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What tests did they use to diagnose your loved on with Alzheimer's Disease?
My mother is currently in the processed of being diagnosed. The doctor is doing a few blood tests to rule out reversable causes for the cognitive difficulties but otherwise says no tests are needed besides a brief cognitive measure (MOCA) to diagnose Alzheimer's. What was your experience like? Did they do more testing or…
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Navigating Senior Care/Nursing home/Memory Care
Hey again! I am overwhelmed with all the the things involving how to pay for my moms care when she will need a nursing home or assisted living or memory care. I am trying to find all the differences and which one fits her needs. But not now. She is ok for now. I just know I need to make a plan before she needs it. We have…
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Brand new. Need help.
I can't get my DW to go to a doctor, much less to get a diagnosis. She refuses to talk about the possibility of her getting D. It runs in her family. She is very functional but showing personality and memory changes over the last several years. How do I trick her into going to a doctor then getting the doctor to perform…
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Anger Issues
My sister was diagnosed with dementia in April of 2024. She has recently become very angry with her daughter and myself. It seems that whatever we do it is not right. She doesn’t give us a chance to explain when she misunderstands what the conversation is about. She continues to talk over you and says we don’t hear or…
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Lost Keys
Where does everyone store their extra keys? I’m trying to figure out a place where my husband can’t access it. My husband lost a key to our back room. In looking for the lost key he went through the box where we keep our spare keys. He didn’t know what the keys were for, even though they were marked, so he threw most of…
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Decline in verbal ability?
My Dad is 89 and in stage 5/6 of mixed Alz/vascular dementia. He lives in a MC facility and has been on hospice for almost three months. He seems relatively stable except for mostly one thing: his verbal abilities are declining quite a bit. He has gone from mostly full sentences with some word finding difficulties where we…
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Journal
I have never journal before. I thought I would start. I am thinking it will give me a way to get my thoughts out. Does anyone else do this?
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Alzheimer's & Alcoholism
My grandmother is a functioning alcoholic & just got diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She refused to have the all day testing done because she would rather sit at home and drink & she hasn't been deemed incompetent to make her own medical decisions so we can't make her do anything she doesn't want to do but they were able to…
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Issues editing comments
@ALZCModerator6 Anyone else having issues editing comments they’ve posted? I select edit on my comment. The box comes up. However when I start to type my edit, the box disappears. My user name on my comment changes to ‘member’ and my verbiage is gone. If I cancel out of the edit, my original comment is still just as it…
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From The Philadelphia Inquirer: Being Mom's Caregiver is Hard...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/being-mom-s-caregiver-is-hard-caring-for-her-together-with-siblings-is-harder/ar-AA1EPtI1?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=68a1f1ab60494c6fac7692f4bcf5c1e7&ei=25 Surviving caregiving in a sibling group. HB
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Refusing Treatment
My DW has moderate-to-advanced AD. I am her caregiver and managing without help thus far. DW has arthritis in her thumbs and frequently suffers from strained muscles in her lower back. We have seen specialists for both problems. The doctor's instructions were to use diclofenac sodium gel for the thumbs and lidocaine…
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Moving mom this week
I am moving my mom to memory care this week and it is causing an extreme amount of anxiety. She lives with my brother who does not give her the care she needs and who is not on board with this decision at all. I cannot take care of her full time so although she is at about a 2 (I would say 3) caregiving level, I have…
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Dementia Report
A bit lengthy, but there is some good information in this report (via Michael Ellenbogen). https://milkeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/2025-08/report-mind-the-gap-investing-in-dementia.pdf
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Stairs
We live in a ranch home on a hill. My husband has FTD and is getting unsteady on his feet. We have to climb a set of stairs no matter which way we enter the home. The most gradual incline is from the driveway to the back porch and in through the kitchen. However the patio is made of large stones, two levels, uneven and…
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Sleeping ALL Day-88-year old Mom
I’m new to this group. This summer I’ve seen my Mom deteriorate. She wandered outside, which was a first, and the last few weeks there have been occasions where she has not recognized me. She also frequently asks to go “home,” even though she lives at home. Now I’m seeing her sleep A LOT and she appears more frail. She’s…
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How do I place my wife in a memory care facility?
