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Glass half full or half empty?
My SO has short term memory problems which have been diagnosed as early Alzheimer's. She was always in control of her finances and business affairs and becomes very depressed when she is reminded that it is no longer the case. I try to get her to focus on the many positive things in her life but am not always successful.…
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Mor MIL problems
I've written before about my mean demential mother in law but what happened last night takes the cake. Ever since she took my DH to the urgent care because she thought that would speed up him getting hernia surgery, I have forbidden her to come into our house. Last night though when I was in the other room I heard loud…
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Disney channel
My husband has been watching old westerns and Andy Griffith and Mash. He always looks bored. He likes movies but is having trouble following a lot of them. I signed up for Disney and he loves it. Dog and horse movies bring on smiles. Now he is watching Huck Finn and is enthralled. The colors are great and are much better…
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Plasmalogen
Has anyone on here tried the Plasmalogen therapy. Research is interesting.
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Too much togetherness
I'm new here. My DH developed dementia symptoms since October due to two subdural hematomas on each side of the front of his brain. He had surgery to drain them, successfully, but the dementia symptoms worsened after that. His neurologist now says his symptoms are consistent with vascular dementia but has not made a formal…
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Getting defensive
My DH has been very defensive lately. No matter what I say he gets angry and tells me I'm wrong and that's not what he said. He then has a mean attitude with me. He claims I said something that I never said. How do you handle these out-bursts?
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Funny things our LOs say
I've had an almost impossible time understanding what DH is saying lately, lots of word salad. I used to be able to figure it out fairly well, but any more I find myself saying, "I don't know, can you ask me again?" Today it was total gibberish. I just looked at him and said, "I don't understand. Tell me again." And with a…
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Thinking of the East Coast folks
Hope all are safe and dont lose power. I love Boston and New Haven but don't miss them this time of year....
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Our lives are not over
This is what I wish for you. Here's to life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTv3TONfTTQ Lyrics: No complaints and no regrets. I still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets. But i have learned that all you give is all you get So give it all you got. I had my share, I drank my fill, And even though I'm satisfied, I'm…
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Who are you? (humor)
I thought this was sightly humorous. This morning, I was sitting at the computer when I turned around and saw Colleen sitting on the bed. We had the following conversation, starting with her. Who are you? Who am I? Who are you? I’m me. My name is Ron. Does Me have a name? My name is Me. Your name is Colleen. Oh. You and I…
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An ambulance ride, hospital stay and a step down
We've now been working with a psychiatrist to help with DH's anxiety. He started him on some meds that only helped a little bit, then slowly increased them and changed the antidepressant. It was working. He was sleeping better and overall his mood was improving. Then, the Friday before last, he woke early in the morning. I…
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Lexapro(1)
Has anyone given their LO Lexapro? My husband is having anxiety. As a drinker, benzos (Xanax, Ativan) aren't an option. Has anyone had good results with Lexapro or the generic equivalent?
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Should I bother with a New MRI?
So...........it's almost 4 years since we had an MRI of my husband's brain. Four years earlier it was "amnestic MCI"; then 4 years ago, "significant shrinkage" and the horrible "you don't have to come back"; to now, almost 4 more years. He's in MC, doing OK since late August, but with "incidents" of acting out, hurting…
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Problems, but not serious problems
I have read here about serious problems. What's driving me berserk right now is a not-serious problem: my spouse has the sense of humor of a preadolescent. If I hear one more inane joke or tongue-lolling sex joke I am going to lose it! And, of course, he doesn't get my humor either.
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Sometimes that little ride pays off, even if it doesn't
I didn't help with my wife's wanting to go to (somewhere??), but next is what I saw. A guy was making a video of deer eating corn that had been laid out for them. He was between 15 and 20 feet away from them.
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Another work around.
