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Discussion List
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Zoloft or no Zoloft?
Our neurologist asked if I would consider adding 25mg of Zoloft (sertraline, an anti-depresent) to DW's medications to even out some of the high and low spots. I agreed to having the script sent to CostPlus which we use for our pharmacy. I've subsequently performed enough research to understand the side effects. DW is…
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Today was his birthday
Today was my DH 86th birthday. To celebrate, I took cookies to the MC unit and they all sang the birthday song to him. He looked at his cards several times and at his presents…some puzzles…several times. Mostly though he didn't really know what was going on. The aide who walked me out when I left put her arm around me and…
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Wants to Help But Can’t
My DH with ALZ asks me forty times a day if I need help with this or that. When I try to give him things to do or answer “yes” to helping me, 9 times out of 10 he cannot do the task. I cannot always predict what is beyond his ability because it goes back and forth. One day he can get me a glass of water. The next day he…
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Credit card useage
Thanks in advance for your thoughts! My DW is in the early stages. Age 73. She is still mostly independent, drives, shops, attends social gatherings and the such. My stress is that she is now seeing all the Facebook fixes and cures for Alzheimers/Dementia. Of course believes they can cure. She has started ordering meds…
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Companion Care NYC?
Hi - I'm wondering if someone has had good experience with Duet or any other "companion care" in NYC they can reco. My mom is 77 and diagnosed about a year ago with ALZ. She is stubborn and "presents" as independent, because she still lives alone and has coping skills to take care of herself, but I am noting changes/faster…
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Looking for Some Advice
My DW is 65 years (6 years my junior) and I'm afraid she is having real difficulties with her memories. I need to get her to agree to an exam, but she won't even discuss it. How do I convince her that getting her help now will make things easier later? BTW: I am the poorest kinda caregiver but I love her too much to not…
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DBAT question
A quick DBAT question. Does it need to be administered by a physician or another pro? I printed one and filled it out for my own reasons. If it’s done by a professional would they be asking me anyway? Has anyone ever needed one other than as just a reference to speak to their primary Doctor?
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Dad...
My Dad was a narcissistic man my entire life so far and now he is in the nursing home for PT from a back surgery he had at the end of April. Since his surgery, we have discovered he has had multiple strokes, he has been delirious and he has vascular dementia. The surgery took 8 hours and with all of his other issues such…
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New to this group
My mom diagnosed with Alzheimer's or psychosis with dementia. And Its getting worse.
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I was grumpy with my DH today
I am usually able to modulate my own feelings and be kind to my DH. But yesterday had an incident of being unkind to him. I feel terrible about it! Does this happen to other caregivers? How can I not feel so guilty about it?
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Need guidance
My 83 year old mom has all the symptoms of Alzheimers and her general practioner agrees but she gets so upset about going to see a doctor that she hasn't had any formal testing. My 84 year old father just finished radiation treatments for early stage lung cancer and we will know those results at the end of this month. He…
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Caring for dad
I am one of 7 children. My mother just passes away 2 months ago, and my dad was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's. My siblings and I have been trying to care for him by taking turns, but it seems like it's not going to work this way. We all have full time jobs and families. I go back to work in a week and I am stressed that…
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Leisure Seeker
Has anyone watched the 2018 movie with Donald Sutherland called Leisure Seeker. It’s about a couple, one with Alzheimer’s and one with cancer that take an RV trip from Boston to Florida for one last time. What is your opinion of it?
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Met her new Neuro P.A.
Kind of a vent/externalize the experience's effect on my insides so I don't crash— —I'm cooling off a little more today after yesterday's appt with DW's (61) new (mediCAL health plan) neuro. Upside: We got the referral to UCLA (or the submission to the health plan for it)—that's a big deal for us so I'm holding onto that…
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Dinner delemena
My down/ regroup time was when I was making dinner. Ahh! Time for me time to do me! But the past few months DH has been coming into the kitchen every 10 minutes with various excuses but I know looking for his dinner! . At first I asked him to wash the pots I used to prepare dinner - got just a rinse , put to the side and…
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Taking Mom Out
New here - Mom has been in MC for a year (this week actually), she still asks when she is going home and her anger and agitation has increased. We did not take her out of the facility for several months following her admission but have done so more recently (breakfast, shops, etc.) but the last two visits she seems to be…
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Testing/changes due to diagnosis of parent
Just curious if anyone has had testing due to the diagnosis of a parent. If so, what kind of testing? Has anyone taken any legal steps should you face the same diagnosis? What would you do differently? I am adamant that I do not want to be cared for by family in the event that I develop Alz. (My Mom, her Mom and my mom’s…
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Moving to memory care- how do I tell her?
