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met with CELA today
Dad and stepmother are not speaking to me. But a very productive day, otherwise. I think we (siblings) have more of a direction now after meeting with the CELA. Two goals: one to get Dad to further testing with a neurologist Baylor's Memory Center and two, to try one more time to mediate this before pulling the trigger and…
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Can't Hold Head Up
My 78 year old mother has dementia/Alzheimer's and is living at a memory care facility. She has a hospice nurse that comes to visit her. Mom is showing a new symptom of the progression of this awful disease.....she can't HOLD HER HEAD UP! I spoke to her nurse, who visits her once a week, and she has not noticed mom's head…
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PET Scan
My 89 1/2 year old mother has mild dementia and knows that her brain is not working like it used to, but we and her doctor have not used the words dementia or Alzheimer's in her presence. We just don't think it is worth the pain it will cause her. She tried Aricept but it gave her migraines. My sister asked me today…
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Any guesses as to what stage she's really in?
MIL is really starting to get to me. I am ready for this transition to Sib #1 to take place, but that's still about a month away. I've been discussing MIL's current status with my oldest daughter who is an SICU nurse and, admittedly, has little experience with dementia except what she was exposed to in nursing clinicals.…
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GPS Tracker Info Needed
Hello, this is my first post on this forum. Yesterday my husband who suffers from stroke-induced dementia wandered off into the woods. He was lost for about 3 hours while the police searched with a dog. He was found unharmed and went to emergency room where every medical test was normal. He is subject to delusions, and…
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New here -- had the driving conversation with my dad tonight
Hello all -- this is my first time posting here, but I figured I would jump right in. My dad (age 74) was diagnosed with dementia in 2019. I do not live with him -- my mom does and she has been managing pretty well. He's still fairly independent for now. He's on two types of medications and they seem to help some but his…
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Repetitive behaviors and obsessions
Hi there. My father and I are still trying to convince my mom to get professional help, but she emphatically refuses. She is relatively in tune with day-to-day life, but has become obsessed with sticky notes. She writes notes to herself numerous times a day about the same things. She also repeats “that’s all” at the end of…
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Changes in voice
My mother has mild dementia and sometimes it seems there is something different about her voice, but I can't put my finger on it. I did a search here and see folks saying that the their loved one's voice sounds lower or higher, but that isn't it for me. At times I am reminded of the movie the Invasion of the Body Snatchers…
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Seroquel(8)
My mom is in what we think the mid stage of alzheimers(based on her behavior) and has been showing signs of aggression and agitation. Because of this her Dr. put her on Seroquel. We have just started it 50mm (I think) per day. Because she won't take it by us just handing it to her my dad needs to put it in her OJ in the…
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Late diagnosis / no diagnosis
My mom and I are suffering from the lack of a timely diagnosis. I live at a distance from my mom and coordinate her care. She's almost 98! She has 24/7 care and we speak on the phone frequently. About 10-12 years ago, her pcp suggested testing her for Alzheimer's disease, and my mom went for the testing and found it "very…
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My life feels impossible right now
Just reaching out to see if anyone else has a similar situation. So far I have only seen people discussing caregiving for elderly parents and I have much different circumstances. My husband is 23 years older than I am and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s almost 5 years ago. At the time our children were 16 and 17. We…
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LBD & Hypersexuality
I received a call from the MC that my dad is at and was informed that the NP is putting him on Depakote 250 mg twice a day due to hypersexuality. I know this is sometimes an unfortunate symptom of this horrible disease. I personally have not witnessed any behaviors myself - thankfully. But I am curious what is the best…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 6/8/21
TODAY'S STICKY NOTE' With the help of God's power, I will do good deeds. * 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Easy-to-Read Version "That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to help you live the good way he wanted when he chose you. The goodness you have makes you want to do good. And the faith you have makes you work. We pray…
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Professionals that help you find a senior community for your LO
Hi All, I have only been a member for a few days, and I am grateful for the advice and thoughtful ideas that have been shared. I am curious if anyone has contracted with someone that helps you find a suitable AL or MC home for your LO. I believe they typically get paid by the AL/MC facility, so in my opinion, that could be…
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medication(9)
My DH who is 70 has mixed dementia and is at the moderate/severe stage. For the past 18 mos he has been on Memantine and Donepezil. Prior to medication he thought he lived with multiple versions of me (the lady that walked the dogs, the lady that paid the bills, the lady that filled his pill boxes, etc.) all at the same…
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School me on early diagnosis
I am concerned that my 76 year old mom could be showing signs of dementia. 1. What are the most useful screening tools? 2. Imaging: Is there a usefulness to obtaining to any kinds of imagining tests, such as CT, MRI, PET? Do they show any kind of baseline that would be helpful to track? 3. Should she be evaluated by a…
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hydration suggestions
Hi! I just want to start with a sincere thank you for all of you who put out questions many are afraid to ask and also those of you willing to share your wisdom. Here is my question, my mother tends to sleep late, the last few days a little later than usual. I am very concerned that she is getting dehydrated or at risk for…
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When did you know it was time for memory care?
