DW has been loosing her vocabulary over the past year. Now everyday, mutiple times a day we have to play the guessing game. She knows the word, but can not get it out. She get frustrated and I have to guess the word or play clue to figure out what word she is trying to say. It is usually a key word to a sentence or the topic of the sentence. Because I know her so well, I can usually guess the word, I think you know your mate well enough to guess what is on their mind in a given situation. My question is, how long does this go on? It seems to be a daily occurance now, will she all of a sudden stop talking, once she is worn down thru this exercise of the guessing game?
moorsb, my DH has been doing this for a few years now...and yes, I know him and his former thought processes so well, that I can usually guess or prompt him enough that we can figure out what he is trying to say. I think each alz sufferer is different in how long this lasts...that's an interesting question tho, whether she (he) will "all of a sudden stop talking, once she is worn down thru this exercise of the guessing game".
My dh has had a tough time with vocabulary for about 3 years. It has worsened gradually. Like you I can usually figure out what he is saying but there are times when it is impossible. Sometimes he can express himself well. This Alz thing is very weird. My sister-in-law who is a classic case and has been in end-of-life stage for 3 years, never had a problem with words. She just stopped talking. My dh will do a lot of substituting of words which can be tough. This will keep your mind sharp.
aphasia sounds like they will loose the ability to swallow. Her eye hand coordination is so poor that I am unable to read her writing. It sounds like it will not be long till she is unable to communicate.
I wouldn't worry about inability to swallow. It seems to be the last muscle along with the heart to go. My sister-in-law whom I mentioned above still can swallow soft foods but can't chew. Voluntary muscles go first. You will find some way to communicate.
Moorsb, Kathryn is having the same problem with talking only I think it is because she forgets what she was tring to put into words faster than she can get them out. She is starting to have some trouble swallowing too. I have just posted an update on her issues. I would like for you to check it out and let me know if your wife is having the same issues. Kathryn was diagosed in sept of 2008 and was in stage five I think at that time. It seems to me that she is declining faster than normal to me. We are both 59 years old.
Her Doctor also agrees that she is declining faster than normal.
My DH will use his hands like he is waving them over something when he talks. He will say "you know - that thing- very important......." all while circling his hands over the newspaper, or a food item, etc...... It makes it very difficult to understand. A lot of time I just tell him it's been taken care of. He really cannot find the words to express what he wants to say but also gets upset by inconsequential things and gets totally fixated on them.