A Little Panic

Janco

Friends: I have just had a little moment of panic. Hubs (MCI) has been doing alright, as long as I can live with susbstantial forgetfulness (sometimes drives me up the proverbial wall). We had a delightful Xmas lunch with former work colleagues and he was very much a sensible participant in the conversation.  This evening though he approached me and said he was going to the hotel accross our street to a meeting of former employees of the Health Insurer he used to work for.  I had never heard of such a meeting before.  He ended up never leaving the house. A few minutes later, Hubs said that he didn't feel like it and was staying home (Albuquerque is quite cold right now). I think he realized that he was acting under some sort of delusion and was correcting himself.  Anyway, my heart was in my throat.  I dread Hubs becoming demented and/or delusional. Really just venting here to people who understand what we are going through. Thanks and thanks again!

Rick4407

Hello Janco, as you've probably read, delusions are very frequent in dementia.  In my DW case Seroquel was very effective in countering them.  She started with a small dose and over the last 3-4 years has progress to about 100mg per day now.  Don't wait until they they are uncontrollable, talk to your neurologist soon.  Rick

Janco

Thank, Rick.  I think I will make a neurologist appointment on Monday.

PookieBlue

Janco, Thank you for your post. I know exactly what you’re talking about. We learn to adjust to the proverbial forgetfulness and sometimes things seem to be going somewhat ok and then out of the blue the PWD comes up with something weird that has us scratching our heads and thinking, Huh? My husband just took a self tour of our house, decided he liked it asked if we were going to stay here tonight. We’ve lived here 23 years. He asked if we owed his sister any money for it. Nope, never did. Then he thought his folks lived with us. Nope, never did. I’m not sure where in his head he goes, but I tell him he must really be enjoying his alternate universe.. He laughs and says he really does. He is always humming so I think he is content, for now.

M1

RobertsBrown I think wrote this week about the whiplash we all feel--you have a fairly normal interaction and feel relief and hopeful--and then something like this scares you to death.  It does sound like maybe early sundowning?  Happening later in the day like that.  It is very scary when something new shows up for the first time.  I'm personally waiting for the start of incontinence, I just have a hunch that may be next on our list.  Or falls.  

I wonder if maybe the excitement of the lunch contributed?   But I'm glad you went ahead and had it, no question about that;   it will be a good memory for you to hang onto.  Try as we might, we can't protect them from everything and we can't stop new disease symptoms from showing up.  I think we all walk on eggshells trying to anticipate things, and nonetheless we get blindsided by things we can't possibly anticipate.

Janco

Rick, thanks to your good advice, I have made an appointment with the neurologist.

ghphotog

I'm also in Albuquerque. My DW is seeing the neuro today so we'll see how that goes.
More for my own information than for her.
She's fairly advanced but I don't know how advanced yet. I estimate stage 6 six somewhere but I could be way off.

Ernie123

I found it very useful to keep a journal of my DW’s symptoms as they appeared. Just a line or two every day or so outlining what is going on, especially any new symptoms. Over a period of months you can then see if there is a pattern developing. I find it hard to recall what happened last week let alone a few months ago. In my DW’s case a number of years ago her episodes of delusions and paranoia increased in frequency over several months from once or twice a month to several times a week. This was useful for the geriatric psychiatrist to determine  appropriate meds. 

I started my journal in  2015, three years after her diagnosis. She has been in a MC facility for three years and I still keep almost daily notes. If nothing else it gives me a sense of something I can do to possibly help with her treatment by making sure her medical caregivers have good accurate information and not my hit and miss recollections. The PSWS are good about charting every day but sometimes I notice things that they don’t.

elainechem

Hi Janco,

I just wanted to greet a fellow Burqueña. I'm actually an Alzheimer’s widow. I don't come to the boards very often. 

Kevcoy

Janco, ghphotog and elainechem you can add me to the Albuquerque list as well.  My DH has daily hallucinations along with horrific sleep patterns like waking up at 1:00am and wandering around the house and coming in and out of the bedroom.  His PCP started him on 25mg Seroquel and the sleep is so much better.  He slept for 10 hours last  night.  He still thinks we have another house and takes pictures off the wall to take them there.  The latest, which is kind of funny, is our neighbors holiday decorations include a light that shine stars on their house going around in circles.  He calls the house "the drive in movie theater."

Janco, just curious, how far out is your neurologist appointment?  I've found I have to wait months.