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Can I Contact My DH’s Doctor Directly?
My husband has his own PCP and this doctor is very strict out privacy rules. In the past he has said I need to go through my DH if I want to send messages to him. What do I need to do to have the authority to speak with the doctor on my husband’s behalf? Is this when the DPOA comes in to play? Should I provide a copy to…
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The day will come…
I saw this on Facebook and it could have been written by many care warriors here. The line that hit home to me is: “Have a plan then make another”. 💜 This moving commentary was written by a daughter, caring for her mother. Dear ones, The day will come when your loved one can no longer be alone. Not even for 5 minutes. The…
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FTD - Frontotemporal Specific Staging Tool (by Dr. Tam Cummings for FTD)
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Travel
My DH is about 5 years into it now, he was a very active, intelligent man. Now he mostly sleeps and watches TV. We have always traveled to Arizona from Mn. to avoid the harsh winters. We did share the driving but now of course, I do all of it. But Im worried how he will do on 4-5 days of travel and motels. I've read that…
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New to Alzheimer's
Hello all thank you for providing a network of caregivers to help guide others through this horrible disease. My grandfather was officially diagnosed over a year ago with Alzheimer's. I am his MPOA and am new to all of this. I am just wondering if anyone has any advice on the following. He has UHC Medicare Advantage and I…
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Alzheimer's Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act introduced in Congress
Saw this and thought I would share. It's a start and hopefully will lead to much more. https://www.alz.org/news/2025/house-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-asap-act-alzheimers-screening
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Mom is about to be homeless, how do we decide what to do?
Hi, my mom was diagnosed with ALZ just about a year ago, but we had been noticing decline for about a year before that. She has progressed significantly and now I believe is in early Stage 5, but with some characteristics from the later stages. She has been living with her partner (long term relationship, not married, they…
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Early onset Alheimer
My brother 62 has been diagnose with Early On Alzeheirs could someone share what does a through evaluation look like: what does the team who would look over his care look like: what are question he should be asking: I need specifics because as of now, his primary care doctor is making all the calls on his treatment plan…
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Does anyone else feel this way?
I’ve been on this site now 3 yrs ever since wife diagnosed with mild Dementia, I’ve read books seen videos and heard numerous stories on this site. Wife in stage 4-5. Still takes care of herself other then no driving and cooking and short memory has gotten worse and does get confused. My question is do any of you feel that…
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Terminal Lucidity?
My dad fell two months ago. Seemed to have accelerated Alzheimer’s. He pretty much stopped eating since and recently was only drinking very little. This past week he was admitted to hospital with severe dehydration. The dehydration caused his heart rate to accelerate to 130-140 and blood pressure to be lower at 95/60. I…
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Sundowning
Hello, I’m very new to this group and confused on this newly diagnoses of Dementia for my mother! We are still going through a lot of appointments and tests and we don’t have a actual diagnosis of what type of dementia my mom has but they are leaning more towards Lewy body because she has a tremor on her hand! My question…
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Not dementia but an aging game changer being tested
https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/11/joint-cartilage-aging-osteoarthritis-therapy-research "A new study suggests it may be possible to regenerate cartilage lost to aging or arthritis with an oral drug or local injection, rendering knee and hip replacement unnecessary." Years away most likely but good news .
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Anyone using Paxil for severe agitation?
My mom is 94 - diagnosed 11 years ago with Alz dementia. She has been in an advanced stage requiring full care for almost 10 years. Her neurologist advised us to try Paxil to help with her severe agitation. She is taking seroquel as well. She's starting throwing plates of food lately. Things are rough but I'm nervous about…
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Overwhelmed? It is the loved ones of those with Alzheimer's who bear the greatest burden.
