Alzheimers

[Magnum]

My mother has been confirmed as having Alzheimers.

She is in stage 2.

My dad had it for about 10 years.

I have someone coming to help when I and a friend can't be there.

I don't mind saying that I am afraid, but I know God will help me through this like He has before.

[xandaz]

    I'm very sorry for that Mags. I hope all turns ok for you guys. Bye

[Magnum]

What is Mags?

[dedndave]

he's talking about you, Andy   :P

my dad is in the same boat
i go and sit with him 5 or 6 imes a week
about all you can do is make them comfy and happy - take care of em

[Magnum]

My mother is being "non-compliant" with those helping her.  :dazzled:

She ignored doctors orders regarding a boot she had to wear when she tore
2 ligaments.

She is scheduled to have 3 weeks of physical therapy.

She will actually go for __________week. weeks. (Circle one)  :bg

[farrier]

Magnum,

Your willingness to help your Mother at this stage in her life is the best thing she has going for her!  Stay strong and stay by her side.

You have to be really careful when listening to the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.  The only true dx can be done by looking at the brain tissue after death.  The reason I bring this up is that I have been living with this for the past couple years with my Mother.  When she first started showing signs of dementia, her regular Dr. proclaimed: "We're dealing with Alzheimer's, and there's nothing we can do other than prescribe drugs to halt the progression."  We scheduled an analysis by the local geriatric specialist, but the next available appointment was 4 months in the future.  A family member was familiar with another Dr. who specialized in the treatment of dementia, and was available immediately.

I took my Mother to see this Dr. and within 5 minutes he asked the question which changed her entire mental state: "Does she snore?"  The answer was yes but only a little.  He said the degree of snoring--how loud it sounds to others--doesn't matter.  He ordered a sleep apnea study which confirmed that she was being deprived of oxygen while she was sleeping.  This meant that she was not sleeping soundly, and was therefore possibly not dreaming the way humans must.  They started her on a treatment with a CPAP machine which "forces" air into her nose as she sleeps and the difference has been astounding!!

This cause and effect was recently rediscovered when I had to have her CPAP machine replaced, and the replacement unit was not programmed properly with the correct air pressure.  After a week with the new unit, she started showing the same signs of dementia.  We fixed the programming on the machine, and she's back to her normal self: "As mean as a Snake".  But that is normal for her, now she's just not acting "crazy".   ***Damn programmers!!!!***

This is just one example, but her Dr. says he sees it all the time.  Lack of proper dreaming will throw anyone into an altered state.  Young to middle aged men who snore will have a change in behavior that is not pleasant!  But it can happen to anyone of any age.

Hope this can help!  It's something that is relatively cheap, and covered by most insurance.  The one big problem with your Mother is her resistance to wearing the Boot for her leg.  Wearing the face mask required to do the sleep apnea study may be confining and scary for her.  But the effort may be worth it.

Good luck.  Stay strong.  It is at times such as these where your true strengths will be revealed/confirmed.

farrier

[Magnum]

Thanks for the info.

I remember from a college course that when you are deprived of REM sleep, all kinds of bad things happen.

[FORTRANS]

Hi,

   I recently lost my father.  Before he got too bad, oxygen
helped quite a bit.  They also prescribed something to enhance
his memory that helped for a bit later on.  While he had
dementia, it seemed to differ from "classic" Alzheimers, though.

Best of luck,

Steve

[Magnum]

Thanks Steve.