My dad is stage 6 dementia. We just got the diagnosis a few weeks ago. I've been researching care facilities and everything surrounding it. I know they all say it's best to place in care before crisis. I know he is going to decline pretty fast. He's already so different from January of this year when he fell and became…
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Frontotemporal dementia(2)
My husband has been recently diagnosed frontotemporal dementia. I am his full-time caregiver. I am looking to connect with other caregivers.
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Finger foods
What finger foods do you guys recommend? My LO is missing some back teeth so she needs food she can chew with her front teeth. Soft food is good but it’s messy when she gives up on using her fork. The moist and slightly sweet food like sesame chicken and noodles is a favorite. Maybe homemade, baked French fries (lower in…
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New Member! Landlines, checkbooks, & senior communities
Hi Alzheimer's experts, My mother was diagnosed with stage 4 Alzheimer's in October 2020 after her 3 hour test by the neuropsychologist and a brain MRI. She is 82 and lives alone. Long term memory and ability to dress, shower, etc is fine, but short term memory is gone. Her judgment is impaired and her temperament is…
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Selecting a PCP
One more question if anyone has ideas. I am trying to find a new geriatric specialist for my LO with dementia to serve as a primary care doc. He is in a memory care facility, but has a variety of medical issues. Just wondering: 1. What KIND of doctors do people use for PCPs 2. If anyone's in the area South of Boston and…
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Costs of Memory Care
I think I know the answer to this question, but there's just a nagging voice in the back of my head saying "Did you explore EVERY possible avenue?" So here I am. My Dad is doing well in a memory care facility. He gets socialization and good care. He's happy there. My mom is finally relieved after caring for him at home…
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Should my mom still work
My mom (77) has Alzheimer’s (stage 4 diagnosed by neurologist). She’s been a beautician since out of high school. The neurologist said she shouldn’t work anymore. There were some issues last summer with scheduling her appointments and with time management and leaving wax on too long, etc. her boss even started mixing her…
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My mom hasn’t heard diagnosis yet but her doctor told my brother
My brother brought my mom for a visit in the state we live (a good ways away from her) to look at retirement homes here and during the course of her visit finally made contact with her doctor who confirmed the diagnosis we suspected. She flies back home next week and has an appointment with her doctor. My brother feels we…
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my mom is in a prison she says
Well, my mom is in skilled nursing after her decision to be in a living situation that was dangerous, well she was angry I thought it wasn't the best idea. So, she took her medication wrong or ran out and didn't let me know that happened, and the doctor sent it to costco not walgreens. And now she is waiting for me to find…
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Good bye and Thank you!
I want to thank this wonderful group for their support over the last 3 1/2 years. My mom died early Tuesday morning under hospice care. She had been on hospice care for 2 1/2 years. I pray for everyone who is still on the journey. Best, Shannon aka Books4fun
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Breaking point
Hello everybody. I’m caring for my mom now 24/7 and I’m at my breaking point. I’m a 55 yr old male, disabled myself being partially paralyzed in my legs from a spinal cord surfing injury in 08’. My mom’s getting worse and my two brothers aren’t much help because they cannot handle her for more than a day. She only has…
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How important is it to have a current Government issued ID?
I posted this in the other driver's license topic but it did get me thinking about this problem again. Put in context, mom is in MC. She will never drive again. I'm her DPOA and HCP. She has very little understanding of anything. My mom's driver's license expired October 2020. A good month before it expired I mailed it…
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Revocation and stepmom
Today was pretty rough. My stepmother of 20 years submitted a revocation and had me temporarily removed from my Dad's bank account that I had setup to pay his bills and where I have DPOA. All for $26k. I made the mistake of putting her on the account as a joint account holder. We'd been using it together to pay bills. I'd…