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traveling with spouse with dementia- beginning stages
Husband has posterior cortical atrophy so forgets things easily, has no peripheral vision. But we love to travel. Considering the Caribbean to escape MN winter. We love to walk together. Plan to stay in one place from approx march 3-10. any ideas? thanks. Lois
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Service dog
My wife was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago with Mild Cognitive Impairment with Alzheimer's pathology. She's 64 years old and I'm 54. I don't remember who brought it up, but the idea of having a service dog was discussed. My wife has pretty much always had a dog. Right now we have a 13 year old American pit bull and a 2&1/2…
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Just need to talk to my friends (204)
Time to begin segment 2O4 of our thread. Thought this would be a good time before morning posts. GG, if you stew the prunes, they won't be shriveled. My day was good. I may take Stormy for a ride everyday. the enjoys it so much. I need to get a pair of safety glasses for him. He likes to ride with the window down. This is…
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Any tips for a caregiver to work out?
I’ve tried 5 caregivers. Every time, my DH (stage 6) likes them the first day, after that doesn’t want them around. Follows me everywhere very agitated. I’m tired and need help. Caregiver # 6 is starting Monday. So far she is the best I’ve seen, a CNA, works in hospice lots of experience. Very passionate about her work,…
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first visit to memory care
I made my first visit today to see my DW in memory care. She's been there just over a week. I was advised to stay about an hour and to arrange a signal with the staff so I could excuse myself "to go to the bathroom" and leave. It was hard and terribly sad to see her. DW said over and over, "I miss you so much." She asked…
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Jay Leno caring for wife with dementia
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jay-leno-stands-marriage-vows-faces-challenges-caring-wife-suffering-dementia
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looking for advice for "chattering"
For a few weeks now, it has been non stop repetitive nonsense coming from my DW combined with the intense shadowing which means she is rarely more than an arm's length away. I know ALZ is not a mental illness, but that is certainly how it looks and feels. I get to listen to her lose her mind in real time, non stop. Nothing…
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Am I being unreasonable?
I’m 81, my DW is 82. I have been her primary caregiver since she was diagnosed three years ago. We live in rural Western PA. Between our prior marriages we have 8 kids. They all live far away, the closest is her daughter who lives fours away. She is in stage 5. I have had to take over all the finances, medications, meal…
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The Cavalry Is Not Coming: 9 Year Edition
This is an updated version of The Cavalry Is Not Coming. I repost this occasionally as I have been informed that this article has helped many caregivers. This edition is mostly the same, although I have brought it up to date and revised it to make it more helpful. October 1, 2024 marked nine years since my wife’s dementia…
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Won’t let me help clean him up
This is not a nice topic, but you all know how it is in this forum. 😉 DH is at the point where he isn’t cleaning his behind well after using the toilet. We both have always closed the door when we used the bathroom throughout our long marriage. So now when I knock on the door and ask if I can come in or if he needs any…
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Shuffling and Gait Changes
How many of you have observed your LOs developing shuffling and stiff gaits. My DH has recently experienced an acceleration of these symptoms. I suspect he is transitioning from 5 to6.
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Long Geri-Psych Stay!
At the end of last month/beginning of this month, I posted that DH had a complete mental breakdown at his rehab center, where he was recovering from a fractured tibia. He was transferred to the local ER. Here's the update: After 2 days in the ER, on April 2, he was transferred to an inpatient Geri Psych facility. He's…
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Not eating , can the reason be because of knowing what lyes ahead ?
I 've read that with dementia that eating habits can change . Food tastes different , etc. etc . But my fear is that my DW is starving herself so not to put me or our family through the journey . Is there anyone else who has had this feeling or actually experienced this ?
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RAV phone
My husband can not work the simple Jitterbug phone any longer and I am thinking of getting him a RAV phone. They are $ but I need something for him in case of emergency. Does anyone have any experience with these - good or bad? Thank you
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Does Memory Care actually help
I obviously have been obsessing about memory care for months. My husband is probably late stage 5, can't do any ADL's without help, very bad arthritis so walking is difficult. We go to twice weekly exercise classes and various musical events and will occasionally take a short walk in a nearby canyon. He will walk short…
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Long Geri-Psych Stay!
