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I'm not doing so well...introduction
This is my first post, and I’m not doing so well. My Mom and Dad are 90 and 93, and live about 90 miles north of me in their own home. They both have dementia. My Dad’s started about 5 years ago, progressing slowly, and without bother to him, taking it in stride, and joking about his bad memory. My Mother’s started about…
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Test(1)
Anyone else having issues posting? I typed a large post and the security system ate it when I hit post.
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How long does it take?
After having a week or so of more hallucinations and other things, my mom got tested for a uti and it was discovered she did have a silent one. We are getting medication today. How long will it take to see results? I know that some of it will depend on the person but I'm talking in general. Thanks for any information you…
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I feel so overwhelmed
My mother came to live with me in April of this year. She had previously lived with my younger sister until I received a call stating my mother was trying to kill her. Because I had been estranged from my mother due to my younger sisters lifestyle choices and my mom’s enabling, I had no idea what my mothers mental/physical…
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Shed light on caregivers
Come glow with us, is an annual worldwide campaign designed to shed light on the thousands of primary caregivers around the world who give of their time and their compassion to ease the journey of those they love. Caregivers and their dedication can often go unnoticed, unappreciated and unpaid. This October 1, 2021 help us…
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Angry LO
My dad was diagnosed sometime in the past 2 years (late 2019-early 2020), but it wasn't until March 2020 (yes as COVID lockdowns began) that it became a very large issue. He had stopped taking care of himself and lost a lot of weight. We also noticed that he was having odd behavior. He was living alone in his own house. At…
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Interesting idea for ID substitute
There was an article in a paper in my state about an inventor who created medical ID bracelets that have a QR code on it. It made me wonder about expanding on that concept for a PWD. Not a substitute for supervision but I know many people come here looking for temporary solutions. For those of you not familiar with these,…
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Have to decide if I move in with my Mom (…again)
Haven’t been on in a while. Over two years since I posted and my mom has gotten worse of course. She’s 91 and still living at home alone. She is on two different medicines for dementia but that’s all she takes so she’s relatively “healthy”. My siblings take turns twice a week picking her up and feeding her dinner at their…
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New here, introducing myself
Hi, I'm new to ALZconnected. I'm an adult child helping my sister care for our mother. A lot has happened relatively quickly for us. Our father passed away in 2018 from complications of a disease called Multiple System Atrophy. It's a rare disease related to Parkinson's. Some would call it Parkinson's on crack. It was…
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Delusional Disorder with extreme anger and hate toward family members
I live with my mother who seems to have delusional personality disorder. Cannot get diagnosis because she will not go to a doctor, lawyer or any professional that can help. I have provided for her and cared for her as an only child for decades. She has always been suspicious of others, judgmental, distrustful and jealous.…
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First post and very depressed caregiver
I am a full time caregiver to a soon to be 99 year old Mom. I have had my Mother for 15 years and she was always so sharp. She had been dealt a bad hand in life she was born blind in one eye, got a macular hole in the other in her 60's learned to live with it and then got macular degeneration so she has very little sight.…
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Stressed(1)
My Mom has had three strokes which threw her in dementia. She screams for hours during the night and sometimes during the day. She is bed ridden due to the strokes. We are best friends. I take care of her 24/7. I stay stressed out. I'm so sad and depressed because I miss my mom so much. She has medication to try to keep…
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Panic attack? Sundowning? Both?
DW age 57 around stage 5 had an incident last week that was new to me. We had just spent a week visiting her parents. It was the first time seeing her father age 89 just placed in long term care with combination of physical and cognitive decline. She has not been told the full extent of his condition but she could see for…
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Step In or Be Supportive Adult Child?
Hello. This is my first post. My father has been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and I think the doctor is linking it to Alzheimer's. My parents keep confusing me about his diagnosis, probably because they are confused. I went to his appointment and that is what I think I heard. My parents think there is a chance…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 9/29/21
LOVE IS________. * 1 Corinthians 13:4 New King James Version “4 Love suffers long…” * 1 Corinthians 13:4 New International Version “4 Love is patient…” * 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 The Message “Love never gives up.” * As you read Roget’s International Thesaurus’s synonyms and related words for patience, are there any that…
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HELP! What do we do next?
