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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Alone with no visitors
My DH is transitioning between stage 7 and stage 8. He has mixed dementia and is receiving hospice care. He is now in a memory care facility. There are at least two other people in his section who are also dying. I have been with my DH for 6 to 8 hours each day for a week now. So far I haven't seen anyone in his section…
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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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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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Grief counseling for folks with dementia
I’m mom’s caregiver. Dad died in June and he was her caregiver until he got sick in Feb. Mom had one grief counseling session and wants more. The hospice facility dad was with offers 3 free sessions. I want mom to have more. They don’t do private pay. We have another session coming up in a couple of weeks, but Mom is in…
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My DW resists me changing her soiled Depends
My DW is in her Depends 24/7. She soils them with urine more than going to the toilet. If the Depends are full she resists me trying to change her. It's very frustrating. Has anyone else experienced this? On some days, she's fine with me changing her. On other days it's complete resistance. Sorry to be gross about this.…
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January 1 2027 Medicaid Rule Change
Important — don't risk losing a month of retroactive coverage https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/starting-january-1-nursing-home-163245592.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/starting-january-1-nursing-home-163245592.html same topic :…
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Would creating a list help?
The friend I assist keeps asking me what the status is of a few of his major possessions. His sibling has repeatedly told him the status. His family has sold some of the possessions and has given the more sentimental items to his children. Would it be helpful if a list of the items were to be created and posted somewhere…
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When to tell family and friends
My DH was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 2 years ago. He is ashamed of this disease and didn't want to tell his family; including his daughters. I did tell his daughters he was experiencing symptoms and the results of his tests. They have been very supportive. He has responded to ALZ medications, but his short-term memory has…
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Keeping things the same reduces cognitive load
I knew that reducing too much mental load is good for a PWD, and I find the keeping things completely the same is a help. This includes the brand of crackers, color and pattern of a dish cloth, TV schedule, etc. Even a small change seems to create confusion, as PWD would ask all day where the dishcloth was. (the old one…
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too early?
Is it ever too early for placement? I feel like we could go another year caregiving at home but what is the point? My oldest son (35) has lived with us for 4 years to help practically and financially. My DH is 83 stage 6 & I am 54—-bankrupt & unemployed after 4 years of full time caregiving (and a lifetime before that of…
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new to this as me and my family found out my grandmother is recently been diagnosed
I'm new to this discussion board and just joined this as a way for support. My family just recently told me that my grandmother has been recently diagnosed with Early on set Alzheimers and this weekend me and my mom are going to tell her the news that its becoming a reality that she will be starting to live with us most of…
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2nd post for mother-need input
I love this panel to ask for help and guidance. I moved my mother into the assisted living facility where im the director of dietary. She was having tooth issues and recently got it fixed. She still says it hurts every morning but once she is up and moving about for the day, the pain goes away. Family feels the pains not…
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Are our 'numbers' gone?
The numbers in the headings are gone. I sincerely hope this is not permanent, as I found that feature to be very helpful. It was helpful for greeting folks new to the forum, and sympathizing with those going through a rough time who may have been here longer. Just wondering - thanks.
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End of life?
Me and my brother are both helping to care for my grandad, my nan too and he has carers come in multiple times a day because it's a lot for us to deal with. He's recently stopped breathing, or struggled breathing every day for the last 7-10 days. Breaths every 30-40 seconds and in a lot of pain, he's had care come out for…
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Lower asset/lower income parent with Alzheimer's
My parent was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a couple of years ago. They live with our family, and with small children we are stretched very thin and increasingly concerned about safety/ability to care for the parent. Parent worked low income jobs and social security amounts to less than $2k per month; they have lifetime…
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How many caregivers lives get ruined from long term caring for parents or loved ones?
I wonder how many long term primary caregivers of elderly with ALZ or other issues lives get ruined? Dealing with these issues with little help and no end in sight is soul crushing and full of nervous breakdowns for the caregivers.
