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The struggle of preserving their dignity!
My LO is a dignified 70 year old lady who has been accomplished during her life. She always worked hard and raised two boys herself after being left by the father during pregnancy, and took the opportunity to go to college. She has been very strong and resilient. Unfortunately, she has now declined to a state in which she…
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Can’t call mom
Today I am putting down a deposit for a place for my mom. We are still not 100% sure if it will be in AL or MC, but I know for 100% that this sucks. My heart breaks knowing I will have to do this. I had dream after dream last night about it. Sleep is hard to come. And I constantly think of what the day will look like when…
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Hospice recert decision - good news
Forum mates - following up to share the decision: DH is continuing on hospice. Will be reviewed again in 60 days as always. I was prepared for either decision to be "good news" as my earlier post noted. https://www.alzconnected.org/discussion.aspx?tid=2147561119&g=posts&t=2147561109 There are pluses and minuses to…
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New and looking for any initial tips and guidance.
My mother in law is in her 70s. Both of her parents had Alzheimer’s. We’ve always thought that it could be something she’d have to go through as well. In the recent years we’ve noticed some changes and in the last few months it has become more and more apparent that we need to help. At this time she can not get through a…
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Illness and dementia
Any advice for male with middle-stage Alz who has the crud that's going around? We managed to get to a family wedding (a long trip, but a huge blessing) but we (parents, myself, and my husband) got sick after returning. My mother got my Dad to the doctor yesterday, and he has bronchitis and sinus. He is still living at…
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How did you deal with the transition of walking with assistance to bedbound?
My LO can currently walk with assistance. She is "not allowed" to walk without that assistance due to her wandering and falling, as she will not use her cane or walker. Since the diagnosis of this disease and not being able to feed herself very well, she has lost relatively quite a lot of weight and is now very light and…
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A few questions on the benefits of Continuing Care
Hi All, We have been evaluating, touring and interviewing various MC's for our LO, who has stage 4 (with signs of stage 5) Alzheimer's. I understand the benefits of a MC facility also having LT Care, but what is the difference between LT Care and LT Memory Care? Is LT Care usually sufficient for an Alzheimer's resident or…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 62/22
IMITATE CHRIST GOD THOUGHT: Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” VICTORY THOUGHT: I love people when I am willing to sacrifice my time, talent and energy…
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Best way to handle prescription medications
My mother is at the stage where she's independent enough to live on her own, but she's not able to handle her medications. When the pharmacy calls to tell her she has a prescription ready, she picks it up and sets it on her kitchen countertop. I come over on the weekend and fill her locked, medication dispenser and she has…
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Terrible Week! Could this be progression.
I’ve been keeping track of things that don’t seem right with my mom for the last 2 years. My mom has no formal diagnosis. She refuses to get tested etc..From January to April there were 11 things that I noticed with her memory or behaviour. In the last month there have been 8 of these things. Three of them last week, which…
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Progression may get him booted from hospice
DH has a recertification visit today, requested by a new team member yesterday afternoon. It is possible he will “graduate” from hospice, mainly due to his weight gain which is a no-no basically. To clarify, one of the expected signals of decline for hospice is weight loss. Unfortunately, his brain is failing in the area…
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Medicaid nursing home staffing law in Illinois
Here is the link. Your thoughts as to if it will help? No idea why the link isn’t activated Check out this article from The State Journal-Register: Pritzker signs bill to provide $700 million annually for nursing home staffing…
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THE BIG M WAS TOLD THE BAD NEWS!!!
