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Moving Advice
Hello, My mom was diagnosed with major neuro cognitive disorder in November. She has a follow up with a neurologist for further testing in August. She has no idea that there’s anything wrong with her which is making helping her just impossible for my sister and brother and myself. She is refusing to let one of us be at her…
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DW does not want to see a sister
My DW is 62 and has been living with AZ for the last 7 years. In the last 4 weeks she has become extremely agitated by the mere mention of her sisters name. We don’t understand why and the sister was obviously very upset although I think she understands my wife cannot help it. I was hoping that it was an aberration but the…
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Dealing with possible anosognosia and FTD
We have been living with my MIL for about 6 months. She was diagnosed with FTD approximately 5 years ago. I could not say definitively what stage she is at as my SIL managed most of her care previously as she lived closest but was not able to move her into her home. The decision to have her move in with us was prompted by…
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The Cavalry Is Not Coming: 9 Year Edition
This is an updated version of The Cavalry Is Not Coming. I repost this occasionally as I have been informed that this article has helped many caregivers. This edition is mostly the same, although I have brought it up to date and revised it to make it more helpful. October 1, 2024 marked nine years since my wife’s dementia…
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Assistance with dressing
I have been laying out clothes for my husband each day for some time. Now he’s having trouble putting clothes on. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to help an adult put on a tshirt or sweater?
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Lewy bodies(1)
My husband was diagnosed 5 years ago with Alzheimer’s. Now we have been told he has Lewy Bodies with Parkinson. He is taking Depakote and Seroquel. Has anyone had this to happen and medication?
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A Cautionary Tale: Details Emerging About Hackman's Death
I'll put a trigger warning here. This is difficult reading. It has been determined that Gene Hackman died from cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's a full week after his wife succumbed to Hantavirus. She was among the oft quoted 1/3 of caregivers who died before their LO. Friends describe his wife as fit, healthy and 3…
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I'm Burning out
DH is actually very sweet (most of the time). We have a companion/caregiver two afternoons a week and I can get out for a bit. It helps but not as much as I thought it would. I realize I'm burning out but he's not yet at the point where he needs MC. I struggle to do housekeeping, bill paying, I'm just putting everything…
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He doesn't give up
I have previously posted about difficulties dealing with my ex-boyfriend. To summarize, he was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment 4 years ago. He is retested every year with the same result. He manages all his daily living activities with no problems. He also bowls, golfs, dances, navigates the computer and all his…
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physical exercise in memory care
My DW has been in MC for just two weeks. The MCF doesn't really have any facilities for real exercise. DW is in pretty good physical condition now. We regularly walked the dog, and she saw a personal trainer once a week. Without exercise, I imagine she can deteriorate quickly, losing muscle tone and balance, not to mention…
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PET Scan Amyloid results
DH just had amyloid pet scan. Just reaching out to see if anyone has any insight on where he might be with all of this based on the widespread findings. Findings were: "Tracer activity is noted in the brainstem and cerebellar peduncles but not in the cerebellar hemispheres. Tracer activity is noted in the frontal,…
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Falling Risk
I am at a loss as to what to do with my father. He has early dementia and bad balance problems. He is now falling and hitting his head every couple of weeks. One time he broke 3 ribs and now he has bleeding in his brain from his most recent fall. I don't think he should go into a nursing home just for fall risk, right? You…
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Feeling nauseous, sweating, shaking
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Awareness and denial in those with A/D
My situation is that my mother-in-law has some level of dementia, whether it's early or later stage I have no idea. My wife and I live 3 hours away from my MIL and we visit regularly to try to help support her and the family members that live very nearby, and deal with her every day. Because we are so far away, we don't…
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Need tips for keeping DW in her home as this progresses.
