I Am a Caregiver (General Topics)
Discussion List
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Tell Us About Your TrialMatch Experience!
The Alzheimer's Association TrialMatch is looking for your feedback! To help us improve the tool and better support people living with dementia, caregivers, and healthy volunteers in finding clinical studies, we invite you to complete a brief survey. The survey takes less than five minutes to complete, and your input will…
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Moved: ALZConnected Q&A Thread
This discussion has been moved.
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Visual confusion with food
I've been reading about avoiding overstimulation (TV sounds, rough fabrics) and then realized that even food appearance may cause confusion or overstimulation. For example, if you have multi-grain bread, poppy seeds on a muffin, then a PWD may spend much time picking away at it or just having a hard time with it. One may…
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Dealing with finances during short term memory loss
My 90-yo mother has been diagnosed with Limbic-predominant, Age-related, TDP-43 Encephalopathy (LATE). She still lives independently, but she often orders vitamins and other brain supplements—getting scammed—but doesn’t remember doing it due to her severe short-term memory issues. Does anyone have any advice on how to…
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Gotta see the humor
Humorous things happen with dementia patients like over twenty years ago when my mother was diagnosed with dementia and we were at a second visit with her psychiatrist and she asked me the date and wrote it on a tissue she’d wrapped around her finger in case the doctor asked her what day it was and then another time she…
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Looking for a "smart" pillbox. Also my experience with smart stove knobs.
Hello fellow caregivers. I'm wondering if anyone has used a smart pillbox for their PWD or an elderly person. Looking for a pill box or dispenser that will sense if it's been picked up or opened or similar, and alert a caregiver if it has not. A reminder would also be nice if it beeped or something. That seems to exist…
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Heartbreak and Reality
At some point a memory care becomes necessary. When first diagnosed my DH was not recognizing me or our daughter and was running away. After a brief hospitalization and a battery of tests and medication things have improved behaviorally and I think because his eye sight and mobility problems have increased he doesn’t run…
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Placement acceptance
How long did it take you LO to accept placement in a memory care facility? What stage were they at when they were placed?
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Elder sibling recently Dx'd; I'm struggling with coordination of relevant professionals
Hi all, I'm new here. I have a much older sister in her mid-70s (one who I hardly knew growing up) who lives in another county, about an hour away—still in her own apartment. The only other family member is our brother, closer in age to her, who lives a bit closer to her, but is rarely involved. As I agreed years ago to be…
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Reducing sensory overload
I've read about reducing sensory overload for PWD, such as turning off TV when eating, talking or answering slowly, and even using earplugs (if they still have good hearing). My experience is mostly with problems with visual or sounds. Did anyone experience problems with other things like rough fabrics (clothes, seat…
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Getting someone to help
my wife has dementia but it’s truly not as bad as many. Takes care of her needs her everyday needd, doesn’t drive , cook and many other interests are gone. But my question is how to you get someone in to spend time with her so I can leave her alone?? The fact that I would suggest it would upset her and wouldn’t be happy…
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GPS tracking devices
My husband likes to walk so I need a tracking device, I’m currently using FindMy in his Iphone. Any other suggestions? Thanks.
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Discussion (or not) and getting my uncle to the memory care center
Hi, everyone. Thank you in advance for your feedback. First time poster. My question is, and advice being sought, how best should my sister and I go through the discussion and process of getting my uncle moved into the memory care center next week? We are getting him into the local memory care center this coming week; the…
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Caring for special needs
Anyone have tips for activities for an adult with special needs who has alzheimers?
