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The most heartbreaking moment yesterday
My DW is stage 7, she hasn't been able to do anything for herself in years. She has to be hand fed, rolled over ever two hours, she's skin and bones and everything else that comes with it. She is in MC and I visit her everday to make sure she's comfortble, warm, hydrated. . . Because of the type of dementia she has, LBD,…
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Husband newly diagnosed (55yo) - treatment?
First post! We're waiting for an appt with a neurologist to pursue next steps (blood, MRI showed no issues, mental tests showed decline). I wanted to ask here how long it took for your loved one to start any sort of treatment. So far we've gotten the "see you in 6 months" talk, but no talk of starting any treatment, other…
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Just need my friends who understand
My DH spent two years in MC, and I was able to bring him home 3 months ago with relatively good success. He's on hospice now, which has also helped. I mentioned in an earlier post that he's suddenly taken a nosedive as far as behaviors and cognition. He shuffles around the house mumbling disconnected words. He's resistant…
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Need new strategy to get Dad into Nursing home
For the past couple of months we have been pressuring (and sometimes its gotten heated and yelling) and it clearly isnt working because he gets defensive and starts crying. And I can't bear watching a grown man cry - it breaks my heart in two and I would do anything for him. But his disabilities are also causing me mental…
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Time
About a year or so ago my neighbor referred to me as my husbands caregiver and I was very insulted. Now as I sit here looking at the man I have loved for 35 years, I wonder when exactly I crossed that line and why I am feeling that loss so strongly tonight.
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Disarming Mom
My mom is I’d say stage 5/6 she has declined so much in the year she has lived with me. She is verbally aggressive, secretive and lurks trying to listen to conversations. Today I found her in the kitchen garbage with the tv remote in one hand and a pocket knife in the other stabbing in the garbage. I asked her what are you…
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Toddler comparison
This is a rant. I’ve been caring for my DH who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s nearly 3 years ago which was at least 2 years after I had been begging for a diagnosis. When someone compares caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s is like caring for a toddler I want to scream. It is such a dismissive comment for the person…
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Med taking is a constant fight.
Hi y'all it has been a while since I have posted. As I write this post I am in tears. I am 40 yo taking care of my LO who has EOA and is 46 the Dr said he is stage 7b. I am on the struggle bus like no other today. A few weeks ago he had a siezure that I didn't know could happen at this stage for no reason and no history of…
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DH dashing through stage 6 benchmarks
DH, early stage six AD, has been home from memory care for about 2-1/2 months after a year-long stay. It's generally been going well until the last two or three weeks. He's started sundowning again after a long break, very agitated, 'hyper-oral' per Tam Cummings, hallucinating other people in the house/yard, starting fecal…
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Expected but still hurts
AD has its moments. The first time it tore a hole in my heart was when I realized my husband had no memory of how we met or our wedding. Today, another big hurt came. We sat down to dinner and my husband looked me in a confused fusion. “Where is my wife? ” he asked. So hard sometimes.
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Bad Doctor Experiences?
I’m sure, given our ages (my LO is 37, turning 38 in July), I probably have more than my fair share of these kinds of stories—and they are awful. I wouldn’t wish them on anyone. That said… misery sure does love company. We finally got in to see a neurologist—an appointment that was originally scheduled for January but I…
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Will There Ever Be A Succesful Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease
Some important findings about Alzheimer's disease came out from MIT and Harvard scientists recently that can be encapsulated in the following quotes: “One possibility is that maybe there’s more than one cause of Alzheimer’s, and that even in a single person, there could be multiple contributing factors,” Fraenkel said.…
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Long time home
Hello, So I finally got my father house situated and it will go up for sale this coming week. It took a village to go thru things and get it cleaned out but Thankfully I had help. Now it seems this week he is on a loop of needing to go home and how he does nothing here. (He is unaware of things that are happening in the…
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DW Waking up 3 AM
First time on this Forum. Some background my wife was diagnosed with EO Alzheimer when she was 58. Now 6 years later she has lost her ability to communicate, self care, and starting to have trouble walking. I am her sole caregiver (married 38 yr) and basically have to do everything like feeding, bathing, dressing.and…
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Memory Unit or Home Care
Hello guys, I wanted to ask for advice. I'm taking care of my Mom (Russian speaker), she has Alzheimer's dementia. She gets 8 hours a day covered for home care. My brother and I are covering the rest of the time, including nights. It's taking a toll on our families (Mercy Care doesn't want to cover any more hours). We…
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Going Home.
