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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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Progressing too fast
It’s been awhile since I posted. My mom, 73, has been in MC for over a year. This past month she went from being okay to almost completely mute. No UTI. Her suite mate was her security/friend. But she started having bad mood swings and taking it out on my mom. My mom has since become withdrawn and just this past…
 
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Her Sun Has Risen...
I know the discussion title is a little unusual, but I chose to title it that way to reflect her freedom from the disease on this side of life. That's how I like to think of it anyway in order to retain some sort of sanity. My mom, diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2018, transitioned in late-August of this year. I am her only…
 
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Becoming mean
My mom is 90, currently in independent living apartment. She picked the facility 10 years ago so she could access transitional help as she aged. I believe she is in the latter part of early stage dementia. The last year she bas become very argumentative with everyone … fired one cleaning service and “hates” the new one.…
 
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Feeling upset
I am new here. Mom's 78 with Dementia & Diabetic going on 4 yrs now. The agitation is the worst. Today she wonder off. I had officer friendly contact me to find her. She took a bus and got lost. She is on meds but I'm like is it making it worse. I am exhausted of all this drama. Nursing home is not even an option. Long…
 
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SLUMS got me in a slump
My DM who is my pwd was given the SLUMS test today. She has been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment/early stage Dementia, in December 2024. After much pleading she got authorized for an MRI. In July, she was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. She is not on any meds. She refused both, Aricept and Memantine. I've…
 
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Solutions for Missing Laundry in MC?
Compared to many other challenges, this one is minor, but I am hoping someone has a workable solution. My father has been in MC for more than a year. I visit many times a week and would rather focus on being with him than on constantly surveilling for missing items. To date we have lost four sets of sheets, one unique…
 
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Hired companions to supplement MC.
I’m new here. I started writing a long backstory and decided to cut it down to the immediate situation. Mom has been in MC for about a year after being diagnosed with dementia. She went from living independently and walking regularly to MC in a matter of weeks. She has been unhappy depressed and angry about her situation.…
 
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Memory Care + Aide - Make it make sense
I'm trying so hard not to vent, not to be angry. But my mom's MC is asking me to pay for a person to be with her 12 hours a day because of the falling. We literally can't afford this full time, so I'll be doing it on weekends. I get that they can't be with her 1:1 all day, but it's just incredible. The cost seems…
 
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Just got the scan results - now what?
Hi — we just received the results of the PET‑CT amyloid, and they are not good. My mom is 76 and has some memory issues, but nothing severe. To be honest, we saw the neurologist mainly to check whether she had any problems; I had no idea she might really have Alzheimer’s disease. Now she has to take a psychoneurological…
 
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New here.
Hello! I’m new here, but unfortunately not new to dementia. My mom was diagnosed about 3 years ago, and this past March we decided that things were getting to the point we were unable to handle her care. We found a great MC facility. And she is doing the best she can. The hardest thing I’m having to deal with is my dad. My…
 
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Antipsychotic drugs affecting Alzheimer patient my mom
my mom is in stage 4 1/2 of the seven stages of Alzheimer’s. She was normal forgetful didn’t really have major sundowning, but we’ll just hang ou, eight fine and sometimes and sometimes slept a lot. Her blood pressure went low. We sent her to the hospital. They sent her to rehab for three weeks, but went home eventually my…
 
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Home care aggression
Hi! I’m looking for some advice - mom my was “approved” for 24/7 at home care but we’ve been struggling with her being aggressive to outside caregivers. She’s so sweet - until she’s not- which seems to take about a week then she wants them “out of her house”. She’s on all the typical Alzheimer’s medications & mood behavior…
 
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Roadtrip  from hell - vent
We went out of state for an event. Going wasn't too bad. My pwd only complained about the length of time the trip was taking. When plans were made, knowledge that it was going to be a 10-12 hour journey, was well known. Our return home became "Hell On the Highway, Homeward Bound." For no less than FIVE HOURS, she insisted…
 
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I am so scared
I'm so scared of what this diagnosis means for me and my mom. I've worked with a number of Alz patients while working in emergency psychiatric departments or adult psychiatric departments. It was brutal. Devastating to their kids and devastating to see their moments of clarity, briefly realizing they are losing their…
 
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Mom from IL to AL to MC in one month
I’m so thankful to have found this forum. Our family has been going through a rough patch with Mom and I find myself coming here often looking for comfort so thank you all. Back story (warning…it’s long) : My mom (87YO) has suffered from mental illness her whole life. She has been hospitalized at least 5 times in her adult…
 
