Does Anosognosia ever end? Or is it just overcome by advanced AD?

Frank Wesley

My DW has mid-stage AD. She also has anosognosia (inability to realize she has AD). So she feels she does not need a care-giver (me!) and so it is very difficult for me to get her to do things (like take her meds). She says it is none of my business.

So will she ever realize she has AD and, therefore, needs help? Or does she just get worse in stages of AD and realization is no longer relevant? 

karwiy

It's unlikely things will improve on that score. My DH is unable to comprehend any matters regarding his health. He has congestive heart failure, mid stage kidney disease, mid stage AD/vascular dementia and pulmonary issues which require 24/7 need for auxiliary 02, all of which he dismisses as nonsense. He thinks all of his health scores/numbers are terrific. It's been this way for months now, perhaps a bit worse but he has no appreciation for any of it.

Last Dance

 Frank Wesley

 My wife had Anosognosia with her vascular dementia starting out in 2006. At that time her memory wasn’t too bad and any mention of a memory problem was met with there is nothing wrong with me, it’s you who has a problem. By 2012 she could no longer remember the names of her nieces & nephews and some of her friend  It was a struggle to get her to go to the doctor or neurologist as she kept saying that there was nothing wrong with her, even when she was told by both her doctor and neurologist that she was having memory problems. I would tell her that I was going to the doctor and I needed her to come with me. When we got there the doctor would talk to her and it didn’t even occur to her that we were there for her and not for me. She hated taking her pills, and going to them but eventually she did not fight me anymore on these appointments or her medications. I am not sure if she just did accept the fact that she was having a problem or if she just went to make me happy, however she did stop saying that there was nothing wrong with her, in 2016 she did ask me a couple of times what was wrong with her. I would just tell her that she was having a little problem remembering things but not to worry about it that with God’s help I would take care of her, and that seemed to make her feel better.  My feelings are that as time progressed and bits and pieces of her memory left her that the Anosognosia went with it. I was blessed with taking care of her, she hated to be bathed and changed, but she never got mean, or wondered, she slept good most of the time, gave up driving on her own with no pressure from me, all she really wanted was to be my side most of the time. I felt that I was being stalked, and at times it drove me crazy however I would give anything to have her back, but this time I would be a much better caregiver. Take care of yourself I know that it’s easier said than done. Our journey lasted 11 years. In January 2017 she started to go downhill pretty fast on June 16, 2017 she slipped from this world and into God’s hands,                                                                                God’s Blessings to you Richard

ThisLife

My husband is in Stage 6.  He could not take care of himself alone and resents my "running" his life. When to shower, change clothes, take pills, when to eat. He asks the same questions within a couple of minutes.  Does not remember any explanations. Any appointment is something I haven't told him about even when I write it on hs whiteboard nd calendar.  He's angry when repair people show up because he was not informed. But he does not have a problem in his world. That's just one person's story though.

Rick4407

Hello Frank,  I don't think it ever ends, but for us it become a non-issue as I learned to frame things less directly.   My occasional refrain is that we help each other out, she helps me with this and I help her with that.   Hopefully as you move along it will just become a non-issue.  

My DW has a PhD and can no longer read.  If I don't watch her before bed she will use her tooth brush as a hair brush.  (Complete with the toothpaste on it.)   I also, like with a toddler, offer lots of praise.  Great job on that!  Thank you for that!  I don't worry about small issues, clothing on backwards, shoes on the wrong feet etc.  

My DW is both comparatively happy and very compliant, is that because of what I have learned about managing her or am I just lucky?    Rick

Josie in Podunk

Good question.

For my sweetie, I don’t think so. He very rarely ever has a moment of clarity where he mentions an understanding that he has memory issues. 

Even before dementia he had no real awareness of  what was going on with his body.  He once nearly lost a toe from a spider bite because he waited until it was really ugly to show it to me. He claimed it did not hurt even so it was tremendously red and raw with greenish yellow pus coming from it.  That kind of thing has not changed.

amicrazytoo

Frank - My DH has anosognosia, from the beginning he has denied he has any issues, memory, cognizant or any changes in his abilities. He was diagnosed in January 2018, although in hindsight, he started this journey a long time before the diagnosis. He is now mid stage 6.  So IMHO, it never goes away. It's just another hurdle for you to accept and move through it, knowing it's their faulty brain, it is not you or her. This forum is a great place to learn, vent and commiserate with others going through the same, albeit different for each and everyone of us. I wish you well in your journey.

Paris20

My husband was diagnosed with AD in 2015. He has had anasognosia from day1. As others have observed, I’m the one who’s screwed up, I’m the nag for no reason, I’m the one whose memory is faulty. It no longer bothers me because these accusations are a daily occurrence. I’ve learned that they mean nothing. If he explodes, I just wait for it to pass, like a bad storm. Trying to explain what is happening to him is the worst thing I could do. I read somewhere that if someone were to say to me that I had dementia, I’d be furious. I know that I am compos mentis. That’s exactly what my husband thinks of himself. I think anosognosia is a terminal condition. As cognition wanes, how could understanding ever appear?

LovingAwareness

I think it does not go away but does eventually become less relevant and less troublesome. My Dad struggled with accepting help with dressing, showering, brushing his teeth, but now that we're in the pattern of helping him, it seems like he has forgotten that he ever did these things without help. He is just living in the moment without a frame of reference any longer.

He does sometimes keep insisting that he can learn to do things, which he can't. Last night at dinner I had to help him get bites of food on his fork and hand the fork to him in order to get him to eat a dinner of broccoli, mashed potatoes and fish. He accepted the forkfuls of food in his hand, but several times he gestured to the plate, asked questions about what the foods were called, and said he was going to have to "learn more about it" to do it himself. But it never seemed to occur to him that there was something wrong with not knowing how to take a bite of food or that he used to do it himself. 

Frank Wesley

Thanks, everyone, for sharing you experience, advice, and, definitely, your wisdom. It helps me to deal with this situation. I like the concept of The Journey and what happens along the way.

Farm Gal

We are 6 years into this journey and DH has had anosognosia from the start.  Our problems were the first 3 years or so because he still could do a lot and wanted to.  However 2 years ago I started to take over much more of his life however I try to do it in a sneaky manner so as to save him and I the arguments, frustration, etc.  Repairs to the house -- take him away and have the work done before we come back.  

When it's time for a shower I just tell him that this is the day we take our showers.  If he doesn't want to take a shower it's no problem with me I will try tomorrow.  Same thing with eating, going to bed, changing clothes etc.   

I feel the calmer I keep him with fewer arguments and frustration helps him overall to be more agreeable to getting him to do something I need him to do.  Of course he will tell me he can still take a shower himself and doesn't need my help.  I just tell him ok and then proceed to get the water warm and the towels ready. By the time he is in the shower he has forgotten that he doesn't want me to help him.  Of course he is into stage 6 and these ideas may not work for you wife at this point in her journey. 

Good luck!