Most comments on this subject were from 2007 and 2008 so I am hoping some people will add to this catagory. I read some of the other statements and would have loved to become involved in them. Does anyone know of the person who told of her experiences from beginning to end? I did not see the link.
My DH is now talking to himself. Actually he is talking better than he does to me or others. He actually thinks people he sees in the newspaper are people he knows and talks to them. DH doesn't seem to know if I am there or not when he is talking. I felt guilty at first when he was talking and I was not in the room. But then I realized he did not seem to notice/care. My DH has had this disease for at least 7 yrs (he will be 66 next week). These changes seem to happen all of a sudden.
I have also noticed DH wants to tell me on a regular basis about some neighbor lady who is not nice to him and talks about him. I don't have a clue about this as our neighbors are all very nice and kind to him. Maybe he was thinking of something said years ago.
My DH is now talking to pictures as well as to himself. As for the talking about the "neighbor lady", it could be that he is talking about you and doesn't realize you are one and the same. My DH went through a phase when he would tell me (or anybody that would listen to him) that his wife was mean to him. Other times he would tell me about this lady that had been here earlier and was bossing him around (He was talking about me, but thought it was some other person that was trying to order him around). He's pretty much through that stage now. Doesn't realize who I am most of the time, but still says "I love you" a lot.
I was astonished over the past year to hear my husband frequently in his office talking, and yes & laughing to himself. I thought he was talking to someone on the phone. He is still what would be considered "high functioning" but this really took me aback. This is something no one but I could ever witness. I would stand in the hall & try to hear what he was saying, but I never could make it out. He would pause, then answer. When I asked him about it, he said he was commenting on something on TV. Well, he never felt a need to do that before, so it was very strange. It seemed like a 2 way conversation was going on, with someone, a silent someone.
I posted alot about my DH. he loves to talk to himself (guy in the mirror) and statues , faces in paintings the TV. magazine photos, etc. anything that remotely looks human he talks to it. the first times they do this its quite alarming. we are taught that folks who talk to themselve are looniebins. so it hits us hard when someone close starts this up. mine laughs out loud too-to himself or anthing that strikes his funnybone- has for several yrs. and waves in the air like hes having a jolly good time with someone up above him. rolls his eyes at the guy in the mirror when i say something he doesnt want to hear. i heard him talking to a pic of a movie star in a bikini in a tabloid just the other day, 'you look pretty good! haha.. ours isnt scary stuff at least i am not fearful at all. its all very pleasing actually and i am glad it makes him smile and laugh. sometimes i find him asleep on the couch with a huge smile on his face -it makes my day. :) knowing whatever hes dreaming is giving him peace. hes mellowed out soo much over the last couple of yrs. -because of that, so have i! divvi
Brindle, My DH is 68 and has been dx'd since he turned 62 (only 6 years? Seems a lifetime). I have always been his sole caregiver but have in the past 3 months had a respite care worker that comes in 4 hours a week so I can go shopping. It really isn't a respite since I have to really rush to get things done. I've finally accepted that I just can't take him into the grocery store with me. Table manners.....what table manners??? I now have to cut everything up for him and turn his plate so he always eats things only on the right side. He went through a phase when Everything had to be eaten with a fork...Try raw baby carrots... they usually went shooting off his plate when he tried to spear them. He is now beginning to eat a bit more with his fingers and often I have to feed him the last part of his meal. He is in what I believe to be late stage 6. Like Divvi, my DH enjoys talking to the person in the mirror and pictures, whatever catches his eye. I guess I like it because it gives him moments of joy. I just hope he always enjoys the "people". He has always been very easy-going and seems to laugh quite a bit now, especially when he tries to say something and realizes it is coming out all wrong.
Brindle I totally relate to wanting to sit down and cry (and often do) at each new stage. Things seem to be progessing more quickly now. Last night on my way to bathroom I could hear DH in bed having a fairly involved conversation. I only caught clearly that he was saying "you have to turn right at ......." the place he mentioned was in England where we've been several times on vacation.
My DH is also starting to cry a lot also. Just a bit ago I heard this "wailing". I went to the bedroom an found him very upset and sobbing like a lost child. I don't know if he was feeling alone or what. He often forgets there is anyone in the house with him and gets very sad. All I can do when he gets like that is to hold him and comfort him. Took a few minutes to get him completely calmed down. Course now he has no memory of it, but it just breaks my heart when he has these spells. Saturday when we were driving he started crying because he thought he saw someone get shot as we drove by.
gmaewok, if your dh experiences (hallucinations. paranoia) that he finds are upsetting to him i would consult with his medical dr. maybe some increases in meds to relieve his stress over these. its not normal nor do we want them being sad and crying. in our case, DH has not been sad or disturbed about the hallucinating ;so far' thus i havent asked for any meds for control . if that should change i would be calling his dr asap. in their world this is all very real and scary. if we can calm them down it would be better for us both. it could get worse if hes prone to disturbing thoughts. divvi
My husband also talks to the bathroom mirror. He laughs, makes faces, pulls his shirt above his head. His underarm area has an ugly dark red rash, that we are treating, after his shower tonight, as I was applying the medication, he said, "Look that guy has the same thing I do" He does not recognize his own image. The first time I heard him, it was unsettling, thankfully, divvi had mentioned her husband talked to mirrors so I was prepared more than I would have been in the past. This forum is GREAT! I learn so much, which in turn helps me deal.
Have any of you seen Mad, Mad World? It is very old. My husband talked about it so many times but I had never seen it. Apparently, he and another young man had bit parts toward the end. I bought it for him months back and we watched it again tonight. I told him I could pick him out of the crowd (yeah, right). It was a good laugh. He remembered having lunch with Stanley Kramer. Some memories are so clear. I have heard his stories so many times over the 26 yrs, that sometimes he looks to me to finish them.
DH sometimes gets a little teary when he starts to think of someone doing something really nice for someone else. When we walk to the park, he enjoys watching the little kids playing. We are fortunate to have paseos for walking every day. I have him walk behind the wheelchair because that keeps him standing up straight and then if he feels strange, he can sit down and use just his legs for walking or I can push.
So glad I came on this site to hear all of the comments of self talk. I was really beginning to worry. DH does sound like he is having a good time with whomever he is talking with. Laughter is healthy so I guess I should count this as a blessing. Thanks.