My husband is 91 years old and his Dr. diagnose him as having dementia..he was taking Aricept but had a hard time with the side effect so he is not taken any thing..this is what he does!!!
Mostly in the morning..he repeats questions..and I just answer him..over and over that is OK. some times if he gets out of the bathroom he get lost..so I make sure he goes where he should go. he feeds himself, goes to bathroom himself, cleans himself..not offen so I spug bath him a lot hate to shave and waits to long so whiskers get to stiff..I wish I knew how to shave him..
Two weeks ago the Dr. put him on 10mg of Aricept ...when he was just taking 5mg..he had a hard time with that and he was not able to walk..to bathroom so I called 911 he went to hospital and with all kind of test said it was the Aricept that put him down..but he was still not right and didn't eat and did not want to get out of bed..that is when the Dr. took him off the diovan too...so know he is back to almost normal..
Still don't know what stage he is in he still knows every one but he will get some anxiety at times if things are not the same..like if he wakes up and hears the TV going he will get real upset and goes on and on because he got woke up...I have some thing for his anxiety attacks but it makes him real tired for 2 days..he just sleeps...so last time he had that attack I talked him into calming down...thank God...then it was over...
I don't leave him alone any more..family helps sit with him if I have to to shopping or bank..I do every thing..keep house fix food, take care of bills, make decisions and he is good and lets me do that without any feed back..God help me...JOY
OH Joy, we are all the same boat, Just some of us have learned to row better than others, so we look to them for help and advice. I'm sorry to hear your hubby had such bad results from Aricept. Did the doc not try anything after that, like Namenda or Exelon. MY DH is now on Exelon, the Aricept he took for about 3 years, and it had kind of lost it's edge. Doc tried Namenda, but for DH it caused confusion. (Medicine for confused people should not cause confusion). Anyway, we settled on Exelon for the time being, and I feel it's holding the monster (AD) at bay, at least a little bit. The real problem with these meds is you cannot stop them or the patient goes right downhill, never to recover where he was. That happened to us with the Aricept, and you'll notice that the label says not to stop it. Anyway, speak to the doc about trying some other stuff. I can still leave my DH alone for short periods, like to shop, because he usually just goes to sleep while I'm gone.
I think you are doing a wonderful job with your Dear Husband. at 91yr it logical he doesnt have the same energy as before so if he's healthy otherwise maybe trying one of the daycares for seniors with AD may help to get him out? or a ride in the car helps stimulate them. i had to learn to shave my husband as well with the triple razor, the electric one never works on him i have 2 new ones they just pull and he hates it. i can now shower/shave/dress him in less than 15min..haha. took me a long time to get it down though as a routine. my understanding is you have to start gradually on the lowest dose of any of the AD meds then work up to more mgs/day..and then even wean off them if possible. mine took aricept for 4yrs then developed a rash so we took him off, then razadyne made him throw up after 3yrs then namenda had some side effects as well so we are off all the AD meds now and hes holding his own after 6mos. its not easy being a caregiver at any age. divvi
...then I read through each of the stages one at a time, checking off the symptoms my husband had. When I reached a stage where he had NONE of the symptoms, I knew that he belonged in the stage just before that.
I'm giving you front page of the website for three reasons: You may want to read more than just the stages You need to note down the 24/7 Hotline number - sooner or later you will need to call them. I did! They have a free book you can order from the front page. It is short, blunt, kind, and honest and written by someone who has been where we are.
Come back if you have questions. This place is great for getting answers to weird, don't quite know how to ask what I need to know, questions.
Morning Starling....I sure will check www..you send to me..some times I just wonder...if he is just old...because he is 91 and don't remember stuff...he never went to a nourolist only his Primary Dr. who gave him the Aricept...but he is not taking it any more...I would like to have a medical paper stating he has dementia...seems like I don't have that....when he went to the hospital he did have mri, nourologist examine him..don't have the result on hand...Dr. said every thing looked good..I want to call hospital to see if I can get the medical records of all that was done for George...will call them today...JOY
A woman in our church just celebrated her 100th birthday. My Mom was 94 when she died. Both were/are smart and "with it". Dementia doesn't necessarily come with old age. I don't have any papers to indicate DH has AD.
We all are here struggling along as best we can. Your doing a good job. Its difficult I know.
Joy, why do you want a piece of paper with the diagnosis? I don't have one either. I know the diagnosis is on record with his family doctor and with his neurologist and that will be good enough for whatever needs I have.
Is it just that you need someone official to say the actual words? I got that from the neurologist. And yes, you do need to hear a doctor say the actual words.
Are you looking for an agency to give you services, but can't get them without a written diagnosis? They should be able to get that from the doctors and/or hospitals with written permission from you and/or your husband. In fact, as professionals, once they have written permission they should be able to get it easier than you can.
If you give us some idea of why you are looking for the information you are looking for, we might be able to help you figure out either a way to get it, or a way around needing to get it.