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How to help with unfavorable caregiver behaviors
Hi - I’m new and have not posted before and value what everyone has to offer. I help care for my 91 year old FIL who is late stage Alzheimer’s and has been in memory care since January. My challenge is with my 89 year old MIL’s unfavorable behaviors. There was great resistance when we moved my FIL to memory care since my…
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Timeline
Hi all, I know there is often a lot of questions regarding timeline of different stages on here. I have been documenting my mom's progression of early onset alzheimer's and I thought I would share. For context, she has no other health issues, and is 64. Hope this helps someone! Late May/Early June —Has began needing help…
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How often do you visit your LO in Memory Care?
I am sure there is no routine or common visiting schedule. Someone recently asked me how often I visit my mom, and I told them about once a week. In reality, it is less than that. I guess I thought if I told them the honest truth, I would sound like a horrible person. Truth be told, I could visit my mom every single day…
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Research , looks positive
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-search?mkt_tok=ODg0LUZTQi0zMDcAAAGkaZS98bCsw4mnTVDbXVdr1d6spOx_JFs9w-pDp2ncAgKpA63xXOFkWoStrAXY71xX1RfJz7cW7UCDByw5Acc7wFjBFwOOxXjZ3jG99w44j6CB2w
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New to this
Hi there, I’m new here. My husband, who’s 64, seems to be heading down the path of Alzheimer’s, which is hereditary in his family. He’s seen a doctor and had scans that confirmed there’s something happening. He prefers a natural approach and doesn’t feel the need for medication due to potential side effects. He’s always…
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Mom constantly asks to go home, even when at home.
Hi, Newbie here. My mom was dx with alzheimer's about 5 years ago. She was in a slow decline (mostly just short term memory) until about 8 months ago. Now she gets very confused, is forgetting certain people, sometimes even my dad. He is her primary caregiver. We have hired part time help so he can leave her to run errands…
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Dementia/Memory loss
Hi, I am new here. I hear because I know my mom has been having some congnitive decline. She has had afib (controlled) for maybe 9 years and sees a cardiologist yearly for a check up. He made an appointment with a doctor to establish her as a new patient and oddly enough she was willing to let me go with her. I wasn’t…
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Kisunla for homozygous patients
First let me say how grateful I am for all the people here sharing there very personal journeys with this insidious disease. Having browsed the the discussions as a non-member, I can see the fear and confusion, along with the empathy and desire to help. I am having trouble finding any personal experiences with people using…
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Decompressing after a tough visit
I guess all we can do is take a deep breath and exhale, right? I visited my mom yesterday. She is in Memory Care. I put my game face on. I went through the locked doors she now lives behind. I walk through the community to my mom's apartment, and as I do I smile and wave at other residents I have come to know and say their…
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Discussing dementia with a PWD
A relative of the PWD is a caregiver for her husband who has dementia. PWD asks how they are doing, and I stated what's going on, and the PWD was sad, saying the caregiver must be under so much stress, not knowing how it will progress, etc. — all true things that we know of. But given anosognosia, there's no realization…
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Excessive Sleeping
Of course I am taking him to the doctor and consulting them about this. Still, I have found other people's experiences helpful on this dementia journey we are on. My dad recently fell, luckily he didn't hit the floor hard, I was able to slowly lower him to the ground. His legs became noodles and he couldn't hold himself up…
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Anyone else have trouble getting sibling memory tested?
My brother is 25 days post-op from a procedure to remove his prostate, which he had on August 10, 2026. Before the surgery, I spoke with him every day by phone ( we live in diff. States) and noticed his memory slipping for over a year. Since the surgery, those changes have grown more pronounced, including forgetfulness,…
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DH has a hernia should he have an operation
My DH has been seen by urologist. He does not have any pain in the hernia but it is large. . The doctor has said that it is not urgent for my DH to have the operation. My husband has stage 3 dementia. He was in agreement that day but has forgotten about the examination and now said he doesn't want the operation. What…
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How do you Know when someone is going to stop walking?
One question I forgot to ask - my sister falls more and seems to lean to the right when she walks. How do we know when she's about ready to stop walking? I called the 24/7 help line and didn't get an answer to that question; I just got some tips on what questions to ask of facilities we are considering.
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
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Dementia Resources
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