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Welcome! New Forum for Caregivers
This is a new discussion forum for caregivers supporting a parent living with Alzheimer's or other dementia.
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Transitioning While Alert and Active
My LO 82 has Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer’s, heart failure, kidney disease, COPD AND asthma. The doctor said she is transitioning. She sleeps a lot, but talks normally, walks to the bathroom, and family room on her own, helps to bathe herself. Other than the sleeping a lot and memory loss, she seems normal. But says…
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When do you know it's time for a facility?
Hello. My name is Maria and I'm new to this forum. My mother will be 83 in July and is still living independently in a 2 story townhome with laundry in the basement. She has a companion that comes from 11:30 - 4:30 on weekdays. My sister and I spend time with her every Wednesday evening and on weekends when we can. We are…
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Navigating Alzheimer’s Risk While Caring for Both Kids & a Parent—How Are You Coping?
Hi everyone, I’m in my 40s, raising kids, and also caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s. My mom has APOE4 x2. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what this means for my own future—both emotionally and proactively. I recently started looking into early detection tests, including: • APOE4 genetic testing • Blood biomarker…
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Best music players for people with mid stage dementia
I would like to get my mom some type of device where she could listen to music in her room in the long term care facility. She is in stage 4 of dementia and can operate her phone and other simple devices. I’m not sure what type of device would work best. A radio or some type of streaming device which someone could set up…
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There goes my hero ..... 😢
Hello and thank you for reading this, I'm sorry for such a long-winded post I had a longer message written up. However, I didn't know if anyone would read it. I don't have anyone in my life who has had any first-hand experience with Alzheimer's to ask any of these questions and I'm having a difficult time dealing with…
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Do we tell mom we're going to be selling her house?
My sister and I moved mom into an assisted living/memory care facility last August and we are now needing to sell her house to help pay for her care. She is probably in middle stages, but it's hard to pin down as I don't think it's straight up Alzheimer's, but more likely mini strokes. She has lots of confusion,…
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Advice on Phone / Internet Access
Hi all. My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over a year ago and has been getting worse. She’s unfortunately extremely vulnerable to scammers online and has fallen victim to gift card fraud scams to the tune of 13,000 dollars since last July. We’ve had to take away her devices to prevent further contact with them. She…
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Advice welcome
It has been 2 years that I moved to a new apartment to take in my 83 yer old Mom. Of course it is challenging, as I also work from home. This is my first time posting, so forgive me, but any tips on the following are appreciated: Getting her to eat better and finish food (I do make sure she has at least 1 Ensure Max…
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Stuck & Need Advice
First Post - seeking advice after a LONG road to present day. Mom first presented concerns 10 years ago but masked symptoms until my sister & I stepped in 4.5 years ago. After going back and forth with her neurologist, we decided to find a new one in a different hospital system local to us. To our relief, in the very first…
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nonstop questions
Hi, I'm new here. Mom is in midstage of Alz, living with my DH and me for 6 weeks now. Doing okay with everything so far but the questions (every minute or so for a good part of the day) are wearing on us. They don't vary much and writing down the answers for her doesn't seem to help for long. She usually finds something…
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Dad's anger and my mental well-being
Hello, I am beginning to wonder if my visits with dad do more harm than good. He really wants to go home. The demands increase and intensify. I end up just having to figure out ways to excuse myself so he doesn't escalate more. Agitation and pacing have already been concerns for the nurse practitioner at his memory care…
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I’m so lost - mother is 90, English is a second language
I am so lost. My father recently passed away - somewhat unexpectedly - and, as an only child, am left to care for my 90 year old mother. I had not realized just how bad her short-term memory loss had gotten (dad never said) and I suspect she has onset dementia, She refuses to talk to a doctor or anyone about her mental…
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Screening companion caregivers for excursions out of facility
I want to get my mom a long term companion caregiver who will take her out of memory care a few times a week and help keep her activity, nature walks, pickle ball, maybe even bike riding and out to lunch. At this point my mom doesn’t need a lot of care or assistance but more companionship but I would need someone…
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New here. Overwhelmed
I’m caring for my dad, 84. He’s at home. Still able to walk, bathe, use the bathroom and dress by himself. He gets so depressed, though. Just hangs his head almost to his chest. He often thinks we are at a home that looks like his, but it isn’t. He is getting more and more assertive when talking to me. I just needed to…
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Coping with changing behaviors
