New to the forum

Rich Petersen

Hello all,

I'll keep this short as I'm sure you're all heard this before, as it's the same story with a different name.

I moved my mom here a year ago to take care of her, as out of all my siblings, I'm the one best suited to do so.

My mom (86) has Alzheimer's, and refuses to accept her condition. I'm able to deal with it emotionally, and although life is now full of frustrations, I do not let them affect me negatively. I'm more than willing to take care of her until I can no longer do so.

However, that being said, it's very hard to talk about what is happening to someone who has not experienced it. Hence I joined this group to learn about this horrible disease, what to expect in the future, and how to properly interact with my mom as this disease progresses. I'm out in the boonies (Royston, GA), so there is not much local support here. I own another home in a very well populated area of GA, but when I moved my mom here, I put her in this home as it had to most room and I could give her a lot of space, and I'm taking care of her while my wife lives in our other home as she is a teacher and needs to stay there as it's over an hour away.

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself, and thank you.

Rich

harshedbuzz

Hi and welcome. I am sorry for your reason to be here, but pleased you found this place.

It sounds like your mom has developed anosognosia with her Alzheimer's. This is not the same as "denial".

This is a pretty common condition in dementia where the PWD is unable to appreciate that they have had any kind of cognitive shift. While a few will admit to some "memory lapses" that have no idea how impaired they actually are in terms of executive function or judgment. In their minds they are just as capable as ever and any suggestion otherwise will seem like gaslighting. It means strategies to protect them and keep them safe sometimes need to be done behind their backs or by using therapeutic lies folks here call fiblets.

HB

Rich Petersen

Thank you.

I've been reading as much as I can, and yes, I came across anosognosia and it seems to fit my mom to a "T". I've installed a security system in my house because she wandered off once, about a year ago, and I just want to make sure it doesn't happen again. I also locked all her medicines in my safe, as she started to abuse her medicine.

I like the idea of "fiblets" and I'm reading about techniques associated with them. My wife is a special needs teacher and while it's not an apples to apples comparison, there are some things in common so that she's able helping me with as well with handling her.

Appreciate the feedback, and thanks again.

Rich