My husband was an avid reader. It was his favorite pastime. He started each day reading the newspaper from cover to cover. He read magazines, and he loved books. If he was sitting down, he was reading. He gave up pretending to read his books a year ago (he had been re-reading his favorite books so that he would remember his earlier comprehension). Monday he gave up pretending to read the newspaper. It is so sad.
Today I took him to the eye doctor for his check up. He no longer can read the chart. When the eye doctor held up one finger, he couldn't say "one" - however when I asked him to hold up the same number of fingers that the doctor was holding up, he held up two. I told the doctor that the AD was not letting him register the words he was reading and that he couldn't comprehend any more. The doctor agreed with me. He isn't blind though....he can still see a piece of lint on the carpet at 4 feet and go pick it up! He has to have drops in his eyes daily for the pressure, and the doctor said it was okay.
It is so depressing watching them fade and not be able to do anything about it.
I think we are there too, Mary. i havent taken DH to eye dr as he can no longer read them or help acertain which ones are better or worse. so he wears no contacts or eyeglasses and has lost comprehension as well -but he does love to look at tabloids mags. and every friday i get them and they last him til the next! i hear him 'reading' sometimes and other times just talking to the people in the pics..awwww...esp the scantily clothes actresses...:) just another loss we have to cope with unfortunately they come rather quickly these days. hugs! divvi
Hello. Last year I took my hubby to get his eyes checked. His vision is the same as it has been for many years. His problem is perception although the doctor said it is not really a perception problem as it is his mind interpreting what he is seeing (like steps, how close/far he is to something). I need to make an appt. this year and fear it may be the last. Not knowing how he feels is very difficult. We want to do such a good job but sometimes the information we need to make a good decision is missing. Hubby "reads" the paper each morning but does not read the articles, just the headlines. But he spends lots of time on them. He also gets a kick out of the free real estate magazines as that is something he always enjoyed.
I agree about the lint! I guess when that stops, we will know they have a vision problem. I find looking at things without my glasses makes the house look beautiful and clean.
Brindle if you look at the article "Understanding the Dementia Experience" ( on the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - left hand side), you'll see how the perception thing can work. Like not crossing black stripes because they think they may fall into them. Like needing a light on at night, every night, when they never did before... etc.
I've given up on going to the eye doctor. It's difficult to get him in and out and he doesn't like it and so what's the point? (Given up on the dentist too unless he breaks a tooth. But that's because the receptionist TWICE in a ROW wrote down one time on my reminder card and put a different time in the computer schedule. (I"m actually wondering if she's losing it a bit..)
You are lucky that when you look at things without your glasses that your house looks beautiful and clean. My problem with my eyes is that I can't read without my glasses. My vision is just fine for a few feet away!! <grin>
briegull, if it weren't for the glaucoma, I wouldn't go any more either.
Also, you are right on about lights. I've had to start leaving the bathroom light on during the night so he can see where to go and where to aim (hopefully!).
Took hb to opthamologist this a.m. Now has glaucoma in left eye; so drops in that eye have been added to the nightly med routine. Hb said, "I'm really falling apart." Nurse said a side effect of the drops is his blue eye might turn brown. That didn't please him. lol We were surprised to get a call from urologist's ofc that hb had an appointment this aft; I told the doc we didn't expect it. He said he was surprised, too, as he'd told us in December he didn't need to see him again unless his kidney function got worse. It hasn't.