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How to start
Hello-Newbie here! My MIL was diagnosed with ALZ early in 2021. She is still able to live independently right now, but no longer drives. I am her POA and take her to all her md appointments, the store as necessary, etc. My husband (her son) and my son try to get together with her every week for dinner consistently and we…
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Thank You Harsh Buzzed!
A sincere thank you for the link to Understanding the Dementia Experience! I wish I had read this years ago, it seems I've read just about everything else I could get my hands on. You do so much to help all of us here! You are appreciated.
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Siblings and Mom's AD
Mom has been living relatively ok in AL for 4 years with managed meds and other support. With mid-stage AL Mom has with noticeable changes in memory and behavior over the duration. The number of behavior "incidents" (yelling at staff, swearing, etc.) with staff have increased over the last several months. Her doctor has…
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Holistic Care of LO
Do any of you get frustrated with medical staff when you take your LO to appointments and try to get them to understand your LO's inability to comprehend and process what they are being told? I have had several instances of taking my mother who has Alzheimers Dementia and who lives in an AL / MC facility to doctor…
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Podcasts for ALZ/Dementia Caregivers (includes ep about the MC journey)
Hi All, I wanted to share some podcasts I've found helpful as I navigate my mom's dementia and caring for her. I found them on Apple Podcasts, but they may be avail through other players like Stitcher, etc. 1. Experiences in Caregiving; Stories and Support for Caregivers (Alz. Association of San Diego/Imperial Chapter) :…
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Is this the end?(1)
My mother has had a steep trajectory with this disease. She went from a mild/moderate diagnosis to severe dementia in one year. She was living alone in her own home until about 6 months ago. We placed her into MC in March 2021. She has always been active and walked/paced for hours each day. We are now on our 3rd facility.…
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Newbie here(2)
Hey there, My father was recently diagosed with dementia/Altzheimer's (almost 80 yrs old) He also also suffered from severe massive depressive disorder this past year and last. My assumption is he has had Altzheimers for longer than we might have known/ diagnosed. Currenlty, he is living in a personal care facility b/c of…
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Moved to MC
Hi All. We had to make the difficult decision to move our LO to a memory care facility. We took her two weeks ago and luckily we didn't have to wait a long time to go visit. I have heard that some places make you wait 10 days - 2 weeks so they can get used to the new routine. We're happy with the place we chose. The staff…
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Not sure what to do(3)
My mom has been diagnosed with vascular dementia. Right now the only person she is having problems recognizing is my dad (they have been married for 56 years). We have been calling these events “an episode”. When she is not recognizing him, she absolutely hates him. She has never cursed but she is cussing at him yelling at…
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Introductions and relief
So blessed and thankful I found this. I've been so stressed for the last few weeks as my grandmother gets worse. I've been caring for her for years, running the house, taking care of my uncle (he's special needs and I take him to and from work), and raising/homeschooling my teenager. Lately her sleep schedule has changed…
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Confusion about Ability to Move LO
Our 78-yo mom was diagnosed with ALZ in February and has gotten progressively worse. A few things about her:* She lives alone * Her short-term memory is completely gone * She has been very angry with us for the last year for "making" her go to the doctor * We removed/sold her car from her in August at which time her anger…
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Bladder control
In your opinion, what is the best overnight bladder control pull-ups and plastic pants for your LO? My dad is a heavy wetter and we haven't found much to keep the wetness out of the bed. Thanks.