My mom has alzheimers and has suddenly become agitated when viewing images of herself or others in a mirror. She is afraid that she's being watched by strangers (images in mirror) or people on tv. She also hides money, thinking others are coming to steal it. She also has no idea whether it's daytime or night. I'm at a loss…
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Hallucinations and Delusional Thoughts
Our father has been suffering from hallucinations and delusional thoughts for several years. Now, it has reached its peak, with him talking to someone he claims is "Alice." He has been having full conversations with her, waking up with remarks like, "Wow! That's weird," "Hello?!?, who's there?," and "Wow, wow, wow." He…
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Sandwich generation - having a baby while caregiving for dementia
Hi everyone, I have posted a few times here before and this forum has been so helpful. My dad (77, mid stage 5) moved to memory care in September. He has adjusted really well. He doesn't remember home or ask to leave, he is always engaged in activities when I visit, the staff love him, and I think he has made some friends…
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Mom needs eye surgery
Hi, I’m new here. My sister and I are caring for my mom, who lives in assisted living. Her cognitive decline seems to have sped up in the past 2 months. Now, she has a hole in her macula and needs surgery to repair it. I think she’ll be ok with the surgery itself but not with the requirement to stay face down for five days…
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I don’t know what I’m doing
Hello, I am 25 years old. My mom (58) was diagnosed with early onset alzheimer’s recently. She was originally diagnosed with FTD last year, but due to genetic testing that discovered she has 2 copies of the APOE4 gene, her neurologist changed her diagnosis to EOA. Both her parents passed in the last few years from…
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Grief and Guilt
My Dad was diagnosed with dementia in 2019. He moved into an ALF when it was no longer safe to drive. He was living there for 3 month then Covid hit, they were basically locked down and he was kept in his apt with no outside stimulation. That's when he began to really decline. At that time he was living an hour away and I…
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Feels Like a Lose-Lose
We moved my 82-year-old stage 3-4 Alzheimer’s mom from an independent living place near me to an urban assisted living place while she was on a trip last week. She is very angry and refuses to let us stay when we visit. She says she is being surveilled and kept prisoner (she can walk out anytime she wants, she just has to…
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Not adapting well to memory care
My mom who has stage 4 Alzheimer's moved to memory care a couple of months ago. She went to memory care after living with family for a few months after she could no longer live alone any more. She doesn't seem to be doing well after 2 months. I'm confident that this is the best memory care place within 1 hour of my…
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Struggling to Cope
Hi everyone. I'm 27 years old and two years ago my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Things have been going really smooth. Up until the last few months. He's progressed somewhat quickly and I had a really jarring experience with him yesterday. He's been having conversations with himself which I just let him do, but…
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New Here - Caregiver Fatigue
Hi all. I’m a caregiver for my Mom who was diagnosed with slow progression Alzheimer’s but has since sped up. She can still maintain her daily hygiene, knows to eat, etc. Prior to being formally diagnosed, I was living out of state with my husband and then college bound son. I decided that it was best I moved, temporarily,…
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Support
My mother is in a nursing home, funds are low, and my income isn't enough to help. I hate the idea of selling the house and I feel like I've betrayed her, as she's always upset when I go to visit. But at the same time, feel my care to live with her would not be enough. I really wish I could just bring her home and be…
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How to move from assisted living to memory care
My mom has been living in AL almost 2 years after difficult move out to California from Michigan. She did well the first year, but then AL decided to renovate and the disruption triggered fear. She’s 77 years old and was diagnosed with likely dementia, has aphasia and recently has been having auditory hallucinations. She’s…
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My Mom
My Mom is 65 and showing all the signs of dementia. Her biggest one is she thinks her loving husband of 35 years is cheating on her. She’s making his life miserable. She’s always accusing him and being nasty. She refuses to even talk about the fact that she might have something wrong with her and won’t go to the doctors.…
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Mom has auditory hallucinations need help
My 96 year old mom has alzheimers and recently has been having auditory hallucinations - she hears the same part of a song over and over ( i can't id the song). this started about 6 weeks ago for 1 day, then again a month later the 14 days later and then 4 days later. it really upsets her. she thinks its coming from a…
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Diagnosis for dementia?
My mother was recently discharged from the hospital after having an episode of some sort and falling. She stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks and she was experiencing dementia symptoms pretty bad. Her memory has been fading gradually over the past 6 years or so. The doctors were worried about it and tried to get an MRI but…
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Comparing Clinical Care in Boston
Hello, I'm from the Boston area and new to the discussion. I am wondering if anyone has gotten recent care for a loved one at either Boston Center for Memory (BCM) or Mass General Hospital's Memory Disorders Division? My 82-year old mother has mild ALZ but will probably NOT choose to pursue anti-amyloid treatments…