... and his staff who were experienced and trained in dementia behavior care. This is the ONLY thing this unit does and they have a great reputation. ... (7 replies)
... Deb, if you don't mind, please tell us more about what took place in those 10 days at that great Geriatric Behavioral unit?
On an unrelated note, it seems folks in the early to early mid-stages of cognition decline seem to be hypercritical towards others in similar situation. My mother and my DW are like that. Each will go on and on and on complaining about the other's... (7 replies)
... My Mom was the one for the drama. She did not go lightly into her dementia but fought every step of the way.... Usually ME! Mom's complaining evolved into more than complaining. She became combative and aggressive. ... (7 replies)
... Yes, these middle stages of dementia are so hard. My dad died from Alzheimer's last June and he didn't get violent until about a month before he died. We were very lucky ... ... (7 replies)
... I found the mid stages of dementia to be the most trying because they have some sense of reality but it is warped. ... (7 replies)
... I moved my elderly cousin here from NYC 3 yrs ago. She was an actress, and suffers from major depressive illness, anxiety, ADHD, and dementia/Alzheimer's. She had fallen 3X and broken her hip and tailbone and refused PT, and became addicted to oxycodone. When she weighed about 90 lbs, and the svc I hired in NY got her file mixed up w/someone else's, I moved her to VA, taking... (7 replies)
... e course of the past months, it doesn't seem like that is the primary driver of your sister's symptoms. I tend to think that there is an underlying issue, maybe dementia or some other cognitively impairing condition. Because your sister's brain is already functionally "strained", alcohol's effects really magnifies these issues. ... (7 replies)
... A B vitamin supplement with at least 100mg thiamine per day can help with dementia symptoms. ... (7 replies)
... My husband used to be a very heavy drinker--about 6-8 drinks a day. However, he was never belligerent and in fact didn't show it at all (that's why I never knew how much he drank). Then he had to have surgery for a swallowing disorder, and that reduced the size of his stomach and also wrapped the part of his stomach that had the alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes in it around his... (7 replies)
... causes personality changes in some people, causing them to become angry, argumentative, obnoxious, beligerent, etc. That is different than dementia caused by long term drinking and associated nutritional deficiencies. Beer is just as bad as wine if you react badly to alcohol and can't control drinking. ... (7 replies)
... I know that there is this type of dementia that is caused by alcohol (wet brain.)
I was told by my Mom that my sister who drinks a lot:
She tried to stop beers some years ago and didn't stop them. Lately she still drinks beers but she can no longer drink regular wine. My husband said beers has less alcohol. Once she drinks just a cup of regular wine, she would lose her... (7 replies)
... thing is beyond mystifying to me. We are all in agony feeling her distress. I am getting angry that her PC physician relegated all of this to a worsening of the dementia without any apparent attempt to dig deeper and that was on May 1. She is still suffering. ... (11 replies)
... thing is beyond mystifying to me. We are all in agony feeling her distress. I am getting angry that her PC physician relegated all of this to a worsening of the dementia without any apparent attempt to dig deeper and that was on May 1. She is still suffering. ... (11 replies)
... The recliner is ok if he puts the foot rest up. The smaller rail might work and at least keep him from falling between the bed and the dresser. Just beware of the full rails so he can get out without crawling over them.
I so remember the safety paranoia of Dad's. He was just more prevalent at night. It truly annoyed Mom that he kept the windows down ALL the time. She... (11 replies)
... And I agree with NAMI Supervisor. If your cousin remembers the conversation in the morning and is still upset by what this person told her then tell her but please do not go on and on about it. Reassure her that you are love her, are helping her, and that she is where she needs to be. Acknowledge that your cousin is upset and that you are there to help her. But I still... (7 replies)
... Thank you so much, Deb. I really appreciate your response.
I really like this: "is where she needed to be".
My cousin has her own phone. When the nurses check on her (or, considering that it's 10:30, when she went in) she was going to unplug the phone. That will keep the woman in NY from getting through again, and it will prevent my cousin from calling me.
If something... (7 replies)
... I found in being their care giver. It's hard work. When you are done you will have more confidence and strength than you know now. If you can do this, survive dementia care giving, you can do anything! ... (3 replies)
... Can't understand why you couldn't get in to see a specialist for 6 weeks (was it a neurologist, that is the first place to go). My husband, who probably has vascular dementia, was seen by a neurologist within a week of his internist finally recommending one, and MRI and CT scans were done shortly after (although they didn't show much). However, he experienced night visitors... (12 replies)
... Deb, I really appreciate your advice! Almost all of the dementia literature is about Alzheimer's, and many people don't even know there is any other kind. ... (11 replies)
... With Vascular Dementia the symptoms depend on the part of the brain that is affected. Dad had Vascular Dementia and his progression was very different from Mom's Alzheimer's. His short term memory was much better than hers. He did have holes in those memories. ... (11 replies)
