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Feeling So Sad 11

Biggles
Biggles Member Posts: 346
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Please don’t laugh 🤣 I sat on my phone and cut off my sadness post. Maybe that was a good thing it was enough to break my melancholy. I feel better but it happens quite a bit. My DH often asks who am I? Where do I sleep? Do I have a brother? etc mostly I just happily move on but it got to me today and I felt so very sad. How do we cope with this awful disease?

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  • charley0419
    charley0419 Member Posts: 423
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    may I ask from when you first diagnosed how long till the not knowing you start ??

  • Kat63
    Kat63 Member Posts: 112
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    This disease is awful. Most of the time I am focused on the day to day but every once in a while it hits me and it’s usually at nighttime when my DH is already in bed. Not knowing who we are in the worst part. This last week has been very challenging for me.
    Charlie0419, I knew my husband had issues for 6 years before the day came when he didn’t know who I was. That was the point where I actually had him officially diagnosed. I believe he was stage 5 at that point. That’s been 4 years ago now and he is now late stage 6, early 7.

  • White Crane
    White Crane Member Posts: 985
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    Dear Biggles, we cope one day at a time, and sometimes one minute at a time. so sorry it’s so hard and so sad. I do understand the sadness. It never completely leaves me even when I’m laughing. Sending you a great big hug and lots of love.

    Brenda

  • trottingalong
    trottingalong Member Posts: 551
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    my DH progression was quite slow for many years. This past year though, it has picked up speed.

  • Biggles
    Biggles Member Posts: 346
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    Hi Charley0419 my DH has had VD and APHASIA for around 6 years he is probably stage 5. It was about 12 months ago when he first asked who I was and it comes and goes, he also knows our children sometimes, forgets the grandchildren and gets them mixed up, knows most of our old friends most of the time but doesn’t remember new acquaintances. Mostly I can cope and understand this, like all of us when I’m tired it particularly hurts. Thankyou for asking.

  • CindyBum
    CindyBum Member Posts: 381
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    hugs to you Biggles.


    Today for the first time, my DW has been utterly confused all day. Can’t comprehend what I’m saying, but she still knows who I am, for now. Hit me hard to see this next step, just like every new stage has hit me hard.

    Her timeline? I first noticed obvious cognitive issues 6 years ago, but can track back a few years to more subtle signs. She was finally diagnosed with dementia in March of last year. She is still firmly in stage 5, though I can see stage 6 threatening.

  • charley0419
    charley0419 Member Posts: 423
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    yesterday she was filling out something on line and asked me how to spell her maiden name and then married, set me back alittle on that one, so I just spelled it without question

  • ????
    ???? Member Posts: 33
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    My wife was diagnosed 3.5 years ago. She had a brain injury 30 plus years ago. There were signs of problems before she was diagnosed, but we thought it was due to her head injury. All that being said, I think the worst part of this journey is that it is a long journey that we have to watch everyday. It is a hard thing to do for both of us. When I think I am handling everything, something else happens and the goal post gets moved. Going to the local Alzheimer's support group helps me.

  • JDancer
    JDancer Member Posts: 495
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    If you're like me, you just go through the daily routine without focusing on your LO's specific deficits. The losses can sneak up on you. I was amazed at how poorly my LO did during his recent hospice assessmnent. He couldn't tell the nurse my name or who I was. He's never expressed confusion about who I am so I was shocked

  • sandwichone123
    sandwichone123 Member Posts: 899
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    I think it's been years since my dh could say my name or our relationship, but he always knows who I am—that I am the person he loves and trusts and cares for, and who cares for him. The words are not that important to me.

  • annie51
    annie51 Member Posts: 244
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    Thank you for this post @jsps139_ . I tend to worry about what “might” happen in the future way too much. I need to think about this here and now box!

  • ImMaggieMae
    ImMaggieMae Member Posts: 1,085
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    Thank you for posting this, jsps. This is excellent advice. I feel like I’m in an almost constant state of worrying, and most of it is about “what ifs” that will probably never happen. Yes, my DH has a terminal illness, but we’re managing for now, even in stage 6/7. And there are still some good times left for us, even if they are often just moments. We’re all terminal. None of us are getting out of here alive. I will try to remember to “stay in our box”.

  • charley0419
    charley0419 Member Posts: 423
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    my wife has the patience of an angle , she has about 8 necklaces all bunched up and has been trying to seperste today for over 4 hours straight. Not very successful but still trying.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more