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New/old member back again
Quite a few years ago I was a member of this forum to get support helping care for an elderly family member. Unfortunately I'm back again because my DH has now been diagnosed with Neurocognitive Disorder. His issues are caused by encephalopathy caused by an autoimmune disease he's had for decades and we have been told it…
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Are home health care costs tax deductible?
I realize this is a loaded question that only a tax accountant in my home state (or) can answer but I wanted to do some research before engaging him. I have recently brought my wife back from a memory care facility and have engaged a home health care service to provide night coverage to address wandering. This is expensive…
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New Here - Looking for help for brother
Hello, I've been lurking and reading discussions for a few months now. Our family became concerned last fall. The ball got rolling after I scheduled the PCP appointment my brother had been procrastinating. That was in Feb. A few weeks later we got in to see the neurologist. He scored 22 out of 30 on the assessment that was…
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The guilt trip
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How to Persuade Loved One to accept Day Care or Home Help?
My family has just intervened, to help me accept that DH should no longer be home alone. I’ve tried to persuade him that we need more household help, but apart from periodic cleaners he doesn’t want anyone else in the home. He is still strong and able bodied, but making so many poor decisions. I do think he would benefit…
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On the hard days…
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Dental problems
My DH who is in stage 6/7 has been having problems with his teeth for at least a year. He has several front teeth that have decay and lost a crown several months ago that the dentist was not able to replace because of decay underneath it. He said he would likely need about 7 teeth pulled. The dentist said he was unlikely…
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How do you talk to your DH about worsening symptoms you are seeing?
My DH (66) was diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimers 18 or so months ago. A bit of back story - he is proud, stubborn and still trying to come to terms with what is happening to him. His mother has Alzheimers and my father had Alzheimers as well before passing away. He knows what is coming and there are days…
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Hallucinations and Delusional Thoughts
Our father has been suffering from hallucinations and delusional thoughts for several years. Now, it has reached its peak, with him talking to someone he claims is "Alice." He has been having full conversations with her, waking up with remarks like, "Wow! That's weird," "Hello?!?, who's there?," and "Wow, wow, wow." He…
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Our last mile
*posting in spouse/partner forum too Well forum mates - friends, there have been many near-misses and false alarms on this long journey. My beloved DH has fooled us many times, or let's say trickster dementia has. Some of you will recall I saved his life at least a couple of times, knee-jerk reaction and loving instinct.…
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body jerking while sleeping
My DH has started having jerking motions with his arms, hands, legs, head, or body while sleeping, not all at the same time but for about 3 to 4 hours some part of his body is moving. Some are minor but some are pretty strong. If his arm is around me and his arm jerks, sometimes it will have enough force for me to be glad…
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dealing with our LO's anger
My DW have vascular dementia (sorry I can't use the acronym VD😂). About a year ago she became angry and has stayed that way. I spent every day trying to do things that would make her happy to no avail. I placed her in MC 3 months ago. She remains angry and upset with me. I visit her daily for about an hour. The first 30…
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Phantom smells
I’m 63 and have had phantom smells for almost 2 years. My primary care doc dismissed them 1+ years ago as Covid-related. Since then I’ve begun having memory problems, definitely a personality change (much crying/depression), and difficulty problem-solving. My mom had EO and my dad some form of dementia. I had a PET scan…
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Refusing to eat/doesn't like food
I'm a part time caregiver for my grandma; she has alzheimers. We are at the stage where she doesn't like most foods. And even if we try to encourage her she will spit it out. Any advice? Things that have worked for yall? Even food supplements?
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I’m new
hey guys as you can see I’m new here. My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a couple of years ago but has had it a while before that. My step mom just placed him on a memory care facility and it was honestly the hardest thing I’ve had to go through and am still trying to accept. I go up there everyday to help him but…
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What should we be hoping for?
Several years back, after months of testing and imaging, we got the EO ALZ diagnosis from the neurologist. Prior to the diagnosis, upon our first visit, I noticed all the rooms we used at neurology has many boxes of tissues. I thought that was odd, but we eventually found out why there were there. Going into this, I…
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How accurate are estimated time of stage 6 & 7 ?