When the time comes if ever....I would like my husband to go into the VA clinic here in Orlando..they will take service men who have dementia..but they do need to have some kind of written paper from Dr. or what ever that he does have dementia...that is the reason because I have talked to the people from there..I also found out that he is making to much money for it to be FREE .she said there would be a co-fee...how does that work...she tried to explain but DAAA I still don't understand...JOY
You don't need a piece of paper. What you are going to need is a report from your husband's doctor to the VA explaining what is wrong with him. But, it is very likely you will never actually see or touch that paperwork.
As for him making too much money, I'm sure Jane will be by soon with an explanation of co-fees, but when he actually needs to go into the VA facility, he won't be making any money at all. Sooner or later all dementia patients stop working because they no longer can do their jobs. You may or may not still have income at that point.
It sounds like what you actually need is a caseworker to help you figure out what to do next. Call your local agency for aging. They call it different things in different places and when I did call ours they wanted to send out a social worker to do an assessment of what I needed. It is too soon for that for me since my husband is pretty good physically and with taking care of his own bathing needs at this time. But I will do that once it isn't true. And with your permission she will be able to get her hands on the diagnosis report and get it to the VA if that is the right agency to help you. It is also possible that the VA will provide you with a caseworker to get him set up with benefits.
My DH has been told by the VA where he had his testing done that he is Moderate to Severe. They would not tell me what stage that is and said that is how they evaluate a person. Does anyone know how the 7 stages relate to MILD, MODERATE, SEVERE??
I do know that in Calif. the doctors hesitate to use the term Alzheimer, because they have to report that condition to the State and the person's drivers license will be pulled.
Judith, if you use the seven stages posted on the Alzheimer Assoc web site ( Starling gave the link for it), you'll see that Stage 4 is Mild or Early Stage, Stage 5 is Moderate or Mid-Stage, Stage 6 is Moderately Severe or Mid-Stage, and Stage 7 is Severe or Late-Stage.
I'm in CA, and my husband's doctor didn't hesitate for a second to either give the diagnosis or report it to the DMV. The DMV did not do anything, presumably because my husband had passed his driver's test with flying colors the week before the diagnosis. Anyway, I don't think the license is automatically pulled -- notification simply gives the DMV the option of evaluating the driver properly.
And I'd be appalled that a doctor would knowingly decline to give a diagnosis so s/he could avoid reporting to the DMV. If a patient shouldn't drive, then a patient shouldn't drive.
(Just for the record, I had "pulled" my husband's driving "license" long before the diagnosis. He did a few things in stressful situations that could have turned out badly. Nothing happened, not even a bent fender, but I simply started being his full-time chauffeur. I'm very lucky that he never fought me on this.)
I live in CA & the doc reported my DH to the DMV. They sent a letter for DH to come in for an exam. It was not a driving test. He could drive, I knew that--but no longer safely. He was taken alone into a room and I believe he was given a cognitive test, maybe spell 'world' backwards, whatever, but his license was taken away because he had dementia. I cannot believe a doc would jeopardize his practice to keep unsafe drivers on the road. In CA it is the law--they must report it--and that's a good thing. Do not be confused about dementia & AD. Everyone--everyone--everyone who has AD has dementia--no exceptions. That is they have lost the ability to function properly & safely in the real world even tho they may still do many things just fine. Not everyone with dementia has AD. Sometimes they are demented because of a blow to the head, drinking, another illness. But do not be misled--if someone has AD, they have dementia.
If you want to read LOTS of information and comments about driving, go to the top of this page, and click "search". Write in "the driving issue", and make sure the "topic" circle is filled in. Then hit "enter" or whatever it tells you to hit. That issue is such a difficult subject for all concerned that there are 3 pages of comments.
I try not to discuss it myself anymore, because it causes my blood pressure to soar, my nerves to fray, and it inevitably leads to screaming arguments between me and my husband. (Who, by the way, passed the visual perception and road test, which he'll never let me forget.)
Joan-until the end Bill probably drove better than I did. I requested his MD sent a letter to the DMV. DMV requested a great deal of follow-up but they did finally pull the license. It didn't end there-but too much has already been posted already.
Exactly, Joan. They can often pass the visual and driving skills test, but still be unsafe drivers. That's why they have to be given a cognitive test that has nothing to do with physically operating the car and just too many people don't understand that. Now go pour yourself a bit of wine.
OK, Bettyhere, no playing favorites. Tell us ALL to go pour ourselves a bit of wine! :-)
(Joan, could you please find out how the Alz Assn makes it possible to insert emoticons? They can be SO much more satisfactory and expressive than just words!)
I have to make something very clear..We both live on his VA pension & both out Social Secrety....He don't work or I don't work... Now when and if George goes into VA facility are they going to take all his VA pension? She did mention $95. a day..wow I would rather hire some one then go into facility..he is getting better and I been trying real hard to get him walking outside only for 10 minutes..that is what the therapist told me to do..but you know men don't want there wife to tell them what to do..I am the bad guy..JOY