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Caring for Grandma
Good morning. I'm new here. My wife's grandmother is in mid stages of Alzheimer's and is at home. Grandpa is her primary caretaker and does not want to move her to a memory care facility. He also doesn't allow much help. My wife and I go over every couple of weeks to wash grandma's hair and try to get her into a change of…
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Cats
Hi all. I'm still here but haven't posted anything in a long time but I have been reading what you all are putting out here. I have something going on that I haven't seen here and would like to get some feedback. We lost one of our Westies in April and are now down to one dog. For some reason her death hasn't really soaked…
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I feel so lost.....
Im new here. My name is Susan Ascher and my husband, Chris, has younger onset Alz and was diagnosed at 62 in March of 2021. He is now in FT care as of August 1. It's been insanely difficult to navigate and he has moved along quite quickly. We are married only 14 years and do not have any children. I noticed changes when he…
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I just want to say. . .
That I appreciate and respect where everyone is on their journey. Some are dealing with so much more than I am and their spouses are further advanced than mine. I'm right behind you. The struggle is real. Sometimes we get caught up in our own struggles and don't really appreciate what others are dealing with. Thank you…
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How to handle social conversations with PWD
I am having a hard time with this and need advice or tips. When we're in social situations, my DH tries to say something and is not using the right words so it's difficult for someone else to understand what he's trying to say. Understandably, he wants to be a part of the conversation, but really can't comprehend when I or…
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Constant sleeping
Today I learnt that my wife is at the seventh stage by watching Tam Cummings' YouTube video. Rather saddening to understand what comes next. She has been bedridden since 2021 after a fall that caused no injuries but appeared to knock her get up go spirit out of her. In the last five days she has just started sleeping for…
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Another moment of clarity perhaps?
Yesterday when my DW was sundowning, she becomes very, scared and frightened in the late afternoon. Sometimes she is sobbing telling me she doesn't want to die then immediately forgets about saying that but yesterday was different. She was sobbing telling me "Don't let me do this!!, I can't do this!, Please please don't…
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sleep deprived vent
My DH took off last night. He keeps trying to walk to Conway NH. That is only a little over 2,000 miles away. It was rainy & cold here. He was wearing one slipper & one sneaker. Carrying a belt, socks and the other slipper. Thankfully he was wearing his dementia watch, so I tracked him and picked him up a mile away. Then…
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Face to Face Support Group Disappointment
I have made two attempts at finding a local ALZ support group. The first time, no one showed up. Later someone left me a message that it had been canceled and they forgot to call me since I was new. Gee, that sure made me feel welcomed! The other group had a Teepa Snow trained facilitator. As a person with a master’s…
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This and that and ready to quit this journey
Hello everyone. I wanted to post earlier to thank everyone for the welcoming, but you know how it is, one day blends into the next and before you know it, life has moved to the next stage. jerilynn66 - you got my location right. Not too many people know what texoma means. I am on the TX side of the lake. ronald71111 - yes,…
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I’m back
I keep promising to keep up with these discussions but sadly am not doing as well as I would like vis a vis my news. My husband is still in hospital and the good news is that he likes it there. The hospital has set up a mini long term care home within the hospital. The nurses, personal support workers are all lovely to…
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MC doesn't always bring respite
My H went to memory care 9/1. He is fixated on going home and does not understand why he can't. Serious anosognosia. DR said he should not be left alone and should not walk the dogs alone. He is participating in and enjoying the activities. He is in pics and videos on their FB page. The problem is he is infatuated with a…
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Newbie
Hello everyone, My name is Linda and my DH was diagnosed early because I new the signs from my experience with my mother. His diagnosis was made 6 years ago. It has been a slow decline so far. Now things are changing. He can shower, shave and dress but other than that he doesn't want to do anything but watch tv. He gets…
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Venting: Empathy AWOL just when it's most needed
Thank you to anyone who reads this. I am realizing each day just what I have been having to put up with. During the last few days my DDIL suffered a devastating late-term miscarriage. DS and DDIL were simply overwhelmed by this loss and I was also very sad to lose the hope of another grandchild. Although DH had been told…
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Anosognosia
Hello All, Because anosognosia is a prevalent issue and topic on this forum, I thought I'd share an article the aftd.org posted. It's the first time I've read about the part of the brain is damaged that causes anosognosia. Always learning. The website also has other articles on the subject. The Lived Experience of FTD:…
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Sleeping Almost all the time
DH has been sleeping I'd say 95% of his days away. He's only 63 but also has Parkinsons. He does get up many times at night and shuffles around the house, and I know his essential tremor takes a lot of energy out of him. So i know he needs to rest. But the amount of sleeping seems excessive. I work full time from our home,…
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Hallucinations
Have begun...or more accurately, I have finally accepted that they are here. My DW has had auditory hallucinations a lot in the last year, with the question, "Did you hear that? What was that?" repeated multiple times a day. Now, visual has emerged. "Whose cat is in our bed?" "Is that a person standing in the corner?" The…
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Trying to articulate an emotinonal experience I had
I'm a photographer, mostly real estate the last 10 years. Anyway I was shooting a property in Santa Fe while my DW was in daycare, I'm still fairly young and could have a few more good photography years left. As I was wrapping up this particular job and putting my equipment away, there was an apartment complex down the…
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Help! DH just kicked out Adult Day Care due to sudden personality chsnge
Very kind and good natured, DH is now mean irritable sarcastic and less social. Doesn’t like anybody. Asked to remain at home until evaluated by physician. Likely a. Can anyone give me some advice? Do meds help? This was my only respite. So distraught.
