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Mom With EOAD Lacks Motivation
Hi, I’m grateful to have come across this resource. Last year, my mother (60 years old at the time) was diagnosed with EOAD. While the diagnosis came as a shock for someone of her age, we were noticing a decline in her cognitive functions, particular with regards to time (not knowing what day it is, showing up to to…
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Caregiving when you have pretty severe mental health issues yourself
Hello. I do some caregiving for someone who is quickly declining. We mostly go for walks. I have severe depression and anxiety myself. I am also unfortunately an empath so her distress sticks to me for hours or more. When she says paranoid delusions about her primary caregiver, I am at a loss for how to respond. I am…
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Insomnia due to caregiver burnout
If you have experienced insomnia due to caregiver stress and burnout, how did you fix it? I havent been able to sleep in two weeks and I am very concerned. I know not sleeping is bad so please do not tell me the dangers, just tell me solutions if you have any! I have already tried: melatonin sleep aids, non-melatonin sleep…
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Rough night
I have been dealing with DH with FTD. I think it has been a slow decline with behavioral variant since 2009. My daughter is now 14. I have raised three teens alone through this. He talks to himself daily, screams and yells, hides or loses items and think there are "others" sabotaging his life. We are honestly very use to…
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I just don’t know?!?!
Enjoying dinner with former work friends tonight! Oh my such a wonderful, full of belly laughs time. Paying bill, ready to go and friend says isn’t that your husband coming over? Well I was dumbfounded! Apparently he was sitting at the bar drank not sure if he ate and staggered over when he was leaving! Friends were great…
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Feeling guilty about hospice and husband passing away
My wonderful husband passed away August 3rd. I miss him terribly. He was 71, and he had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s about 9 years ago. He also had diabetes and vascular dementia, along with some other health issues. I am fortunate that I was able to keep him home the whole time, and I was able to work ( I…
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Denial
My elder with Alzheimer’s has no short term memory at all. Before Alzheimer’s she’d deny any problem like this anyway. Is it even worth the bother trying to get her to understand? Thanks!
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Elopement and MC Assessment
My DH had a MC assessment today and things were going ok until the elopement question. Does your DH wander? I told the truth that occasionally he wanders (with me following him). I told them that DH wandered last week at night. They asked if I was able to bring him home and I told them I had to call the police for an…
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Finally...
I finally got an answer for what I've been dealing with for the past few months. Actually, it's been longer than that, much longer. I had been complaining of shortness of breath on exertion and extreme fatigue and tired muscles. I've seen two sleep doctors for a diagnosis of sleep apnea as a cause of the extreme fatigue.…
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Meds for Spouses?
Sorry - kind of long but looking for advice for how to manage my own emotions. My 68 year old DH - probably stage 5-6- was placed 3 months ago due to aggression, high anxiety, not sleeping, wandering, and extreme agitation. New meds, the skill of the MC nurses, and the fact that he can wander about the hallways and talk to…
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Testing MRI with contrast dye?
my DH is supposed to have 4 MRIs today— one with contrast dye. I’m reading about possible problems for elderly patients with dementia and/or heart disease with the contrast dye…he’s frail and I don’t want to put him through nausea/rashes/increased cognitive issues —- I’m thinking of having him do only the three MRIs…
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Loneliness
Hi! I've been caring for my Mom for over eight years. She's now in late/severe stage which has it's challenges but things are more calm now. It is hard to find caregivers & I do not "get out" enough; we are somewhat forgotten. I am tired. The days/weeks/years fly by. So… I thought I'd say "hello, we are alive." Take care,…
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Humor even in the late stages
My son and I share a penchant for really bad jokes. I heard three last night on a TV show (see below), and I sent them to him with the predictable response. I thought about telling them to my partner—but then I thought no, she probably wouldn't get the punch lines. But: she was having a really good day today, was actually…
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Memory Care or Keep trying at home
Is there some magic way to know when the time is right to have your loved one in a Memory Care Facility? A tipping point? I don't want to, for some reason. But I'm exhausted . I feel it would be more for me than him if he went there. Is that the right reason? He is still considered early stage. But the care needed is…
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What if money tight
What are your options if you financially can’t afford care at a facility??
