Linda is 65 and in perfect health except she has AZ. Currently she is in a nursing home being evaluated for her behavior issues that include excessive fear, bereavement, haluzinations, and some paranoia and some suicidal idealations. We had a full time caregiver but it is difficult to keep one because Linda is restless, and needs constant companionship and reassurance, nurturing and lots of help.
Welcome Larry but sorry you have a need for this board. I hope the NH can help with her behavior issues. My husband was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) at the age of 58. He is now 61 and cannot be left alone at all. He attends day care so that is a great help.
Hi & Welcome Larry, As Deb said, I am so sorry for your need of this forum, however, I am glad you found us. My husband suffers from FTD, he is 60 years old. I recently brought him home from an Assisted Living Facility, I had to place him due to severe behavior problems. He is bedridden so behaviors are not much of an issue now. Hopefully, they will be able to adjust your wife's medication to ease her fears.
Hi Larry and welcome. My husband has EOAD and is currently in a geripsych unit due to behavioral issues, having his meds adjusted. I am looking at ALF's but am running into a roadblock because the medications are only effective to a point, and it appears that some facilities are only interested in completely docile patients. Is your wife in a specialized unit where they focus on behaviors?
Welcome Larry, you have come to the right place. Let us pray that the med change will help with her behavior. This is a great place for comfort and advice.
Welcome Larry. Like Deb, Kadee and Bludaze, my husband was diagnosed in 2008 at age 58 with FTD. It has been a very bumpy ride. He is now 61 and is at home with a ft aide. He too is in great health and very mobile, but often restless. We continually work on the right "med cocktail". This is a wonderful place and we will answer any questions you have and support you throught this difficult journey. Ther are some male spouse caregivers you might want to hear from - Marsh, Ol Don, M-Man, Phranque, Wolf, Moorsb and others.
Welcome Larry. My DW also has been diagnosed with FTD. She was 47 when we 1st noticed changes, 49 when she was diagnosed with FTD and is currently 52. You'll find that each patient is somewhat unique in their specific symptoms but have common traits. The most prevailing is that the symptoms change day to day if not hour to hour. My DW at different times has experienced the same type of emotions, fears, etc as yours. She has been hospitalized 2x in the past years for a month each time for "medication and ECT treatments." I have learned that both can be effective, however, the do require constant attention.
My DW requires constant care, since she is no longer able to take care of her basic needs and is entering the later stage of the disease. Every day I learn something different about this disease. While I don't necessarily actively participate in many of the discussions, I do visit this site daily and I find the discussions informative, insightful, and yes humorous at times. If I were to give one piece of advice to anyone, it would be to put aside any sense of self-esteem and seek assistance today. Even a couple of hours of personnel respite a week will in the long run save your sanity. Good Luck and God Bless You and Your DW.
Welcome to my website, which I started in 2007, because I needed a place that dealt with my unique issues as a spouse of an Alzheimer patient. It is now a place of comfort for spouses/partners who are trying to cope with the Alzheimer's/dementia of their husband/wife/partner. The issues we face in dealing with a spouse/partner with this disease are so different from the issues faced by children and grandchildren caregivers. We discuss all of those issues here - loss of intimacy; social contact; conversation; anger; resentment; stress; and pain of living with the stranger that Alzheimer's Disease has put in place of our beloved spouse/partner.
The message boards are only part of this website. Please be sure to log onto the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - and read all of the resources on the left side. I recommend starting with "Newly Diagnosed/New Member" and "Understanding the Dementia Experience". Since Linda is 65, and probably had the disease for awhile, she would be categorized as EOAD (Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease -Now called YOUNG onset), I would recommend reading the sections on EOAD. There are 4 sections for EOAD members - two of which focus on the young teens whose parents have EOAD (early onset AD- now called YOUNG onset). There is a great section on informative videos, and another excellent resource - Early Onset Dementia - A Practical Guide. You can go to the top of this page, click on "search", and type in EOAD, making sure the "topic" circle is filled in. All of the EOAD discussions will come up - there are about a dozen of them.
Do not miss the "previous blog" section. It is there you will find a huge array of topics with which you can relate. There is a "search" feature on the home page that allows you to look up different topics that may have been explored in a previous blog. Log onto the home page daily for new blogs; news updates; important information.