One Source of Information

glajha

My husband is in the middle stages of Alzheimers. Is there one person, a doctor or someone else skilled specifically in care of Alzheimer's patients, who could help me map out daily caregiving and future caregiving? I try to use the internet for answers but it is too confusing. It would be wonderful to have one source of concise information. Our neurologist tells us there is nothing else she can do then hands us the same pamphlets that the group therapist gives me and is also on the Alz.org page. I guess I need a day by day, minute by minute guide to follow. I know I could do so much more to help him.

Jeanne C.

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/67785/one-source-of-information

I'm going to copy this post out to the spouse caregiver board where you will get more responses.

clever_bear

Because I myself am blind and technically a millennial (born in 1987), I rely on technology for a lot in daily lifee. I'm also a big fan of not re-inventing the wheel if I don't have to and that simple fixes are almost always the best. Please also know that I'm giving this FYI so you understand where I'm coming from and understand that I'm only offering suggestions. These may not work for you. More than that, I may be completely misunderstanding what you're asking for. In that case, please feel free to post more clarification.

It sounds like you are struggling to put a routine in place day to day; is that right? As in, making sure you do all the things you're supposed to do like medication timing, toileting schedule, bathing (likely not daily), and taking care of other things like household shopping etc.

Perhaps a good place to start is to figure out how to do a general on-going to-do list. Would it be easier to post this on a pen paper format near kitchen table or some other frequented place in your house? Or, if you carry a phone with you, might there be an app that can help with that? I found CaringVillage (an ap) to be really user friendly, though the notification/reminder function doesn't seem to be very robust. I myselfplan to post to ask for other suggestions along this route.

I definitely suggest you start by listing the daily tasks that need to be done. Start by righting them all out, probably starting with pen and paper. Then right down if any of them have to happen at a specific time. If any of them are time-consuming like meals, perhaps map out how much time they typically take. And if you're not certain, perhaps a pre-first step will be to actually map out how you use your time each day.

I've found Alexa's reminder function extremely helpful. She can also keep an on-going list of things (to-do items, products etc) that she can "remove" or check off once completed. One can easily reproduce this using pen and paper if that is your preferred.