We are clearly in the stage now where I cannot do this in our home by myself. I have set up paid companion care 3 days a week, 5 hours per shift. I think I can also get some help from family for a few hours a week. I am continuing to look at placement and make sure I am educated and prepared if it comes to that. We live in…
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Dad not adjusted to care home
My dad has vascular dementia, blood cancer and a head injury. He is wheelchair bound and earlier this year we had to put him into nursing care. Dad is verbally abusive to staff and keeps trying to get out of his chair and bed as he hates the nursing home.The family shares visits so we all get a break. We all feel upset and…
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Caregiver webinar
Michael Ellenbogen sent me this caregiving seminar to share on Alzconnected. We are excited to announce our upcoming webinar, Bridging Care: Training Providers to Integrate Family Caregivers into the Healthcare Team! We will explore real-life caregiving experiences, and introduce the “Caregivers As Partners in Care Teams”…
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What's the worst that could happen?
Setting the scene: My mother has three pieces of property, a springing POA and a stubborn streak the size of Jupiter. She is currently between showing signs between stages 4-6 of dementia (not my first rodeo with the disease). It will not be long before she needs supervision. Issue #1: She refuses to see a doctor. Issue…
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Shuffling and Gait Changes
How many of you have observed your LOs developing shuffling and stiff gaits. My DH has recently experienced an acceleration of these symptoms. I suspect he is transitioning from 5 to6.
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New obsessive behavior
My 94 yr old mom with dementia has always enjoyed listening to music, especially the music of her youth. She sings along often, remembering the lyrics. I have searched for and found about 25 CDs of very old music that she enjoys. In the last couple of months, she has started clapping with the music instead of singing. It…
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EOAD and Amyloid PET Scan
DH just saw a new neurologist and she is trying to get an amyloid PET scan for confirmation of EOAD or FTD. MMSE is showing he is in stage 2 with mild dementia. No longer in the MCI category. Have any of you had the scan? Did your commercial insurance plan cover it? The doctor said it will reveal EOAD so we can talk about…
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I don’t know what I’m doing
Hello, I am 25 years old. My mom (58) was diagnosed with early onset alzheimer’s recently. She was originally diagnosed with FTD last year, but due to genetic testing that discovered she has 2 copies of the APOE4 gene, her neurologist changed her diagnosis to EOA. Both her parents passed in the last few years from…
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Ethics of car buying
We put my parents in memory care months ago. Dad has a relatively new used car, while my car is getting old. I want to buy his car, in fact family and neighbors have told me I should. I am Dad's POA, so bill of sale will be between me as POA and me as me. Check will go from my account to parents' account which I use to pay…
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Driving
My friend has an at home caregiver. She has not driven her car in four months. The aide or I take care of the driving. She had a dead battery which we fixed. Now she wants to drive it, just around the corner. I suggested I drive. She did not want that. She wants to drive with me..I do not want to be in the car with her.…
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literally impossible mom
Hello. This is my first time here so please let me know if I'm the right group. I'm looking for advise and or to hear from other people regarding my impossible mom. I don't want to type out the whole story unless I'm in the right group. Is this where I would tell my story and see who has input, similar problems ?
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Should we proceed with testing
my husband has mci(22 score on Moca). We went to neurophysiologist and he ordered a in-depth test. My husband has severe sleep apnea that took almost a year to correct. He was having 36 episodes per night. The neuro wants the test because of that and his low score. my husband feels conflicted to get a diagnosis it just…
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traveling with spouse with dementia- beginning stages
Husband has posterior cortical atrophy so forgets things easily, has no peripheral vision. But we love to travel. Considering the Caribbean to escape MN winter. We love to walk together. Plan to stay in one place from approx march 3-10. any ideas? thanks. Lois
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What do you need to provide for a live-in caretaker?
I am considering hiring a live-in caretaker for my father. I am having trouble finding much information about what sort of living environment you need to provide for the caretaker. Any guidance would be appreciated. To provide some context, my father's house is not in good repair. I would not want to live there but my…
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Getting support for my dad who is my mom's full-time caregiver
Hello, first post here, hoping to get some different perspectives. My mom was diagnosed with early onset alzheimer's nearly 8 years ago (I think) right around 60 years old, though she likely could have been diagnosed earlier, she had been showing symptoms for a few years at that point. My dad has always promised her he…
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looking for advice for "chattering"
For a few weeks now, it has been non stop repetitive nonsense coming from my DW combined with the intense shadowing which means she is rarely more than an arm's length away. I know ALZ is not a mental illness, but that is certainly how it looks and feels. I get to listen to her lose her mind in real time, non stop. Nothing…