I Am a Caregiver (General Topics)

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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…

My mother had a stroke ~ 6 months ago, several days before her 90th birthday. Prior to the stroke, she was slowing down but still living on her own and doing very well. The stroke affected her memory and threw her into instant dementia, which has been getting worse. My sister and I tried to take turns caring for her, but…

My Mom is relatively new to AL - she moved in the day after Labor Day. Prior to her moving, I noticed on several occasions that she would sometimes have trouble differentiating between dreams and reality. For example, she woke up one time answering questions that she said I had asked when I hadn’t said anything. Anyway,…

While it's on caregiving in general and not limited to dementia, this episode of Fresh Air is a good resource for those early in the caregiving journey and want to understand how to handle the financial challenges. It's also available on many podcasting platforms. The guest, Paula Span, writes for the New York Times' "The…

Have someone that was diagnosed with early signs of dementia and is currently on Aricept. But have noticed in the past several months her desire to do anything diminish. She sits home all the time, she will go do things but wants to be home by 7pm. Goes to bed at 7pm sleeps till 6am, goes outside for 30 min. nut then back…

Mom was diagnosed almost four years ago. The journey has been tough. I have had some misconceptions about dementia, dementia care and how this all works. I thought it might be interesting for us to share some of those misconceptions in an effort to help others on this horrible journey. What misconceptions about dementia…

My DH is in Stage 6 and is on hospice, though he is still eating and walking. I just got the yearly health insurance notification and it made me wonder whether I should cancel his dental insurance, as he no longer goes to the dentist? It's possible that some dental issue could arise, but my thinking is that we can save…

mother with early signs per what she says and is on aricept but just noticing little changes and wondering if its normal. She just says things and does things that are out of character, doesnt go out and do anything anymore like normal. We have a family business she goes to in the mornings for 30 minuets but then sits home…

My dad died. My mom who has AD saw him after he died and attended the funeral but doesn’t remember. At first we were telling her that he died but that would cause a meltdown every time and it was heartbreaking. She wanders the house trying to find him and is constantly asking where he is. They were inseparable for 60+…

Are any of you here frustrated like I am at the lack of tools for families to help them cope with caring for their loved ones? There are so many stories here about folks having challenges with the simpler things that involve providing care. For instance, when families have difficulty communicating with their loved ones…

I find my hardest thing at this point is my DH shadowing me everywhere I go at home or even on errands. He wants to be connected at the hip at all times. I can’t even get up to go to the bathroom. He wants to ask me the same questions over and over again and gets mad if I don’t jump, which I refuse to do. He was always a…

What has been successful when trying to distract a love one with hallucinations if they won’t be easily distracted? My grandmother has always been strong willed and we are having trouble helping her through hallucinations because she just won’t be distracted.

I've been noticing mom overeating. She will make breakfast (yogurt and coffee), she will make lunches like Chicken Cordon Blue, Meatloaf. My sister makes and freezes them, so she can pull them out and defrost, cook & eat it for her lunches. Recently I have noticed she will come down for breakfast, then come down for a…

Hi all, I'm new here. I have a much older sister in her mid-70s (one who I hardly knew growing up) who lives in another county, about an hour away—still in her own apartment. The only other family member is our brother, closer in age to her, who lives a bit closer to her, but is rarely involved. As I agreed years ago to be…

Hello, my spouse does not remember that she has eaten and therefore constantly eats. She is struggling to fit into her clothes now and unfortunately, due to a bad hip, won't exercise. I've given up on trying to get her to eat healthy and I just make sure she does as often as possible. She also forgets when she has a glass…

Humorous things happen with dementia patients like over twenty years ago when my mother was diagnosed with dementia and we were at a second visit with her psychiatrist and she asked me the date and wrote it on a tissue she’d wrapped around her finger in case the doctor asked her what day it was and then another time she…

I am looking for a watch that is feminine looking and has GPS without buttons and other apps that can be manipulated. Does anybody have experience with such? Recommendations?

I've been reading about avoiding overstimulation (TV sounds, rough fabrics) and then realized that even food appearance may cause confusion or overstimulation. For example, if you have multi-grain bread, poppy seeds on a muffin, then a PWD is confused with anything extra on the bread or muffin and may spend much time…

My 90-yo mother has been diagnosed with Limbic-predominant, Age-related, TDP-43 Encephalopathy (LATE). She still lives independently, but she often orders vitamins and other brain supplements—getting scammed—but doesn’t remember doing it due to her severe short-term memory issues. Does anyone have any advice on how to…

Hello fellow caregivers. I'm wondering if anyone has used a smart pillbox for their PWD or an elderly person. Looking for a pill box or dispenser that will sense if it's been picked up or opened or similar, and alert a caregiver if it has not. A reminder would also be nice if it beeped or something. That seems to exist…

At some point a memory care becomes necessary. When first diagnosed my DH was not recognizing me or our daughter and was running away. After a brief hospitalization and a battery of tests and medication things have improved behaviorally and I think because his eye sight and mobility problems have increased he doesn’t run…

How long did it take you LO to accept placement in a memory care facility? What stage were they at when they were placed?

I've read about reducing sensory overload for PWD, such as turning off TV when eating, talking or answering slowly, and even using earplugs (if they still have good hearing). My experience is mostly with problems with visual or sounds. Did anyone experience problems with other things like rough fabrics (clothes, seat…

my wife has dementia but it’s truly not as bad as many. Takes care of her needs her everyday needd, doesn’t drive , cook and many other interests are gone. But my question is how to you get someone in to spend time with her so I can leave her alone?? The fact that I would suggest it would upset her and wouldn’t be happy…

My husband likes to walk so I need a tracking device, I’m currently using FindMy in his Iphone. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Hi, everyone. Thank you in advance for your feedback. First time poster. My question is, and advice being sought, how best should my sister and I go through the discussion and process of getting my uncle moved into the memory care center next week? We are getting him into the local memory care center this coming week; the…

Anyone have tips for activities for an adult with special needs who has alzheimers?

I am currently trying to care for both of my parents, each with different symptoms/issues. My mother (72 yrs old) has been dealing with progressing short term memory loss for about 3-4 years. She asks the same questions over and over and doesn't remember that I've visited 5 minutes after I leave. She has not been…

I didn’t tell my Mom that we were going until about 15 minutes before. I expected some kind of reaction from her. I didn’t get one. Tried to talk with her about it afterword. She didn’t have much to say about it then either. She seemed off today though. A friend wanted her phone number. She told her that she didn’t know…

I am wondering if this group has a reading list of helpful resources for those living with dementia and care partners. If not, I'd like to start one. My husband was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's . The initial diagnosis also included Alzheimer's. He was on medication for several weeks for both until further testing…