We have made the decision to move my mom to memory care. We can't decide how to tell her. The facility says to just tell her the day she is going. Her cognition is still ok and she'll see this as us "tricking" her. We are considering having a discussion with her about this but we k ow she'll be resistant.....any advice?
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Just diagnosed
I’m scared. Every time I think about it. My mom had dementia and later it turned into Alzheimer’s. Her last 3 years of life was the worse way of living. She cried. Her tears ran down her face but we never heard what was in her mind, even though we all knew she was going through torture. I hate myself for always having…
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So tired
I’m a month into my broken ankle and foot and I am so tired. I am still not supposed to weight bear on the cast and since it’s my right foot I can’t drive. Let me just say I am trying every day to be thankful my DH is still able to walk and is NOT incontinent. But still….He does not understand half (or more) of what I say…
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Lock bedroom doors in MC?
About three weeks ago, we moved my mom from Assisted Living to memory care because she was going outside on her own and we were afraid she would wander off. She absolutely hates it memory care and always tells us she wants to go home, which I hear should be expected. To my when he got to her room there was a lady in there…
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Going out or staying home
My DH is in the middle of stage 5. He can care for himself physically but has no executive function or short term memory. He has a friend who will take him to play TopGolf. They are scheduled to go tomorrow but tonight my DH got so confused and upset because he couldn’t understand the plans that he gave up and went to bed…
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I would like some acknowledgment for all I do.
My DH is in stage 3-4 and seems to not even realize thatI do everything around the house, including the usual cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, managing finances, investments, bill paying, car maintenance, etc. He is not at the stage of needing help with bathing, dressing but he needs help with his medication schedule…
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Sad, stressed, and need to talk to others
I am new to this site. My significant other (SO), is battling Alzheimer's. I just need to know what I am able to do to make both our lives easier. I feel like I have already lost a lot of the man I married. He has good days and bad days. But, it has taken a toll on us. I am having to do the things he use to do along with…
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Dental Care Options/ Ideas
My 81 yo mom lives in memory care two blocks from me. I go over every day and bring the necessary amount of overnight and daytime diapers for a 24 hour period because otherwise some staff will take her supplies and use them for other residents. I have gone through long stretches where I was cleaning, changing and putting…
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Stages
I have personally never seen the benefit of knowing "what stage". Why? because every one of our loved ones is going down a road with a pretty clear ending. While loved one is going to go through predictable changes the changes can not really be grouped. They overlap. Additionally not everyone has what is earmarked for a…
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Opinion on Hallucinating
Hi all. Taking care of my mom that has Alzheimer's. Working with the neurologist and PCP to get her on a medication that will help with her anxiety and hallucinating. So far one helps her take a 5 minute nap and sleep better at night. My mom is hallucinating all day. she may briefly speak to someone and make sense when out…
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Regaining Sense of Self
Hi, all I found the video below just yesterday; and in my case it was quite timely. The video is a little over 10 minutes, but I think it is worthwhile for those of you who feel like you’ve lost who you used to be through all this physical, emotional and mental stress of caregiving. And if you feel like sharing with others…
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What has changed in a year and a half
Greetings all. In September 2023, I moved both my parents into my home. My dear mom has Alzheimer's. My dear dad has mild cognitive impairment. They are 85 and 87 respectively. For more background, see the discussion at https://alzconnected.org/discussion/64542/moving-my-folks-into-my-house#latest btw - I copied and pasted…
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Careing for mom
So, my husband and i moved in with my mom after my stepdad died. He left her with nothing and we didnt want her to be alone. About a,month after we moved in, mom had a stroke, only to find out that this was a second one she had,which came as a stock to my sister and i vecause she bever told us about the first one. So since…
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
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