My parents have dementia

beccatimmons74 · April 2023

I’m not a caregiver. Both of my parents have dementia.
I’m looking for support or help to get through this with my parents. I am an emotional wreck and cry every time I talk to them

M1 · April 2023

Welcome to the forum, we all share your grief. You have come to a good place for understanding and support. This "long distance" forum seems to be used the least of any of the discussion groups--you may see that the whole website changed just a week ago, and it's not self-explanatory. You may want to post on the "Parent" group, it doesn't matter whether you're a hands-on caregiver or not.

I'm sure others will chime in. Hope you perhaps have siblings or others who are helping out? where are your parents living?

lawkat · April 2023

I know how hard it is to talk to them. My mother has Alzheimer's and my dad is the caregiver. Yesterday was probably one of the harder days for everyone. She has been growing more verbally abusive, paranoid and delusional. We thought maybe if she talked to me when she was going through one of her more delusional spells, it could help. It didn't and it breaks my heart to listen to her cry and then him cry because he is so tired and frustrated with the situation. She is going into a MC facility soon which will help, but I know how hard it will be to leave her there. My parents have family friends who have dealt with their own family member with Alzheimer's. They have been a big help since I live 6 hours away.

Do you have any siblings/relatives/family friends that can check up on them? Are they living on their own because with both having dementia and them still trying to remain independent could be troublesome in that, are they paying their bills, taking their meds...

It is not easy, and it feels like it comes out of nowhere and you just aren't prepared for how it erodes their minds.