Anosognosia - Does it ever go away?

my husband also has anosognosia. He does have moments where he tells me he doesn't know who he is. He will get concerned but it does pass. I usually give him a hug.

My DH loves our grandson to visit although he interacts very little with him, when he is there. He does like to watch cartoons with him. I think just being near him brings him happiness. Sometimes he just wants to be invited to sit with us on couch. Maybe you could try inviting him “in” when he retreats.

my DH has had a few moments lately that lead me to believe he is aware, at least for a moment. I’ve noticed it’s when our day is calm, or I think it’s calm. It’s just a fleeting moment. Something he says makes me believe he deep down knows something is wrong. He came to me with an old bottle of Prevagen and ask if I thought it would help him. He has once or twice mentioned his confusion. He gets emails about memory and will ask me about whatever snake oil they are selling. As I said they are fleeting moments and then back to his same delusions that he has clients and is working. He gets scammed and our cards get compromised, he yells that he needs those cards for his clients. I just go with it, unless it will harm him or our finances. Hugs to you, this is a terrible disease.

My DW also sometimes she says her brain isn't working right and asks what's the matter with her. But she would never accept my telling her that she is sick and has dementia.

My dh thinks the same way. Can't get him to stop driving. Do have 360 on his phone which has helped alot. I can see where he is at all times.

I feel that losing anosognosia has two sides.

• On one hand, it's very sad to see a PWD cry with a self-realization of a decline.
• On the other hand, it's a relief to see a PWD voluntarily relinquish some tasks to a caregiver, and avoids disagreements on that.

Perhaps a cognitive decline has become severe enough for a PWD to have self-realization. I think quiet acceptance is a reasonable situation (i.e. since we don't see sadness - not much crying), although it may indicate further decline.

Hi

So comments in this thread are hitting home right now. But I need clarification. At what stage or point do you feel your SO is when you start noticing cognitive issues such as it is hard for them to talk to others, avoiding large groups, saying his brain isn’t working, not able to form sentences, brain fog and can’t remember conversations. Thankfully my DH doesn’t have anosognosia, we know well what the main problem is. But sometimes his brain is on for a number of days and other days he complains about it. I noticed a major decline after a heart attack in Aug of 2022. I guess I am wondering if we are going from stage 4 to stage 5 slowly and this is our new normal.

Thanks

Bonjour Linda Louise ! je vis un peu cela! quand mon aidant veux trop m'aider cela devient une surchrge pour moi, et aussi quand j'ai fait trop de choses dans la journée, je ne souviens plus de rien, je me retire dans ma chambre ou jed vais à l'église pour pleurer ! j'ai 77 ans, et j'ai peur pour la suite ! amicalement : Michel34

My dh in stage 4 knew there was a problem, and when he was diagnosed he knew the diagnosis. As he headed to stage 5 he did not know the diagnosis, and his deficits were less noticeable to him. He could still read, and there was a billboard that said, "It's time to talk about Alzheimer's." Every time we passed that one he'd say, "boy, I wouldn't want to end up like that."

Later, firmly in stage 5, he overheard a caregiver saying he had Alzheimer's and was very upset by that.