Has anyone have this happing ?

charley0419

MyDW is 1 yr in from diagnosed mild alz, so short term going and confused at times , my question is my DW never has spoken about this to anyone including her two daughters not even me. I sometimes try to but forgets

Gthoma

Its not unusual for someone with alzheimers to not acknowledge they have the disease or not want to talk about it. There are any number of theories why this happens.

Iris L.

Charley there is a term for this, it's called anosognosia. It's a characteristic of dementia that keeps the patient from being aware of dementia. It's best not to bring it up to her unless she does, but she probably won't.

Iris

michiganpat

Charley, my husband has had some form of FTD for 6 years. He has never once acknowledged a problem and the few times I have approached it he ignores me. He has 2 sisters with dementia (out of 12 children) and has remarked how it affected only girls in the family. He has definite anosognosia. He is progressing and it is becoming apparent to others. I do worry that he's going to need medicine for anxiety and how to give it to someone who sees no problem.

JJ401

charley0419, as Iris said, your DW may have anosognosia.. Accept that she won’t talk about it and be proactive. Tell your daughters (when DW is not there). If something were to happen to you, they need to know as DW will need help and care. Go to all her appointments and make sure all the doctors, if she sees specialists, know of her diagnosis and her med list is up to date at all.

If you have not already done so, make an appointment with an elder care lawyer. At a minimum you (both) need updated wills and powers of attorney. If you already have them, and DW is your agent, you need to change that immediately. You don’t have to take DW with you the first time. Go by yourself and learn what you need to do. If there is something DW needs to do, or needs to be changed, take her then.

wizmo

For my DW diagnosed in 2017 now into stage 6 it went in a few phases. initially she was embarrassed and did not want to disclose anything to friends or family. Within a year she had told a couple of friends but forgot she did so. Somewhere between stage 4-5 she lost self awareness and started asking me why does she have to take medications and go to doctors. She never was open with her parents. They noticed changes and it was up to me to have the discussion against her wishes (never told her), they just needed to know what was happening. Everyone is different as far as timing. You can read all about the road ahead here but will be hard to know pace for your own situation.