Since June 2021 my mother has been living in a memory care facility. We were told when we got there that mom could "age in place" however we are unsure now. A hospice nurse checks on mom once a week and a hospice aid tends to her for about an hour, five days a week. Mom is 78 years old and in late stage Alzheimer's. She…
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Is it time?(1)
Does anyone know of any kind of checklist or guidelines for considering whether a person "qualifies" for memory care? Since I am truly on the outside looking in, I am trying to help my LO's primary caregiver with this decision. I feel inadequate in doing so, mainly because I believe (from what has been said on here in the…
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I Think It May Be Time
DH and I feel it's time to move our LO to memory care. Her care needs are beyond what we can handle, mentally, physically and emotionally. Starting to look at facilities in our area. For those of you who already have a LO in a home, what should we look for? What kinds of questions should we ask? What was your experience…
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Vacationing with my mom.
My mom loves the beach. We are at the beach and sitting on the patio. She is sitting in a lounge chair under an umbrella fast asleep. Not the vacations we used to take, but I'll take it. She will forget that we were here by the time we travel the two hours home, but I will remember. She is very relaxed. Evenings are a bit…
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Today was the day we placed Mom into care
Today was the day we placed Mom into care. I feel gutted and numb. It was an agonizing decision, I went back and forth right up to the admit. This would be difficult in any case but their facility is currently closed for visitors due to higher covid transmission rates in our community and a positive staff member there.…
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I am depress
It is getting harder and harder for me and my sister. Seeing my mom get worse everyday. She is not my mother anymore. She doesn't seem to care about me. I miss my old mother. I don't know what to do. I miss the good old day. I think about it a lot. I lost my dad about 5 years ago and now I am going to lose my mom. Issues…
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Why does this happen?
My LO wakes up confused and agitated, the evening before she was fine (at least my definition). As she goes through the day the confusion and hallucinations build up for a blowup (not exactly the word I want). They get so bad she wants to be sent to a facility because if she can't deal with what is happening. Tonight she…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 9/26/21
REST FOR OUR SOULS * Matthew 11:28-29 Amplified Bible * 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble…
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Brain atrophy
I am new on this journey but grateful for this group. My husband fell this spring, broke multiple ribs and was hospitalized. The head CT indicated that the ventricles in his brain are enlarged so we were referred to a neurologist. The neurologist indicated that the enlargement of the ventricles was consistent with the…
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Bathroom Issues/Questions
Sorry if this is TMI but I'm consulting my village about this. From what I can tell, LO hasn't had a bowel movement in about two weeks. We've given her stool softeners. The first round worked quite well but I haven't seen evidence of a BM since then. We've given more stool softeners (as suggested by one of her doctors) but…
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Helping Mom to Eat
Hi My mother is 78years old and refusing to eat food. We have been trying various solids but does not want to eat, but she is ok to medications. Looking for advise from other caregivers on the options and techniques to help her eat. Questions: 1. What are ways to improve her appetite? 2. What are alternatives to solid…
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Finding Purpose in life of LO with ALZ
Hello everyone, I was the primary caregiver of my precious mother who lived with Alzheimer's for 9 years after diagnosis. She and my m-i-l, who also lived with ALZ, died 24 days apart in July, 2019. While their deaths, both of strokes with lingering 10-12 days, were not a surprise, but the timing intensified our grief. We…
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Caregiver knowledge
My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimers around 10 years ago. Both my parents refused help and wanted to do everything themselves and they got by. However my dad got sick in 2019 and ended up in a nursing home and we lost him in 2020. When my dad went into the nursing home that left my mom to care for herself which was not…
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Going to Court
Well my Ego Maniac sister had the nerve to file for guardianship for my dementia 93 year old father. Problem, she now uses my mother, who live at her house, as an excuse she doesn't have time for my dad but once a week and for an hour. As my dad's primary caregiver I couldn't stand by so I filed too. So now a court date is…
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Terminal Cancer and Demented Challenges
My father's dementia was escalated and his cancer came out of remission following a battle with COVID-19. His short term memory is non-existent some days and he now has large gaps in his long term memory. He had to be put on Seroquel to control the hallucinations he was having. During all of this I had to make the decision…