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 10/23/21
“LOVE YOU HAD AT FIRST” * Revelation 2:1-4 New International Version To the Church in Ephesus 2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know…
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Foley catheter
Mom is still in the hospital and the last remaining impediment to me taking her home is her inability to void since the indwelling catheter was removed a few days ago. Even with a 50 ml IV drip she cannot void on her own. They have been straight cathing her when her bladder gets full. They say they can put back the…
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Travel with Father who has Stage 6 Alz
I need your advice. My siblings and I are finally able to move my Father who has late stage Alzheimers from the east to the west coast. Sadly due to circumstances beyond our control (spouse), we were not able to do this until now. He has significantly declined since we moved him to MC about a year ago and needs help with…
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Voice change
I’ve read about LO’s voices changing. It’s happened here. Her voice has gone up and is a constant whining. All day. Think of the worst toddler tantrum you can remember. She’s almost nonverbal. She can say Hi. We say hi to each other in and endless loop. She understands little, can’t answer yes/no questions, is not happy,…
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Daddy is in stage 7b
Daddy came home today to inhome hospice. The nurse came out shortly after the transport ambulance left and gave him the initial home assessment. Before he passed out at home 2 weeks ago he was able to move around on his own a little. Now that he's been in the hospital for 2 weeks he is bedridden and can't feed himself. He…
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Quick Vent
I know my mom is in the worst possible position, one that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Right now, I'm just frustrated that I will always be the bad guy. I'm the only child, she's divorced. It's just me. Doing everything I can to make her life as good as it can be. And she will always be suspicious of me, and will…
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Sort of a caregiver - feeling lost
Hi everyone, and thank you for providing a space for support and commiseration. My situation is that my Mother in Law was diagnosed with AD several years ago, and managed to live independently with weekly visits from my husband until this year. Our plan had been to place her in AL, but now there are concerns about funding…
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Family support has dwindled.
I need to tell my story. My LO is in the final stage of EO. We were very lucky to have found a residential home where he is staying now, after a horrifying experience during the Covid-19 lockdown. I am not the person making decisions for him, but his wife listens and certainly loves him. The family has now fallen apart.…
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Excessive sleeping and difficulty walking
I'm new to this forum. My mom has vascular dementia, was diagnosed over 10 years ago. lately she sleeps excessively, sleeps on one side all night and has difficulty walking. she even sleeps while eating, in shower etc. it's dangerous and very difficult figuring out what to do, Does anyone have experience with this? thanks
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Ideas to help loved one stay mentally stimulated
I apologize for the length of this, but it's my first post so I want to give a little back info... My father (diagnosed this month) has always been a "techie" using his phone to order household supplies /equipment. He started ordering things like a whole security system (already had one) and other expensive items. He was…
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AL vs. MC When to know the difference
My father is 93 in at mid stage dementia. He is quite physically capable and still has decent memory. He does not wonder (yet), but lives alone in our 60+ year old house (super stubborn to leave). He can no safely drive and that is his major bitch, no independence. He periodically get nasty tempered and can be down right…
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Seeing Mom for first time in years
I will be visiting my mom for the first time in 2 years next week. She lives in MC, and due to the pandemic, we have not traveled to see her until now. During that time, she has declined significantly. She's probably stage 6 on the 7-stage scale--she's incontinent and is very difficult to converse with. When I call her,…
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Looking for guidance(5)
My Mother has dementia. My sister promised my father on his deathbed that she'd make sure mom was taken care of. At the time sis lived across the Country from our mom. But then Sis's situation changed and she retired before she planned. She was set up okay where she was. But she decided that it was time, so she sold…
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best route to take as caregiver
My mom has mild cognitive impairment; she has trouble with her short term memory however with some prompting she does remember. Her Nuero-psychologist mentioned some things for her to do to help avoid decline such as mental and physical exercises, social activities and change in diet. That being said I have recently…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 10/17/21
Virtue for both MEN AND WOMEN * Proverbs 31:15 New King James Version * “She also rises while it is yet night…” * Joyce Meyer, in her book THE CONFIDENT WOMAN suggests we would do well to get up early, pray, and make a plan for the day. She writes, "This is so important because I don’t believe we should be vague and…
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The Gloria has landed!
Hello all, I spent September roaming around the U.S. meeting in-person the virtual caregiver friends I've made throughout Mom's dementia. Then I filmed it. I filmed the crap out of it. Now I'm onto the post-production side of the upcoming documentary Wine, Women, and Dementia - which for me is the most exciting part. In…
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New here(50)
I need to vent so please bear with me..June of this year my husband and I agreed I would care for a friend's mother (101yrs old) Was not told she had dementia, friend ( her son) told me she was confused from being in a care facility during covid lockdown. She was removed from facility and brought back home. I moved in. I…
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Shxt storm, marathon ER visit, a fall and hospice
[Posting in 2 forums] I haven't posted in the last week or so because it has been absolute chaos here. 1. Spent 7 hours in the ER last week on Friday but at least we got the horrible balanitis under control. 2. Then, diarrhea set in (maybe antibiotic side effect?) and triggered bowel incontinence like I can't even explain.…