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My 74 yo husband is my caregiver
My mother died from Alzheimers about 5 years ago. Knowing that can be inherited, I got a world class neurologist and had a spinal tap to see if I had the gene. I did. I am now 3 or 4 years into this and am taking a drug that I inhale called Prevagen. It seems to be working but I’m still having some emotional ups and downs…
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Put Mom in MC - Feeling Guilty
Yesterday I pur my 89 year old Mother in MC. I am feeling so guilty, like I failed her. I got her there under the guise of meeting a friend, then I just left her. I had ask the staff while preparing her room about leaving phones and tablets for her, they said leave it. Last evening my mom start posting things on Facebook…
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Aggression and apathy
My grandmother is in an assisted living/nursing home. She has Alzheimer’s disease. She becomes physically aggressive with staff and scratches, hits, kicks, and tries to bite them. This is happening more often, which I believe is from the Alzheimer’s. Lately, my grandmother will just lay in her bed and pretend to sleep. She…
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Move done , blocked phone
Well the move went well as planned into AL. She seemed happy , all be it tired after all the activity she’s not been used to. We did have an issue with the room mate. Per the director the roommate understood the common areas would be shared but she wasn’t going to have it. Thank goodness her family paid for a single suite…
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Qualifying for hospice
This is my first post since I joined this group months ago after DH was diagnosed and I’d really like input from others who have had similar experiences. Over the last 4-5 months he’s had a rapid decline physically. For a month or so, the decline was both cognitive and physical, but he had some improvement cognitively…
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Nail biting
My DH started to bite his nails way down. This is a habit he never had in the past. He tells me he can stop, but minutes later he is back biting. Worries with cold, flu seasons and germs he may pick up.
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Eating
I am beginning to suspect that my mom is not getting enough food. She will often put the majority of her food either in the fridge or back in the pan it was cooked in. She refuses food sometimes as well, claiming that she's not hungry, but not having any food all day. We don't have a kitchen table that we can sit down at…
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How big are your fiblets?
I realize this depends greatly on how much a PWD's reasoner is broken, but I think a fiblet is characterized in two ways: How big the topic is. i.e. saying that a dead person is alive (but moved far away) is big. The car (was sold off) is broken & awaiting parts is a medium sized topic (can be big in the mind of a PWD who…
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How to get prescription meds in the first place
My husband refuses to be tested and dislikes taking meds. He desperately needs meds for obsessions and anxiety. He is a great show timer at the doctors office. I have talked to him about his anxiety. He says he knows himself better than anyone and he is not anxious. I keep reading how others hide the medicine in food. A…
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Begging to get her out!!
This group has been soooo helpful in getting us to where we are now . We were finally able to take our 93 year old , mid stage Alzheimer to a semi-autonomous residence , the transition was smooth , she accepted the situation, admitting that she could not live alone anymore . After 5 days, all hell broke loose .. she is…
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Nothing but trouble with antipsychotics
I am starting to feel sorry that I ever started my husband on antipsychotic drugs. Since we began in late May, he has been on two doses of seroquel and three doses of risperidone. Seroquel made him incredibly sleepy and unsteady on his feet and did little for his agitation, so his geripsych and I bagged that after a month.…
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Request assistance n guidance
My mom is a dementia patient and she is 79 years old. Your checklist on stages of dementia has been extremely helpful to me. 2 months back I got her back home from Australia ( she was staying with my brother for 1 year) and in 2 months there has been a rapid decline in her health. I believe she has declined fro. Stage 5 to…
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Cloth diapers?
A mobility issue has led to instantaneous urinary incontinence. I'm struggling with the environmental impact of adult diapers- used 4 overnight! We created more trash last night than the last 2 months combined. Has anyone used cloth diapers with their LO? Any other ideas?