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she's been having trouble navigating the upstairs and doesn''t recognize any of the doors, so she'll attempt to enter the linen closet. On the way to the bathroom she opened up the aids door and entered and attempted to squat and pee on her waste basket. It was caught in time. Something similar happened a decade ago with my dad but then it was my mom who had to deal with it.
Not so much a question but venting. Her decline has been fairly stead this past year and quite noticeably so

Sounds like your mom now needs someone to escort her to the bathroom on a regular basis/schedule of every 2 hours or so, so these incidents don't happen.
Dementia sucks no ifs ands or buts.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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It will almost certainly happen again. People will advise you to paint the toilet a more noticeable color, put up arrows and signs, etc. etc. I found those things to be a waste of time. My husband just liked to pee all over the place. Of course, he didn't know it was bad behavior by the time he started doing it. Something in his brain was telling him, "Go pee in your shoe!" and he did it. He was most inventive about where he peed. He peed inside the refrigerator, inside the dishwasher, in the dresser drawer, in the bathtub, everywhere. All these places required some planning and action before he could do it, such as opening the fridge, dishwasher and drawer. None of those places was anywhere near our toilets. It's like he went looking for them and enjoyed being creative and original about it.

I would really like to know how dementia turns on that command from the brain!
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Reply to Fawnby
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Welcome to the club. My husband has started recently to use wastebaskets, recycling basket, and the cat water bowls as alternative toilets (even when the toilet is a few feet from the basket). I redirect him when I catch him and make sure that the can liners have no tears so they can be easily swapped. The cat's bowls are now in boxes so he can't see them. I am telling myself that the baskets are better than the carpet (pet stains and odor removers work well for humans too).
I had signs on the bathroom doors, plus reflective tape on the bedroom floor to guide him and a motion-sensing LED on the master bathroom door, but he doesn't recognize them anymore.
It is heartbreaking to see a loved one decline. This forum is a great comfort for me.
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Reply to AnnaKat
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