My mom thinks her refrigerator is warm. It's not. She keeps throwing away groceries. It's at 37 degrees, she even says frozen food is warm. What to do?

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My mom thinks her refrigerator is warm. It's not. She keeps throwing away groceries. It's at 37 degrees, she even says frozen food is warm. What to do?

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She thinks the frozen solid food is warm, she's going to hire a whirlpool specialist to come out and check it. She is 2 months post cerebellar stroke today. I am worried she is getting vascular dementia. She has been very argumentative and combative and now is telling me maybe she doesn't need her BP meds and her elequis!!! any one else experience this behavior?

Alzheimer's & Dementia Dementia Behaviors Refusing Care

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Temperature processing sensory issues have been described in dementia diseases of many types. I recall a poster here describing her mother insisting all of her clothing was wet after it came out of the dryer, which is a similar sensory issue malfunction to your mom's.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4620514/

Above is a hard-to-read article on the subject.

Your mother requires Memory Care Assisted Living now where no kitchens are available in her suite, so this issue won't be a problem. Medication will be doled out to her daily as well. My mother lived in Memory Care Assisted Living for just under 3 years and decided one day her meds were "killing" her. The doctor ordered them ground up and put into her food so she still received them, but was unaware of it.

It is common to develop a dementia after a stroke which affects the brain. My mother had several and wound up with vascular dementia that progressed for 6 years.

Definitely get her checked at the ER and if she's admitted, insist on having her tested for dementia, as I did with my mother.

Good luck to you.

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Your mother needs immediate assessment.
This is actually severe enough if sudden that it indicates a need for transport to hospital.
There could be another stoke or a severe UTI.
Given how long it now takes to see MD I would call Monday. If you cannot be seen right away let them know you will be calling for transport to ER. This needs a total assessment, including, as you said a check for dementia.

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Thank you, no UTI already was assessed. Vitals are good, and some days she doesn't argue. I am having such a hard time with this, as I checked the refrigerator myself and it is perfect, it's not even a year old. I will call her MD tomorrow, of course. She can't afford doing all of this.

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Get your mother to an ER for an updated assessment, and transfer her to memory care. She can no longer live alone without care.

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Unfortunately, your mom is needs to be placed in an assisted living facility for memory care. She cannot live alone.

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My Mom has the beginnings of dementia. When she can't get an appliance to work correctly (because of her failing memory) she will look up the number in the Owner's Manuals that she keeps. I have had to throw them all away, plus the paper Yellowpages directory, otherwise she wastes those poor Customer Service people batty with unnecessary calls. Now I got her a memory phone where I control all incoming and outgoing calls. Once she acclimated to it, she's been ok with this change. You will need to do more oversight and preemptive management now with your Mom from here on in.

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Yes, my mother threw us out of the house when we chucked some moldy food. That was a terrible day. But we found we could clean out the fridge when she wasn’t looking. This fixation didn’t last long and she moved onto something else. You could help her take the “warm” food out and put it into a box. Then later when she’s not looking you can put it back. Make sure she doesn’t try using the stove by herself and put new locks on the doors so she doesn’t go wandering at night. These are all things my mother did when her dementia just got started. It changes over time.

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crazyone: Since you state in your profile that your mother suffers from dementia, her brain lacks the capacity for logical thought processes.

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How do we see the profiles? All I read was that crazyone was looking after their mum post stroke.

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The fact that your mum was capable of thinking about calling an engineer out, even though it was for a non-existent problem, makes it sound more likely that this is not a medical emergency. However, if you are at all concerned that it could be, make a call straight away.

Two months is still early days in your mum's recovery, so it's possible that this sensory misperception will improve. Were you given any indication of the level of brain damage that the stroke has caused, or how long your mum's recovery is likely to be?

Also, is your mum getting any occupational therapy to help her look after herself? Stimulation - both mental and physical - is important for helping the brain to create new neurological pathways.

I don't know how much you're involved in your mum's care, but if you take her shopping, or do it for her, I would try and reduce how much is stored in the fridge and freezer. Hopefully, this particular obsession will pass. If it doesn't, your mum might need more care.

If possible, find out if your mum qualifies for any carers to assist her with day to day tasks. And I do mean assist, not take over completely. My mum's husband took over and she never completely recovered from her stroke. She can't even make herself a cup of tea, but there's no reason why she couldn't have re-learned how to look after herself, even though she has now been diagnosed with vascular dementia.

I hope that it's a different outcome for your mum.

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Thanks to cover9339 for explaining how to see profiles, I have now read that your mother does have dementia.
In that case, the cognitive decline will continue and it may be time for you to look into how you can persuade your mum to move into a suitable memory care facility. I wish you all the best.

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Please have her evaluated by ED personnel. This may be a new stroke or area of her brain that is not getting enough circulation/oxygenation. If the behavior continues, she will not be able to live alone anymore.

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Being unable to store or prepare food sensibly & safely is a big concern. The delusion about the refridgerator may end, or not. Other delusions may take their place.

What daily help does your Mother have coming in? She may now need all day supervision.

My mom thinks her refrigerator is warm. It's not. She keeps throwing away groceries. It's at 37 degrees, she even says frozen food is warm. What to do?

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