It is the loved ones of those with Alzheimer's who bear the greatest burden, and often care for them at the expense of their own well-being. It is common for family members and loved ones to find themselves thrust into this nightmare completely unprepared and ill-equipped for it. Sadly, much will be damaged or completely…
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Refusing UTI treatment
she developed UTI and medical team gave her antibiotics without consulting us although she has signed medical directives refusing heath care treatment to prolong her life ,how could UTI be treated without antibiotics and let life take it’s course (don’t want her to suffer ) Would that be a good way to go if that was her…
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NYT Opinion Piece on Caregiving Crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/opinion/caregiving-crisis.html?unlocked_article_code=1.308.kBxI.CmNVAb2397Tf&smid=url-share
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Sudden deterioration in memory and change in demeanor
Is it common for someone with Alz/dementia to have memory suddenly decline significantly? My Mom (96) has a show she LOVES to watch on TV - loves to the point that we have recorded every episode on her DVR and replay them continually. She talks about the star (local vet), wants to meet him, wants to see his clinic, etc.…
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Fights about the dumbest things
the person I share a house with for the last 11 years - not a spouse or a legal partner - was diagnosed about two years ago, didn't tell me for about a year. I am not an official caregiver but in essence I am. I am retiring now and wondering how I will cope. When I worked it wasn't so bad but now I am here all the time.…
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Find local services for the aged at the National Council on Aging
The following link will help you find local services based on your zip code https://benefitscheckup.org/ Or, you can find it through the NCOA website. Look for Benefits Checkup
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Counterpart to "out of sight, out of mind" is "I need to see it"
Many people know of "out of sight, out of mind", where if a PWD does not see something, it is forgotten. So I take anything that can cause problems and hide it, or stuff it into a bag to carry it away. An example is a bottle of meds where pills can be taken if I leave it out and I don't keep an eye on it. I hide it as soon…
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Is repeated aspiration pneumonia common?
My mothers MC facility called me a couple days ago saying they wanted to send her to ER because she had a persistent cough that was not getting better by her standard nebulizer. She has COPD. My dad passed away last year and most of mom's friends have died. She only has my sister (who has POA) and me. My sister spends two…
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Father in memory care one day loves it one day hates it
our family is on a rollercoaster with my father. He is in a memory care facility now. He calls one part of the day in good spirits and hours later he is agitated and irritated with the facility. He upsets my mother tremendously and she does not know how to handle it. She, herself, is recovering from a stroke, which is why…
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TV help
I just heard about Jubilee TV. A caregiver can control a LO's TV from afar via a smartphone app. This might solve a lot of headaches. Iris
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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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Home health care
I'm 70 and in reasonably good health, some issues that are well managed. DW is 67, about 3 years or so in. I would say moderate stages. A fair amount of urinary incontinence, needs assistance with bathing and dressing. We have an adult daughter who's doing all she can to help us. I cook breakfast every day, and either our…
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My Friend is legally blind: needs bookkeeping, billpay, computer assistance
Hello Alz community. I am a Reno based CPA and have a friend (She is located in Reno NV) who needs assistance with bookkeeping, bill pay, computer assistance and reading her mail to take care of her personal business matters starting at once a week. Do you have any recommendations?
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I wrote this essay to help others after losing my father to a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
After losing my father to a long battle with Alzheimer's, I wrote this essay to give a glimpse into this horrific disease, draw attention to the red flags (there are many people who, at this very moment, have a family member with dementia yet still do not realize it), and especially to help people navigate through the…
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Urge to pee but no pee
Been dealing with toileting issues at night the last couple months with the last few weeks increasing in frequency but this is a new one. MIL has been up and down multiple times during the night feeling like she has to pee but is not able to pee. She had two urine tests last week. First was inconclusive. Second was done…
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From NPR: Dementia Care without Locked Wards
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/11/17/nx-s1-5600877/dementia-alzheimers-care-housing-senior-living-inclusion-segregation
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Long term memory going / reality distorted
Last night, mom came upstairs and asked where our son was. I'm her son. At first, I thought she said "your son". I told her he was upstairs in his room. A few questions later, I realized she thought I was my dad. They divorced over 30 years ago... Last couple of weeks, she has been obsessively asking about dad and getting…