My husband became very confused while watching TV thinking he was at work and needed to fix something. A walk did nothing to make him forget nor did a snack. I made up a big basket of laundry and put it on the bed and asked him to fold it. He agreed but was still talking about fixing something. I asked him if he wanted…
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I think it's official now
For the last four days she has had fecal accidents, so I guess it's time to officially say she is double incontinent now. But this morning I cold smell her, and told her we had to go in the bathroom to get cleaned up. She refused. Then she refused again. And again. And that's what makes it so damned hard. Finally, I lost…
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Dark Humor: a brief interaction
My affected wife is talking with her affected mother. Her mother asked her if her mother was still alive. My wife replied, "No, I'm my mother". They both seemed happy with that exchange.
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Count down to placement
If things fall into place I will be placing my wife in memory care one week from today. I like the facility, it feels very homey, the staff seem very caring and efficient, and I know intellectually that the time is right. Safety hazards, wandering, now bowel incontinence to say nothing of my stress level are ringing alarm…
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American Express platinum card problem solved
Thanks to all your input It took guts to call AExp & finally talked to my DH. He had canceled the card So no more wrecking my brain how to dispose of the card, the card was canceled so account is inactive! DH assured me he won’t apply for any more cards! Now I can sleep peacefully! I tried to cut up the card! Even asked…
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Worth Looking At - Significant Discount Pricing On Prescription Medication
Off comes my Peer Volunteer hat. While I am NOT personally recommending this, I wanted to share a bit of interesting news you may want to take a look at as I know from so many Postings written by Members that prescription costs have been a significant problem for many. Billionaire Mark Cuban has been a critic of the…
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Incontinence question(3)
Two accidents so far. In both cases it was mid day, spouse was up an around and in both cases she was standing up. Her reaction was confusion followed by extreme distress that 'something went wrong'. Also in both cases self recrimination was immediate, along the lines of 'I am a horrible person', and 'you are going to hate…
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Is dementia really the worst?
We've all heard that dementia is the worst disease. At times it goes on for more than twenty years! But many PWD think they're just fine, and those who don't, are not typically in physical pain. So my take on it is that it might be the worst disease for the caregiver. Maybe not for the patient. What do you think?
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Don't Want To Go Back
This is going to sound awful, but I'm just being honest. Drove the hour and a half to see my husband today at MC. He was unfortunately on the commode because he was having an issue and the nurse was with him. After not being "productive", he agreed through her that he would visit with me. She left us saying call her if we…
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Which way to go with CELA
Trying to decide which way to go. Crushed, I'm hoping you'll chime in with your opinion and expertise. An appointment is scheduled for Wednesday with CELA to discuss if eligible for Medicaid, etc. Already have wills, DPOAs, and living wills. Pretty sure we don't qualify but scheduled meeting just to make sure. Yesterday…
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getting help(3)
DH is going downhill faster than I was hoping. The past 2 weeks he has been sun downing. The dr gave him Trazadone. It's only been a few days, but it has helped him and me to sleep. I knew things would get worse, but I think I didn't want to believe it. Our kids came to help me interview a private care giver. She was…
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Is this sun downing?
I always thought sun downing was when the PWD becomes confused, agitated, aggressive, etc. later in the afternoon. But for the last week or so every day around 3 or 4 PM she wants to know if I'm ready to go somewhere. Typically she'll look at me and say "Are you ready to go?". She can't tell me where, but she thinks we…
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The importance of a plan B
This topic comes up a lot. Here's a very sad story about a caregiver and the importance of a Plan B. There was a couple in their 80's in the assisted living section of DH's long term care facility. The husband has dementia and the wife was the caregiver. On Sunday morning the husband was walking around the halls telling…
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DH ordered a American Express platinum card
I hid some of his cards and platinum card, he hasn’t realized so far. I am afraid to confront him. I think there is a hefty fee of $ 700. How do I cancel the card so we are not charged the fee! Card is in his name Last time when he got a gold card, I tried to cancel with AExp but they wouldn’t, told them about him having…
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Share Your Alzheimer's Story with CMS
I received an email today from the Alzheimer's Association with one block on the page suggesting CMS is considering or has decided to not cover some or all drugs to treat Alzheimer's. Following the suggested link I shared my story, for what it is worth, with CMS. TO CMS: My wife, 64, was diagnosed with early onset Dementia…