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Continual Grief: I Miss My Mom
I visited my mom again today at her skilled nursing facility. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2018 (she had probably been experiencing it since the early 2010s, in reality), and I made the gut-wrenching decision to place her into an SNF in 2021. She's currently experiencing late-stage Alzheimer's. She has…
 
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Simple technology for ederly
I'm starting this discussion because I've finally found some peace as a caregiver. I am a caregiver for my dad, who has Alzheimer's. At one point, everything became too much for me. He started to be more needy, and his memory is getting worse. I have to leave the house to go to work, and he would call me for every single…
 
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New here...finally reaching for help!
Hi! I am new here, I was finally getting so lost and frustrated, that I needed to reach out for help. I am a caregiver to my mom (74) with Alzheimer's. I am still trying to figure out which stage she is in. After reading through the many discussions I feel like she is probably moderately severe (5). She lives with me, but…
 
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Mom has become aggressive and mean
My mom fell and broke her hip a little over 4 weeks ago. She had early dementia with confusion for the past couple of years, but since the surgery/anesthesia her dementia has dramatically changed. She will become highly agitated and say incredibly mean and hateful things which is not my mom at all. She has been in the…
 
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Memory care question
Has anyone ever had your MC facility ask you to spend the night with your LO? Mom fell. She went to hospital and is ok but sore. They gave her some meds but MC wants someone with her in case she tries to get up overnight. Something doesn’t seem right
 
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Newly Diagnosed - Infusion Therapy?
Hi all, I am new to this group and am excited to learn from everyone! My Mom is 85 and recently diagnosed with "early stage" alz. The Neurologist is wanting an updated MRI, but feels that she is a good candidate for infusion therapy. Has anyone has experience with this?? She does very well (still drives and volunteers at…
 
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Falling
In the last six days my dad has fallen 4 times and landed in the ER 4 times. it is always when he is getting out of bed in the morning. He is in AL and he has a UTI at the moment. The facility keeps telling me they have him but they clearly don’t. I believe his weakness is temporary and caused by UTI but we cannot be in…
 
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Suicidal
Has anyone had there parent with dementia have them become suicidal after they went into nursing home? My mom is apparently talking about suicide but I don't think she would do it. I think she is just miserable being in a nursing home with progressive dementia.
 
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Really Need Help With My Mom and Dad, Could This be Dementia? Dad’s Behavior
Hi, I’m 49 and living with both of my aging parents. My dad is almost 80 and has been obsessively bringing up my mom’s past—accusing, interrogating, then apologizing and repeating it again. It started suddenly in early May. He has also: Forgotten recent events or where he placed items Told the same old stories repeatedly…
 
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Emotionally and Mentally Exhausted
Hi everyone, it took me a little while to go ahead and type this ‘new discussion’, hopefully I am doing it correctly. My 78 year old mom was finally diagnosed with moderate dementia last week. My siblings and I knew she had some memory delays, especially after my dad passed a few years ago. I didn’t realize it was bad…
 
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Transition to wheelchair
has anyone dealt with transition to a wheelchair? Mom has started falling but refuses to stay in or use wheelchair. What do we do?
 
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Anyone interested in a zoom meetup?
Would anyone be interested in doing a Zoom meetup in the evening? I ask because, at least where I am, there are absolutely no caregiver support groups that meet outside of normal working hours. (When my mom's doctor recommended one to me and I told her I can't because I have a job, she was confused and asked "You couldn't…
 
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Hot Spots - Wound Care
Hello everyone - Question…. Both my Mom and Dad are under Hospice care, both are in Broda Chairs or in bed, unable to walk or stand. Hospice is treating both of them for wounds. My dad has "mushy heels" I am told, they are putting plates on the bottom of his feet and elevating his feet in his Broda chair as well as using a…
 
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Please remind me I’m not a terrible adult daughter
The past two weeks, after some really bad situations at work, I made some big changes. I stopped visiting during the week I began a new (very low dose) antidepressant medication to get me through this and back on track so I don’t lose my job. The good news is the meds and no interruptions worked great - I am, basically,…
 
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Placement/Agitiation/Aggression
My father has MS dementia. He acted out against my mother a few weeks ago and he is currently under a doctor's care at a local hospital. The issue now is that no facility will take him if he is agitated/aggressive. He is under restraints at the hospital because he keeps attempting to take IVs/feeding lines out (he refuses…