LATEST "Diagnosis" ALZ - PCA not good news

SDianeL

UPDATE! I JUST WENT BACK IN HIS MEDICAL RECORDS FROM THE VA. BEFORE HIS HEART SURGERY IN 2014 THEY DID A CT SCAN BECAUSE HE SAID HE WAS HAVING HEADACHES. IN THEIR REPORT IT NOTED WHITE MATTER DISEASE & VOLUME LOSS AND VASCULAR CALCIFICATIONS. BACK THEN I WASN'T HIS CAREGIVER AND IF THEY TOLD HIM THAT HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE KEPT IT FROM ME. OF COURSE IT WAS THE DAY BEFORE HE HAD OPEN HEART SURGERY SO HE WASN'T THINKING CLEARLY EITHER. THAT WAS 8 YEARS AGO. MAYBE IT'S BETTER THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW. UP UNTIL 2 YEARS AGO WE TRAVELED FULL TIME IN OUR RV AND WERE ENJOYING LIFE. HE LEFT THE HOSPTIAL AFTER HEART SURGERY ON THE 7TH DAY. My DH, 78, Stage 5 or going into Late Stage 5?? First "diagnosis" possible VD. He can't have an MRI. I sent this to his doctors: "This is a list of my DH's current behaviors. It's difficult to discuss these behaviors with him during visits with the doctor. It upsets him. He has had 4 episodes of getting up at night being disoriented, going into the closet instead of the bathroom or looking for something he lost. Almost like sleep walking. He sometimes doesn't remember having 2 daughters. He calls his grandson his daughter's brother. He can't remember grandchildren's names. When I mention the name of a relative or friend, he doesn't know who they are. He gets confused about AM-PM times of day. He asks same questions repeatedly. He is having much more difficulty with finding words for objects. He's obsessed with organizing. He can no longer do his daily pills. When he's stressed like in the car he chatters constantly. He has no emotion, empathy or sense of humor. No logic or reasoning. He says he can't hear me when I say something but I know he can hear me, he just can't understand the words I'm saying. He always says he's not hungry but will eat when I prepare it and put it in front of him. He doesn't recognize some foods and he dislikes foods he always liked before. He's more agitated & angry. Geri-Psyche increased the Risperidone to add 1/2 tab in the am. So far no difference in his demeanor. He says he has a problem with his right eye but the Eye Clinic said they look OK."

Here's their response which is brand new info to me!!: "I'm sorry to hear this. To answer your question, yes this is coming from the brain; we know that he has severe neurodegenerative disease, probably Alzheimer's type or Posterior Cortical Atrophy type. The symptoms you are describing are, unfortunately, not uncommon in these cases. I would defer any further medication changes to his Geriatric Psychiatrist."

I am devastated. ALZ - Posterior Cortical Atrophy type was never mentioned in any visit with the Neurologist. Only "possible" Dementia probably vascular. 2 steps forward 3 steps back. Please pray for us.

Joydean

Definitely sending prayers for you and your dh. It seems just when we think we know what we are dealing with, and wham doctors say something they “forgot “ to tell us about. I’m so sorry this is happening to you. Stay strong!

Army_Vet60

Hi Diane,

The mis-remembering and mis-identifying of people is due to the loss of brain cells that retain memories throughout his life. I experienced this with my grandmother when she lost her memories of me and thought I was her oldest son, whom I resembled.

When your DH can't find the right word, is he replacing it with something else? If so, his language is evolving so he can still communicate with you. If you can learn to use his words, it will relieve stress for both of you.

My wife first lost Nouns in her vocabulary. She started calling trees "green things". She didn't understand if I said trees and became stressed. She understood if I said "green things". I learned to speak her language as it evolved with the illness.

ImMaggieMae

Sending prayers for the two of you. These types of behaviors seem to be pretty common among most types of Alzheimer’s or dementia. Many of them come and go. It’s like the period of asking questions over and over again, every few minutes. Many of us have gone through that with our loved ones, but it doesn’t last forever. Definitely try to get an appointment with a geriatric psychiatrist. Medications can help a lot with some of these symptoms. They don’t correct the dementia and they have to be tweaked or changed from time to time, but they can make life much more livable for both you and your loved one. While there may not be a lot of dementia medications, there are many others that are prescribed off label. We’ve had good results with the Risperidone but needed to be at the proper dose.

SDianeL

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/181769#Comment_181769

thanks! We did meet with a Geri Psychiatrist a week ago and he is now on Risperidone 1/2 tab AM & PM. So far I can't tell a difference.

SDianeL

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/181766#Comment_181766

thank you! I'll try that. I can usually figure out what he's trying to say by asking him to point to it or describe it more. Sometimes that doesn't work and he gets upset.