I have seen where others have said loved ones do not talk.I feel guilty for saying this but my DH talks all the time.I find it hard to read,watch tv,or much of anything else.
Yep if the cats are about DH talks to them and I can't hear what is on TV or the radio. If I am reading, which is rare these days, it does not bother me.
In the early part of the disease, before we really knew what was going on, Sid had no 'OFF' switch. He would talk continuously, seemingly unaware that he was rambling, and people were backing away from him in order to get out of the line of fire. He would start a conversation, and it appeared that he didn't know how to end it. He just kept going............and going..............and going.
My Dh did the same thing as Sid early on. He would go on and on and on. He just didn't seem to know how to stop. Now he doesn't say much but will read me the newspaper in the morning....arghhhh. If he does gets someone's ear now he will ramble on but it won't make a lot of sense. He usually has some weird story like when he was flying over Japan and was taken POW during WW2. Considering he's 78 it is an impossibility!
That is so strange! I have to pull teeth and anything else I can find to pull in order to get mine to talk at all. I wander if it has anything to do with where in the brain it is affecting at the time.
Mine will do that, usually when we are driving. It is always repeating the same things over and over. Reminds me of my daughter, and now my dil and granddaughter - all are constant non-stop talking.
My DH doesn't talk very much. If he needs me to do something, he never asks directly, he makes some other reference usually obscure and I have to figure out what he needs. Sometimes, if he is trying to tell me something, he can't find the words. I think this is why he does not talk much. He uses his hands to try to explain, but that is no help to me.
DH is slowly losing his ability to 'find the right words'. He does talk quite a bit, and especially when we are out driving. He reads every billboard, bumper sticker and road sign! So, I know he can read - but doesn't understand books or most TV shows.
Over the last 4 months my DW has also started talking so much that I can barely get in a word.. very difficult to understand most of the time.. what I have found is that when she is VERY angry, or VERY sad and starts crying... her aphasia almost disappears and she is quite coherent. Last Saturday night she was crying a lot and talking up a storm... I could understand her most of the time.. she is very aware, when she is in that condition, of what is happening to her.. I recorded her for over an hour and I will type it all out when I have a chance... it was very upsetting to her, and to me, but I felt the need to make a record of what she was saying as she hasn't been that coherent in a very long time.
The one ray of sunshine over the past month is that I have been able to get her to use the bathroom! Even got her to sit in the chair and give her a shower!!! I know she is feeling much better. Although I used to ask her to go to the bathroom every couple of hours, she just wouldn't. I can't say I came up with any brilliant idea on how to get her to go, she just did. And we talk as we take care of business and wash up. It's really wonderful!
I am married to a night talker. Doesn't say much all day long. He also has hallucinations, so he isn't neccesarily talking to me. He also has a friend in the bathroom mirror. He often talks to him. He says they have a lot in common. They are both in the same situation. He often wakes me to go to the bank, right now. It seems we really need money in the middle of the night. It's a pretty interesting life we lead, isn't it? No two days are ever the same. Carol
My DH also talks a lot at night. I either want to relax, watching TV or read, or just veg.... but he talks and talks, and I must look at him while he's talking, and I have no idea what he's saying. and then if I don't give the right response, anger and rage enter the room.
When our aide was finished giving dh his shower and dressing him this morning, she said "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" and he said "No.' We chatted and had a cup of coffee while she wrote in his journal and when she left she said "So I'll see you next week then" and he said "Yes." Then I gave him a banana but forgot to cut the end off for him, and he stared at it in dismay. I cut the end off and gave it back to him and he brightened up and started peeling the banana. Since then (almost an hour ago) not a word out of him. He is still sitting at the kitchen table, probably playing with the banana peeling. Converstations are not too engrossing these days.
Conversations with my DW are not too engrossing for me either. I find myself more and more just sitting next to her with little or no communication between ourselves. I feel so guilty about just sitting there, I feel like I should be talking to her like we “normally” did, but it’s just not possible anymore. She is content to just sit there, which is OK with me for now, because if we do have a conversation it’s typically over “what is my name or how are we related.”
My DH has perods of incessant talking, so much so i cant have a thought of my own. It was really bad the past couple years, recently he is taking Risperdone, although he doesnt know it. He would never take it. He is very difficult when it comes to meds, but i had to have a little relief. He talked all the time, but never really said anything. He would do a lots of puns, thought it was funny, but I wasnt laughing.
One of the worse things about our predicament is no one to talk to. No one to share our lives with anymore. That is the great thing ab out tjhis forum, we know we arn't the only one in this predicament.
Ann, wish I knew! He does crossword puzzles everyday at home, and gets most of them right! Don't understand that either since he can't follow a tv show or a book.
Ky caregiver: Your dh seems to be at the same stage as my dh. May I ask how old he is and how long ago was his dx.? My dh will be 64 on the 4th of March and he was dx 4 years ago and a strong stage 5.
My DH is 71 and was dx 2006. I am 64 going on 90. Sorry to hear your Dh is stage 5, mine is also. He is still able to bathe, put on clothes, no incontinence. What about your DH?
DH does the talking thing in the evenings. Same as you all experience, it is very hard to watch TV and follow a show. He also changes the channel and doesn't remember doing it. Many times, I just mute it or put it on a show that I can watch like dancing. This way, I can listen to DH and also be watching something.