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Legal Docs Completed
Thanks to all who suggested that I see an elder care lawyer and get our wills updated and POAs in place. We/I got it all done this week! I feel relieved. Thank you for your suggestions and kindnesses.
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You see signs, but why should you get a diagnosis?
This is an article I copied a few years ago, and I thought it might help people who suspect dementia. Add to this that some medications might cause more problems for certain types of dementia. More than 50 conditions can cause or mimic the symptoms of dementia, and a small percentage of dementias are reversible. Two common…
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Resource Guide for Caregivers
Here is a link to a guide provided during a recent caregiver webinar. https://lor.nnlm.gov/op/op.Download_Share.php?documentid=4618 Happy Thanksgiving to y’all. Mary
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The Dogs know better...
While I wasn't looking, my wife fed her dinner to the dog. I was very upset with the dog.
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Any tips or suggestions for type 1 Diabetic going into Memory Care
My husband just went into Memory Care. It is on the campus of a large Senior Living community that has high overall ratings. His sugar monitor got lost the first day but luckily showed up the next day and I now have it on a lancet that is attached to his belt buckle. And I'm going to get software that parents use to track…
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Recent decline
Hi, My husband is showing a rapid decline since he caught the common cold. This started early in October with a cough. The night before we were to leave for my mother's, he could not stop coughing. I became so concerned, I called 911 at 2:30 am. Tests showed he had the common cold aka rhinovirus. All of the other covid and…
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You think you've heard about early onset - read this
You will probably get a box asking you to subscribe, but just close it. https://tinyurl.com/yw346y3f
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Lady Peewee - Upate On Peewee
Lady Peewee gave an update on Peewee; she placed her Thread on the Caregiver's Forum rather than her usual coming here. Peewee has been diagnosed with lung cancer, so those of you who know her from her long time on this Forum, you may want to let her know you are thinking of her:…
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OT...Ed and Gig
Miles Davis "After Midnight" Can I join the jazz group???
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Random Thoughts on Calories, Hospice, and the Dying Process
I talked to the Hospice nurse today about my DH's decreased eating and sleeping more. He is eating less than 3,000 calories a week. (When he was younger and doing carpentry work, he could eat that much in a day.) She said it was all part of the dying process. And he tires so quickly after sitting up in bed for no more than…
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Toileting issues in someone i thought was solidly in stage 5
Hi, everyone. Second post here because I am perplexed. DH was diagnosed with mild dementia, combination of AZ and VD, at the end of June 2021. Recently some toileting issues have cropped up. As long ago as February 2022, I noticed he was reluctant to use a public toilet -- even in a health care setting when it was a single…
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Realization(1)
I have seen three homes and they are all nice. The staff is caring and the premises are very clean. The residents seem very happy as well. What my realization is that my mindset has had to change. I always saw long term care homes as death incorporated and swore I would never commit someone in one of those places. Well, I…
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Girl got big
I have not noticed anyone commenting on this, so here is my take. Cooking and meal prep. Has been my job for years now. When we shop, I basically shop and she ponies along behind me making rare suggestions. This means I am running the calories at our house, and you would expect that we would pretty much stay the same size…
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Care plan meeting tomorrow
Finally have our meeting scheduled for tomorrow. I have spent the weekend preparing a list of questions and issues to address. Outcome will probably determine whether I leave her where she is or start looking for a different facility (though the very idea just exhausts me). She is still pretty independent in her ADL's, and…
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Three months on MCF for DW. An Update.
This will be long so TL;DR: I'm the guy with a deadly skin disease I developed from the stress of caregiving. I'm recovering with treatment. DW has been in an MCF for nearly three months and has adapted much better than I feared. Hopefully my story will be of some use to others, as their stories have been to me. Now for my…
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Update to Called Hospice
Hospice visited yesterday. They immediately qualified him. The doctor also reviewed his medical records and gave him a diagnosis, which he's NEVER had. We're to the point of hospice, 8 months in memory care, and no one had ever given him an actual diagnosis. The best has been "Presenile dementia", which I suppose says it…
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Seeing changes
My brilliant husband had trouble making the bed this morning - a task he has always enjoyed and performed upon rising. It took him 1/2 hour. He gets agitated if I try to help, so I stayed away. He has been having trouble with his computer lately too, forgetting passwords and getting agitated with it all. We have an…
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Stressed / anxious especially since I can no longer share
My DH still is my best friend - but then he's really not. I used to talk decisions over with him - but now it's usually "whatever you think" as a reply. He was the person who calmed my anxieties/worries - and now any mention of things that have me worried causes him confusion and anxiety. So even though he's still in the…
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Grandaughter's Wedding and other updates
Dear Forum Friends, it's been awhile since I have posted anything. It seems like somethings happens and before I can post, something else happens so I end up not posting anything. Last weekend, our granddaughter got married in Des Moines, Iowa. Her twin brother was married in late May in Indiana and we attended his wedding…
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Dealing with slowly losing my husband
I am new to this forum, new to dealing with advanced dementia, new to feeling lost, new to not recognizing my husband, new to keeping secrets from others...to protect my husband, the list goes on and on. We are in the process of changing our Neurologist, all I can get from him is that he has advanced dementia, I asked is…
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This country song makes me cry
I like just about all kinds of music except rap, but that isn't really music (I know I'm opinionated). But the first time I heard this song, I thought somebody wrote it for us. That was some time ago. Gene Watson - I Don't Need A Thing At All
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end of week
I am so glad it is the end of the week. Tomorrow is a the start of a new week. I want/need a better week. Someday the events of this week will be a funny story. But, not yet. That’s all I got.
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Accepting That I Am On This Path Alone
I have (finally) come to an acceptance that there is no longer any accountability or depth of understanding with my DH, he still has a surface persona, ask questions, tells me he loves me, remembers or obsessive over some things, showboats at the Dr.s or in front of family and friends but the many fractures to his memory…
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Placement day
"Not your fault...just be a good girl," were my LO's words to me yesterday...I couldn't stop crying, begging her forgiveness because I couldn't help her, because I could no longer keep her, or myself, safe....and she said: not your fault. What a blessed gift she has given me! I placed her in memory care yesterday. She was…
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First time here. Feeling overwhelmed
Male, gay, 67, recently retired. Have been with my husband since 1977. He (74 next week) was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and the typical problems are beginning. Yesterday I had to make the decision to take away his car keys, and now he won't speak to me. He loved being able to drive places, but it's just become…
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book list(1)
I have no info re who puts this together but I do know that some of these are very good https://dennislehanebooks.com/books-about-dementia/
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One Year in MC
It seems hard to believe but it was a year ago today that I placed DW in MC. We have been fortunate, DW is engaged & happy there and has never once asked about home. I visit her 4 to 5 times a week, take her to lunch a couple of times per month and bring the dog for visits. DW loves having a lot of people around and can…
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How long have you been a caregiver?
How long have you been a full-time caregiver and how do you know you were at the end of this struggle?
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DH 1st week in AL - A roller coaster!
My DH move in date was 11/7. On 11/8 and 11/9 he tried to leave, they were able to stop him in the parking lot and he told them he was "walking home ." The directors feel that it is a mistake for me to visit every day and that DH needs some time to adjust without me there. They feel in 2 weeks time he will see that as his…
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Update to kicked out update(1)
Wow! What a month! It was exactly one month today that DH kicked me out and didn’t know who I was. He’s been in geripsych for a month and is doing great. After seeing 18 MC I finally settled on a place less than .5 a mile away that also happens to be the least expensive. DH had his assessment yesterday and, thankfully, he…