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I am new to this group and am grateful!
Hello! My DH was recently diagnosed (December 2025) with AD at 70yo. In hindsight, I began noticing "questionable" moments here and there probably 2-1/2 to 3 years ago, but he had just retired and I chalked it up to a major life shift. About 18 months ago, my worry intensified but he would not hear of it. As the months…
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Learning what not to do
My husband has alzheimers. I just need a place to get good advice as to how to handle certain situations
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Re: Respite
Everyone tells me I need to take advantage of the respite being offered by friends - I have complied several times, however the fact that nothing is going to change with regard to caring for my spouse, especially at night. It’s only going to get more difficult and having an afternoon to do whatever for myself is like…
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Watching Alzheimer’s Take My Grandmother Changed Me! Now I Want to Build Something That Helps
After losing my grandmother to Alzheimer’s, I’ve been thinking a lot about how difficult this journey is for families and caregivers. I’m an engineer and want to use technology to make people’s lives more comfortable and better in this space, but I know I need to understand the real problems first. If you’ve worked in…
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end-of-life decisions
What are the options for a dignified death if your state has not legalized medical-aid-in dying (MAID)?
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When friendship is impacted
I suspect a dear friend of mine has early onset. This person's mother had Alzheimer's and passed away as a result. My friend is in their mid-60s and is dealing with the recent death of a spouse so for the past two or so years I've attributed recent behavior changes (verbal outbursts, mostly) to grief and having to navigate…
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Sudden Changes and transitions
My daddy has had dementia for awhile. He was walking and following directions while he was with my mother in assisted living. They actually were quite active. Unfortunately, they were not in a facility that provided good care. I received a call informed me that my dad's legs were swollen. I checked them and took him to the…
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Spits his food out
I don’t know if this is a phase or just a progression of the disease. My DH is losing roughly 4 lbs. per week, and I’m sure it’s due to spitting food out. He will take a few bites, swallow, then the rest of the bites he spits out. What can I do about this? Nothing? I’m curious if others are dealing with this same issue.…
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Mom is 89=Alzheimer, Dad is 95=Pancreatic Cancer
Hello everyone~I just signed up with ALZConnected bc I am in need of experience, advise, support with my elderly "independent" parents whom I love so much! Here I go: My mother is 89 years old. May 2025 she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which has been challenging due to memory declining over the past several years.…
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DH and my constant sobbing
I have read some of your posts and I feel terribly guilty about posting at all. My DH has had dementia for about three years and I believe he is in stage 6c. I'm trying to stave off incontinence by taking him to the bathroom at regular intervals. Being the toddler he is, there is no guarantee that this will work. So the…
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From the NYT: Blood tests for predicting Alzheimers
NYT Article shared. "Could a Blood Test Predict if You’ll Get Alzheimer’s? The tests could help to improve dementia care, but scientists say there are still some caveats and unknowns." There's a lot of nuance in this article. I think the main question for patients is: If you get a positive result, what do you do? It…
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Sundowning
Hello, I’m very new to this group and confused on this newly diagnoses of Dementia for my mother! We are still going through a lot of appointments and tests and we don’t have a actual diagnosis of what type of dementia my mom has but they are leaning more towards Lewy body because she has a tremor on her hand! My question…
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Coping
I'm a caregiver for my Mom long distance. I don't have any support and I'm not sure how to cope anymore. She is declining and I feel she needs different meds because she is starting to show side effects. Not sure how to straighten this out. I've asked for help from docs but nothing changes or they are very vague on the…
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Grumpy Old Man
My DH is always mean to me. He thinks it is real funny when he locks me in a room. He loves to see me get angry. Always tells me I am fat. First thing in morning he says, Wheres my breakfast!! Like I am his servant. My 8 yr old grandson was visiting and it was constant teasing. MY grandson gets so confused that he is very…
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Helpful Resource
This site is an amazing resource of help and support for so many. I also saw a post in another section of a video on a particular subject. I found the information, presentation and vocabulary right on target for this audience so I thought I would share it here. It is offered just as another resource and supplement to this…
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Need to whine about moms house
Mom is a hoarder and her house is full. The house is an hour’s drive away. I have averaged one full 8 hour day a week there for the last three years. I replaced the carpet and sealed and painted the walls in the living room that had cat spray, I dug a path to the water heater and had that replaced and I got all the food…
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Mom in hospice care and seeing and talking to people
I hear this is common. Is it? My mom is in hospice care at her MC facility. I was with for a couple hours today. I would talk to her and she would answer back. She was more alert than she has been in a couple of days. I felt like it was a gift to be able once again to say something to her and she responded. It was mumbled,…
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Any of you dealing with sarcopenia?
