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Does It Matter?
My mom has been living at a Memory Care Facility for a little over a year (but has had dementia for approximately 8 years) and while she still knows people that have been in her life for a long time, she essentially has no short term memory and is "stuck" where she was about 8 years ago (living in the same house, my dad…
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Taking away financial agency and bvFTD
Hi all, My dad is 77 and was diagnosed with bvFTD a few months ago. He always handled all the finances and rarely spoke of money to my mom. When I realized something was terribly wrong about 2 years ago, I started the process and now (thanks largely to advice on this board!) I have DPOA and health care proxy for both my…
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Urinary urgency
My sister is now in an assisted living community. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a year and aMy sister is now in an assisted living community. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a year and a half ago. She has always had problems with urgency, but now she wants to go every five minutes. She had a number of falls so now…
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Spouse prone to anger if I disagree
My spouse might be angry about a person or incident and insist that I give her a simple yes or no as to whether I agree with her. I cannot in good conscience agree but if I don’t I know she will be very agitated and angry at me. Or she might be demanding that I tell her I will do something very important to her when I’m…
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Medical Marijuana
I am the sole caregiver for my wife. Entering stage 7. RSO, gummies, or even flower. Will be helpful for anxiety of the patient and stress for the caregiver. I my case, the use of medical marijuana has added a dimension; a depth within myself and a enhanced relationship and empathy with my wife. Don't know how my wife or I…
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bathroom issues(6)
Hello this is my first post and am willing to listen to any/all recommendations for this problem. Has anyone experienced the loved one with dimentia having poop problems? The issue is she seems to some time poop on the floor. She also puts her hands in her poop. Today, I ended up loosing my cool when she had poop all over…
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PPA (primary progressive aphasia) - a type of Alzheimer’s
my sister, age 77, has been diagnosed with “logopenic PPA” and Alzheimer’s - and is living at home with her husband. She can do all the ADL’s, is working out, socializing and seeing a speech therapist. She has no memory loss but struggles to find words, has trouble writing and reading. On Aricept today, however her…
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State Law Regarding Patient to Employee ratio at Memory Care Facilities
Did you know that the State of Florida allows the same ratio of staffing for Assisted Living residents as it does for Memory Care! How is this possible when many of those in Memory Care required much more daily support? As individuals we are helpless without the support of organizations like the ALZ Association and…
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Took part in Alzheimers Research study
My father clearly had some form of dementia but didn't get an actual diagnosis, it was just described as senile dementia. I have never had a great memory, but it was getting worse. I recently participated in a research study looking for the biomarker for Alzheimers. Blood tests showed I have the biomarker for Alzheimers.…
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Need help accepting caregiver
We're trying to hire a caregiver/helper for a few hours a week, but my wife is very private and gets angry at the idea of having someone else in our home. We need some advice on how to resolve this. Thanks.
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This may be crazy question.. but has anyone ever heard of someone staying in say Stage 4
has anyone ever heard of this ? I’m curious or hoping has anyone just at a say Stage 4-5 and never going further. ????
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Frail Elderly Waiver
If your loved one has a frail and elderly waiver, please tell us what services they get through this program. (Bonus points for Massachusetts). Thank you.
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Sibling does not help nor gives support!
I have been a caregiver of my Mom since 2017. Her onset was around age 66. She is now 77 Years. Even before her diagnosis which was offically at 70 years ( I had known she was losing her memory) my twin sister never wanted or even wants today to deal with it in any way. Not only has very minimal contact with our Mom but,…
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End of life?