Terri is at stage five now and declining. I'm ready for us to go into a facility where I can leave when I need to and know that she's going to taken care of. But I need the facility to stop her from leaving when I'm not there and I'm not sure about the law around that. Do I need to acquire guardianship? Or something else?…
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Where has my husband gone? Loss…
I find myself asking that question often. He’s here physically, but he is not the man that he was when I married him. I feel so sad today. Yet it doesn’t bother him as much since he doesn’t even realize how much he’s changed. he’s inside the grocery store while I’m waiting in the car because I just don’t have the patience…
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Overwhelmed
My husband recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's (63) and caring for aging parents. I am feeling very overwhelmed and sad and just all the feelings. I am really glad I found this group. I feel like I need somewhere to go to talk about what's happening and this seems like a safe place. I've already read some of…
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Becoming a personal care surrogate
Hi! I am brand new to this group and so appreciate the networking with others who are navigating the care of a parent with Alzheimer’s. I’ve been trying to be proactive about this. My brother and I hired an elder law attorney. We established power of attorney for my brother and Healthcare proxy for both. He and I work…
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Evacuating in an Emergency
Greetings. When the Guadalupe River recently flooded, the police ordered everyone on my street to evacuate. It was a very scary experience. Here are some lessons I learned: It could happen to anyone at anytime Follow the directives of the authorities Be calm and be firm with your PWD Know where to go and how to get there…
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Dementia Friendsgiving
This looks like a good event (via Michael Ellenbogen): Save the Date for Dementia Friendsgiving! Save November 18, 11:00 AM–3:00 PM ET for Dementia Friendly America’s inaugural Dementia Friendsgiving! We’re giving thanks for people and organizations from every corner of the dementia-friendly movement. Sign up to find out…
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Preparing LO For Death of a Friend
Hello everybody! I hope everyone is enjoying their summers so far. I am writing to try and gain some insight on how to handle this situation, for me and my mom. My mom is 61 and in the moderate stage of her Alzheimer’s. We live in an apartment building and have been very close friends with the woman that lives above us for…
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Advice on letting go of the guilt and next steps...
My mom is a recent Alzheimer's diagnosis (in the last 6 months) but has been on a steady, slow decilne since 2021. Since her actual diagnosis, things are rapidly declining and I have so much guilt that I am not there for her more. She lives with my Dad/her husband still but is mostly alone during the day while he is at…
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Mother is getting worse
So my mom has been showing signs of dementia/Alzheimers for over a year now. We recently found out that she has atrophy of the brain but did not ask them to test for the reason. She, and my daughter and her family, are living with me temporarily because to add insult to injury she had a tree fall on her house so they are…
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Improving Services and Programs for People with Dementia
Michael Ellenbogen sent me this excellent, concise article on how to improve the care and treatment of people with dementia (including his own recommendations). https://progressally6yogf8hc32ioroi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/list/Journal/99/j99-delorenzo.pdf
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Mother refusing to go to respite care
Moving my mother into my house was, in retrospect, a terrible decision. Now she won't leave. We've crafted a story that my daughter, who lives across the country, needs my help and I need to go, so she is going to a "hotel" while I am gone. My mother thinks she can stay by herself in my house. I explained that I can't…
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I need help making a decision about supplementing food intake in late stage 6 DH
My DH is in late stage 6 dementia. He is almost non-verbal, double incontinent, in a wheelchair and unable to do anything for himself without assistance. He has been moved from a MC facility to skilled nursing because he requires so much help. He has to be fed, but he eats well and taps his finger when he is ready for…
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Sundowning - Changes when new people arrive
Hi, my 80 yr mom seems to be having some severe sundowing with Agitation and hallucinations . On the worst nights, we have gone to intervene for my step dad. When my husband walks in (or EMS or police) she seems to snap back into reality and becomes herself again. Is this normal?
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