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Caring for two parents
I am currently trying to care for both of my parents, each with different symptoms/issues. My mother (72 yrs old) has been dealing with progressing short term memory loss for about 3-4 years. She asks the same questions over and over and doesn't remember that I've visited 5 minutes after I leave. She has not been…
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First AL/MC tour was today
I didn’t tell my Mom that we were going until about 15 minutes before. I expected some kind of reaction from her. I didn’t get one. Tried to talk with her about it afterword. She didn’t have much to say about it then either. She seemed off today though. A friend wanted her phone number. She told her that she didn’t know…
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New to this and Helpful books
I am wondering if this group has a reading list of helpful resources for those living with dementia and care partners. If not, I'd like to start one. My husband was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's . The initial diagnosis also included Alzheimer's. He was on medication for several weeks for both until further testing…
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Young-Onset ALZ Support in Bend, Oregon
Hello to everyone out there. If you’re reading this, odds are you are living the nightmare of ALZ or dementia in some form, as am I. My sincere thoughts are with you all. I’m reaching out with the hope of connecting with someone locally in Bend, Oregon who may also have a wife with Young Onset Alzheimer’s. My wife and I…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 10/16/26
Join me in prayer. THANK YOU, JESUS for Your faithfulness! In Your name I pray. Amen. me: There is always JOY we can tap into anytime by praying and remembering JESUS is faithfully with us, helping us through the HOLY SPIRIT. John 14:18-20 New International Version JESUS'S WORDS 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will…
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Caregiver burnout
hi it’s been a minute. I am voice texting this because I’m too exhausted to type it. Things have been pretty much status quo. I mean it’s still for me really hard to rationalize what’s happening. Some days for a bit she’ll seem quite OK and in those moments, I just see her as my old stubborn mother and then if something…
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Dealing With Emotional Numbness As A 33 Year Old
I Currently Take care of my 79 to almost 80 year old Grandmother, Dealing with her use to be managable in the beginning when i took over to be the caregiver for, But since starting in July of this year each month has gotten to be more and more difficult to where i dont even look at her nor tolerate her the same way in…
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Caregivers, take care
So we lost quite an icon this week with Miss Dolly. Reports have said that she was neglecting her own health at times to take care of her DH, Carl Dean, who passed in 2025. It has not been made public of how he passed, but it is known that he was diagnosed with alz in 2019. (Per newsfeed 8/27/2026) It isn't much of a…
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Seek advice regarding anger of person with Alzheimers
I help a longtime friend who has Alzheimers. My longtime friend's family moved him from his house to an apartment for seniors because he wasn't ever cleaning his house (and he refused to have a house cleaner come in to clean) and he wasn't eating regularly. The apartment provides housekeeping, laundry service, and meals.…
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Hallucination Distractions
What has been successful when trying to distract a love one with hallucinations if they won’t be easily distracted? My grandmother has always been strong willed and we are having trouble helping her through hallucinations because she just won’t be distracted.
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Looking for support for Father
My father was initially diagnosed mild dementia but was further diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He has expressed concerns and fears surrounding the diagnosis and the stigma associated with it. I have let him know that my sisters and I (his daughters) are there for him as well as the rest of his family. I tried looking at for a…
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Traveling with DW and ALZ
My DW is moderate stage ALZ and we are planing a trip to my parents (ages 99 and 96) that live in a different part of the country. We flew out about 7 months ago and it was very disorienting for DW but overall the trip went OK. The airport was very chaotic and flights were delayed and she became very stressed. She needed…
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Aggressive verbal behavior
For the last two weeks, my dad wakes up in the morning has a great breakfast. He’s wonderful. In the middle of all this, he just gets an idea to get the keys and drive. He cannot drive. He is asking to go somewhere. He gets really mad at my mom and I because we’re not letting him go. He’s very aggressive telling us…
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I am a caregiver of my husband
My husband was diagnosed with LBD in 2024 but has had it for 5 to 6 years prior. I have asked him to sign a POA because if something happens to him, his daughter from his first marriage who he doesn’t speak to, will get everything and I will be left out in the cold. And he keeps saying we don’t need one. I think we do. He…
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Toileting care for bed-bound LO in MC
My father is bed-bound with late-stage Alzheimer’s in MC. He needs complete assistance with diaper changes, repositioning, eating and drinking. He sometimes resists care and screams and scratches during diaper changes, especially when being moved, so changing him really requires two people. My concern is that he sometimes…
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Scammer Education Video from YT
Below is a YouTube video on identifying phone scammers. If not allowed please remove. Also I'm pretty sure it is AI generated but it does provide valid information. I share this because 1. I recently learned a friend who doesn't have dementia lost a total of $1000 in a gift card scam (she fell for 2 calls demanding $500…
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Ruminating
Hi there, I am new here. I am the caregiver to my father-in-law, who was fairly recently diagnosed with Alzheimers. We will know more about the exact stage he is in once he has an upcoming test on 10/19. Until then, my father-in-law is also on the spectrum and has a tendency to fixate on certain things, particularly…
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Explore Safe & Practical AI Tools for Caregiving
Caregivers in select cities are invited to join the free AI Skills Jam for Caregivers & Community Health on November 10. Hosted by the Alzheimer's Association, OpenAI Academy, Caregiver Action Network, and the American Diabetes Association, these hands-on workshops will provide practical guidance on using AI tools safely…
Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more
Dementia Resources
Looking for information and support for Alzheimer's disease or other dementias? Click here to view our Dementia Resources
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