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Amyloid PETScan
Hello all, Doc is talking about an Amyloid PETScan and a regular PETScan as help with diagnosis and treatment planning. Anyone have experience with an Amyloid PETscan? Many thanks.
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 10/17/23
*TODAY'S VITAMIN We pray & help people as guided. Jesus taught "everyone" is our neighbor. See Luke 10:30-37 NLT for Jesus' teaching about the Good Samaritan. *I NEED TO REVIEW THIS OFTEN. How about you? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New Living Translation 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or…
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Lessons I am learning
I've been taking stock these days and as I note my DH's progression, I decided also to take notes on my own progress. Here are 3 notable lessons I've learned in the last few months: 1) I learned that DH should always win the argument. It's impossible to argue like we used to (we are two retired lawyers), so now, I try to…
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The Weirdness of Stage Eight
Hello to everyone, It's been awhile . I have been reading your posts and making a few hopefully helpful comments. My heart hurts for all of you, for us, and for our loved ones who have been stricken. We have all been stricken, that's for sure. Just a few thoughts... Its only been 3 weeks since Bob passed, but if you ask me…
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The Little Things
It’s the Little Things My husband has been doing okay with the ADLs, but this morning something really saddened me. I was in the bedroom when my husband got dressed. He did not change his underwear and simply put a new tee shirt over the one he wore to bed. He also poohpoohed my suggestion he put on a turtle neck because…
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New(ish) Diagnosis and EOAD
Hello, I am a 48 year old wife whose 58 year old husband has recently been diagnosed with dementia. We are awaiting PET scan and more testing (always more testing) for a "type" of dementia. We have 2 children (21 and 18) that are in college. I started noticing symptoms a year ago, and then in February of this year he had…
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Increasing anxiety with crying
My 91 year old mother was diagnosed with dementia this year but has been suffering for many years. She has issues with blood pressure dropping and has to be careful what she takes. I have read into the Zyprexa and Seroquel, and both of the drugs give warnings as they can cause a stroke, or a heart attack and they’re not…
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What stage do you think my DW in??
My wife was diagnosed 1yr ago “mild Alzheimer’s “. DW has short term memory loss , gets confused and was told not to drive.everything else she does to take care of her self. Did have her on Clinical Trial for 2 months but stopped. WANT STAGE YOU THINK SHES IN??????
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Laugh for today
During a recent password audit by a company, it was found that an employee was using the following password: "MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento" When asked why he had such a long password, he rolled his eyes and said: "Hello! It has to be at least 8 characters and include at least one capital."
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Foley catheter
My DH is in the later stage of ALZ and has had a permanent Foley catheter for 6 months. He's been really good about leaving the catheter and stabilizer alone until recently. He has removed 3 stabilizers in the past two weeks. He does this at night while I'm asleep. Any suggestions about how to protect the stabilizer from…
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"I'm scared, I don't want to die!"
My DW is in stage 6 somewhere and I sense we are getting closer to 7 but who really knows? Anyway, she is scared all the time and every now and then, out of nowhere, she will start sobbing and with a terrified look on her face exlaim "I don't want to die!" I'm not sure if those are moments of clarity but deep down she…