When my DW was diagnosed with early onset (Oct 2021), we were told she was stage 4. Just recently I took a really close look at the clinical stages and it seems we are now clearly in the early part of stage 6. Last time I saw our social work was about a year ago and she said our rate of progression appears "typical". My DW…
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Clothing for Stage 6-7?
My DH is stage 6, I’ve switched to pull up pants instead of button up. They are easier to get on and off. I’ve been going through his clothing, he was such a fashion fanatic and has a great wardrobe, but should I let the button up pants, shorts go? Has anyone felt at this stage that button ups are better for any reason?
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I'm 45 and just got the news
I just tested positive for moderate to frequent corticol amyloid deposition. I don't even know how to feel right now. I went to my doctor for cognitive decline and memory problems, and the pet scan showed this. My doctor didn't tell me very much, so I've been researching online, and i can't stop crying. This was my biggest…
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When to enact POA?
Hi everyone, I am new here. Both of my parents have dementia diagnoses but it's my mother who my siblings and I have the most concerns about. In a nutshell- both parents are 86, living in the same home for 50+ years 2 miles away from me, in-home caregiver for 30 hrs a week, Dad has moderate physical care needs (uses a…
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Periodic changes in behavior getting more concerning
My wife was diagnosed with Alz 5 years ago at 65 years old. She has a strong family history on her Mom's side and we noticed concerns at least 2 years prior. Her memory decline was slow the first couple of years and then I started to notice more pronounced changes at roughly 3 month intervals. This winter she started to…
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Collateral damage from dementia
I am sole caretaker for DH with VD for several years. Like all of you, we care, show up everyday, we do our best, yet this awful disease affects us too. It not only affects our mental and physical health but also our relationships with friends and family. My 2 grown sons live on the opposite coast and I have not seen them…
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Spouse not eating or drinking enough .
I seem to have come to a difficult time with my DW on eating and drinking and taking a shower . She keeps telling me no to all those things that are important . This issue I know will probably turn bad but I would like to know if anyone has any input on this matter . P.s I've tried mostly everything that has been suggested…
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Vascular Dementia Coping
As recommended by another user I am making a new thread here. hello my husband is in a facility which is hard I’m 76 years of age and have been taking full care of him since 95.he had a lot wrong with him last summer he locked me out of the house.since then he was diagnosed with vascular dementia.my daughter and I have…
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Grateful for returns to normalcy
My DW is showing signs of more deterioration. Getting her interested in a movie used to help, but now she has to repeatedly ask who the characters are related to, who the “good” guys and “bad” guys are, etc. Then she took a nap and we had two hours of normalcy. I am still smiling.
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One year to the day
Well, here we are. It's hard to believe that it's been exactly one year since my sister passed away due to "complications of clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease", as is stated on her death certificate. In some ways it still doesn't feel real, even though it very much is. I've been reflective today. The other two core…
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"Going home"
Hi - I'm new. I'm caring for my mom long distance. We had her at home with in-home care, but she just doesn't understand that she has any problems at all and wasn't cooperating with the help and just couldn't be left alone safely. So we moved her against her will into assisted living. She is essentially on the…
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Trying to do the right thing.
My mom is in memory care about 1.5 hours from me. Unfortunately because I have young kids, and do not live close, my visits are not as frequent as they should be. Next weekend I planned to bring the family to visit but now I’m not sure. My sister lives close to mom and visits often. She let me know today that the last few…
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Showering /refusing/thinking they have
I am a caregiver ,been one for 5 years. I have not ever came across anyone with this type of situation before. My client refuses to shower. She states that she already has taken one either morning or night but has not. Family has cameras up that proves she does not shower. I have used many tactics as to we can go to dinner…
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Could a moca test be wrong? Or I am in denial?
hi everyone I am new to the forum. This is my first post. I am a caregiver right now to my 86-year-old dad who has moderate dementia and I am struggling with processing and handling everything going on over the last few weeks. He was in the hospital then a rehab (foot infection) now back at home and the wheels have come…