At the end of last month/beginning of this month, I posted that DH had a complete mental breakdown at his rehab center, where he was recovering from a fractured tibia. He was transferred to the local ER. Here's the update: After 2 days in the ER, on April 2, he was transferred to an inpatient Geri Psych facility. He's…
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The Mental Switch
Hey all, Many of you have talked about how at a certain point, you made a mental switch from loving spouse to loving caregiver…or something along those lines. I'm curious about how you've done that. My DW is getting more paranoid and complains about how "I'm not taking care of her needs", which means sitting next to her…
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Life Insurance
Just throwing this out there as food for thought….if any of you are caring for a loved one that is going through any issues related to AD and do not have individual life insurance, be sure YOU protect yourself and your loved ones for future health issues. Get an individual life policy that will potentially cover expenses,…
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Paranoia
DH is 62 and still working. He is constantly telling me that nobody at work talks to him and that I am making life decisions without him. He also is saying our adult sons don’t talk to him and our grandson that lives with us is different. Our grandson has not changed his interactions with DH. Is this paranoia? Is this part…
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Mental Illness dementia or something else
Hi everyone, I am still coping with my moms memory issues and diagnosis. I am truly baffled: her issues are so obvious to me, my one other family member who knows her, and the people in her AL. But when I bring her to the doctor, desperate to get her some kind of care of evaluation for her memory issues, they either…
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Should we proceed with testing
my husband has mci(22 score on Moca). We went to neurophysiologist and he ordered a in-depth test. My husband has severe sleep apnea that took almost a year to correct. He was having 36 episodes per night. The neuro wants the test because of that and his low score. my husband feels conflicted to get a diagnosis it just…
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Just dropping by.
I've been around for several years, first as a caregiver for my mother, under a different name. About halfway through my caregiving journey with Mom, which lasted about a decade, I began noticing several red flags with my husband. Now others in our family are seeing those alarms, and we're also dealing with my…
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My favorite picture
Today we spent Easter together, just the two of us and looking at pictures. Pamella saw a picture of me and said that it was her favorite. She asked me if I had a favorite. I found one and said that was my favorite. It really made me think about what was really my favorite picture. After thinking about it and the favorite…
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APHASIA
I need some help. My DH has aphasia and his speech is getting so bad I can hardly understand him, he chats away especially at night and i have little or no idea what he is saying. Communicating with anybody else is so very difficult, most people haven’t got the time or patience to stop and try to understand him. It’s…
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Emergency Petition for Treatment
I want to thank all the people in my life who calls and checks on me and my LO as we go through this dementia journey. It’s been a tough 3 months since his broken neck, rehab, home therapy, and then now in a geriatric psych stay. Applying for an emergency petition for treatment through the courts was the hardest decision I…
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robotic pets - again
There are older threads that discuss the positive effects of giving a LOWD a robotic pet, such as a Joy For All puppy. I'm curious to know how long that batteries last.
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Driving
My friend has an at home caregiver. She has not driven her car in four months. The aide or I take care of the driving. She had a dead battery which we fixed. Now she wants to drive it, just around the corner. I suggested I drive. She did not want that. She wants to drive with me..I do not want to be in the car with her.…
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Been a long 6 years
My BH, age 65 now, is very close to the end of his journey. If someone has a “to do” list I would love feedback.
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Do I know the answer?
Today my DH said he had a dream last night about Montreal. He said “ don’t you remember when we were there” … it was him and his ex wife. Does it mean he’s mixing us up now?
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Hyperfocus on a Topic
My DW gets hyper focused on topics particularly when events, trips are forthcoming. She asks many times over a day/days regarding the calendar, who is coming, whats next etc. Writing it down, reviewing a calendar, white board or sticky notes isn't working as she knows to ask but can't retain the answer causing anxiety. Any…