I've thought about what Georgestreit said that his wife was "only" a wife and mother. Well consider time management, appointment scheduling, food management and preparation, housekeeping management, referee (on occasion), counselor, "doctor mom", confidant, lover and friend. Nothing more important in anyone's life. I was a "stay at home" mom most of our 60 years and never apologized. All the above qualifications take skill and it was the other half of our partnership marriage. So, George, I think you were one lucky fella.
Paulc: I think we're both off topic. but I couldn't agree more!
The best any of us can hope for is adequate pharmaceutical management of the behavioral symptoms as they present themselves and that we have the strength and fortitude to carry out our role as Caregivers
At this point in time there are no magic keys, we've run down the coconut oil myth and all the others, and we've done the exercise and mind games. The reality is: that after obtaining and confirming the diagnosis additional testing becomes irrelevant. Who need a Geri Psych to tell you your LO in declining? Does it It's matter which label the medical profession affixes to our LO's.
There is nothing at this stage that can anyone can do to alter the inevitable outcome. We ask our MD's what can I expect? What should I plan for? The compassionate ones explain that they are not fortune tellers, each patient is different. Some patients may remain in a slow prolonged decline and die of other age related causes while others deteriorate quite suddenly and unpredictably.
Like PaulC says " no magic keys " just the reality we're Caregivers for our LO's who are suffering with an incurable and fatal disease - the best advice is to make the most out of each day
I don't think Georgestreit meant his comment to come out the way it did ... I hope not! I've been mostly a wife & mom - that's the way we wanted it & believe me, it was a full time job! I did have to pick up part time work after hubby had a heart attack at age 59, had to retire. He was a government certified welder, designed & made his own woodworking projects (I even have things he made for our home). He never had a high powered job, was not overly "cerebral" . In his young years, he kept himself in shape with weight lifting (he had really nice arms!), after the heart attack, walked 5 miles a day for 15 years. He still has AD.....it's an equal opportunity disease.
Article link on the front page titled Rise in Obesity present dementia time bomb. My husband was not obese. More than less I know were not obese, so I don't go along with that headline.
Thank you Charlotte, you are echoing what I was thinking when I read the article. My father was never obese, and my DH could eat almost anything and never gain an ounce on his 5'10" 155 lb frame. A friend's DH has always been lean - he has AD, and in the NH where my father lives, I can't say that I have ever seen an obese person in the dementia wing. Yes there is a rise in obesity, and yes there is a rise in dementia, but I don't think its a causal relationship!