So...I told mom we needed to put her in assisted living. I said that she was getting worse and she needed more monitoring and I was not able to do that. There was a silence and she said she's not going. She'll run away. I told her if she did that how would she find her way back to the house? She said, "Well, now I have to…
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Prevagen
My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in August 2021 and has been very resistant to the diagnosis and any medication. She finally agreed to take Celexa and Aricept and eventually Namenda. However, she stopped taking her meds in February because she said she was tired of everyone else telling her what to do. Now, I have…
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Having a tough time dealing
Okay you guys here's the situation. My grandmother was diagnosed with moderate to severe dementia earlier this month. We had noticed that something was going when she started to forget important dates and around the holidays this past year when she forgot to pay bills that normally she was always early or on time for. The…
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Child of ALZ patient living far away from him
Hi this is my first post. My father has stage 6 ALZ and lives in CA, and I live in PA, 2500 miles apart. I'm having trouble coping with him being so far away, not being able to call and talk to my dad, plus his diagnosis is recent and the onset was crazy fast (4 weeks) due to mini strokes. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
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Stressful situation
It's been a bit since I posted - been mostly reading your posts. But here I am....my sister is EO and formally diagnosed. She lives with my mother. I live 1400 miles away. This week, my mother is having knee surgery and I traveled to help with her recovery. Meanwhile, I am juggling my sister's daily routine (which I know…
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Here we go again(5)
I’m been trying not to post a topic this week because so many of our spouse members have had such terrible weeks. My concerns seemed petty compared to that. But my step-dad upped the ante a little bit ago and I’m too upset to eat supper. Thursday I took Mom to her neurology NP follow-up. We basically spent the time…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 5/31/22
Dear Caregivers, I want you to know I understand the great sacrifices you are making to care for loved ones with dementia or Alzheimer's. Some of you already know I took care of my parents for nine years. My mother had severe dementia which eventually left her totally helpless. It was awfully hard even though I had help. I…
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First time posting. Not even sure what I want to say.
My mom has AD and is in stage 6A or so. She was diagnosed about 1 1/2 years ago, but had symptoms for several years before that, though they were thought to be stress-related at the time. I have so many conflicting emotions, sometimes all at once. I miss her terribly (her old self, I mean). I feel guilty that a) I strongly…
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Memory care/Assisted Living and private pay/Medicaid
Hi, I will be touring about ten places that have both AL and MC in the next few days and I’ve already seen another half dozen. I found one nice place that had both AL and MC but was only for residents with dementia. They accept Medicaid long term care so my mom could move in and stay until the very end. This was a nice…
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A tough time.
When I was immersed in the process of helping Mom to the end of her life, fighting off the sorrows of the world was often an impossible challenge. Surrounded by a hateful disease whose sole purpose was to kill my mother I did my best to accept her slow dissolution while conjuring laughter and love to make it all bearable…
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Anyone what to chat today?
It's 1pm eastern time here in California. I will be in/out of both chats rooms if someone needs/wants to chat. Nicole
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I am so tired
I am just tired. And in pain physically from a rotator cuff re-injury (from turning, lifting etc) and tennis elbow from repetitive motions. We are trying to find a caregiver - hoping tomorrow will be a good fit, the agency said then assessment nurse hand picked this person as a good fit for us and she’s finishing…
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4 months in...
My mom has been diagnosed with mixed dementia, both Alzheimer's and Vascular. She has moved in with my husband and I permanently. We are having to sell her home this Summer. She expects us to get rid of alot of our belongings to accommodate hers. I am very patient and having a hard time with this. Any advice will be…
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How to help my parents
Hello, I am new here and so grateful to have found this site. My mom has some form of dementia (they refuse to get a diagnosis) and is losing her vision from macular degeneration. We, my father and I, noticed the dementia about two years ago but in hindsight I would say this has been going on for 4 years, she was just good…
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Information For Those Moving/New At NH or MC Placement
The link is an excellent and lengthy overview of so much regarding many NH dynamics; kind of a "how to" model: Chapter 1: Before Your Mother Enters The Nursing Home | Illinois Citizens for Better Care Input from Members: From "King Boo:" However, in the event this information is at all useful to anyone on the boards, here…
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Dementia Discussions by Barbara Hament
I feel comforted listening to this podcast and to the different situations which caregivers go through. It is so relatable yet really showcases the uniqueness of all the different situations we go through.
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Mom not eating as much...ethical dilemma
My precious mother turned 75 today. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2013, but she recorded symptoms in her journals as far back as 2007. While Mom has retained her pleasant demeanor this entire time, she does seem to be turning a corner. Her face doesn't light up as brightly now when she sees me. I seem to be the…
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Drooling and coughing
I posted this on the other board, but maybe people here have experience too. My DH who is around late stage 6 has started drooling in the past several days. It isn’t all the time, but worse in the evening and before bedtime. The past couple nights he has also been coughing at night, a loud cough. I think it may be related…