My DH appears to be declining physically more quickly than cognitively. He has VD but both his mother and older brother died from alz, so he may have mixed dementia but not diagnosed. He sits most of the day and has for years. His legs and hips are weak and getting weaker, he has difficulty: rising from sitting, standing…
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Feeling helpless
My Mom has entered the later stages of early onset, 68 years old. Since the time change for daylight savings things have gotten worse quickly. Recently, she has had the police called on her for wondering the neighborhood and trying to enter strangers cars. This has all culminated in a fall and a broken foot landing her in…
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Brain shrinkage
Good Morning Warriors. I tried to research the subject of brain shrinkage and changes in facial features. There doesn’t seem to be much about this. My DH is gaining weight in MC facility but his face features are changing dramatically. In particular, his eye sockets are deepening. His cheeks are also sinking in. He has…
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A letter to Memory Care Center managers
Dear Mr. Memory care manager, I have been working hard these last 50 years and always setting money aside for retirement. Now I need that money to pay for memory care for my DH. Memory care is my vacation, my world tour and my retirement all rolled into one. Today I arrived at my Dh's "care suite" only to find that yes you…
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Newbie here trying to navigate this
Hello, Not formally diagnosed yet, but my pTau-217 LabCorp test showed a .37 result. I was already diagnosed with MCI last March. My pTau test last year resulted in a .18 which is right at the cutoff, thus the retest. So somehow my levels doubled in a year. This shocked my doctor who seemed to poo poo my concerns up until…
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Processing DH's Dementia Journey and Recent Death
My DH graduated to heaven recently after seven years of moving through the different stages of Alzheimer's. After living with anticipatory grief, this final ending of our earthly relationship has been very hard on me. He was the center of my world. I spent at least a couple of hours every day for the past year with him at…
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Is it time?
I've been caring for my LO for 3 years. His progression is getting worse. I was not prepared for this, nor what is to come. Incontinence and it's a battle to get him changed. Showers are hard. Relieving himself outside of the bathroom. Wanders at night, gathering items, hiding items. He is not aggressive or combative at…
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Today’s Question?
How could DH with VD smell the bread baking but cannot smell the urine soaked clothes he is wearing? Just curious 🤷🏻♀️
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I failed as caregiver today
Yesterday I picked up a nasty cold and had a really rough night last night trying to sleep. This morning my wife (who has Alzheimer's, stage 5) had another emotional meltdown. Partially accusing me of of keeping her here at our house to kill her or some such nonsense. I am at low ebb, having little to no patience this…
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Sundowning in the Morning?
A question for the community, My DW has been waking up the past week or so with a continuation of the sundowning attitude and demeanor she was experiencing the prior evening. Is this a common experience others have experienced with Alzheimer's? Is this an indication that my DW condition is in further decline?
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I had a dream…
I just have to tell this to someone…I wouldn’t be able to tell my friends or family without bursting into tears. I lost my DH a couple of months ago. I have occasionally remembered seeing his face in my dreams but never could remember the dreams themselves - until today. I dreamt that we were somewhere sleeping. I woke up…
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How do you transition to "Depends" without a battle?
My DW is getting closer to needing "Depends" underwear or similar. I just can't imagine that she will accept wearing them. I could remove all of her regular underwear and put "Depends" in the drawer but I'm not sure that will work. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!
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Loss of mobility
My DW is late stage Alzheimer's diagnosed in 2021 but Dr. thinks it started sooner. Her short term memory is almost gone, hallucinations, incontinent with, etc. Out of the blue she refuses to stand or walk. This makes looking after her very difficult. I am doing this on my own but do have a Care Giver come in Mon and Fri…