Me and my brother are both helping to care for my grandad, my nan too and he has carers come in multiple times a day because it's a lot for us to deal with. He's recently stopped breathing, or struggled breathing every day for the last 7-10 days. Breaths every 30-40 seconds and in a lot of pain, he's had care come out for…
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Stepdad with Alzhemiers getting possessive
I am definitely looking for help and not sure what to do. My mom has stage 4 breast cancer and is at home on Hospice. She does not have much time left. My stepdad is also here and has late stage AZ. I have been trying to find a memory care facility for him, but I am not his power of attorney or next of kin so I am having…
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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 and signs (there are many people at this very moment who have a family member with dementia and still do not realize it), and especially to help people navigate through…
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Help. No idea how to handle this
My dad, 84, hasn’t been living in reality the past few days. He’s had ALZ for 18 months and the past few days, he’s been packing up his clothes and referring to “they” want him to come home. He just unpacked his bag and is now repacking it. What should I do? I’ve been going along with it. I’ve put him in the car before and…
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Need some advice
My grandfather (77) has Alzimers and early stage dementia. He has been having issues with his memory and I am trying my best to help him. But I'm having trouble getting through to him. For context, I along with my parents, are currently living with my grandfather. We try to keep the house clean, provide meals and assist…
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Interesting observation
The nurse who evaluated my LO for hospice made an interesting observataion. He watched my LO's hands and asked if he had ever been screened for autism. ( I don't remember the exact wording, but he was very tactful) Later, he told me it looked like stimming behavoir, which is common with autism. My LO has no history of…
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Wanting to go outside all the time
I am my DH primary caregiver and he can no longer be left alone. In the past few months I feel that so many things are changing. Since the weather is getting nicer he has started to say "I just want to go in the yard for a few minutes" . He comes back in 5 minutes and does not leave the property. But then he does it over…
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Talking about someone in the 3rd person while speaking to them
We suspect my 89-year-old mother is progressing from early- to mid-stage dementia but don't have a diagnosis yet. Recently, there have been a couple of instances where she's referred to the person she's speaking to in the third person. Like telling her granddaughter, Lauren, about "the basket that Lauren made" or telling…
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Looking for advice on parent who wants to travel but can’t
My mom’s sister recently passed. She lived 2000 miles away from us and had no kin. I need to travel to help handle the estate, etc. My mom keeps insisting she’s going and I have to explain that she can’t travel. She gets disoriented in her own home and needs supervision 24/7. As much as I wish I could take her with me,…
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Hospice assessment
I'm ready to have my husband assessed for hospice. He doesn't meet all the criteria on the checklist, but I've been encouraged to have a home assessment. Any tips for those of you that have done this? I plan to tell him it's an assessment for insurance coverage, without mentioning the word hospice. Anything I should be…
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Possible AZ prevention from anti virals + shingles vaccine
I have not read anything about this before:…
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Transitioning to AL
My mom is in a community with IL, AL, and MC. She’s been in IL there for 2 years and it’s time to transition to AL. We know she will eventually need MC too. Any tips on easing the transition when it’s in the same community? In a way it should be easier due to the familiar environment, but there’s also a feeling of being…
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Hiring through Care.com
Hello - we are looking to hire someone in the immediate term through care.com until we can get mom's long-term plans settled. For those who use or have used care.com: What questions did you ask when interviewing candidates? What red flags should I be on the lookout for with candidates? Any watch-outs to be aware of when…
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Teeth pulling
My mother has alzheimer's I say mid stage, but her Dr has never stated what stage. Anyway, she has been telling me for a few weeks that I took her to a dentist that ground all her teeth down to nothing and now every time she runs her tongue around in her mouth all she feels are broken teeth. Well since I know this never…
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VA - Veteran benefits
Just wanted to give an update on possible Veterans Benefits. Service connected disability: File for it if the Veteran meets the qualifications. There is a list of diseases that are presumptive for Agent Orange. Parkinson's is on the list and I believe Alzheimer's & Dementia should be. I would file for Social Security…
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Had to step back
Long story short, I live long distance from an aunt with dementia. She has family who live near. When it was discovered aunt had dementia, family expected me to take care of aunt. Move in and handle everything. Everything was dire. The family didn't want aunt alone for a second. I did what I could and explained I couldn't…
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Rapid Progression
The progression of Alzheimer’s can jump suddenly. My wife was diagnosed in July 2016. Her rate of decline stayed fairly steady until last December. In memory care, she walked 12 to 18 hours a day, she could feed herself, and she talked a lot of word salad. In the middle of December she was hospitalized with a urinary tract…