Mom is 87. I am her 60 year old son. She has been in our home since Thanksgiving. She is memory impaired. Family doctor refuses to be helpful. He tells her she has age related memory loss. Then tells her it happens to the best of us. Mom’s house is 180 miles away. She has ZERO support system. All the neighbors have home…
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New and need advice
My husband is 55. I am 56. He was a middle school Math teacher and then elementary school principal. I am a former high school History teacher. Before teaching, he served in the Navy and suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury as well as exposure to chemicals that brought on a rare form of Dercum's Disease (an auto-immune…
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Not adapting well to memory care
My mom who has stage 4 Alzheimer's moved to memory care a couple of months ago. She went to memory care after living with family for a few months after she could no longer live alone any more. She doesn't seem to be doing well after 2 months. I'm confident that this is the best memory care place within 1 hour of my…
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Hates the caregiver
Hello, DH is 72 with vascular dementia (most likely). I work full time and don't want to retire. I have a companion with him all day while I am gone. This is 4 days per week with his brother and sister taking a day. He is very confused and thinks his brother is really a dead friend masquerading as his brother. He…
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How do you Know when someone is going to stop walking?
One question I forgot to ask - my sister falls more and seems to lean to the right when she walks. How do we know when she's about ready to stop walking? I called the 24/7 help line and didn't get an answer to that question; I just got some tips on what questions to ask of facilities we are considering.
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Behavior changes
my 63 yo husband was diagnosed appx 1 year ago with early onset Alzheimer’s. Question…when I notice a change in his behavior should I point it out to him (when he acts in a different of aggressive way)? Also he has picked up a new habit…humming! Is that “normal”?
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How to deal with a mom that thinks you're stealing.
Hello, first time poster and just wanted to get some advice. My 87yr young mother is in early/mid stage dementia. Her short term memory is at maybe 30%. And unfortunately she's begun to confuse long term memories with recent ones. Example, she thinks my grandma who passed away 47 yrs ago just passed away a couple years ago…
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FREE legal and financial tool
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Dementia Toolkit
although the following link is specific to SC - it contains a lot of useful info that would apply to all
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FDA approves first blood test from Fujirebio for diagnosing Alzheimer's
This can be less expensive than PET scans or less invasive than examining spinal fluid
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Telling people
A couple years ago, had two cornea transplants due to Keratoconus and Fuchs Dystrophy. I have some vision, but it's abnormal. The vision loss was accompanied by hallucinations and a Cognitive decline. I could no longer read or listen to stories. I can listen to shows I watched pre-transplant. I can only read picture books…
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Looking for some guidance
Hi, I just joined this group a few minutes ago and why not plunge right in? I'm caring for my father (and have been for close to twenty years) after some health crises and to provide companionship after his wife died as he's never lived alone. The past few years he has begun declining cognitively, but this past year or so…
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DH with dementia keeps saying he is scared.....
My DH with dementia - I think late stage 5 or early stage 6, keeps telling me that he is scared. He will actually be shaking with fear sometimes, but he can't tell me what he is afraid of. I reassure him that I am gong to take care of him, but he is still frightened. It happens sometimes when we are walking down a hall and…
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Sneaky "news"
Just a heads up- I've been noticing fake "news" Youtubes lately. Topics have been mainly political- they involve things like sitting Supreme Court justices or government officials sitting solo in Congress for hearings that never happened. There are tiny text disclaimers or slides saying "this is entertainment " but the…
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What stage for MC?
I’d like some insight as to what stage your LO was in when they were moved to MC. Is it usually when they’re in Stage 6 or 7? I feel like it’s too early for me to think about (except for a plan B) but sometimes I wonder if he’d be happier there then just here with me. He’s not wandering and he’s not violent (although he…