Lack of comprehension

Kat63 · December 3

My DH is Stage 6 Alz and under Hospice care. I am currently at 10 years on our journey with this disease and certainly there have been challenges but for the most part I feel I have handled it fairly well. For awhile now I have not been able to understand what he is saying. However the last week or so my DH no longer seems to understand anything I am saying to him. I can repeat, repeat, repeat and use gestures but he still does not understand what I am asking him to do. This for me has been the hardest thing and I am feeling constantly stressed. He is still somewhat mobile at home which is very challenging as I have to keep a very close eye as he has no concept of what is safe or not. And now no ability to communicate!! This is so hard.

KathyF1 · December 3

I complete understand. My DH is also stage 6, his speech is senseless and his words are not words. And he for the most part does not understand me either. So I know how frustrating it is. And kind of unsettling to not be able to communicate. I wish I had answers for you. All I can say is that I’m on the same path.

Biggles · December 3

My darling DH is in the same boat. I can’t understand much that he says, the odd words here and there and it’s a challenge to fill in the gaps with whatever subject I have been talking about. He also wakes at night and has the most long elaborate conversations and I have no idea what he is saying. I try to reassure him that everything is ok, it’s just him, me and our puppy in the house, all the doors are locked, the electric gate is locked he is quite safe. It was quite distressing when this started happening but I guess I’m getting used to it. The same when he asks who was driving the car and where is the other person. He can no longer comprehend instructions of the simplest kind, the Dr. today had to ask him 4 times to please sit down and I had to encourage him. If I let it get to me i cry but I just try to roll with it and laugh as much as we can. Its terribly sad and challenging it’s such a horrible disease.

JDancer · December 3

Me too. The only reason I know what he's saying is because I understand what he needs/wants and I know his routine.

annie51 · December 3

I know what you’re going through. It’s so strange that sometimes he makes complete sentences that make sense but most of the time it’s a guessing game to figure out what he is asking or telling me. And when I make a statement or ask a question, the answer is completely off the subject. I’m getting more used to it but it’s distressing and I sometimes break down and cry…although I fight that as best I can.

Ragfoot · December 4

Post from original poster and all the replies sound just like it is here. My DW, also late stage 6 or early stage 7, has lost the ability to express her wants and also the ability to understand my requests. The biggest example is the simple request asking her to sit. Such an easy thing to say. Many times the situation is such that a fairly quick response to the request would be advantageous. Such as when I drop her depends in the morning, which are full of shlt, and instead of sitting on the toilet right behind her, she tries to take them off herself. Stepping in the piles ending up on the floor and the toilet seat. Then, the dog comes in, bless her heart, and wants to help clean the floor by licking all the crap up. So, scoot the dog out. Continue to say sit, but say it louder since that should help her understand, as you keep one hand on her so she doesn't fall down, and the other hand is trying to mitigate the mess. After saying sit maybe 50 times, she does sit. But, probably not because I was asking her to sit. Start the preliminary cleanup, floor, legs. Start the shower. Try to get her into the shower before a bigger mess is made. And then a major wash job begins as she may not even be through with her evacuation.

Sorry for the graphical description of a typical morning. But, for those that have yet to experience a day like that, know it is possibly in your future if you keep your LO at home.

You would think, even for a 3 year old, they would understand the sit request.

My best wishes for all the posters on this site. Without their posts, I probably would have given up long ago (or have become even more depressed than I get now.)

Carl46 · December 4

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/230238#Comment_230238

A typical three year old is mentally ahead of your LO. My wife can't undress for bed without help. She will take off her blouse and put it back on backwards instead of the night shirt I laid out for her or am offering her. My children did not do that when they were three.

Crkddy · December 6

Same here. Seven years into this journey and now stage 6. My wife speaks mostly in gibberish and rarely responds by action to my questions or requests. This is certainly one of the more difficult aspects of this disease. I now remember quite fondly the better days when she was asking me the same question over and over again.

Kat63 · December 6

I appreciate all the comments and I agree this is a really hard part of this disease. This past weekend I was more stressed than usual and then it dawned on me this happens usually when a new behavior or stage starts. Reading it does seem this is a 7(a) symptom.

Ragfoot appreciate your “detailed” comment. We all have issues similar to deal with as this disease is not for the faint of heart. !!

Lack of comprehension

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