google doctor" pop-ups with the brilliant idea that she has to be tested for UTI.

I don't know how helpful this will be....

I didn't want anyone caring for my husband except me, but close to his end, I reached a point I didn't know how to care for him anymore so let in hospice. It ended up being during his last eight days.

Bear in mind, as I learned to, that hospice (like other professionals) tend to only give care based on their experience (e.g., this amount of drug X works best for such and such disease).

First priority for hospice was pain management. I kept telling them he was still in pain, they said impossible. My persistence led them to bring in their pain specialist, who also said it was impossible for him to be feeling pain.

So the Universe has a wonderful way of having my back, and what happened was a particular thing that we all knew would cause my husband to react with pain, happened, and in front of the charge nurse...who only then believed me. And then they altered the meds. It would keep him knocked out they said.

Then I told them he was still cognizant and reacting to me (and pain)--that it wasn't involuntary movement on his part. I told them I had "tested" it out, and had a friend watch me, too, who also said it wasn't involuntary. Hospice said that couldn't be.

A very special male nurse let me show him "the test" and I told him what I told the charge nurse and social worker. He saw that my husband WAS responding to me, it wasn't involuntary. An adjustment to meds were made again.

Then my husband began constantly howling with pleas, including pleading with his deceased father to help him, asking why wasn't he helping him, then pleading with his deceased mother about why wasn't Dad helping him, etc.

The very special male nurse finally saw/heard this; I heard him tell the charge nurse on the phone that she had to do something--"this poor man is being tortured" (mentally).

Another change of meds.

In those eight days, these things and other things happened--b/c they wouldn't initially believe me (and I understood why they "couldn't").

What bothered me was thinking how many other LOs have suffered unnecessarily either b/c what caregivers were describing didn't fit medical "molds" and/or the caregivers didn't know what they were seeing was actually cause for alarm, b/c they were told their LO was okay.

My points to this winded reply are:
Not everyone fits the mold.
Keep observing for yourself and stay persistent in your quest for them to keep altering their strategy. If they think what they've done is "enough," especially when family stays silent, that's all they'll do.

Quite a few people had to be forced to think outside the box with my husband, and I cringe to think how he suffered b/c they believed I didn't understand what happens when the body is in shut-down mode. What THEY didn't understand is how keyed in I am to such things...and after taking care of my husband alone for seven months, I learned his body, his reactions, and learned to think outside the box. (Had go-arounds with the oncologist, too--I'd say such and such is happening and he'd say no, it wasn't...but he learned, ah, yes, it was.)

Best wishes to you, your family, and your mom. I know how awful and unnerving "the noise" she makes must be for you.

Contact your mom's hospice nurse to update her on this new behavior; I'd request a higher dose of Lorazepam or a change to Ativan or another anxiety medication. Your mother should not be exhausted or anxiety ridden in any way, shape or form now that she's under hospice care. That's the whole point OF hospice; to keep her comfortable at all times.

My mother (with advanced dementia) had a horrible time with Sundowning and it was getting progressively worse with every passing week. Her hospice nurse was able to keep things relatively quiet by increasing her Ativan dose from .25 mgs to .5 mgs every 8 hours and then supplemented with as needed, too. That did the trick with her angry outbursts and anxiety in general. I believe your mother's constant chattering for hours on end is a sign of agitation/anxiety as well. Alz/dementia is such a hateful condition; I'm sorry you are both going through such a stressful situation. Sending a hug and a prayer that it's all over soon, and mom's at perfect peace. I felt relieved when my mother passed last month after suffering for a long time with dementia. It's just too much for the poor souls to deal with.

My Mom hummed and she got so loud it effected the other residents. They called it an anxiety and its not good for them. Sorry, not sure what they gave her. Did calm her down but then she just sat. No scooting around in her WC. Daughter said it sort of quality over quantity thing. My Mom passed about 2 weeks after this.